dual xenon mobo's thoughts, choices, etc

deerfly · Nov 1, 2009, 09:10 PM

Hi everyone, just started working on the idea of a workstation build and stumbled into this site while researching stuff. Looks like some really knowledgeable and experienced members here so I figured I'd join up and solicit some advice before I start ordering components.

I'm leaning heavily on a dual E5520 workstation setup. I'll probably start with a single CPU + 6-8G of memory which I think should serve my needs for at least 6-12 months and also save a few bucks initially. Along those lines I'm sorta' trying to keep the initial budget around $1500 if possible, but that's not a strict requirement if it makes sense to spend more now so I spend less 6, 12 or 18 months from now when I need more resources, etc.

I guess I should say too I'm a programmer, not a gamer. I need stability and reliability first and foremost as I earn my living writing software. This workstation will be primarily used to run VM's on top of unbuntu 64 with mostly WinXP guests, but also linux + Oracle 10g + application servers like WebSphere and Bea Logic etc running in debug mode under Eclipse with other VM guests running load testing code like JMeter against the sever VM instances. Generally wouldn't have more than 5 VM's running concurrently. So I'm thinking the single 5520 with 6-8G of memory should handle that for a while.

Right now I'm leaning on Intel's S5520SC as my mobo, which seems like the easy "high road", but it would immediately eat nearly 1/3 of my budget. Like I said that's OK, if its a good stable choice, but figured I'd solicit some opinions on the alternatives before I order one. I see less costly boards like the ASUS Z8NA-D6C, but 3 memory slots per CPU seems a bit limiting. Being a little more than half price of the Intel board has me wondering too, is the Intel that over priced or is the ASUS or similar boards a marginal choice? I've seen a few positive reviews on the Z8NA, but again I have no experience with them and there just doesn't seem to be many dual xenon builds and/or reviews out there yet.

Anyway, should I just spend the extra money and get the Intel board and move on or are there better, less costly alternatives I should be looking at? Thanks for any and all thoughts, sorry for such a long 1st post too.

- eric

Zardon · Nov 1, 2009, 09:13 PM

Hi Eric welcome to the forums. I reviewed that motherboard (actually the whole platform) over here

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=747

What is your budget for the system?

EDIT sorry, just noticed you said $1500. you would be looking at lower end Xeons for sure at that price - there are alternative boards, but I think Intel are really strong in this sector, especially for stability.

Have a read of my review, it might help you work out if you would like the board.

OldBuzzard · Nov 2, 2009, 12:32 AM

I'm not sure where one of these would fit in your budget, but TYAN has a long history of building very good server boards.

::Tyan Computer Corporation:: System Boards detail

The S7002 series seem to be the cheaper ones. If you scroll down, it shows 5 boards in that series.

moshpit · Nov 5, 2009, 04:22 PM

Tyan and Supermicro are my favorites for server boards. I have a Tyan Thunder S2462UNG from the old days still running dually Athlon MP 1800+ chips

Nov 1, 2009, 09:10 PM	#1
deerfly DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: west central florida Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	dual xenon mobo's thoughts, choices, etc Hi everyone, just started working on the idea of a workstation build and stumbled into this site while researching stuff. Looks like some really knowledgeable and experienced members here so I figured I'd join up and solicit some advice before I start ordering components. I'm leaning heavily on a dual E5520 workstation setup. I'll probably start with a single CPU + 6-8G of memory which I think should serve my needs for at least 6-12 months and also save a few bucks initially. Along those lines I'm sorta' trying to keep the initial budget around $1500 if possible, but that's not a strict requirement if it makes sense to spend more now so I spend less 6, 12 or 18 months from now when I need more resources, etc. I guess I should say too I'm a programmer, not a gamer. I need stability and reliability first and foremost as I earn my living writing software. This workstation will be primarily used to run VM's on top of unbuntu 64 with mostly WinXP guests, but also linux + Oracle 10g + application servers like WebSphere and Bea Logic etc running in debug mode under Eclipse with other VM guests running load testing code like JMeter against the sever VM instances. Generally wouldn't have more than 5 VM's running concurrently. So I'm thinking the single 5520 with 6-8G of memory should handle that for a while. Right now I'm leaning on Intel's S5520SC as my mobo, which seems like the easy "high road", but it would immediately eat nearly 1/3 of my budget. Like I said that's OK, if its a good stable choice, but figured I'd solicit some opinions on the alternatives before I order one. I see less costly boards like the ASUS Z8NA-D6C, but 3 memory slots per CPU seems a bit limiting. Being a little more than half price of the Intel board has me wondering too, is the Intel that over priced or is the ASUS or similar boards a marginal choice? I've seen a few positive reviews on the Z8NA, but again I have no experience with them and there just doesn't seem to be many dual xenon builds and/or reviews out there yet. Anyway, should I just spend the extra money and get the Intel board and move on or are there better, less costly alternatives I should be looking at? Thanks for any and all thoughts, sorry for such a long 1st post too. - eric

Nov 1, 2009, 09:13 PM	#2
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Re: dual xenon mobo's thoughts, choices, etc Hi Eric welcome to the forums. I reviewed that motherboard (actually the whole platform) over here http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=747 What is your budget for the system? EDIT sorry, just noticed you said $1500. you would be looking at lower end Xeons for sure at that price - there are alternative boards, but I think Intel are really strong in this sector, especially for stability. Have a read of my review, it might help you work out if you would like the board.

Nov 2, 2009, 12:32 AM	#3
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,782 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Re: dual xenon mobo's thoughts, choices, etc I'm not sure where one of these would fit in your budget, but TYAN has a long history of building very good server boards. ::Tyan Computer Corporation:: System Boards detail The S7002 series seem to be the cheaper ones. If you scroll down, it shows 5 boards in that series. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Nov 5, 2009, 04:22 PM	#4
moshpit HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Pit, pit, pit, in the pit! Posts: 84 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	Re: dual xenon mobo's thoughts, choices, etc Tyan and Supermicro are my favorites for server boards. I have a Tyan Thunder S2462UNG from the old days still running dually Athlon MP 1800+ chips __________________ Ci7 2600K @5Ghz/8Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer/Asus Sabertooth P67/EVGA GTX580 Black Ops/2x Patriot Torqx 128G(OS)/1Tb WD Black Ci7 920/6Gb Corsair DDR3 1600/GA-EX58-UD3R/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2(OS)/2x 2Tb WD Green Ci7 860/8Gb Patriot Viper II/EVGA P55 SLI/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2 (wife's rig)