What motherboard should I use for my unraid server? I was thinking of going with a super micro board to have server grade parts that should hopefully last along time, the only thing/problem is they use a realtek lan chip which a couple of you said are bad and I would need to buy a intel nic to replace it, which I don't mind doing. So would this be a good set up here?

 

SUPERMICRO MBD-C2SEA-O LGA 775 Intel G45 HDMI ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182161

With this network card,

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=15706&vpn=PWLA8391GTBLK&manufacture=Intel

 

Would that be a good set up? or is this better?

 

SUPERMICRO MBD-C2SBC-Q-O LGA 775 Intel Q35 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182151

^ This one comes with a intel lan chip already so for the extra price I wouldn't have to buy the card, but the problem is this board is old and DDR2.

 

Or I could swap the above board for this one,

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182124

 

It's a little cheaper. What do you guys suggest I do? If you know of a good motherboard or even suggest the one your using that would be great, I actually have a 880GMA mobo on my bed that isn't getting used and is still brand new but a couple of you have said not to use it cause it's gigabyte and might have HPA enabled and that the 880/890 chipsets don't work well with unraid

 

But yeah can you guys suggest me a motherboard to buy? I would like to stay with a low price, I need two x4 slots for my 8 port cards as well.

 

Also what ram would you guys suggest? I have found the following on sale,

 

DDR3

Patriot Sector 5 PGV38G1333ELK 8GB DDR3 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL 9-9-9-24 1.65V Dual Channel Memory Kit

Mushkin Enhanced Silverline Stiletto 8GB 2X4GB PC3-10666 DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit

G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

 

DDR2

Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN Memory Kit

G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit

 

So yeah if you guys can suggest what motherboard to buy and what ram I should use with it that would be a great help, I know I think I've asked about these before but I never got any straight good answer to it. I have no problem with going from Intel to AMD as well, if anything AMD would be a better choice cause I can get a quad cpu for much cheaper then intel or even try unlocking a dual to a quad.

 

Should I use my 880GMA that I have here on my bed not even opened? Here is a link to it,

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=52047

 

I honestly don't know what to do here...Please help.

What is your goal?  How many drives?

 

My personal recommendation is to make sure you get a MB that could be expanded to support at least 20 drives, if not 24.  That way if you do outgrow a small server, all you need is a new case.  You may pay $20-$40 more now on a $200 purchase.  But it beats paying another $240 later when you need to expand, because you weren't thinking ahead.  Same advice goes for the PSU.

 

 

Don't unlock any cores unless you want to put your data at risk. The cores are locked because they fail testing as a result of a less expensive manufacturing process. You may never execute the instructions that cause the core to fail but you never know...

What is your goal?  How many drives?

 

My personal recommendation is to make sure you get a MB that could be expanded to support at least 20 drives, if not 24.  That way if you do outgrow a small server, all you need is a new case.  You may pay $20-$40 more now on a $200 purchase.  But it beats paying another $240 later when you need to expand, because you weren't thinking ahead.  Same advice goes for the PSU.

 

 

My goal is 20 drives, I already have a AX850 psu that will be good enough to power everything from my calculations as well. Anyone else have advice for this or no?

Since you already have the 880GMA board, I would suggest starting with that.  Testing for the HPA issue is very easy to do.  Just hook up a drive to the board with no data that you care about, boot up unRAID, then search the syslog for the phrase 'HPA'.  If you find it, then scour the board's BIOS and see if that's any way to set the HPA option to be disabled by default (meaning that the setting will remain even if your CMOS battery dies).  If you can't find the phrase 'HPA' in the syslog, then you should be good to go.  Here's some more info on HPA: HPA Thread.

 

The 880G chipset has been a bit hit and miss with unRAID, but I personally have had success with it.  As far as I know, any incompatibility on 880G boards came from other parts of the board, not the 880G chipset.

 

Assuming you find the 880GMA board to be no good for unRAID, or if you just don't want to bother with testing it, then I would recommend the SUPERMICRO MBD-C2SEA-O as a fantastic unRAID board.  I haven't used that one personally, but I've used the C2SEE model extensively, and they are nearly identical.  Both boards have been thoroughly tested by the community, and both are good choices.  Also, the Realtek NIC on these board are just fine, there's no reason to use an Intel NIC in this case.  The Realtek NIC on the vast majority of motherboards is actually fine, there are just a few cases of incompatibility that have cropped up recently and spooked the herd.

 

As for RAM, you need to check Supermicro's website (or the RAM manufacturer's website) to find particular RAM models that are compatible with the Supermicro board.  These boards are very picky about RAM, so don't take a chance with it.  Buy something that Supermicro or the RAM manufacturer recommends.  Personally I like Kingston as a brand of RAM, but ultimately it doesn't matter much.

 

, then I would recommend the SUPERMICRO MBD-C2SEA-O as a fantastic unRAID board.  I haven't used that one personally, but I've used the C2SEE model extensively, and they are nearly identical. 

 

 

Raj,

 

are these boards working with any size drives 3+TB's or is there BIOS upgrades..?

as a novice to any HDD larger than 3TB, i have only read about having certain controller cards that come with the HDD's that you have use. and can one put these HDD's into a drive cage (a ICYDOCK 5 in 1 for instance)

 

thanks