Need Advice on Picking a Motherboard

[jaluke]

Hi all,

I am currently building a PC and am looking for suggestions as to which motherboard best fits my needs.
My Build:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-042-_-Product

ZOTAC Synergy Edition ZT-40401-10P GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500168&cm_re=zotac_gtx_460-_-14-500-168-_-Product&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018&cm_re=ocz_modxstream_pro-_-17-341-018-_-Product&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145278&cm_re=corsair_ddr3-1333-_-20-145-278-_-Product&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

Intel Xeon E5504 Nehalem 2.0GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 80W Quad-Core Server Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117187&cm_re=e5504-_-19-117-187-_-Product&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

I am currently looking for a motherboard that will support the Xeon E5504 Nehalem Server processor as well as Core i7 CPUs (for later upgrading purposes) and has multiple PCI-E x16 slots so that I can have SLI'd video cards later on as I will use this machine primarily for gaming. One Mobo I found that fits this criteria is the C7X58 ( http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core/X58/C7X58.cfm ). If you have any suggestions for a better Mobo that fits this criteria it would be welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Are specifically building for Servers?

I would say this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131658

If you have some higher budget i would say:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128422

 

[Scott2010au]

Are Tyan still around?

 

[Scott2010au]

If you are looking at motherboads with the Intel X58 chipset and that configuration then you really ought not to be looking at Intel Xeon processors.

Basically: It's not really a Uniprocessor server if it lacks Buffered and/or ECC memory.

If you want to build a Xeon, then build a dual socket one on a real server EPS or server/workstation ATX/EPS motherboard.




That board only accepts "Un-Buffered DIMM", not Registered DIMMs, although it does take ECC which is nice.

The "Intel® X58 Express Chipset" is not a server chipset.


You have not specified "Intel® x4" memory, or IBM ChipKill(tm) x4 memory, so it is quite clear you would only get the most basic ECC if you did indeed even get ECC memory. --- Therefore I wouldn't put it into the 'workstation' class either.

Plus the motherboard is only the 12" x 10" (30.5cm x 25.4cm) ATX Form Factor.


If you want a real server/workstation hybrid:

- Read up on: Intel® x4, IBM ChipKill(tm) x4, x4 ECC, ATX Workstation Form Factor, EPS12V systems (more), and so on.

- Do not use the X58 Express with a Xeon, that is just sad.

 

[jaluke]

Thanks for all the replies, however I am rather confused. The CPU I have is a server CPU with an LGA 1366 socket. Since it is LGA 1366 does that mean it will be compatible with all Mobos that utilise the LGA 1366 socket (IE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163 ) or will that CPU only work with Mobos that say they are compatible with Xeon Nehalem processors (IE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131357 or http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core2Duo/X58/C7X58.cfm )

 

[jaluke]

Also, this isn't going to be a workstation/server PC, its going to be used mainly for gaming. The reason that im using a server CPU is because I got it for free and wanted to use it instead of buying a new CPU.