Looking for rock solid components. Need motherboard help the most.

[omar888]

At my workplace, I?ve been given the task of building our LAN. One server and three workstations should do the job. My budget is around $8000 for the rigs.

This board has been a great resource to learn about all the high-end motherboards and current chipsets. I can?t wait to build my OWN rig. However, I don?t think our new workstations need RAID or the finest multiplier controls out there. I need the most stable and reliable board (and processor) combo possible. I don?t rule out overclocking, but I won?t be tampering with the setups much once they?re configured and sitting on people?s desks. I just want fans and boards and controllers I know I can rely on for a good five years.

At first, I was going to build four "state of the art" machines, much like the rigs I see in people?s sig files. After all, I will be one of the users of these machines, so I wanted the best. However, our current application list is pretty tame as far as graphic and sound use. So far, all I?ve purchased are the monitors (Samsung 950P) and four AntecSX830 cases. My choice of processor is AMD and my deadline is three months (which is difficult to deal with, as I can?t get over the fact that the AMD chips drop $30 per week, and that?ll make it difficult for me to pull the trigger on a CPU purchase).

Can anyone suggest a rock solid motherboard to start out with? Or clue me in as to why a disc array would be great in the coming years. The current system we use hasn?t been tampered with since 1995, so my bosses are expecting similar performance from these machines.

One final quesion: Is SCSI an obvious choice over IDE if I?m purchasing all new components?

Thanks to all the contributors.

 

[splice]

For a rock solid motherboard I would go with the EpoX 8K7A (DDR board) It would be useful if we knew what users where going to do with the workstations and server. Are you hosting a web site, intranet, doing system backups, etc...

 

[MrHelpful]

Actually I would suggest the MSI K7 Master motherboard. Extremely stable.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

I've heard nothing but good about the Epox 8K7A boards. MSI also makes very stable boards in my opinion. Check out their websites, and make sure they have good driver support. And I agree with your gut feeling that you should hold off on the CPU's until last as they will keep dropping. The top Athlon parts are stable but warm, so go with a HSF with at least FOP-32 cooling capability. The FOP-38's would be preferred, after all, this is a server, not a home desktop so noise isn't a factor! The Via 4-1 drivers are a must to maintain stability, and you will need to outline an install proceedure so things go smooth. Something like:

1. Assemble case with HD drives waiting to go in bays with rounded cables on hand.

2. Get processor and HSF mounted on motherboards, check all jumpers/settings etc. You should know this mobo like the back of your hand before you even turn it on!

3. Mount mobo into board very carefully, esure no bottom traces or solder drips are grounding against case. (most modern ATX cases have raised areas around the screws to prevent this)

4. Connect all drive cables, ensure CPU fan is on header one, install daughter cards etc.

5. Fire-up system, go directly into BIOS and setup. Then reboot using boot disk.

6. Partition and format drives and reboot to install OS. You will most likely need to install your RAID array drivers now. Install OS.

7. Install Via 4-1 drivers, reboot. Then install AGP drivers, reboot. Install other drivers, reboot...you get the idea.

8. Download OS critical and desired updates. (SP-2 if using W2K.)

9. Setup programs. Do burn in to see how long system can stay up without crashing. I've noticed over time that some systems will start out shakey the first 24hrs and then get rock solid, so don't freak out if your system glitches out once or twice within the first 48hrs or so. I still don't know why this happens, but I've noticed this on any system I've build, AMD or Intel.

As a side note, you might want to build one computer using your chosen parts and get it up and running and do a burn-in on that. If you're gonna run into problems, better to run into them on one box than 4.

 

[omar888]

Workstations perform simple tasks like websurfing, accounting and payroll programs.
Server will be performing system backups, fetching e-mail and serving up apps to the users (only three or four users per app at once). Very basic stuff.

Then again, who knows what the future holds. Windows XP system requirements are already beyond what I can understand.

 

[splice]

This is what I would do

Workstations:
Athlon 1GHz <-- might be overkill right now.
EpoX 8K7A
256MB Crucial PC2100
20GB HDD 7200RPM
ATi Radeon LE
D-Link 10/100 NIC
CD-ROM Drive
Zip Drive
Floppy

Server:
1x AthlonMP 1.2Ghz <-- can be upgraded later to 2x, needs special PS
Tyan K7 Thunder MoBo <-- has 2 3Com NIC's, Ati gfx, and U160 SCSI
512MB ECC Crucial PC2100
18GB IBM 10K RPM SCSI
Large Tape Backup <-- I don't know too much about these

 

[Athlon4all]

Well if you want stability, the only proven is Intel, but if you want to go AMD (I don't blame ya), K7 Master for Workstations is a rock solid board the only major issue is with I seem to remember that it's iffy when it comes to Registered DDR DIMM's, but Workstations don't usually use Registered. Server's, definatly Tyan K7 Thunder Stable, full featured (On-Board SCSI, Video, 4 DIMMs, and a hell of alot more).