2U Server: Mainboard Dilemma

[Tea]

OK: let's put this forum to the test. Here's a curly one.

I have a regular customer who wants a small server, which must fit into a 2U rackmount case. Anticipated workload is small, we plan a single 40GB 7200 RPM IDE drive for it.

I have to work within my customer's specifications. And no, I'm not going to go back to him and say "can't do it this way, what about that way?" because I know this guy: trust me, certain of the parameters are fixed and won't change.

• Case: 2U rackmount. 1U is OK, 4U out of the question.
  
• RAM: 512MB. Can be SDRAM or DDR, doesn't matter if the board can't handle more than 512MB (i.e., i815 chipset is OK), just so long as I deliver the unit with 512MB on board.
  
• Hard drive: 40GB IDE.
  
• NIC: he needs 2 network cards.
  
• Free PCI slot: he must have one free PCI slot for, of all things, an internal modem. (Don't ask!) At a pinch, I could probably talk him into making do with a free serial port and an external, but I'd rather not.

CPU: He wants either a P-III 1130/512k cache or an Athlon XP 1700 with DDR. I could probably push him into something else if I have to, but it would need to be in that sort of performance ballpark.

Then, there are some restrictions that I have:

• I need this machine to be rock stable. I'm perfectly happy to work with (a) one of the better Intel chipsets (e.g., i815ep) because they are good solid stuff, or (b) with a VIA KT-133A or KT-266A (because, although some people don't like them, I have lots of experience with them and feel comfortable with them). I don't want to venture off into the unknown with this unit: i.e, no SiS chipsets, or Nvidia stuff, or VIA Socket 370 things if I can possibly find an alternative.
  
• I don't want to take chances with second-rate NICs either: in my book, Intel make the best, most fuss-free network cards money can buy.
  
• An Intel ServerWorks chipset mainboard is no use to me. If one of those is the only answer, then I'll tell him to call Dell and get a Power Edge 1550. He doesn't need that, but if he is paying that sort of price already (which he would with a Serverworks board) then he might as well just go with an off-the-shelf Dell.

So, what I need is a board and CPU combination that will go OK in the 2U case. An Epox KT-266A and Athlon XP will fit (just) but the clearance for a cooling fan is very marginal. I'm concerned about the heat and hence longer-term reliability of such a setup. Also, the PCI riser card limits me to three slots: 2 x NIC and any old PCI video card = 0 free slots.

I had thought an 815ep with on-board video and NIC would be ideal. (The 512MB RAM limit is no problem for us.) But the supplier I've been working with on this says that none of their mainboards (Epox and Intel) support the new 512k P-IIIs.

Anyone know of a readily-available mainboard that does support the P-III 1130/512k, is not stupidly expensive, and has on-board video? (On-board Intel NIC would be nice too.) I have convenient access to Epox, ASUS, Soltek, MSI, Gigabyte, a few others.

Is there such a thing as a two-in-one Intel NIC - i.e, two cards in one slot?

Should I consider an underclocked XP 1700+ running at 11 x 200MHz instead to keep it cool?

Exotic cooling solutions?

Any other ideas?

Thanks for any help, guys!

 

[time]

The Gigabyte GA-6OXET is available locally and supports Tualatin (signified by the "T" in the product code). It is i815 with 6 PCI slots. Don't know if it fits ...

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/products/6oxet.htm

The GA-6OXET-C is also available and would be fine for your application (it loses the onboard sound and a RAM socket).

I can't see anything in Soltek or Epox's lineup for Oz.

BTW, is there any reason you can't use a MicroATX 2U case? There are plenty of microATX boards with onboard video and 3 PCI slots. I don't understand the difference here - can anyone enlighten?

 

[James]

You can also find low profile cards for video (AGP/PCI) and NICs which obviates the need for the riser card and gives you more expansion options. Of course your case will need to support low profile cards, I'm afraid I can't help you there.

Low profile cards (if you haven't come across them before) are essentially standard cards - NICs and low end graphics cards generally don't need huge PCBs - with reduced height backplanes. Some Taiwanese makers offer them in their standard pricelists, ask your distributor.

 

[Pradeep]

http://www.ipspty.com.au/menu1-byo.htm

Click on the 2U rackmount options on the left. $2250 for dual MP1500, 2 NICS, and TNT graphics.


Actually the Intel 2U rackmount looks like much better value in your case.

http://www.ipspty.com.au/byo/ba15.htm

Tyan USA, Tiger 2505T Tiger 200 Systemboard
2 x Intel® Pentium® III Processors 1.13GHz - 512Kb Cache
512MB SDRAM 133MHz
2U 19" Rackmount Server Chassis & Power Supply
On-Board DUAL Intel 10/100Mbits Fast Ethernet NIC
On-Board Promise IDE Raid Controller Raid Level 0,1 & 0+1
On-Board 4MB Graphics Engine
1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive

for $2,220

 

[Pradeep]

Ahh, perhaps the best yet, http://www.ipspty.com.au/byo/ba10.htm

1U, so he'll need to go external modem probably.

