Hi guys, even though I thought I was already past this stage, I once again find myself questioning the decision since it was made a few months ago. So here's the deal... I'm building a server for myself, nothing too advanced, but not cheap either. The current cost as I estimate it will be around $2500.
The problem I have with my motherboard choice is this - my hard drive setup will be a RAID 5, powered by the Broadcom RAIDCore controller which is a PCI-X 133MHz interface. Of course I'd like to get a motherboard that supports this, but it seems that motherboards from companies like Supermicro (my first choice) only add 133MHz after the $350 range. My question is this, how much of a performance drop would I see if I use a 133MHz capable card in a 66MHz slot?
Also, there are a few boards that I have found which do have 133MHz PCI-X slots, but they aren't really from companies known for their server boards - ASUS for example. I love that company, and all my workstations use their boards, but what are they like for a server.
For some practical examples, if you had to choose between the Supermicro X6DVL-EG board and the ASUS NCLV-D, which one would you go with? Both are in the $250 price range, but Supermicro is much better known for their server boards then ASUS is. On the other hand, ASUS does support 133MHz PCI-X slot, whereas Supermicro only has 2 66MHz slots.
Any advice?
The problem I have with my motherboard choice is this - my hard drive setup will be a RAID 5, powered by the Broadcom RAIDCore controller which is a PCI-X 133MHz interface. Of course I'd like to get a motherboard that supports this, but it seems that motherboards from companies like Supermicro (my first choice) only add 133MHz after the $350 range. My question is this, how much of a performance drop would I see if I use a 133MHz capable card in a 66MHz slot?
Also, there are a few boards that I have found which do have 133MHz PCI-X slots, but they aren't really from companies known for their server boards - ASUS for example. I love that company, and all my workstations use their boards, but what are they like for a server.
For some practical examples, if you had to choose between the Supermicro X6DVL-EG board and the ASUS NCLV-D, which one would you go with? Both are in the $250 price range, but Supermicro is much better known for their server boards then ASUS is. On the other hand, ASUS does support 133MHz PCI-X slot, whereas Supermicro only has 2 66MHz slots.
Any advice?
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