# 775 board, help choosing :)



## Mussels (Feb 5, 2008)

Short version: i'm starting a new job, and looking at upgrading my storage system.

I'd still like to stay 775 and most of the hardware, with one change - i need more SATA ports!


Does anyone know of an OCing (400FSB) 775 board thats not insanely expensive with 8 or more sata ports? if not, any reccomendations on decently priced PCI-E SATA cards?

I'm looking around 12-16 drives total, WITHOUT running RAID.


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## btarunr (Feb 5, 2008)

Why do you need a new board? Can't you just add PCI-Express based SATA cards to your current storage system? Since you're not doing RAID, you can even get PCI based SATA cards.

I doubt if you have desktop boards with 12 SATA boards. I'd recommend you take the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R or the GA-P35-DS3R (Rev. 2.0) they come with six ports from the ICH9R southbrige plus two from the GA SATA II controller (8 in all) + take a four port SATA card. 

If you're using a P35 based board, I'd suggest you not to use the PATA/IDE for connecting your optical drive(s). The IDE controller has been disintegrated from the southbridge and runs from the GA controller. I am facing erratic operation with it.


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## Mussels (Feb 5, 2008)

its P965 and someones asked to buy it off me - so i'm looking if theres better alternatives to the PCI-E cards (i wont go PCI, too slow)

The problem i'm facing is that its only got two PCI-E slots free and they're only 1x. That would let me buy 2x cards for an additional 4 drives, but no more.

If you know of any PCI-E 1x cards with 4 sata II ports, that would be a big bonus


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## King Wookie (Feb 5, 2008)

Umm, check out the Sunix cards.
I'm pretty sure they do 3 way SATA cards.

They're quite cheap and seem to be reliable.


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## Mussels (Feb 5, 2008)

King Wookie said:


> Umm, check out the Sunix cards.
> I'm pretty sure they do 3 way SATA cards.
> 
> They're quite cheap and seem to be reliable.



thanks but they seem rare in Australia - i can only find a single store with one, and its a two port.


Just to clarify - the current mobo has 7x SATA-II and 1x E-sata. 3x PCI-E 1x slots means i can add another 6 drives total - making 13 my max. all 4 port cards i find, need a 4x slot 

The cost of that would add up to 100-150, which is in the ranges of an entirely new motherboard, hence the idea of looking for a new one.

I am definately up for suggestions at this point, as i want to add more storage to the system soon and SATA ports are the limiting factor.


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## OnBoard (Feb 5, 2008)

Mine has one PCI-e 4x slot if it would help, other than that it's pretty close to yours, being only the Plus version. http://pics.computerbase.de/1/7/6/8/1/22.jpg
Surely there has to be one with 8 sata too, I remember seeing one sometime last year and wondering who'd ever need them all


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## Mussels (Feb 5, 2008)

your board is quite different!










7th sata II is in the top left of the board - above the USB plugs. Its black and a very weird location.

The problem isnt needing just a board with 8 sata (As i DO use the E-sata) its finding one with at LEAST 8 sata (hopefully e-sata too) _AND_ more PCI-E slots. I'd want 2 16x slots, or 1 16x and 2 4x.

with a 16x card i can fork out a lot of dough, but get a card that takes at least 8 drives.


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## King Wookie (Feb 5, 2008)

The only boards I've seen with 8 x SATA, are the more expensive boards.

Would it not be more cost effective to simply consolidate on a few high capacity drives?
Terabyte drives go a long way.


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## G0DZLR (Feb 5, 2008)

i was about to suggest that just as you posted lol ^

im finding that to be the way to go. a billion small drives is just aiming toward a heavier system thatl break your back imo. a few big drives could solve that prob


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## Mussels (Feb 5, 2008)

two problems: most tera drives are having reliability issues right now, and i already have 6x500GB drives in the system. I've got various other drives around the place (consolidating them)

Its a tricky situation, as the only solution seems to be ditch the video card and get a 8 port SATA card in the 16x slot, or buy an actual server system.


