opteron 146 thoughts on motherboards

[Peter Arremann]

On Sunday 08 January 2006 20:34, Robert L Cochran wrote:
> Peter Arremann wrote:
> >I can't recommend this board for a server use or a high end setup. But if
> > you are looking for a cheap way to upgrade this board is unbeatable. At
> > about $70 shipped you get something that will allow you to reuse your AGP
> > card and then allow you to go PCI-E whenever you feel like it...
> >
> >Peter.
>
> Why isn't it a good server board? I'm not trained in how to evaluate a
> board that can be used for server applications.

You'll probably get two very different responses back from me and Bryan 
because we interpret the term "server" very different. For me, a server 
doesn't have to have redundancy, expensive raid or anything - it is simply 
something that is used to run server software. 

While many people that run a PC as a server simply don't have the money or the 
server task is not that important, you still want to get maximum stability 
possible. And that is unfortunately where the AsRock board falls short. For 
one, Asrock does not cross ship. If you have an RMA request, you're looking 
at a week. Other vendors will cross ship - you give them your credit card and 
as long as you return the borken board within 2 weeks they won't charge you.

Another issue is the lm_sensor issue. For a server you want at least some 
monitoring. If you install unpatched FC4, you won't get any sensor 
information. 

The thrid and for me biggest issue is the driver support. This board is exotic 
and that is fine for a desktop board. But if you're somewhere at 2am trying 
to reload a box, you surely don't want to hunt around for some weird bug you 
might encounter. I have not found anything other than the lm_sensors yet, but 
still - just because less people use it, its less well tested.

In the end, as I said (after all I pointed you to this board), I think its a 
great board for the price. Especially the dual agp/pci-e slots is cool. But 
if I had to run it as a server, I would spend the extra $30, get a NForce 4 
board and have something that 20% of the comunity runs... 

Peter.