Question about using a Serverboard instead of a normal board

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bignasy05

Im thinking about upgrading, and Im wondering is there any advantage
to going with a server board instead of a standard board, or are there
more limitations. I know I will be giving up sli but I have
determined that the gains of sli is not worth the cost at all. Im
hoping that if I do go to a server board that I will have a much more
stable computer.
 
bignasy05 said:
Im thinking about upgrading, and Im wondering is there any advantage
to going with a server board instead of a standard board, or are there
more limitations. I know I will be giving up sli but I have
determined that the gains of sli is not worth the cost at all. Im
hoping that if I do go to a server board that I will have a much more
stable computer.
Click to expand...

Server boards:

1) One, two, four CPU sockets. Eight sockets with extender assembly.
2) Large form factor, 12" x 13", needs a special computer case for
the largest of them. Even at 12" x 10.5", could be difficult to
fit in an existing computer case.
3) Generally no provision for overclocking.
4) Likely to have working ECC/chipkill for memory. So ECC DIMMs
can be used. Some desktops support ECC, and some don't. And
some desktop BIOS don't configure the ECC correctly, when
ECC DIMMs are installed.
5) Memory subsystem could be registered memory or FBDIMMs.
Server owners care less about the bandwidth they get, as for
some server tasks, the amount of memory is more important.
Having 64GB of memory, may be more important than having a
smaller faster memory subsystem, that is swapping to disk all
the time. Registered memory or FBDIMMs, may lose out when
compared to desktop memory configurations, on bandwidth.
6) Server boards have enhanced I/O systems. They have PCI, PCI-X,
PCI Express, or even slots for custom I/O types. If you need to
get a 400MB/sec disk subsystem connected, then a server board
should have the slots. Desktop systems in the past, have been
dismal in that area, but with the introduction of PCI Express,
and SLI boards, you can stick high bandwidth I/O into a desktop
board. Just not fill the computer with high bandwidth controllers,
like you can on a server.

A desktop board does not have to be unstable.

And server boards are not always stable.

One Photoshop user in the Tyan group, was recently complaining about
problems with his expensive Tyan board. So server boards are not
guaranteed to be trouble free. They may need more attention from the
owner, in setting them up. There may be fewer other users, to help
with technical issues. And if you visit forums.2cpu.com, there
are more horror stories over there, of products that did not live up
to their billing.

If you had described the applications you had planned on using,
then that may help focus the feedback you get on your idea.

Paul
 
Im thinking about upgrading, and Im wondering is there any advantage
to going with a server board instead of a standard board, or are there
more limitations. I know I will be giving up sli but I have
determined that the gains of sli is not worth the cost at all. Im
hoping that if I do go to a server board that I will have a much more
stable computer.
Click to expand...

All normal apps, and computer games. Im more concerned with stability
than performance I figure if I put a top of the line graphics card,
with one of the latest processors in the machine than running the
latest games wont be a problem. I also program and work with video.
If you have any suggestions on good boards Im all ears.

thanx for reading.
 
Im thinking about upgrading, and Im wondering is there any advantage
to going with a server board instead of a standard board, or are there
more limitations. I know I will be giving up sli but I have
determined that the gains of sli is not worth the cost at all. Im
hoping that if I do go to a server board that I will have a much more
stable computer.
Click to expand...


There's no reason to believe it will be inherantly more or
less stable.

You need to determine exactly why the present build isn't
stable, and avoid that problem with the next build (or if
the only reason for a rebuild is to gain stability, there
"might" be something that can be done to the present built
instead of an entire rebuild).

They are more limited (if you're not building a server) in
many instances, and larger, and more costly. You'll have to
itemize exactly what you need but lack, to get a better idea
what compromises are being made.

I agree SLI is not usually a consideration unless you were
trying to drive a very big LCD at high resolution/ gaming.

Generally the way to attain stability is to pick quality
parts, have a method for testing and isolating problems, and
to have purchased from a good seller that will accept
returns so if there is a problem you have a quick pain-free
resolution.

This is really too broad a topic for a single usenet thread,
perhaps more useful would be to know what your exact needs
are and to go from there. If that need is not just to get
your present system stable, then a separate thread to
address the instability on your present system (and
comprehensive details of that system including all major
hardware) might be useful as well, as even if you dont' want
to keep using an aging system, someone else might and it
could be better to fix than just trash it.
 
The biggest advantages of server boards are ECC memory (for stability) and PCI-X slots (useful for SCSI).
The biggest disadvantage is the onboard video.
 
bignasy05 said:
.... snip ...

All normal apps, and computer games. Im more concerned with stability
than performance I figure if I put a top of the line graphics card,
with one of the latest processors in the machine than running the
latest games wont be a problem. I also program and work with video.
If you have any suggestions on good boards Im all ears.
Click to expand...

If you want stability, insist on ECC memory.
 
Im thinking about upgrading, and Im wondering is there any advantage to
going with a server board instead of a standard board, or are there more
limitations. I know I will be giving up sli but I have determined that
the gains of sli is not worth the cost at all. Im hoping that if I do go
to a server board that I will have a much more stable computer.
Click to expand...

Hello,

What OS are you planning to use? Just wondering.

I am using an Iwill DH800 with dual 2.4 Ghz Xeons. I was running an ECS
KT600A with a Sempron 2800. Both are very stable. I run Linux. I had
Win98se on the ECS, with 512 meg, and although it ran fine about every 6
months it'd break with a system protection error. After the third
reinstall I gave up and just ran Linux on it with zero problems for almost
2 years.

I believe you can get a very stable system without a server board.

Also, keep in mind that some server boards need special power supplies
and/or larger cases.

I have to admit I wonder why it seems you have had stability problems with
your current system.

Either way good luck,
Steve
 
All normal apps, and computer games. Im more concerned with stability
than performance I figure if I put a top of the line graphics card,
with one of the latest processors in the machine than running the
latest games wont be a problem. I also program and work with video.
If you have any suggestions on good boards Im all ears.

thanx for reading.
Click to expand...


There is no reason to believe any normal desktop/PC board
wouldn't be stable for these uses. Stability is an implied
feature of ALL hardware, it's just when flaws aren't found,
or too many corners cut, insufficient documentation,
inadequate support for bios fixes, etc, are there more
issues later to deal with.

To a certain extent one would expect a server class product
to be tested more rigorously, but for server-type roles, not
necessary even as much testing of something like gaming with
a x84504 GT2/Turbo video card du jour.
 
The server board will NOT be more stable. But it WILL be designed to use
CPU's, etc. OThER than the standard consumer models. You really don't want
to do that.
 
bignasy05 said:
Im thinking about upgrading, and Im wondering is there any advantage
to going with a server board instead of a standard board, or are there
more limitations. I know I will be giving up sli but I have
determined that the gains of sli is not worth the cost at all. Im
hoping that if I do go to a server board that I will have a much more
stable computer.
Click to expand...


Unless you are using a known bad type of motherboard such as PC Chips...
or overclocking...etc a "standard" motherboard should be fine.

I build all of my machines from nothing but spare parts
and have had virtually 100% stability.

Of course the operating systems I use are either some form of Linux
or Win2k /XP.

Some OS's such as Win98/ME can be unstable even with decent hardware...
but I'm assuming you are not going to be using anything like that.
 
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