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## King Wookie (Feb 5, 2008)

Do you actually need to have all the drives connected at the same time?

If not, a decent caddy system would go a long way.

Icybox make some nice ones.(or Icebox, can't remember off hand)

I'll be looking for boards for you in the meantime.


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## King Wookie (Feb 5, 2008)

MSI P965 Platinum

Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R

Asus P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP

The Asus is probably your best bet, as a dual slot gfx card will be covering only a pci slot, and the black pci-e x 16 slot runs at pci-e x 4.
As I don't know any supplier sites in your neck of the woods, you would have to check on pricing.

There's probably alot more options, but I'll leave it to you to go digging.


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## OnBoard (Feb 5, 2008)

GA-P35-DS3R is better option than GA-P35C-DS3R, still 8xSata, but no DDR3 support to raise price. 114€ here, propably cheaper there.

http://www.links.co.jp/html/press2/image/gag33ds3r7.jpg


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## Mussels (Feb 5, 2008)

the asus is the one in my main rig  i know the board well.

pondering this board with the 8600GT in the 4x slot, leaving the 16x slot free.

Might be a good option. Its looks better thinking about it - doing that would give me a 16x slot and 2 1x slots all in the same location - easier for cable management too.
10x SATA ports if i use the PCI-E 1x first, and depending on my needs i can get a 4/8 port PCI-E card for the big slot.

Thanks for the ideas, i originally was just looking for more onboard SATA.



OnBoard said:


> GA-P35-DS3R is better option than GA-P35C-DS3R, still 8xSata, but no DDR3 support to raise price. 114€ here, propably cheaper there.
> 
> http://www.links.co.jp/html/press2/image/gag33ds3r7.jpg



good points/suggestions. I think the P5K-E might be the winnar due to the second '16x' slot - the PCI-E/sata capabilites of that giga match the one already in the system/


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## King Wookie (Feb 5, 2008)

Don't forget that an external on the firewire works well.

They're pretty much a standard in the recording industry, and their data throughput is quite good. (we record multi channel 24 bit audio straight to them.)


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## OnBoard (Feb 5, 2008)

Well how about GA-965P-DS3P then, if you can still find one?
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/Image/motherboard_productimage_ga_965p-ds3p_3.3_big.jpg

EDIT: oh, didn't notice that P5K-E has 2x e-sata


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## Mussels (Feb 5, 2008)

King Wookie said:


> Don't forget that an external on the firewire works well.
> 
> They're pretty much a standard in the recording industry, and their data throughput is quite good. (we record multi channel 24 bit audio straight to them.)



the problem is that its mostly for media storage, not backups. Its quite a chore to connect/disconnect multiple drives, and the amount of power bricks would be much excessive.

The other concern is overheating - i've got a an E-sata cage, and unless i open the cage and direct a fan at it, every drive in its overheated to some extent.




OnBoard said:


> Well how about GA-965P-DS3P then, if you can still find one?
> http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/Image/motherboard_productimage_ga_965p-ds3p_3.3_big.jpg



That fits the needs too, but its only $25 cheaper than the P35 asus board.


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## Wile E (Feb 6, 2008)

Mussels said:


> Short version: i'm starting a new job, and looking at upgrading my storage system.
> 
> I'd still like to stay 775 and most of the hardware, with one change - i need more SATA ports!
> 
> ...


What cpu do you plan to put in it? If you don't need more than fsb 1066 support, a 975X board might be an option. Like the P5W DH Deluxe.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131025R
6 sata ports, and you can use the the gfx slots at 8x. Running your card at 8x, and a SATA controller at 8x.

Alternatively, have you considered getting an eSATA HDD tower?


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## Mussels (Feb 6, 2008)

Could you describe this HDD tower? I'm not sure what you mean (more than one drive in the same cage??)


