New file server

[jcarle]

By the way, the Corsair 620W is also on special ($46 off their regular price).

[Zxian]

RAM

OCZ Platinum XTC REV.2 PC2-6400 2X1GB

Scratch that... I didn't see this. I don't need extreme high end RAM, but I figured DDR2-800 would run better with my CPU since it's clock-for-clock with the FSB.

Patriot Extreme Performance 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-12

@jcarle - Yea, I saw the HX620. I was thinking about grabbing that as well...

[nmX.Memnoch]

To be honest I'm not too thrilled with the Asus P5K series. For some reason they've seen fit to disable AHCI support on the P5K (and with that, I assume the entire P5K lineup. Supposedly the ICH9R versions still have AHCI but I haven't personally verified this. I've attached a screenshot of the FAQ entry since you can't get a direct link. They say Intel says the ICH9 doesn't support AHCI in non-RAID but the documents on Intel's site (and other mobo OEMs) say different. I'm in the process of putting together a system for a friend using the regular P5K. Don't get me wrong...it's fast but I would much rather have the native SATA mode enabled. If you're not planning on using the onboard SATA (either the ICH9 or the Jmicron) then you shouldn't have any worries.

Another recommendation I have is to find an Intel PRO/1000 PT PCIe x1 NIC and disable the onboard...particularly since I saw your other thread talking about setting up a GigE network. The onboard may be fine but I've always like the Intel NICs. TigerDirect carries them for about $47CAD+shipping. NCIX wants a bit more (they're currently out of stock anyway).

[Zxian]

I think I'll try out the onboard NIC first and see how that goes. If it starts to be a problem, I can always pick up an Intel card later.

I was planning on running a single drive off the motherboard for the OS and temporary storage drive. What impact would the lack of AHCI have on this? From what I understand, it's mostly for NCQ, hot-plug support, and other SATA features, right? Would you recommend moving down to the I965 or I975 chipset instead, or another manufacturer?

[nmX.Memnoch]

Yeah, it's mainly for NCQ, hotplug support, etc, etc. You probably won't notice the difference...it's just the principle to me.

I think you're fine with the 3 series chipsets, especially considering they give you further upgrades paths to choose from later. The Asus P5K (regular version) isn't a bad board...it's just got a few quirks that you have to work through/around. I've heard that Gigabyte has the AHCI implementation right on their boards. Just out of curiousity...you said you had 2x80GB drives you were going to RAID1 (I assume for the OS?). Why not look for a board that has an ICH9R and put those drives on there? That's what I would do. I'm all about splitting up drive I/O as much as possible. It shouldn't add that much to the price of the board either.

Are you intending on making this a Domain Controller as well?

[Zxian]

I was actually thinking of scrapping the OS RAID setup and just running it off a single drive. I was actually going to take those two drives and set them up in RAID0 in my main workstation, since it's currently running off a 100GB 5400RPM notebook drive... and it's slightly painful.

In order to get the ICH9R, I'd need to go for the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, which boosts up the price a bit. Secondly, Gigabyte's BIOSes aren't really up to snuff until a few revisions in... not too much fun that is. For an ASUS board with the ICH9R, it's the P5K Deluxe, which boosts the price by another $100. For that price, I'd rather move to the I975 based ASUS P5W64-WS Pro, which leaves far more flexibility in terms of PCI-e setups. The only thing I'd be missing out on there is 1333FSB support - no big loss.

No domain controller on this setup. My network isn't complex enough to justify setting up a domain at home. I just map the drives to network shares - works well enough for me.

I think I'll stick with the P5K-V motherboard. The lack of NCQ on the OS drive isn't going to make too much of a difference for the system, and the onboard video is a perk as well.

[nmX.Memnoch]

I was actually thinking of scrapping the OS RAID setup and just running it off a single drive.

If this is going to be the box where you plan on storing some critical data, you don't want it down because the OS drive crashed. Yeah, it's easy enough to replace and reinstall, but I prefer the peace of mind. That's just my preference though...

since it's currently running off a 100GB 5400RPM notebook drive... and it's slightly painful.

*shudder* ...and then there's that thought. 5400RPM...so...slow...the...agony! I've even taken to replacing the drives in the laptops we use in the systems office at work. It's hard to believe how some people attribute laptops to being slow because of "slower" CPUs or "slower" (and usually less) RAM. Simply upgrading the drive to 7200RPM can make ALL the difference in the world in a laptop. It'll run down the battery faster but we almost always use ours plugged in anyway.

