Motherboard Advice Needed

[leftheaded]

What are the best options to support a pci-e x16 graphics card and a pci-e x8 RAID controller? eSATA would be nice, but not mandatory.

This mobo is going to be for my media server / HTPC. Eventually, I plan to separate these functions into two boxes, but not for about 6 months. Ideally, whatever mobo I get now will remain in one of the boxes (HTPC or server).

Thanks

 

[MaStaFLaSH]

Do you have to have an x8 or would x4 be enough?

 

[leftheaded]

I have an x8 RAID controller... areca 1231ML

 

[Nightwing749]

mm.. 8x raid sounds sexy.

 

[Valnar]

Any X38 or X48 has two PCIe x16 slots. Those are the ones you want.

I have a preference for the one in my signature. No problems.

 

[engiNURD]

Somewhat on-topic... since PCI-E scaling doesnt really affect gaming performance, does it affect HD playback? It not, you could get a much cheaper P35 board, run the graphics card in the 16.4x PCI-E slot and the RAID card in the 16x PCI-E slot. I'll look into this later, but hopefully someone stops by with more knowledge than me regarding this scenario.

Another thing to wonder about... if you're not gaming on the system, you could theoretically get a G45, 8200i or 780G based mobo, which all have integrated graphics chips that do the HD hardware encode/decode and use the PCI-E 16x slot for the raid card.

 

[MaStaFLaSH]

Somewhat on-topic... since PCI-E scaling doesnt really affect gaming performance, does it affect HD playback? It not, you could get a much cheaper P35 board, run the graphics card in the 16.4x PCI-E slot and the RAID card in the 16x PCI-E slot. I'll look into this later, but hopefully someone stops by with more knowledge than me regarding this scenario.

Another thing to wonder about... if you're not gaming on the system, you could theoretically get a G45, 8200i or 780G based mobo, which all have integrated graphics chips that do the HD hardware encode/decode and use the PCI-E 16x slot for the raid card.

Them there are some good ideas

 

[Valnar]

I completely disagree with the last two posts. This is [H]. Why is it a trend lately to recommend the bare minimum board to 'get by' with? He has a 8x RAID card. The X38/X48 boards have 16 more PCIe lanes and were made for things like that. A P35 would work in a pinch if he already had one, but why recommend it out of the gate? The OP has a top of the line RAID card. I don't think the $40-50 mobo difference is a factor. nuff said.

 

[nakedhand]

Here is a few suggestions. I am building a similar setup in beginning of August, when I travel to the US, and right now I am looking at the following boards: My current #1 picks from the top

ASUS P5Q Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131297&Tpk=ASUS+P5Q+Deluxe

Gigabyte DS3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128344 ......no eSATA?

MSI P45 Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130179

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DQ6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128331

DFI LANPARTY DK X48-T2RS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136047 .. no eSATA

DFI UT P45-T2RS ...coming soon, looks interesting to me.

Raid Controllers:

Highpoint 3522 (for external setups) or alternatively the 3520
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115046&Tpk=highpoint+3520
Here is the 3522: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA/rr3522.htm
http://www.highpoint-tech.com/PDF/Compatibiility_List.pdf


Areca 1220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816131004
http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie.htm


3Ware 9650SE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116043
http://3ware.com/products/serial_ata2-9650.asp
http://www.3ware.com/products/pdf/Motherboard_Compatibility_list_9650SE.pdf

Important notice! None of these MBs appear on any of the compatibility lists. They usually only feature workstation/server class motherboards. Which is very annoying really, since many of us use "ordinary" consumer class motherboards with RAID controller cards, due to the low class onboard implementations and lack of "need" for very costly FB memory and so forth.

I will be sending out email to these companies, inquirering about the ASUS PQ5, which I am pretty certain is my candidate, and will post their feedback here if you are interested.

 

[engiNURD]

You can turn any internal SATA port with AHCI into an eSATA port. In fact, Gigabyte includes this PCI bracket in the box already.