Tyan USA, Tomcat i815T ( S2080NG ) Systemboard
1 x Intel® Pentium® III Processors 1.26GHz - 133Mhz Tualatin
256MB PC133MHz SDRAM - maxes out at 512MB
1U 19" Rackmount Server Chassis & Power Supply
On-Board DUAL Intel 10/100Mbits Fast Ethernet NIC
On-Board 4MB Graphics Engine
1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive

$1700.

 

[Mercutio]

Well, the first thing I thought when I read this was "Tulatain", but Pradeep has already found something that's absolutely perfect, so I guess the only thing left for you to do is to get your customer to change his mind about the modem.

 

[Tea]

Some great advice here. Thanks guys. I just found a Gigabyte board that supports the 1130 CPU, has on-board video and on-board Intel LAN, and will fit in the case just fine. GA61WS2, I think. It's an i810 chipset. Is that an absolute no-no? Or is the 810 OK? Remember, I'm more concerned with stability than performance and don't care about the lack of an AGP slot. If it's 3% slower than an i815, that is immaterial.

 

[time]

I think you mean the GA-6IWFL.

Its version of the i810 has a 133MHz FSB, so that's okay. And it has an onboard Intel network adaptor.

But it's a FlexATX form factor, not ATX or MicroATX. Are you sure it will line up? I think you'll find the first PCI slot is where the AGP slot normally is.

Is anyone going to tell me why you can't use MicroATX in a standard 2U case?

 

[CougTek]

Well, the first thing I thought when I read this was "Tulatain",...

This poor little Intel processor shares something with me : people can't spell our name correctly

Wasn't the i810 limited to 100MHz FSB and the i815 able to work at 133MHz FSB? No matter if the graphic's power is about equal between these two chipsets, a i815-based system should be a bit more responsive if there is a 33MHz difference on the FSB.

 

[CougTek]

Well, the first thing I thought when I read this was "Tulatain",...

Ah! I know, it's a Pavarotti song :

Tulatati, Tulatao, Tulatata, Tulatain!

Yeah, there are Ravioli advertisements with this song in the background. ;-)

 

[time]

Wasn't the i810 limited to 100MHz FSB and the i815 able to work at 133MHz FSB? No matter if the graphic's power is about equal between these two chipsets, a i815-based system should be a bit more responsive if there is a 33MHz difference on the FSB.

Now I know that people don't read my posts

Its version of the i810 has a 133MHz FSB, so that's okay.

 

[Tea]

Thanks Time. I got the model number over the phone, so I may have garbaled it. I just ordered one of the Gigabyte boards. I figure if it doesn't fit into the 2U case, I can use the board up by plugging an old Celeron 600 chip I have spare in and making up a second-hand system.

 

[James]

Where's Skallas when you need him?

 

[Mercutio]

Arguing with people on SR over the value of writable DVDs, of course!

Don't ask me. I can't keep intel chipsets straight anymore, either.

 

[CougTek]

Time,

I read it, but I'm not sure if the i810 is capable of handling the 133MHz FSB just like the i815. Back when it was popular, I knew that, but now (and also because I'm totally uninterested by Intel offerings on the socket 370) I forgot.

The i810 really is able to work at 133MHz? What's the difference between the i810 and the i815 then?

 

[Tea]

There are various i810 versions. There was an i810, an i810e and them some others, which I lost track of. This must be one of the more recent ones.

 

[Pradeep]

I don't think there was anything technically wrong with i810, it's just that the integrated video sucked hard.

 

[Tea]

Oh, and Pradeep: Thankyou to you in particular, that looks like an excellent suggestion. Next time I need a box of that kind, that thing (or at least the mainboard out of it) would be ideal.

James: So far as I can tell, the case I have won't be able to use a 1/2 height PCI card or AGP card. But with on-board video and NIC, that won't matter. It has a three-slot PCI riser card. The only thing that worries me is that they say that the riser card has to go into PCI slot 2, and the form of the board may not allow for this - it fits OK into slot 2 of a board I tried just now, but I don't know the form of the Gigabyte i810 board yet.

But, assuming it fits, I'll need to use one slot for the second NIC and one for the modem, and still have one free. With luck, the board will arrive today.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

The 810E does 133 FSB and coppermine. It also has crappy integrated video and runs its RAM at 100Mhz. The 815 has an AGP option as well as integrated video. It runs its RAM at 133Mhz with a 133FSB CPU. The 815EP as above without the integrated video bit......OK, enough of this boring stuff!! :eekers:

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Oh, the 810E2 is the actual chipset that supports 0.13 Micron CPUs. It is limited to PC100 memory speeds, however. If you want PC133, you need an 815G chipset. Exactly the same except PC133 support.

Try:

http://appzone.intel.com/boards/

for all of your motherboard selection needs!