*expired* MSI H55M-ED55 for $59.99AR

[abq-pete]

Newegg has this board here:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130264

 

Looks like it could make a good system board combined with a i3-530 cpu.  Add 2 Supermicro cards to get to 22 drives.  I just ordered one and will test it out to see if it will make a good unRAID candidate...

 

Regards,  Peter

[queeg]

Wow, what a nice board for the price.  7 sata ports.  HDMI.

 

[Rajahal]

Thanks for posting this!  I meant to, but got busy at work.

 

The board has 6 SATA ports plus 1 eSATA, not 7 ports exactly.  However, I expect that you can use all 7 concurrently, unlike many boards that make you choose between either 6 SATA ports or 5 SATA and 1 eSATA.

 

The dual PCIe x16 slots is what really makes this board shine.  MicroATX form factor is nice too.

 

Also, I see potential for 25 drives if all possible slots are used: 6 onboard SATA + 1 with eSATA to SATA adapter + 16 with two AOC-SASLP-MV8s + 2 with a generic PCIe x1 SATA card.

 

Looks like a winner to me.

[MvL]

Hi,

 

Is there a AOC-SASLP-MV8 PCIe x16 card? I thought those are PCIe x4

[graywolf]

Hi,

 

Is there a AOC-SASLP-MV8 PCIe x16 card? I thought those are PCIe x4

 

I may be wrong but can you not put a PCIe x4 board in a PCIe x16 slot? Just wont use the full potential of the x16 slot?

[BRiT]

That is correct. PCI Express cards are upwards compatible in terms of the number of lanes. A 4-lane card will work in a 8-lane slot.

[MvL]

Hi,

 

Is there a AOC-SASLP-MV8 PCIe x16 card? I thought those are PCIe x4

 

I may be wrong but can you not put a PCIe x4 board in a PCIe x16 slot? Just wont use the full potential of the x16 slot?

 

That is correct. PCI Express cards are upwards compatible in terms of the number of lanes. A 4-lane card will work in a 8-lane slot.

 

alright, something learned.

[BRiT]

The only caveat is that early on some motherboard makers skimped on their BIOS so only graphic cards are fully functional in the primary 16x PCI-Express slot.

[poofyhairguy]

Another holdup is a lot of mobos can't use a PCIe 1x card in a 16x slot. Many times you need a 4x card or greater.

[abq-pete]

Should be here on Tuesday.  It'll be setup with an i3-530, 4GB G.Skill 1.35v DDR3 1600 ram, 2 AOC-SASLP-MV8, Corsair HX750, and 21 drives.  I'll be focussing on compatibility, reliability and power consumption...

 

Future posts will be in the Motherboard section.

 

Regards,  Peter