Too many motherboards avalible... Which do i choose for a WHS setup

jamess109 · 12 May 2011 at 06:31

I have noticed they're are loads and loads of motherboards avalible this year with a hefty amount of chipsets to choose upon.

I need to build a Windows Home Server 2011 setup.

I already have the following gear to go:

Case: Antec Sonata Elite: Supprots - Mini-ITX, microATX, Standard ATX
PSU: OCZ 500W ModXStream Pro Power Supply (It maybe for gaming and too powerful but it was cheap and has modular connections - I hate too many wires).

The primary services I require from it is:

Heavy File transfer
Use of Windows Homes Server Backup
Download Server
Print/scan Server (I have my all in one connected)
Small web-server/remote access
Media Server (PS3 Media Server, Windows Media Connect).

Minimum Specs:

Dual Core processor 2Ghz minimum (Intel - no AMD rubbish)
Intel Chipset is a must (but it must be reliable no SATA issues)
HDD Sata 6GB/s support with 6 SATA ports + (Intel 6Gb controller - not marvell)
Dual Channel memory 4Gb minumum (i can choose the ram not a problem)
Onboard graphics chip to support any media processing and windows server 2008's needs.
PCI Express x1 expansion slot.
UEFI for 2.5TB+ hard drive support.
HIGH ENERGY SAVING

I'm looking for a ASUS,Gigabyte or Intel MB. It must be around £50-£180

I've looked into the Z range chipsets but they seem to be aimed for gamers - comes with too much GPU elements but the improved SSD & HDD performance is a really big interest to me.

Can anybody advise me in which mb chipset would best support my needs? I am very weary about the sandybridge chipset/sata controller issue earlier in the year so im avoiding it at all costs.

danivtec · 12 May 2011 at 09:04

I am using a http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H61I/ with an i3 2100 cpu and 4GB RAM.

Had no problems with it and all drivers seem to work (Asus Driver DVD won't allow you to install though, need to do it manually.

Bomag · 13 May 2011 at 01:34

Given your specification and needs I am wondering why you are going with WHS 2011. To be honest if you need WHS 2011 over v1 and aim to have 6 drives then you will need a decent PCI-E x4 or x8 RAID5 card otherwise the need for active data management balancing the drives will send you mad (WHS 2011 doesn't have drive extender).

I would never want a WHS box to do 3rd party transcoding and anything else you mention is quite frankly peanuts in terms of pushing a CPU as long as it has a decent network chip and enough ram.

I have have had a WHS box since v1 came out and for the last month I have run it with an Asus E350 MB with a passive HS, passive PSU, 4gb ram 7*2G WD enterprise disks, an x4 PCI-E card in a Fractal Design case. Totality quiet + cool and can maintain a 90%+ throughput on a 9k jumbo frame gigabit network.

I think the only chipset with more than two native 6gb SATA ports are for AMD chips

Orcvader · 13 May 2011 at 02:06

Personally I would say an AMD Athlon CPU with this board: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-280-GI&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1782

Although it doesn't have UEFI support as that's fairly recent, bare in mind Windows will still be able to detect the whole 2.5tb.

But if you really do want to go with Intel and not AMD then yes you will get UEFI with Sandybridge but with only 2 native SATA 6gb/s.

Out of curiousity, why do you think AMD is rubbish?