I completely disagree with the last two posts. This is [H]. Why is it a trend lately to recommend the bare minimum board to 'get by' with? He has a 8x RAID card. The X38/X48 boards have 16 more PCIe lanes and were made for things like that. A P35 would work in a pinch if he already had one, but why recommend it out of the gate? The OP has a top of the line RAID card. I don't think the $40-50 mobo difference is a factor. nuff said.

Mainly cuz the economy is shit, people don't want to spend money, and others are just flat out broke. I'm all about paying for only what I need. I don't like wasting money on crap I'll never use.

I'm actually looking for a board to do this same thing, run a Dell Perc5 card, which is 8x PCI-E. Why should I spend upwards of $200 if I only need to spend $110 on a board that will suffice my needs? I'm already spending huge amounts of money on the RAID card and all the drives.

The cheapest X38 board is the DFI, at $185. The cheapest P35 board with a 16x + 16.4x slot is the Neo2-FR, at $110. Thats a $75 difference.
Instead of wasting money on an X38/X48 board, I'd rather put that money towards yet another HDD for the array. Thats the point of all this, right? setting up a RAID array? An additional 16x slot won't help your array unless you have yet another RAID card to stick in there. If there's no gaming to be done, then there's no need for a 2nd 16x PCI-E slot for graphics alone.

Mastaflash said it in a more concise way...

It totally depends on what he's doing with the computer. If this is just going to be a server/HTPC you'd have to be a retard to use an X38/X48 board.

 

[MaStaFLaSH]

I completely disagree with the last two posts. This is [H]. Why is it a trend lately to recommend the bare minimum board to 'get by' with? He has a 8x RAID card. The X38/X48 boards have 16 more PCIe lanes and were made for things like that. A P35 would work in a pinch if he already had one, but why recommend it out of the gate? The OP has a top of the line RAID card. I don't think the $40-50 mobo difference is a factor. nuff said.

It totally depends on what he's doing with the computer. If this is just going to be a server/HTPC you'd have to be a retard to use an X38/X48 board.

 

[nakedhand]

Stop being so busy shooting down alternate buying ideas. Not everyone is looking for the absolute cheapest solution! Like Valnar already said, this person is willing to spend the cost of a good RAID controller. Your cheap ideas are great, but what is wrong with offering alternatives, some not that costly at all. I agree the X48s are relatively expensive, but it all depends on the budget

Going with the Dell Perc5, he better have the courage and skills to deal with the multitude of initial issues there can be. Just read through the thread on 2cpu.com ...

Oh and masterflash, no need to call people retards. Get over it, we have different views, budgets, attitudes and needs.

 

[Valnar]

It totally depends on what he's doing with the computer. If this is just going to be a server/HTPC you'd have to be a retard to use an X38/X48 board.

I stand by my statements 100%. Just because you don't have money doesn't mean no one does. The OP did not list money or budget as a factor. He also didn't say for sure if it will end up as a server, only that it might. If it were definitely going to be a server, then the G35/G45 suggestion would be great since as it was pointed out, the x16 slot could be for the RAID card. But a G45 may or may not be what he wants as the video card for an HTPC.

Mainly cuz the economy is shit, people don't want to spend money, and others are just flat out broke. I'm all about paying for only what I need. I don't like wasting money on crap I'll never use.

Why should I spend upwards of $200 if I only need to spend $110 on a board that will suffice my needs? I'm already spending huge amounts of money on the RAID card and all the drives.

enginurd, this thread isn't about you. So buy your P35 board.
.

 

[MaStaFLaSH]

Stop being so busy shooting down alternate buying ideas. Not everyone is looking for the absolute cheapest solution! Like Valnar already said, this person is willing to spend the cost of a good RAID controller. Your cheap ideas are great, but what is wrong with offering alternatives, some not that costly at all. I agree the X48s are relatively expensive, but it all depends on the budget

Going with the Dell Perc5, he better have the courage and skills to deal with the multitude of initial issues there can be. Just read through the thread on 2cpu.com ...

Oh and masterflash, no need to call people retards. Get over it, we have different views, budgets, attitudes and needs.

I wasn't calling anyone a retard.... Nothing wrong with more ideas!

