Need a new motherboard

[pras1011]

I currently have a Unraid server with a Asus M4A89GTD usb 3.0/pro and with 2 x Supermicro SASLP MV8 sas cards. I have about 16 hdd all of which run through the MV8. The Asus has 6 on board sata ports. I am thinking about getting a motherboard that has loads of sata ports so that I can eliminate one of the MV8.

 

1) Is this worth it?

2) Is there a motherboard with 12+ sata ports, 3tb+ compatible and has on board graphics?

[BobPhoenix]

All you will be doing is changing to a MB that has a built in controller.  So you won't really be eliminating a controller.  You will most likely be changing the type of controller however.  LSI seems to be the MB controller of choice for a secondary controller.

[pras1011]

Wouldn't a inbuilt controller be faster and more reliable than using plug in controllers like the Supermicro SASLP?

[sureguy]

It all depends on who makes the on board controller.

[BobPhoenix]

Wouldn't a inbuilt controller be faster and more reliable than using plug in controllers like the Supermicro SASLP?

Comparing SASLP to built in LSI controller I would agree.  But using a LSI based controller (like M1015) in a 8x PCIe 2.0 port probably not.

[pras1011]

I have a Asrock Z68 Fatality board. On a preclear it was reading/writing at 145MB/s via the onboard sata port. On the Asus M4A89GTD via the SASLP it was reading/writing at 120 MB/s. I wonder why?

 

Is there there a 12 sata port motherboard?

[BobPhoenix]

I have a Asrock Z68 Fatality board. On a preclear it was reading/writing at 145MB/s via the onboard sata port. On the Asus M4A89GTD via the SASLP it was reading/writing at 120 MB/s. I wonder why?

 

Is there there a 12 sata port motherboard?

The SASLP card is 4x PCIe 1.0.  Your onboard sata would equate to a 8x PCIe probably.  I would expect if you get a HBA card with similar specs and plug it into a 8x or 16x PCIe 2.0 port it would match your onboard much closer. The ports built in are almost always going to be faster.  But that is just for the first 6 usually.  If the board has 14 for instance it just has a built in LSI controller that will be the same one used on the HBA card.

[pras1011]

The Asrock uses a combination of Intel and Asmedia controllers.

 

The reason why I want a new motherboard is that I would like faster write/read speeds and to use only one SASLP card. I would use all the ports (10 to 12) and have three drives on the SASLP. I have actually ordered a SAS2LP. I wonder if that would be faster?

 

What motherboard would you recommend taking into regard the following specs:

 

1) 3TB+ compatible

2) 12 sata ports

3) Onboard graphics

[BobPhoenix]

The Asrock uses a combination of Intel and Asmedia controllers.

The Intel will be the fastest of the two I would expect.  The ASMEDIA I'm not familiar with so will have to leave that to someone else.

 

The reason why I want a new motherboard is that I would like faster write/read speeds and to use only one SASLP card. I would use all the ports (10 to 12) and have three drives on the SASLP. I have actually ordered a SAS2LP. I wonder if that would be faster?

I believe that one is a 8x PCIe 2.0 so it should be faster than your 1st generation SASLP card.

 

What motherboard would you recommend taking into regard the following specs:

 

1) 3TB+ compatible

2) 12 sata ports

3) Onboard graphics

I would recommend a server class motherboard for the stability if you don't need all the graphical bells and whistles that a desktop provides.  They are more expensive but stability and not flash is what you need on a server.

 

I have currently two ESXi servers (2 unRAID VMs) - one on a SuperMicro X9SCM-F and another to be on a Tyan S5512GM2NR both with Xeon X3-1230 processors (the Tyan is still being built).  I've got an i3 mobile book size PC as a HTPC in bedroom and I haven't upgraded my living room HTPC yet from a Q6600 ASUS P5Q-EM.  Livingroom will be upgraded next tax return season.

[Ford Prefect]

 

The reason why I want a new motherboard is that I would like faster write/read speeds and to use only one SASLP card.

Excuse me but with unRAID only supporting a single NIC and by the design of the RAID array, your gains will only be marginal.

What is the actual performance range you have today and what is it your need in future?

 

What motherboard would you recommend taking into regard the following specs:

 

1) 3TB+ compatible

2) 12 sata ports

3) Onboard graphics

This one has 14 Ports on board...http://www.supermicro.nl/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/X58/X8ST3-F.cfm ...not a new model though.

Here's a newer one, although NIC drivers maybe an issue with unRAID: http://www.supermicro.nl/products/motherboard/Xeon/C600/X9SRi-3F.cfm

...and finally, this one has 12 on-board and compatible NICs: http://www.supermicro.nl/products/motherboard/Xeon/C600/X9SRL.cfm

[pras1011]

The one in the first link is good but the controller is "only" running at 3.0Gb/s. Is there one thats newer?

 

The last are x79 which are extremely expensive when you add the cpu in.

[Ford Prefect]

The one in the first link is good but the controller is "only" running at 3.0Gb/s. Is there one thats newer?

Again, there is no gain in going faster than SATA-II for spinning drives...even if these support up to 6GB/s links themselves.

...unless you want to build your Array based on SATA-III SSDs, that is 

and get unRAID to support 10GBit NICs 

Since unRAID doesn't use stripes, you will not read/write faster than a single disk.

