Anyone have any thoughts on this combo?  The, procs, memory and heat sinks come with it, sounds solis a little over powered for unraid.

 

Any thoughts?

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=SE7501BR2-KIT-R&cat=MBB

 

It's old and will likely be a power hog and nothing on it or the SATA cards you add will be suitable for any future system you build. If you could pull one of the processors it might be OK.

 

You could combine it with 2 of the Supermicro PCI-X to 8 SATA cards to get 16 SATA ports and it'd still have quick disk access to all drives. Unfortunately, PCI-X is a mostly dead slot format so those cards won't have a home in any future motherboard you buy. Well, they still work in a PCI slot but they're very slow when building parity or doing parity checks. PCIe is the used today and you're better off buying PCIe SATA cards.

 

I'd personally pass and look for a cheap deal with PCIe slots and 6 onboard SATA to get a server started.

 

Peter

Anyone have any thoughts on this combo?  The, procs, memory and heat sinks come with it, sounds solis a little over powered for unraid.

 

Any thoughts?

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=SE7501BR2-KIT-R&cat=MBB

 

I have one... purchased in a slightly different combo deal.  It is powerful, but as described, not a good choice for future expansion.

 

It is great for upgrading an older unRAID array that is all IDE and currently PCI. (and why I purchased it) as the PCI bus will run at twice the speed (66Mhz) making those older PCI based disk controller cards come up to speed nicely.  My combo came with a single 1Gig ram strip and I happened to have two more 1Gig strips giving me 3Gig total.    I use a CF to IDE card to hold a 4Gig Compact flash to hold unRAID and boot from it since the USB port on my board was only USB 1.1 (and took nearly 15 minutes to boot)

 

As mentioned, a PCI-X card can give me a migration path for SATA drives.

 

Joe L.

Here is the thread I started when I purchased my Intel SE7501BR2 Server Motherboard combo:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=6482.0

Yeah, in the end I started to think about the power issue.  Running the 2 Xeons would certainly burn up unnecessary cycles.  I was just thinking for the PCI-X slot to get the full 64-bit banwidth.  But in the end, i am going with this guy, http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0332148.

 

It has 5 SATA on board and 3 PCI slots to add the supermicro 8 port cards.  I already have one that I am running in plain PCI, but thought maybe, but it really isnt worth it.  As long as I can get away from the HPA and gigabyte issue I am happy at this point.

 

I know there was mention of going PCIe vs PCI for speed when doing parity, but is it necessary anywhere else/  I thought I read that the only real benefit is for paruty checks, otherwise for general serving of data even PCI is enough.  Just wondering cause obviously this poard does not have PCIe x4 which appears to be what I would need for the same card in PCIe format.

 

Thanks again for all the info.  It has been a long week that started with the syste hanging, then I discovered a failing drive and then the gigabyte HPA issue.  Now finally the drive is rebuilding and once complete I want to replace the mobo, but want to ensure I chose the right one.for the job.  And still allow plenty of future expansion.

What processor and ram type are on your current Gigabyte board? You could look for something that would re-use those (maybe that one does). If you post you are looking and what you have then you might get some good suggestions.

 

Here are a couple of cheaper examples that ~might~ hold the processor and memory based on that board you posted;

 

Here's cheap but you go from the typical 6 down to 4 onboard SATA;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135274

 

I have I believe is still this same model and it's worked very well for me and the LAN is gigE, not 100Mbps like Newegg lists;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135274

 

Note that some Altheros LAN chips have given issues (The one on my ECS board works great so it'd be OK unless they changed it) and having onboard video is nice so you don't have to install a video card of some type.

 

FYI, you should be able to use the x4 card in a x16 slot to add 8 SATA and another 2 SATA card in the x1 slot adding the capacity for 10 more drives.

 

If you use a  PCI card then interlace the drives, in other words put drive1 on the motherboard, drive2 on the PCI card, drive3 on the motherboard etc. But only do this after you fill the motherboard ports. This can spread out the access during parity checks or builds and make it a little faster. But you are right, in most cases the PCI buss will be fast enough for media serving and just slower for parity checks. You could run into a bottleneck if you were serving a number of HD files off the PCI card to different computers or media players but that's not too likely.

 

Peter

Thanks.

 

Yeah, the board from Microcenter has a 20$ rebate so it will be like 65 bucks after tax and all.  I am willing to accept this.  It has 5 SATA and 1 pci x16, so I can get to 21 drives if I include my pci 8 port already.

 

I normally only do the single HD stream, so I think I am safe of the bottlenecks.  As we talked, the parity check taking a little longer is not a super big deal to me.  Do we have any time records of 21 drive parity checks?  hours, days?

