Hi all,

 

I'm going to be putting together a build soon and wondered if anyone has used this board...

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-P7H55-M-USB3-Intel-H55-S-1156-PCI-E-20-%28x16%29-DDR3-2200%28OC%29-SATA-6Gb-s-USB-30-mATX

 

I was looking at either the 530 or 540 i3 to go with it.

 

This thread below some successful experience with the P7H55-M but the version of the board above has 8 SATA ports (2x SATAIII).

 

- http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7110.0

I haven't used that board personally, but I can tell you that H55 is definitely the way to go.  Don't get a board with P55.  H55 will allow you to use the power saving features of the i3.  A i3-530 is perfectly adequate for unRAID, I highly doubt that you'll notice any benefits from a faster CPU than that.

Great, thanks for the comments Rajahal.

 

It's going to be a little while before I can make the purchase but this is going on my build spreadsheet now

It's going on my spreadsheet too, and I'm going to make it my goal in life to get exactly what you're getting on your new server, but just a little bit better. You get the 530, I'm getting the 540. You get the 690II, I'm getting the 690II Advanced, 4GB of Ram? 8GB of ram. Mmmm no financial contraints.

 

I haven't used that board personally, but I can tell you that H55 is definitely the way to go.  Don't get a board with P55.  H55 will allow you to use the power saving features of the i3.  A i3-530 is perfectly adequate for unRAID, I highly doubt that you'll notice any benefits from a faster CPU than that.

 

My logic for getting the slightly faster i3 was simply just because I wanted to make my server have the longest lifespan attainable, so every little bit of processing power is welcome, assuming it's not going to break the bank. It's only about a $12 difference, so I don't really see any harm in it.

 

p.s. I do actually know UTT IIRL, so I'm not just on a vendetta against a random internet foe.

p.s. I do actually know UTT IIRL, so I'm not just on a vendetta against a random internet foe.

 

I figured, lol.

 

If the difference between the CPUs is really only $12, then I agree, the 540 is likely worth it.  However, does the 540 have the same power saving capabilities as the 530?  I don't know off hand.  I do know that the 530 idles at about the same rate as an Atom, which is most impressive.

p.s. I do actually know UTT IIRL, so I'm not just on a vendetta against a random internet foe.

 

I figured, lol.

 

If the difference between the CPUs is really only $12, then I agree, the 540 is likely worth it.  However, does the 540 have the same power saving capabilities as the 530?  I don't know off hand.  I do know that the 530 idles at about the same rate as an Atom, which is most impressive.

 

I'm no expert, but my googling seems to show the 530 and 540 as comparable in the power consumption stakes. Here are some pretty pictures stolen from elsewhere...

 

 

Anyway... I feel I've digressed from the topic at hand...

I would consider those differences negligible, so by all means go for the 540 if you wish.

As an update... I went ahead with my build.

 

Asus P7H55-M/USB3

i3 540 (it was £4 more than the 530)

4GB Corsair XMS3, DDR3 PC3-10666

450W Corsair 450VXUK

Coolermaster CM 690 II Lite

2TB Western Digital WD20EARS (parity)

 

with 2 x 1.5TB samsung drives I already had for data.

 

It's all working really well.  I haven't used either of the 2 SATA III ports but I'll give one of them ago when I add a cache drive.

 

Around Christmas time I'll be adding the cache drive, another 2TB drive and upgrading to the pro version of unraid (on the free edition at the moment).

As an update... I went ahead with my build.

 

Asus P7H55-M/USB3

i3 540 (it was £4 more than the 530)

4GB Corsair XMS3, DDR3 PC3-10666

450W Corsair 450VXUK

Coolermaster CM 690 II Lite

2TB Western Digital WD20EARS (parity)

 

with 2 x 1.5TB samsung drives I already had for data.

 

It's all working really well.  I haven't used either of the 2 SATA III ports but I'll give one of them ago when I add a cache drive.

 

Around Christmas time I'll be adding the cache drive, another 2TB drive and upgrading to the pro version of unraid (on the free edition at the moment).

 

How is this working for you? I plan on using the i3 540 as well. I was going to use the SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O listed in the suggested builds, but I'm not sure if it's right for me. Are you running your server headless? Does the motherboard have Wake On Lan functionality?

Yep, everything seems to be working well.

 

I have one issue with permissions of files created by add-on applications but that won't be related to the hardware.

 

I haven't tried any of the WOL features, my server is on all the time.  If I get some time at the weekend I'll have a dabble with it.

Yep, everything seems to be working well.

 

I have one issue with permissions of files created by add-on applications but that won't be related to the hardware.

