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Recommend me a *STABLE* motherboard for a server

E

Electrode

Diamond Member
The Asus CUSL2 I've been using in my server for the last 3 years has finally kicked the bucket. Being overclocked to 175 MHz FSB all that time probably didn't help matters very much. 🙂

Either way, a replacement is now needed. I've decided to ditch the old P3 866 and get an AMD processor, most likely the Barton 2500. What I need your help with is picking out a motherboard. Here are my requirements:

* Under $100
* STABLE. If the computer is going to crash every 2 months I'm not interested
* Should last a long time, at least 5 years
* Should support a fair ammount of RAM, at least a gig
* No nForce2 boards
* Integrated video is a plus

I'll be watching the thread closely, and whichever board looks best to me by Monday morning gets ordered. 🙂

Edit: I am also open to suggestions for P4 motherboards that meet the above requirements.
 
If you don't want Nforce2 boards, your choices are severly limited. You are pretty much stuck with either a Sis or a Via chipset. Any particular reason you don't want an NF2?
 
I have an NForce2 board that has some very annoying problems, most of which have to do with memory. It takes at least 3 tries to get the damn thing to post. It's the first NF2 board I've used, and it will be the last.

If VIA and SIS chipsets aren't any good, maybe I'll look at a P4. The reason I was considering AMD instead of Intel was because AMD chips are so much less expensive, but that's pointless if all the chipsets for it are junk...
 
Maybe you should go to a P4 if you base your whole opinion on the NF2 chipset on your experience with one board.

 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
Maybe you should go to a P4 if you base your whole opinion on the NF2 chipset on your experience with one board.
Click to expand...

Well, if you know of any NF2 boards that aren't a pain in the ass about memory, I'd like to hear about them. From what I've read about NF2 boards, I get the impression that most or all are this way.
 
Actually, most are extremely stable. Which one are you running now? I know Abit and Epox both have some very nice IGP NF2 boards. Would you prefer a full ATX board, or a smaller mATX one?

Here's a couple to check out...

Abit NF7-M 2.0

Epox 8RGA+

The Abit is about $125, and the Epox is $99. The Epox has dual video ports, so you could do a dual display setup if you wanted...


🙂
 
The one I'm using is an MSI K7N2-L.

Size-wise, I'd want an ATX one. I have more PCI cards than any mATX board could ever hold.
 
May I ask what on earth your server does that requires the power of a 2500+? I have a server at work with a P3 933, running Exchange 5.5 for 75 users, as well as file serving, hosting four laser printers, and serving as a primary domain controller. Its CPU usage on the single Pentium3 933 is typically about 5%.

Here's my suggestion: Asus A7N266-VM, 2 x Crucial 512Mb PC2100, AthlonXP 1700+, Antec TruePower 330. I have over twenty of these at work, and they run Win2000 like they were born for it. Integrated video, integrated isynchronous 10/100 LAN, very high PCI efficiency, three-year warranty, passive northbridge cooling via a huge heatsink.

I've used one as a de facto file-server/workstation combo in my daily work, with a 15000rpm SCSI drive to handle the onslaught of being a workstation and simultaneously serving three or four Office2000 installs across the LAN. They are just awesome. Cheap too! About $72 shipped at Newegg for the board, $42 for the CPU, $138 for the RAM, $50 for the PSU. The 15000rpm SCSI drive isn't really called-for if it's just spoon-feeding a teensy-weentsy 100Mbit network cable, but since I was using it as a workstation at the same time, the responsiveness was appreciated on my end 🙂 Nowadays I run an nForce2 system in that role, but the difference is not that great most of the time.
 
Also check out this Soltek model..


SL-75MRN-L


One other note...the Epox 8RGA+ is the only one of the three I mentioned that uses the MCP-T southbridge so it has firewire and Nvidia sound. The others use the MCP and have a CODEC on board providing the sound and no firewire.

The Soltek is $96.
 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
MSI...that explains it.
Click to expand...

I've never had a problem with an MSI board before. I've got a Pro266TD Master in one of my workstations, and I recently sold a K7D Master that I was quite happy with. Of course, both of those are dually boards...

Originally posted by: mechBgon
May I ask what on earth your server does that requires the power of a 2500+?
Click to expand...

4 instances of VMware. 😀

Here's my suggestion: Asus A7N266-VM, 2 x Crucial 512Mb PC2100, AthlonXP 1700+, Antec TruePower 330.
Click to expand...

Sounds good enough. Anyone have other suggestions before I go ahead with this combo?
 
MSI's latest boards have really been going downhill. Read some of Evan's reviews and even he has had several MSI issues lately.


I thought you needed a full ATX board? The one that you are going with is a mATX board..three PCI slots only and the NF1 chipset.

Size-wise, I'd want an ATX one. I have more PCI cards than any mATX board could ever hold.
Click to expand...


 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
One other note...the Epox 8RGA+ is the only one of the three I mentioned that uses the MCP-T southbridge so it has firewire and Nvidia sound.
Click to expand...

That sounds interesting. How is it stability-wise? Can I expect >180-day uptimes?
 
Originally posted by: Insane3D
Yes. Epox is top notch nowadays and make an excellent product.
Click to expand...

Alright, I guess it's settled. Epox 8RGA+, XP 1700, gig of Crucial PC2100.

Unless, of course, my CUSL2 makes a miraculous recovery over the weekend. 😉
 
You want an extremely stable server board. I would recommend an Intel chipset, and in fact an Intel board. Something based on the 845 chipset should be nice and stable. I'm sure you'll be able to find an iteration with the combination of features you're looking for. Just about any Northwood based P4 should do, from 1.6GHz all the way up to 3GHz, depending on what you want to spend. I'd stay away from the Celeron, even for a server.
 
Whatever you decide DONT buy PC2100, at least go for PC2700, unless you already have the memory..
Its pretty must the same price, and you might wanna use a 333MHz cpu later (like a barton 2500+).
 
Originally posted by: Electrode
The Asus CUSL2 I've been using in my server for the last 3 years has finally kicked the bucket. Being overclocked to 175 MHz FSB all that time probably didn't help matters very much. 🙂
Click to expand...


That was a great board. The only 815 worth buying IMO.
 
For a server, the only consumer level single-CPU, Socket A mobo I would look at is the Tyan S2495AN/ANRS. The VIA chipsets are the only ones other than Intel that support ECC and/or registered memory. And the Tyan is the only one that delivers both to the user. The Abit KD7 series supports registered, but not ECC. P.S. you can get the Tyans at a good price on www.yesmicro.com and www.provantage.com. Both have pretty good reseller ratings.
. I would never use standard memory in a server. ECC if using only two DIMM slots or ECC+Registered if I ever expect to use all 3 DIMM slots.
.bh.
The :sun: is going down...
 
Well, thanks for the advice everyone, but it appears as though it will not be neccissary. I took the server apart piece by piece, went over everything with an air duster, put it back together, and fired it up. Although it's only been running for about an hour, it seems to be working fine. Perhaps the layer of dirt covering everything was the cause of the problem. 🙂
 
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