 

[MaStaFLaSH]

I stand by my statements 100%. Just because you don't have money doesn't mean no one does. The OP did not list money or budget as a factor. He also didn't say for sure if it will end up as a server, only that it might. If it were definitely going to be a server, then the G35/G45 suggestion would be great since as it was pointed out, the x16 slot could be for the RAID card. But a G45 may or may not be what he wants as the video card for an HTPC.

Right, I agree with you on this. I think your suggestions are valid and so are mine and enginurds, it just depends on his budget and what the computer is for. You suggested X38/X48 and then we suggested some cheaper alternatives

 

[engiNURD]

I still believe an X38/X48 board is NOT needed for an HTPC nor a server -- two of the functionalities mentioned in the OP. As I said earlier, you'd only need two 16x PCI-E slots if you either wanted two RAID cards, or if you wanted a RAID card and a very capable video card. Even if you did want the latter combination, reviews have shown that gaming performance scales well when PCI-E is scaled down (except for a couple games; eg FSX).

...If it were definitely going to be a server, then the G35/G45 suggestion would be great since as it was pointed out, the x16 slot could be for the RAID card. But a G45 may or may not be what he wants as the video card for an HTPC.

No, but I wanted to mention it so he knows its an option.

enginurd, this thread isn't about you. So buy your P35 board.

I know this thread isn't about me, and in my original response, I took it personally. My apologies.

Anyhow, I'm in a similar position as the OP, so I posted suggestions based on my thoughts related to the topic and related research.

As to WHY I give suggestions/opinions for the bare minimum, its because I don't believe people should waste their money on stuff they don't need; nor do I encourage people to waste money So, I qualify my suggestions based on needs, so I don't always suggest only the bare minimum. Sure, its their money, and they're free to do with it as they wish. As long as I provide more info for them to make a informed decision, then I've done what I wanted to do. One of the main reasons I post here is to help people get the most for their money, not waste it.

 

[leftheaded]

Somewhat on-topic... since PCI-E scaling doesnt really affect gaming performance, does it affect HD playback? It not, you could get a much cheaper P35 board, run the graphics card in the 16.4x PCI-E slot and the RAID card in the 16x PCI-E slot.

following this lead, I asked the same question at the avsforum and it sounds like it would work fine (and x4 is enough to support HD playback). Since I already have an abit IP35 Pro in my main rig, and the Asus Maximus II Formula is calling my name I think option is going to work for now. Then, after G45 is mainstream I'll build a dedicated HTPC & keep the IP35 pro in the server. should work well

Thanks!

ps - i was trying to put my rig in my sig, but it won't allow me to use bb code or html?? here are my current systems:

------media machine------
Q6600 G0 || abit IP35 Pro || 8GB G.Skill DDR2-1000 PQ || EVGA 9800 GX2
150GB Raptor (Vista x64 SP1) || 3 x 640GB WD Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS
LG Blu-ray/HD-DVD Combo || 1920x1080p 46" Sony || Corsair HX620W || Antec P180B
Water Cooled with PA120.3 || FuZion || MicroRes || MCP665

------media server/HTPC------
Q6600 G0 || asus P5E VM HDMI || 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800
640GB WD6400AAKS (Win Server 2008) || 3 x 1TB Samsung F1 HD103UJ RAID 5 || Areca Arc-1231ML
Thermal Right Ultra 120 Extreme || PCP&C 1KW-SR || Rocketfish

fwiw I'm going to shift some of the parts between systems and upgrade other parts in the process. probably going to swap PSUs & cases between rigs. And the P5E HDMI is going back to the store since I'm going to repurpose the IP35 pro

 

[engiNURD]

following this lead, I asked the same question at the avsforum and it sounds like it would work fine (and x4 is enough to support HD playback).

Oh nice. Thanks for the update and for saving me from posting the question there, too.

And the P5E HDMI is going back to the store since I'm going to repurpose the IP35 pro

Or you could sell it on the forums, if there's a restocking fee.

 

[leftheaded]

thanks to everyone's input! I actually liked getting recommendations from all the various budgets. really helps me see the best options. so, thanks again gentlemen!

Oh nice. Thanks for the update and for saving me from posting the question there, too.

here's my thread over there. renethx knows his stuff, so his confirmation is good enough for me