 

I haven't tried any of the WOL features, my server is on all the time.  If I get some time at the weekend I'll have a dabble with it.

 

Glad to hear it's working well. If you get a chance to test WOL that would be great. I'm planning to pickup up my motherboard/cpu combo after thanksgiving, so I have some more time to consider my options and maybe I'll find a good sale. Which Asus P7H55-M board do you have? (there seems to be a couple different ones on newegg- Pro, LX, LE, /CSM) Since the Asus board doesn't have the on-board usb port did you have to leave your Unraid flash stick outside the case?

The models seem to be slightly different here in the UK.  I have a friend moving to the states and he looked without success for this board in the US online stores for his own build.

 

This is the one I have...

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p7h55-m-usb3-intel-h55-s-1156-pci-e-20-%28x16%29-ddr3-2200%28oc%29-sata-6gb-s-usb-30-matx

 

You are right, this does not have an internal USB header (I didn't see many boards that did).  My system is sitting in a cupboard so I'm not bothered about the USB thumb sticking out of the top of the case.  You could get an internal header adapter for a few dollars if this was an issue for you.

The models seem to be slightly different here in the UK.  I have a friend moving to the states and he looked without success for this board in the US online stores for his own build.

 

This is the one I have...

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p7h55-m-usb3-intel-h55-s-1156-pci-e-20-%28x16%29-ddr3-2200%28oc%29-sata-6gb-s-usb-30-matx

 

You are right, this does not have an internal USB header (I didn't see many boards that did).  My system is sitting in a cupboard so I'm not bothered about the USB thumb sticking out of the top of the case.  You could get an internal header adapter for a few dollars if this was an issue for you.

 

Sorry I can't believe I missed that huge link in the first post. I must be blind. Based on the pictures I think the US version is the ASUS P7H55-M/CSM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131638

 

Ah, internal header adapter, that is what it's called. I wasn't sure of the name. Thanks 

That one doesnt seem to have the 2 extra sata III ports or

Usb3 ports.

 

One of the reasons I picked the board above was the 8 sata ports.

That one doesnt seem to have the 2 extra sata III ports or

Usb3 ports.

 

One of the reasons I picked the board above was the 8 sata ports.

Yea your right. My blindness continues today. The board layout is pretty similar though, maybe yours is based off of this one with some upgrades. Well I'll just need to do a bit more research on the asus boards available here.

That one doesnt seem to have the 2 extra sata III ports or

Usb3 ports.

 

One of the reasons I picked the board above was the 8 sata ports.

Yea your right. My blindness continues today. The board layout is pretty similar though, maybe yours is based off of this one with some upgrades. Well I'll just need to do a bit more research on the asus boards available here.

 

The closest thing I've found is the ASUS P7H57D-V EVO, but you're looking at $150+.

I have just put in a new 2TB drive that is pre-clearing now and a 500gig drive that is destined to be a cache drive.

 

I put the cache drive into one of the 2 sata III slots.  It is seen at the BIOS but not at the OS level.  It could be a driver issue with the sata III controller?

 

It's a Marvell 91XX controller.  A couple of other threads include comments of people successfully using Marvell 6GB/s controllers but I'm not sure if its the same one.

 

Any idea's where I can go from here?

 

EDIT:

 

A-ha!  After a bit of googling I put the controller into AHCI mode instead of IDE and the drive is now recognised.  Will be able to use it properly once I get my pro license.

 

Hopefully it will be OK, I've had a look in unmenu and the device isn't properly recognised;

 

03:00.0 SATA controller: Unknown device 1b4b:9123 (rev 10) (prog-if 01 [AHCI 1.0])

Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Unknown device 8400

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 32

I/O ports at ec00

I/O ports at e880

I/O ports at e800

I/O ports at e480

I/O ports at e400

Memory at f7fff800 (32-bit, non-prefetchable)

Expansion ROM at f7fe0000 [disabled]

Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [50] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable+

Capabilities: [70] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00

Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting

Kernel driver in use: ahci

Kernel modules: ahci

Any updates?  I just purchased a BioStar H55A+ and it came with no I/O shield so I am returning it.  I stumbled across this motherboard and am considering purchasing it instead as I like the USB 3.0 option as well as the 8 SATA ports since I already have 5 used.  The only thing holding me back is that it looks like you are having a bit of trouble getting the two Sata III ports usable in unraid.  Is that correct, or do they work properly and just not give correct readings in unMenu?

 

 

It works fine, I have my cache drive connected to one of the 2 sata III ports and I've had no issues after I got the settings right in the BIOS.

