Socket 1155 Motherboard with 6 SATA Slots

[GamingDaemon]

Hi Folks,

I'm planning a new build for a media server. I have decided on the Intel Core I3-2100T for it's low 35W power usage. Of course, this is probably overkill for a simple file server, but it's only $135.

I also have a few good cases picked out.

What's tripping me up is the motherboard. The problem is, I'd like to start with just 2 SATA 2.0 drives and over time, move to 4. I don't think I'll ever need 6.

Now, I am also planning on buying a small 60GB SSD for the Win7 OS, and a simple ODD.

So with the SSD and the ODD, and up to 4 drives for media storage, I need a motherboard ith 6 SATA slots. I did a search on NewEgg, and there are no socket 1155 motherboards with 6 SATA slots!

Does anyone have any recommendations? Am I looking at this the wrong way?

Thanks in advance...

 

[you2]

There are many boards with 6+ sata slots. Not sure how you searched so i will list 4 of about 20
Z68/p67 gd65
Z68/p67 extreme4

 

[GamingDaemon]

There are many boards with 6+ sata slots. Not sure how you searched so i will list 4 of about 20
Z68/p67 gd65
Z68/p67 extreme4

It looks like the search I tried was busted on NewEgg. If I search from 1155 socket to 1155 processor, I get a bunch of results.

But it looks like they are of this configuration:
2x SATA 3.0 (6GB/s) slots
4x SATA 2.0 (3GB/s) slots

I'd like to put my ODD and SSD in the 2x SATA 3.0 slots. Will that work? I have seen some articles saying it "should" work, but before I pull the trigger, I'd like to know 100% that it does work.

Thanks!

 

[you2]

Works for me; but maybe not all drives work.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I had the same question a while ago, the only 1155 mini-ITX board with all six SATA ports, is a Zotac, also with WiFi.

 

[Lonyo]

I had the same question a while ago, the only 1155 mini-ITX board with all six SATA ports, is a Zotac, also with WiFi.

Do you really want a mini-ITX board though if you are using 6 SATA ports? You need a larger than ITX case if you are populating all 6 anyway, so an mATX board doesn't really cost you anything in terms of size.

Also @ OP (unrelated to the original question), why go for the 2100T when you could get the Pentium G620T instead, if it is just a file server? Pentium G620T is the 35w version of the "lower spec" SandyBridge processors (2.2GHz, no turbo or HT or virtualisation techs).

SATA is supposed to be 100% backwards compatible, so if it doesn't work, something's gone wrong somewhere with what you are hooking up.

 

[GamingDaemon]

Do you really want a mini-ITX board though if you are using 6 SATA ports? You need a larger than ITX case if you are populating all 6 anyway, so an mATX board doesn't really cost you anything.

Also @ OP (unrelated to the original question), why go for the 2100T when you could get the Pentium G620T instead, if it is just a file server? Pentium G620T is the 35w version of the "lower spec" SandyBridge processors (2.2GHz, no turbo or HT or virtualisation techs).

Wow! Thank you. That's exactly the proc I was looking for and $50 less. Thank you!!

See any recommendations for an 1155 micro or full ATX motherboard for it?

 

[Lonyo]

Wow! Thank you. That's exactly the proc I was looking for and $50 less. Thank you!!

See any recommendations for an 1155 micro or full ATX motherboard for it?

Motherboard for a media server I would go for whatever is fairly inexpensive. I got my G620T a couple of weeks ago and I'm running it on an Asus H61 based ITX mobo (only 4 SATA ports though) as a media server/HTPC (no tuner capabilities). Cheapest ITX board with HDMI out I could find.
I'm not sure anything will be a problem. Best advice is to make sure you get something with a decent (passive) heatsink on the chipset though, assuming you want something low power and low noise.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Do you really want a mini-ITX board though if you are using 6 SATA ports? You need a larger than ITX case if you are populating all 6 anyway, so an mATX board doesn't really cost you anything in terms of size.

Not true. Lian-Li has a mini-ITX case, that will hold six HDs. See the thread in Storage forum.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2173256