 

As for the processor, I am running a Athlon FX64.  An AM2 chip, hence the requirement for AM2+ boards and DDR2.  So unless I start upgrading everything, my choices are fairly limited, unless I want to go less than 5 Sata ports.

 

There was another board too at microcenter that had 6 Sata but 1 less PCI, but just the single PCIe.

 

So, it is really a toss up.  The board I got seems a little beefier and adds audio that I dont need, but adds a PCI slot (3).  However, 2 PCI slots and a PCIe are more than I will ever need, so I could get away with either.

 

In the end, the 79.99 board has a 20$ rebate and the 74.99 one has a 10$.

 

The board ran me 86$ yesterday so in the end 66.  Lets say the other would be 80$ after tax and 70 after rebate.  Essentially they are the same price.

 

Or, like you said I can go to newegg and just order a completely different board for even less money, no tax and still have the same PCI and PCIe support to get to the max number of drives.  It just changes whether I have to buy a 3rd add in card at 20 drives (4 on board SATA), 21 (5), 22 (6). 

 

I think ultimately it doesnt matter a ton and everyone will have an opinion of what they would want...right?  Am I making sense?

 

I mean in the end it comes down to price and the number of onboard SATAs I want.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186155

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138294 - 18 drives max

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135274

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138284

 

 

So in the end you add tax and we are talking 10 bucks.  Sure 10 bucks is 10 bucks, but is it ultimately worth it if I already have the MSI at home?  Hmmm, that is the real question that only I can answer...

 

 

I actually just noticed that all those state 10/100 so that would also require another card for gigE, but I may have one at home already, but it would then eat up a slot into which a SATA card could go...

 

I guess I am convincing myself to just try the MSI that is at home already

Well, if you've got it already then use it. There's nothing wrong with that board. I didn't notice that rebate price before.

 

This was the real cheap one I meant to link.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186188

 

There is a $8 2-port SATA card for a PCIe x1 slot to make up for 2 onboard missing ports.

 

FYI, Newegg seems to get the LAN info wrong a lot. I have the ECS board and it is not 10/100.

 

Peter

 

damn, that board is tempting, I wont lie.  Thats 30 bucks and even with the addition of the 2 port card, 20 less.  Hmmm.

 

It is a matter of waiting till next week or popping the new board in this weekend.

Well, here is a good one.  I just realized that the foxconn board can only handle up to a 95w chip.  Well, the Athlon FX I believe is 125w, so that board would be out.  Maybe this is a good time to cut down my power consumption, get the sempron 140 and then some other low cost board...too bad it would mean I need DDR3 then though...UGH!  So while it starts sounding cheaper but then it gets more expensive after RAM.

 

Grrr....

Huh?  DDR3 RAM is generally cheaper than DDR2 RAM.

 

For example:

 

Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N6/2G - $36 shipped

 

Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3N9/2G - $22 shipped

FYI, Newegg seems to get the LAN info wrong a lot. I have the ECS board and it is not 10/100.

Peter

 

 

Peter, they are two different versions of the ECS board with the same number - the one from Newegg may exist and the description is not wrong - it is only 10/100.

Unless it is advertised as Gigabit and you can physically inspect the white label on the motherboard to confirm that you are going to get only 10/100 and not Gigabit.

And I have this one - but cheap Intel PCI card are $6-10 from Ebay.

 

Well, here is a good one.  I just realized that the foxconn board can only handle up to a 95w chip.  Well, the Athlon FX I believe is 125w, so that board would be out.  Maybe this is a good time to cut down my power consumption, get the sempron 140 and then some other low cost board...too bad it would mean I need DDR3 then though...UGH!  So while it starts sounding cheaper but then it gets more expensive after RAM.

 

If you ever decide to cut down on the power consumption you should get one of these two boards - ECS or Foxconn

The 740G is the lowest power consumption chipset of the AMD line.

You can look on Ebay for the following AMD  - 2650e - it is available for $20-25. It is only 15 Watts TDP and in theory can be run with passive heatsink. This is AM2 CPU and thus only usable in AM2/AM2+ motherboards (the ones with DDR2 memories)

 

This combination will be absolute power miser, will be equal to the Atom and in the same time twice as powerful (and cheaper as well  )

Well, that's dumb to have different variations with the same part number.

 

Still, I have looked up about 4 or 5 boards where the manufacturers site listed a different lan than Newegg and I didn't see this multiple variation thing that ECS has going on with those boards.

 

Peter

Huh?  DDR3 RAM is generally cheaper than DDR2 RAM.