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## Wile E (Feb 6, 2008)

Something like this, tho if you hunt, there are cheaper alternatives. Many of them come with a controller card already, so that drives the price up a little.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332017


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## tzitzibp (Feb 6, 2008)

btarunr said:


> I doubt if you have desktop boards with 12 SATA boards. I'd recommend you take the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R or the GA-P35-DS3R (Rev. 2.0) they come with six ports from the ICH9R southbrige plus two from the GA SATA II controller (8 in all) + take a four port SATA card.
> QUOTE]
> 
> price grabber:-
> ...


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## Mussels (Feb 6, 2008)

Wile E said:


> Something like this, tho if you hunt, there are cheaper alternatives. Many of them come with a controller card already, so that drives the price up a little.
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332017



i. like. that. cage.

This is even better than a storage system, E-sata ftw.

The only concern is that it ONLY seems to run RAID - what about individual drives? Also cant find it for sale in aus 


http://www.eyo.com.au/prod_E-VPMA-7...m_5_Bay_VPMA-75511R_SATA_HDD_eSATA_Black.html

Found this one - mentions "1x5 port Multiplier Functionality or JBOD mode"

http://en.vipower.com/products01_01.php?ID=166
Manufacturers link.


			
				manf said:
			
		

> * 1-to-5 Intelligent, native SATA II storage processor
> * Compatible with today's SATA Gen1 and Gen2 host controllers
> * OS independent, Driverless, Auto Configuration
> * RAID 0, 1, support
> ...


This seems almost exactly what i wanted - 5x SATA-II drives using one e-sata port. The P5B-E on the system now has 2x e-sata, thats 10x drives already 

The only concern is the price - can anyone reccomend other models with 4-5 drives, especially if they're available in aus?


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## Wile E (Feb 7, 2008)

Mussels said:


> i. like. that. cage.
> 
> This is even better than a storage system, E-sata ftw.
> 
> ...


The one I recommend does Jbod as well. But it's a moot point really, considering you can't find one in Aussie land. lol.

Give some good places to hunt for them online that are for Aus, and I'll try to help you find one.


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## Mussels (Feb 7, 2008)

i dont want JBOD - i want each drive available seperately. in JBOD, if one drive goes it, it can contain partial files from other drives, making it more risky.

mostly i just use www.staticice.com.au and www.shopbot.com.au

Two requirements after reading up: it mustnt need a specific E-sata (the one you linked only worked with sil image chipsets) and it must support NON raid mode. JBOD isnt good enough.

Hot swap would be great too - eventually i'll get more than one of these, and it'd be awesome to have an anime dedicated one


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## Wile E (Feb 7, 2008)

Mussels said:


> i dont want JBOD - i want each drive available seperately. in JBOD, if one drive goes it, it can contain partial files from other drives, making it more risky.
> 
> mostly i just use www.staticice.com.au and www.shopbot.com.au
> 
> ...


Lifted this from wiki. I know my DFI mobo does this too.



			
				wiki said:
			
		

> Some RAID controllers use JBOD to refer to configuring drives without RAID features. Each drive shows up separately in the OS. This JBOD is not the same as concatenation



But at any rate, I'll get to lookin around. lol.


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## qisback (Feb 13, 2008)

Hi,

New user here, but found this post via google. (double checks post date)

I have a increased need than yours, because I'm needing some where in the range of 40-50 SATA ports, however I though I'd throw the solution I've had for about a year into the works.