In order to get the ICH9R, I'd need to go for the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, which boosts up the price a bit. Secondly, Gigabyte's BIOSes aren't really up to snuff until a few revisions in... not too much fun that is. For an ASUS board with the ICH9R, it's the P5K Deluxe, which boosts the price by another $100. For that price, I'd rather move to the I975 based ASUS P5W64-WS Pro, which leaves far more flexibility in terms of PCI-e setups. The only thing I'd be missing out on there is 1333FSB support - no big loss.

If you end up stepping down for some reason I'd still recommend something that's 965 based. While Intel considers the 975 their "performance" chipset many people consider the 965 to be the better chipset. There were several reasons I went with a 965 based board (Asus P5B-E) when I upgraded my system last year...but I can't remember what those reasons were now! There was one very specific feature that the 975 doesn't have I just can't remember what it is.

No domain controller on this setup. My network isn't complex enough to justify setting up a domain at home. I just map the drives to network shares - works well enough for me.

I didn't know whether or not you were interested in that type of stuff. I do it for a living so my home domain is my test bed. Plus it gives me more control over the other PCs in my house. As I said in another thread...I probably have more group policies setup than most small businesses.

I think I'll stick with the P5K-V motherboard. The lack of NCQ on the OS drive isn't going to make too much of a difference for the system, and the onboard video is a perk as well.

That's not a bad decision...and maybe Asus will get their heads screwed on straight and add AHCI support back into the BIOS.

[Zxian]

If this is going to be the box where you plan on storing some critical data, you don't want it down because the OS drive crashed. Yeah, it's easy enough to replace and reinstall, but I prefer the peace of mind. That's just my preference though...

True.... gah... so hard... to decide....

*shudder* ...and then there's that thought. 5400RPM...so...slow...the...agony! I've even taken to replacing the drives in the laptops we use in the systems office at work. It's hard to believe how some people attribute laptops to being slow because of "slower" CPUs or "slower" (and usually less) RAM. Simply upgrading the drive to 7200RPM can make ALL the difference in the world in a laptop. It'll run down the battery faster but we almost always use ours plugged in anyway.

The only problem I've got with 7200RPM drives is that nobody's made a 160GB 7200RPM PATA drive. I've got the Seagate Momentus 5400.3 160GB drive in my laptop right now, and the speed increase from my old drive (the one that's in the desktop now) is considerable. When somebody makes a high-capacity 7200RPM PATA drive, I'll be the first one to buy it.

If you end up stepping down for some reason I'd still recommend something that's 965 based. While Intel considers the 975 their "performance" chipset many people consider the 965 to be the better chipset. There were several reasons I went with a 965 based board (Asus P5B-E) when I upgraded my system last year...but I can't remember what those reasons were now! There was one very specific feature that the 975 doesn't have I just can't remember what it is.

I've been reading about differences between the 975 and 965 chipsets. It's a little confusing, since the 965 is newer than the 975 - contrary to what you'd first think. From what I've read, the 965 outperforms the 975 at stock speeds anyways, so maybe that'd be a better choice. But on the other hand... 28 PCI-e lanes... *drools*

That's not a bad decision...and maybe Asus will get their heads screwed on straight and add AHCI support back into the BIOS.

Hopefully. I have a friend who built a system using the P5K board, and also noticed the AHCI settings disappeared after the BIOS update.

Why does this have to be so hard? I wish I could build my own motherboard from various components... that'd be so much easier than all this back and forth crap. *grumble*

[nmX.Memnoch]

Zxian,

What did you ever come up with as a final solution for this?

[jcarle]

Zxian,

What did you ever come up with as a final solution for this?

One word. Foxconn.

That... and a fair bit of persuasion on my part.

[Zxian]

Indeed - jcarle was a big help in the final decision.

Foxconn G9657MA-8EKRS2H is the motherboard I ended up going with in the end. I got a sweet deal on 2GB of OCZ Gold DDR2-800 RAM (2x 1GB for $70 CAD). The CPU is an E2160, since they're on sale at the moment, and are only slightly cheaper than a Celeron. Like many know, I run Rosetta@Home, so the extra core helps there.

I still have to order the RAID card though - after I pay down this visa bill. Went on a trip this weekend with my girlfriend... gas, food, drinks... and so forth.

[nmX.Memnoch]

I know the feeling. At least it didn't go food, drinks, gas in the order...I'm almost positive your girlfriend wouldn't have appreciated that.

[Zxian]

Little update (since I have to wait for files to copy anyways):

The Foxconn board ended up being no good for a server system since Intel silently decided to end video driver support for Server 2003. Since I would be connecting to this system through a KVM switch to my monitor (which is widescreen) from time to time, that was a no-go. So... I shelved the Foxconn board (I'll keep it for another system) and went back to NCIX. I picked up a P5B Deluxe and a 7200GS that was on sale.