That's great news.  I have one more question for you, one disappointment with the BioStar motherboard I am replacing is no fan control.  I have seen a few threads around here on trying to add fan control to unRaid but if I am reading the specs and reviews correctly it looks like this Asus motherboard has fan speed control built into the bios.  Have you been able to test that out and if so does it seem to work well?

hmm... I haven't played with the fan speed.  I do recall a screen that mentioned it in the BIOS buy I can't remember the context.

 

I run my server headless and in a small cupboard so I can't just nip into the BIOS and have a look I'm afraid.

 

Mine came with a free Asetek Fan Speed Controller Kit so you'd hope it would work with that!  I never bothered trying it though.

I have tested the fan speed control, seems to work well although for some reason the cpu temp monitoring is broken (says my cpu is at 209 degrees F constantly, even after just booting it). 

 

One thing to watch out for is that this motherboard does not appear to shut down with unRaid (unless it works for others?).  I spent about an hour trying to troubleshoot it but after reading Joe L's thread on it I came to the conclusion that shutting down relates to ACPI and is just hard for unraid so I decided not to spend any more time on it.  Just updating this thread as a heads up to others out there.

 

 

I have tested the fan speed control, seems to work well although for some reason the cpu temp monitoring is broken (says my cpu is at 209 degrees F constantly, even after just booting it). 

 

One thing to watch out for is that this motherboard does not appear to shut down with unRaid (unless it works for others?).  I spent about an hour trying to troubleshoot it but after reading Joe L's thread on it I came to the conclusion that shutting down relates to ACPI and is just hard for unraid so I decided not to spend any more time on it.  Just updating this thread as a heads up to others out there.

 

 

You must have ACPI enabled in your BIOS for any program to be able to power down the server.

Yep, it's enabled.  It was actually reading your big post on shutdown issues that made me decide to pass on troubleshooting it.  It looked like hours of effort to enable shutdown which while nice is something I will only use a few times a year.  I tried toggling various settings in the bios with no effect including C1E, A20M (wasn't even sure what this is), C-State, EHCI Handoff, ACPI 2.0 Support, and ACPI Apic Support.  No luck with any of them.  In your post you mentioned it could be a buggy bios which I thought was a little odd, if uBuntu could power off this motherboard and Windows could power off this motherboard while unRaid could not I would lean towards thinking it was a buggy unRaid shutdown feature, never it's strongest feature anyway.  Either way I hit a wall and decided to just warn other users about it and hope that maybe it would be fixed in unRaid 5.x when the new kernel is introduced. In the end I decided as long as I can shut down the array I don't really care if the power is just unplugged from the wall after that, if my data is safe I'm not worried. 

 

Maybe once I have everything else working I will go back and try to troubleshoot this further but I figured I had my weekend filled just trying to get sickbeard and couch potato installed and then trying to figure out what I need to do to modify the array shutdown scripts so they will work once I have made my additions, I will certainly update my posts if I learn anything useful about powering off the server in the future.

Yep, it's enabled.  It was actually reading your big post on shutdown issues that made me decide to pass on troubleshooting it.  It looked like hours of effort to enable shutdown which while nice is something I will only use a few times a year.  I tried toggling various settings in the bios with no effect including C1E, A20M (wasn't even sure what this is), C-State, EHCI Handoff, ACPI 2.0 Support, and ACPI Apic Support.  No luck with any of them.  In your post you mentioned it could be a buggy bios which I thought was a little odd, if uBuntu could power off this motherboard and Windows could power off this motherboard while unRaid could not I would lean towards thinking it was a buggy unRaid shutdown feature, never it's strongest feature anyway.  Either way I hit a wall and decided to just warn other users about it and hope that maybe it would be fixed in unRaid 5.x when the new kernel is introduced. In the end I decided as long as I can shut down the array I don't really care if the power is just unplugged from the wall after that, if my data is safe I'm not worried. 

 

Maybe once I have everything else working I will go back and try to troubleshoot this further but I figured I had my weekend filled just trying to get sickbeard and couch potato installed and then trying to figure out what I need to do to modify the array shutdown scripts so they will work once I have made my additions, I will certainly update my posts if I learn anything useful about powering off the server in the future.

 

Hi there, I'm hoping you still read these forums and will reply to this since this post was 6 months ago. Are you suggesting that you basically cannot shut your server down cleanly with this motherboard? I am just in the initial setup stage of myunraid server using this motherboard and the other day I issued a "power off" command (or something to that effect) from the root console and it shutdown fine to my knowledge. Can you explain in more detail the issue and the symptoms.

 

Regards