My old NAS system was a Headless Ubuntu system consisting of:

E6600
4GB Kingston Value
AB9 Pro (9 internal SATA, 1 eSATA)
2 x SATA PCIe 1x controllers (4 Port)
1 x Highpoint 2340 PCIe 8x controller (16 Port)
2 x Sil 25xx based cards (4 ports)

This ran:
2 x 16 - 500GB (SATA 300) disk RAID 6 Array
1 x 8 - 200GB (SATA 150) disk RAID 6 Array
1 x 2 - 160GB (SATA 300) disk RAID 1 Array (boot)

http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?fMTYPE=LGA775&pMODEL_NAME=AB9 Pro
Might suit your needs, AB9 Pro boards are £30 here in the UK. From what I can tell they clock quite well, although I don't clock it because of needing reliability for the RAID 6 parity calculations. I used to use it with the 9 internal and a eSATA to SATA cable (looped though a pci slot). The 1x PCIe cards where £25 each from ebay, and the Highpoint 2340 was £230ish from ebay as well.


for those who want to know http://tyan.com/product_board_detail.aspx?pid=541 is what I went for. (again an ebay jobbie, £132)

Hope the info helps

-={Q}=-


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## Mussels (Feb 14, 2008)

thast the most sata ports of any recommended board so far.


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## imperialreign (Feb 14, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131236

I know it's on newegg, but you can at least see specs

8 SATA, 2 eSATA at rear I/O, 2 PCIE 2.0 slots, 1 PCIE x1


and on the P5W DH Deluxe recomendation - good board, 5 SATA connectors, 1 SATA for an eSATA PCI panel, or another internal drive


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## qisback (Feb 14, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131236

Might be a good motherboard but for what it is, it's WAYYYYYY over priced. £130ish is just not worth paying if all your going to do is stick HDD's in it, not unless it's like the tyan I've just brought which gives 16 connections on board and a vase array of expansion slots. (even new there only £200ish which is still worth it for a tyan)

From looking at your "Storage" system specs you seem to running some heavy hardware in there. Is there any particular reason for that, i.e. 2nd gaming rig etc.

I just think that personally a storage system shouldn't have anyone anywhere near it once it's up and running other than to put more drives in it of course.

Also why no raid? Thats a crap load of data to loose if a drive dies. Unless it's full of porn in which case it wouldn't take long to refill. You might want to consider a raid solution of some form just to give you a little protection.

Ubuntu + a stack of hard drives is a nice easy and effective way to set a storage system up.

-={Q}=-


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## Mussels (Feb 14, 2008)

qisback said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131236
> 
> Might be a good motherboard but for what it is, it's WAYYYYYY over priced. £130ish is just not worth paying if all your going to do is stick HDD's in it, not unless it's like the tyan I've just brought which gives 16 connections on board and a vase array of expansion slots. (even new there only £200ish which is still worth it for a tyan)
> 
> ...



I dont use raid because its somewhat expensive to waste half my storage in raid 1, and raid 0 increases the risk of failure.
RAID on the mobo also has the problem, that the RAID is linked to the mobo - i dont like the idea of raid unless its on a dedicated card.

The hardware in it IS being downgraded soon enough, at one point it was the 2nd gaming rig (now the media PC has that role)


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## qisback (Feb 15, 2008)

Ah I understand now, it's not a 2nd rig it's an old one.

As for RAID I use raid 6 because that way you loose 2 drives out of an any size array which means that the array it's self can drop 2 drives with no data loss.

So for the 16 drive arrays that I run, I get 14 usable drives but the safety that 2 drives could fail and still not loose any data. Might be worth looking into.

And as for the RAID being linked to the motherboard, most raid systems that are used create generic arrays. So there not necessary locked to that one motherboard. However I do understand your concern, I don't like using on-board RAID but my reasons is because on-board RAID controllers are actually software based, or hybrid. You can tell if it's software by the fact that you have to install drivers for them to actually work in windows, and Linux just sees through them to the individual devices.

I actually use software RAID which is controlled by the mdadm tool set in Linux, works great and is actually faster than running it on a hardware card because the resources these days of core computer components well exceed that which is on hardware RAID cards. a 2+ GHz CPU vs a 400MHz RAID controller CPU not much of a competition really is it? Another plus point is that even if the hardware dies the array will still work on any other system that has the mdadm tool kit available to it.

There are software RAID implementations for windows as well, however I can't comment on them because I've never used them really.

-={Q}=-


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