Help with new dual Xeon/Nehalem workstation build

[rand777]

Hi everyone,

I have a supermicro EATX case and am looking for an EATX dual LGA1366 motherboard that will fit into it. I wanted to get a supermicro X8DA3, which is an EATX size motherboard, but I spoke with supermicro yesterday and they said it wouldn?t work. They said the motherboard would physically fit, and that the motherbard mounting holes are compatible, but that the four mounting holes that surround the CPU sockets for a heatsink are in a different location for Nehalem processors, and that I would have to buy their new Revision K chassis (mine is a week old revision J).

The heatsink I plan to use, a Noctua NH-U12P SE1366, doesn?t appear to screw directly into the chassis though, so it seems like it should work. Here are links to all three:

http://supermicro.com/products...4U/743/SC743TQ-865.cfm
http://supermicro.com/products...ard/QPI/5500/X8DA3.cfm
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?...&products_id=24&lng=en

Since ATX is governed by a standard, I thought all I had to worry about was the motherboard fitting the case. Does anyone know if the above three will work? Is it important for the heatsink to be able to screw directly into the chassis for support?

I looked at Asus?s motherboards, but they are all SSI EEB, and gigabytes are all SSI CEB, which are apparently incompatible with EATX cases because the motherboard mounting holes don?t line up.

I will be using this machine primarily for software development and 2D image processing, and occasionally gaming (CIV4, RTW, COH). I?ll be running 64-bit XP Pro, and dual booting OS X Leopard if it will work with this motherboard. I don?t intend to overclock at all.

Here are the rest of my planned specs:

12GB Registered ECC RAM (3 x 4GB)
http://www.crucial.com/store/p...?IMODULE=CT51272BB1067

2 x Xeon E5520 2.26GHz Nehalem
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...E16819117185&Tpk=E5520

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102801

Intel X-25M 80GB SSD (for Boot Drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820167005

WD 300GB Velociraptor (for swap and storage for images actively being worked on)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136322

I already have 2 x 1TB WD Caviar Black drives (for longer term storage).
And a NEC 26? 2690 monitor.

Thanks!

Rand

 

[Rubycon]

The 743TQ-865B is a good chassis but it's quite LOUD for workstation use! It has six Nidec Gamma 92mm fans set on "SCREAM".

 

[rand777]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Maybe mine is a newer revision. It has four 80mm fans. The PS fan is whisper quiet, as advertised, but I have no idea how loud the four internal fans are as I don't have a motherboard for it yet. I'm hoping I'll be able to adjust them to a sensible level, and not just SCREAM, via the BIOS of whatever board I end up with. I was going to go with the SQ "Super Quiet" version of the chassis, but I read online somewhere that this model was actually quieter.

 

[idwight]

Hey rand777, thanks for posting the list of components. I'm going to build a similar workstation. Would you tell us if is it ok to proceed or are there any issues you encountered? Thank you!

 

[undercover]

I've got one sitting front of me right now.

- X8DA3
- 2 x X5550
- 24GB Crucial DDR CT51272BB1339 (1333)
- 4 xWD Raptors
- Supermicro SC835TQ-R800B Chassis
- Thermaltake 650Watt VGA PS
- 2 x NVidia Tesla C1060
- NVidia 8400GS (PCI, vid only)

I can't get it to post or display anything. I've stripped it all the way down to just the HDs, 8GB RAM (2 sticks) and PCI vid card. Still troubleshooting but haven't gotten it yet.

Anyone build on this board yet?