 

For example:

 

Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N6/2G - $36 shipped

 

Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3N9/2G - $22 shipped

 

But I already have a processor and DDR2, I am simply looking to get away from gigabyte and the HPA issue I see I have...so, I was looking at mobo options and then that started to morph into processor and ram upgrades, but I am not sure if it is worth the cost.  I guess it would ultimately depend on my energy savings going from 125w proc to 45w and if it is enough to make up for the extra cost in a full system upgrade.

Look up some power compares and see what that processor was doing at idle. The processors won't run at 45W or 125W all the time, only when working. For example, my complete C2D based HTPC idles at 38W measured at the wall yet it is listed as a 65W processor.

 

You can estimate a $1/year/watt so saving 40W will save you around $40 a year assuming the server is on 24/7.

 

Peter

 

Here is another used deal;

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11967.0;topicseen

 

Peter

I am going to have to take a look at some used super micro boards, I have some old p4s laying around so that may actually work out. Time for ebay...as long as I don't lose another drive, I think I can hold off and deal with the hpa issues rtill I figure it out.

Too bad those p4s are socket 478's

 

I tell myself I want a lower power chip but I am trying to decide if it is worth the few extra bucks.  I assume yes since unraid is on 24/7, but still...

 

Maybe one of those used combos is the answer.

OK, so after much debate, I think it is a full upgrade.  I got some Western Digital Rebates today so it makes the decision easier.  Here is what I am looking at.

 

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317380

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0349768

x2 http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0307432

 

And then I have an old pci vid card I will throw in cause it does not have on board...

 

If I buy the open item version from newegg, I can save 7 bucks after shipping vs microcenter with tax.  I think it is worth the few bucks to know I am buying new.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on Biostar boards though?  Any known issues?  I see a few on the compatibility list so I figured it to be safe.

man, i make myself crazy...so, I just ran out and bought those parts but then I began to second guess myself as far as using a PCi for video, because then all the power savings on the processor goes out the window as it goes back to the video card.

 

Now i have myself back to the foxconn board with the sempron 140 and then some old DDR2.  This means things wont be complete this weekend, but the budgetary savings seem positive.  That is of course unless the add-in 2 port sata card does not use similar power as I lose 2 sata ports with the foxconn board.

It's possible you could pull the video card once the server is setup. Some motherboards don't need a video card.

 

Peter

I wonder how much power this guy would consume.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124027R

 

Man, all over the map.

Wow, it is funny what happens when you sit down and think about things for a second...So, I thought, man, I purchased all 3 parts mentioned, only to ponder the issue of no on board video and then how much power an add-in card would use.  If I am deciding to upgrade all the parts in an effort to cut power consumption, I ought to do it right and to pop in a low power CPU with a add-in video card, it just doesnt make sense.  So finally the light went on.  If I am willing to spend X on 3 parts, why not spend the same on 2?

 

So, the plan, return the Biostar board and the DDR3, in exchange for this guy http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0334113.

 

Sure it is MSI and I know some complain about the 90 degree SATA ports, but I think that is minor.  So, what do I gain?  I gain a mobo with integrated video and get to use my Sempron 140 with my existing DDR2 and in the end I actually save like 4 bucks.

 

After everything, I will have this 2nd board going back and I think I will finally have my happy medium with a new system minus HPA with hopefully several dollars in monthly power cost savings.

 

Now I can focus again.  That was agonizing to say the least.  Now I can begin planning and saving for a Norco as I have just 2 slots free in my system.  I had pondered 5 in 3 bay, but the cost just isnt worth it.  I was also thinking about trying to add a cache drive, but that is a very valuable slot it would be using, so that may get nixed.  We will see though.

Well, here is a funny one, I finally managed to figure out the version of the board I have.  The rumor is that if you have my board (GA-MA74GM-S2) that if it is version 2, that there is a bios update that lets you disable HPA and it is disabled by default, so a failed CMOS will not be able to screw you.

 

This whole ordeal began because of HPA and my desire to get rid of it.  At the time I first read about it I I didn't even think to check the board for version information, I just assumed.  Then when I did look I couldnt tell...That is of course until tonight when I went to gigabytes website and did research.  Since I am used to mobo manufacturer sites being pretty bad, I was shocked to see how nice and clean gigabytes was and this made it very easy to flip between versions.  Doing this I looked at the various images and shockingly they kept changing with with each version and finally I managed to identify my board and the bios version I had matched the date, which was also unique to this version and in the end I learned that I have version 2.

 

So, now the real question at hand.  Do I do away with the gigabyte board all together or do I upgrade the CPU to save energy and then just return the MSI as it really does not gain me anything over my current board as far as I know.  Man, and here I thought I had my answer, but now I must make a decision.  I know board consensus though does seem to say avoid gigabyte when possible.  hmmm, any thoughts?