 

The last are x79 which are extremely expensive when you add the cpu in.

Performance never comes cheap

As pointed out before...onboard controllers or controllers in a slot would not make that much of a difference.

If you are happy with up to to 16 drives and want 6GB/S links to your disks, I'd suggest to go with a M1015 and an

Intel 24Port expander...connecting the 8 ports of the M1015 will leave you with 16 ports.

[pras1011]

Ok I have bought a SAS2LP and using it with a SASLP and I am getting about 10MB/s more and so I will get another SAS2LP to replace the other SASLP.

 

Now forgetting about the amount of sata ports I want, would a Asrock Z68 Fatality with a i3 2100T to replace my AMD M4A89GTD Pro/245 CPU be overkill?

 

I can get on board graphics via the i3.

[marcusone]

The only reason i see to get the 24 port Intel expander and use only 16 ports would be if you didn't have another pcie slot to run 2 x m1015s as with 2 controllers it would be cheaper and faster than 1 with an expander (even using 2 connections to the expanded.)

The other way would be to use just 1 port on the m1015 to expanded and have 24 data connections available. During parity chexks may be a bit slower but there are numerous people here doing that method.

 

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2

 

[pras1011]

The amount of sata ports needed is resolved.

 

Just need this answered:

 

Ok I have bought a SAS2LP and using it with a SASLP and I am getting about 10MB/s more and so I will get another SAS2LP to replace the other SASLP.

 

Now forgetting about the amount of sata ports I want, would a Asrock Z68 Fatality with a i3 2100T to replace my AMD M4A89GTD Pro/245 CPU be overkill?

 

I can get on board graphics via the i3.

[Ford Prefect]

Now forgetting about the amount of sata ports I want, would a Asrock Z68 Fatality with a i3 2100T to replace my AMD M4A89GTD Pro/245 CPU be overkill?

 

maybe you should tell us what you want to do with that build besides plain unRAID (AddOns and other UseCases, like transcoding)

For unRAID alone, a small ATOM is enough to serve all your data.....

 

I can get on board graphics via the i3.

...unRAID runs basically headless...no use for a GPU....it will just add to your electricity bill and noise.

 

[sureguy]

GPUs also add unnecessary heat, and are one more component that could potentially fail, or cause instability.

[pras1011]

I need a gpu just as backup in case there is something wrong with the web interface.

 

I just realised that my motherboard is not compatible with 3TB disks. I have 20 slots on my RM420 (Norco clone). 16 drives are going through the SASLP and 4 disks are on the on board sata ports. I have 16 x 3TB disks which aren't full yet but you never know. If they do get full then I will have an issue.

 

Which motherboard and cpu would you go for with regards to power consumption, 2 x SAS2LP (8x PCIe), on board graphics and 3tb compatibility?

[Ford Prefect]

...Supermicro X9SCM-F or -iiF

 

With IPMI it has a minimal GPU on board and is completely manageable via Web.

With an E3-1230v2 CPU you'll idle very low and have enough headroom for anything else there might be.

 

...has the potential for an ESXi build as well.

[pras1011]

Wow that's expensive! The CPU on its own cost $600! There is no hdmi/dvi port for the graphics. Is any other cheaper solution?

[BobPhoenix]

Wow that's expensive! The CPU on its own cost $600! There is no hdmi/dvi port for the graphics. Is any other cheaper solution?

The CPU is only $239.99 at Newegg.  You don't need hdmi/dvi and GRAPHICS for unRAID console - just text mode so you don't need a powerful GPU.  The one that comes on the X9SCM-F is more then powerful enough.

[pras1011]

I am in the uk and I can't seem to find the CPU for cheap here. The reason why I need hdmi/dvi is because I use my tv. I don't have a computer monitor. Unless there is a cheap VGA to hdmi convertor?

[Ford Prefect]

Hmmm...

 

...hdmi/dvi does mean you do have another requirement than that of just backup if WebUI is unreachable?...definitely not looking for a server, are you?

...that E3v2 CPU is 180EUR (incl VAT) where I live and USD240 @ newegg.

 

...a supermicro X8SIL  with an i3-540 will also do a wonderful job in server class and run your two controller cards well.

Again, older generation and still no fancy hdmi/dvi stuff..if you go with an iGPU you don't need the IPMI version (since KVM over IP will not work with that GPU)

 

 

[BobPhoenix]

I am in the uk and I can't seem to find the CPU for cheap here. The reason why I need hdmi/dvi is because I use my tv. I don't have a computer monitor. Unless there is a cheap VGA to hdmi convertor?

Is your TV a flat screen?  If so I thought most had a VGA connector?  Mine does it is how I have my computer connected in the living room.  I had to use the graphics slot for another card and when I plug a card into the x16 PCIe slot it shuts off the DVI/HDMI ports anyway so I have no choice.  Also the Ivy Bridge CPUs are fairly new.  I would expect the price to come down some.

[Ford Prefect]

I am in the uk and I can't seem to find the CPU for cheap here. The reason why I need hdmi/dvi is because I use my tv. I don't have a computer monitor. Unless there is a cheap VGA to hdmi convertor?

 

...like this? http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-HDMI-VGACONVERTER-Audio-HDMI-Converter/dp/B0015YWV1G

 

Again, when using the IPMI version of the board, you get KVM over IP...your WebBrowser is your Monitor.