IP35 Pro built in NIC - issues?

[veras]

I've read that the build in NIC on the IP35 uses a slow interface, but I'm curious, using a residential grade gigabit network - will you see slower network speeds in practice vs. other boards, or on that kind of hardware will you be more limited by the actual network than the interface?

I'd like to use one for a fileserver but it will have a fair bit of local traffic so if the NIC is slow Ill look for something else.

 

[alaricljs]

How many clients, and what's your storage? On the other hand you could bond the 2 channels

If you're streaming a few video/audio streams from it then you might notice a slow-down when you push a fat 4GB file at it. When I went with a new file server I went whole hog and did a server class PCI-X mobo with 2x 4 port SATA2 cards and a stack of 500GB drives. Now THAT honks. Even without jumbo frames turned on.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I don't know why people expect consumer motherboards to be good as a fileserver or any type of server. You want server class hardware for server environments IMO. You could always pop in an Intel PCIe Gigabit card which can be had for $35 online

 

[veras]

Probably the heaviest load that will ever be put on it is streaming HD video to two clients simultaneously, and most of the time I'd imagine it would only be one or two non-HD etc.

I would happily take suggestions on another board to use for home fileserver use, not looking to break the bank and the chip is going to be a Q6600. My situation as of right now is that I'm going to be using the board/chip temporarily to game on (with an 8800) and then within 3-6 months transitioning them to the fileserver.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Intel boards have Intel NICs which are the best out there.

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: veras
Probably the heaviest load that will ever be put on it is streaming HD video to two clients simultaneously, and most of the time I'd imagine it would only be one or two non-HD etc.

I would happily take suggestions on another board to use for home fileserver use, not looking to break the bank and the chip is going to be a Q6600. My situation as of right now is that I'm going to be using the board/chip temporarily to game on (with an 8800) and then within 3-6 months transitioning them to the fileserver.

The effects of the NIC are overrated IME for most home file servers. Most people will be bottlenecked on the OS and drives, not a gigabit NIC.

That said, about the ideal PCIe home file server board IMO might be one based on the upcoming Q35 chipset -- on-board video, on-board 6x Intel RAID - ICH9DO, and on-board Intel gigabit (probably without jumbo frames). The only clear advantage I see in this chipset over the existing Q965 chipset is the 6x SATA RAID. The previous generation ICH8x is limited to 4 drives in a single array, and AFAIK, only 2 TiB in a single array. ICH9x should eliminate these two limitations.

For an ICH8x board with on-board video, consider the Asus P5B-VM DO, or the similar Intel DQ965GF.
For an ICH9x board with on-board video, consider waiting for a Q35 board, and for it to stabilize.

Watch out for RAM compatibility.

An alternative is to stick with boards without on-board video, but using an 8800 for a file server is a bit crazy, so you have to find a video solution. Any old video might do for a file server, even a PCI one, but there there is a chance of a bandwidth issue with a PCI-based gigabit NIC. Intel on-board aren't PCI. At least some of the Abit IP35 have PCI-based gigabit (with the vendor's name not even mentioned in the specs -- bad; I think the IP35 has a Marvell-based PCIe one, and the IP35 Pro a Realtek PCI (possibly two)).

 

[veras]

I don't think I specifically need onboard video because I do have a cheap 7 series PCI-E card lying around I could use, so if that opens my options more I'd do that.

 

[Madwand1]

There are many options, and the G33 chipset is also interesting. Here are a few examples:

G33: Intel DG33TL, Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R
P35: Intel DP35DP, Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R

Gigabyte's boards have Realtek PCIe NICs (better than the PCI NICs at least).
Intel's have Intel PCIe NICs.

You should look at the port options and other features to help make your choices.