I am going to be writing a guide on how to build and configure a server like the one here at OCmodshop. Until I get that done though here are some pictures of the hardware that went into the server. Much thanks to all of the companies that provided me with the hardware to get it up and running.
Conclusion
The reason I wanted a dual AMD motherboard is because I like AMD more than Intel and I wanted dual CPUs to handle the load. This was my first experience with SMP and building a server of this stature but I can honestly say I really like this motherboard. There are a lot of features and the it’s stable as a rock. It has an AGP pro slot and 2 64-bit PCI slots which is really great for high end hardware. The onboard LAN is also nice so a PCI slot isn’t used so that you can put something else where the NIC would be.
Along with all the great features that this motherboard offers it looks awesome with the red PCB. The only thing that I did not really like was the fact that there was not enough room around the sockets for a good sized heatsink and that there was no onboard RAID or SCSI. Overall I am going to give this motherboard a 10/10 and award it the OCmodshop Seal of Approval. I would like to really thank MSI for giving me this motherboard to review. I would also like to thank the other companies who contributed hardware so the server would run.
Pros
- Great server motherboard
- Will take up to 4GB of registered RAM
- 2 64-bit PCI slots
- AGP pro slot
- Onboard LAN and audio
- USB 2.0 with the card
- Cool red PCB
- Hot components are cooled by heatsinks
- Stable as a rock
Cons
- No onboard RAID or SCSI
- Very little room around the sockets