I also ordered the 3ware 9650SE-8LPML and another drive cage for my CMStacker 810 case. So... the final specs:

P5B Deluxe

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160

2x 1GB OCZ Gold DDR2-800

256MB EVGA Geforce 7200GS

3ware 9650SE-8LPML

1x Western Digital 250GB WD2500KS (system drive)

4x Western Digital 500GB WD5000AAKS (storage drives)

Pioneer DVR-212D

Corsair HX620

Coolermaster CMStacker 810

I was thoroughly surprised at the speed in which NCIX delivered the RAID card. They said that they'd have to order it from Toronto (I live in Vancouver), and that it would arrive "sometime next week" - this was last thursday. I come back today from my parents' place to get an email saying it had arrived.

I'm currently copying over the data from my old RAID1 setup onto a 3-drive RAID5. Once that's complete, I'll shut everything down, plug the last drive into the system, and expand the array to it's final size of... *drum roll please* 1.5TB!

In 3ware's web-configuration page, I've found the SMART data for the drives, but I'm not sure how to translate the hex data into something I can actually understand. I was hoping to have an easy way of reading off the data, like one can in SpeedFan. Any thoughts anyone?

I also need to get myself a BBU - I completely forgot about this last Thursday when I ordered the card. Write speeds without caching are pretty horrendous, but I'm wondering what the risks are for me in terms of catastrophic failure in the event of a power loss (which is rare in my area) if I use write caching without a BBU. Does it just mean that I'll lose the last few KB of whatever I've downloaded to the disks, or is there a risk that the whole array goes bunk? I'm not running mission critial databases on this card just yet, so I'm wondering if I can make do without for the time being, and let my credit card recover once more...

[nmX.Memnoch]

The Foxconn board ended up being no good for a server system since Intel silently decided to end video driver support for Server 2003. Since I would be connecting to this system through a KVM switch to my monitor (which is widescreen) from time to time, that was a no-go. So... I shelved the Foxconn board (I'll keep it for another system) and went back to NCIX. I picked up a P5B Deluxe and a 7200GS that was on sale.

Wow...that's odd Intel ended Server 2003 support. Of course, the XP drivers probably would've worked...but what you got is probably better now anyway.

In 3ware's web-configuration page, I've found the SMART data for the drives, but I'm not sure how to translate the hex data into something I can actually understand. I was hoping to have an easy way of reading off the data, like one can in SpeedFan. Any thoughts anyone?

You know...I saw that a while back and didn't even think anything about it. But I'm ticked off at the moment because when I looked at mine my drives are running at 1.5Gbps instead of 3.0Gbps for some reason. I'll get that sorted out.

Edit: I was doing some searching on my issue and came across this:

Will the drives SMART values ever be passed through the controller so a standard SMART reading program will be able to read their values?

I also need to get myself a BBU - I completely forgot about this last Thursday when I ordered the card. Write speeds without caching are pretty horrendous, but I'm wondering what the risks are for me in terms of catastrophic failure in the event of a power loss (which is rare in my area) if I use write caching without a BBU. Does it just mean that I'll lose the last few KB of whatever I've downloaded to the disks, or is there a risk that the whole array goes bunk? I'm not running mission critial databases on this card just yet, so I'm wondering if I can make do without for the time being, and let my credit card recover once more...

Do you have the system on a UPS? I have write-caching enabled on mine without a BBU...but I have the system on a UPS and it's managed (shuts the server down before the UPS battery runs out).

You can run without it, you just take a chance that whatever's in the cache will be lost. The BBU stores the cache information in the event of a power outtage. When the system is powered back up it dumps that information to the drives. If you have a UPS that's managed then you can get away without the BBU (but I wouldn't leave it that way permanently...I need to get one for mine as well).

Edited August 14, 2007 by nmX.Memnoch

[Zxian]

The XP drivers don't work under 2003. I tried the force install, and they didn't initialize properly - leaving me back with the default VGA drivers.

I don't have a UPS, but I was contemplating getting one for this system. For my purposes, losing whatever is in the cache (which is probably not that much anyways) won't be that big of a deal for me. I never cut/paste files - always copy/paste, then delete. If something goes wrong during this process, then there's always a remaining copy of the actual data, and nothing to be lost in the cache.

All in all though - the card is wicked. Thanks for the recommendation again. The only beef I had with the BIOS configuration was that the "create array" (or whatever that label is) didn't have any letters highlighted. Fortunately, I was smart enough to guess that Alt-C was the correct keystroke...