[SOLVED] P6X58D Premium Replacement Recommendation

[cyberdrone]

Hey all. I have an older forensic rig that is purpose-built with hot-swappable drive bays, etc. so I want to keep the case and upgrade the processor, memory, etc. It currently has the following configuration:

• Asus P6X58D Premium
• Intel Core i7 975 @ 3.33GHz, 3334 Mhz, 4 Cores..
• 12 Gb DDR3 RAM
• Dual NICs

I believe this is an ATX motherboard. I've been out of the hardware space for awhile, so I'm looking for recommendations on a motherboard, processor, etc.
Thanks!
Nick

 

[kanewolf]

Hey all. I have an older forensic rig that is purpose-built with hot-swappable drive bays, etc. so I want to keep the case and upgrade the processor, memory, etc. It currently has the following configuration:

• Asus P6X58D Premium
• Intel Core i7 975 @ 3.33GHz, 3334 Mhz, 4 Cores..
• 12 Gb DDR3 RAM
• Dual NICs

I believe this is an ATX motherboard. I've been out of the hardware space for awhile, so I'm looking for recommendations on a motherboard, processor, etc.
Thanks!
Nick

According to the manual that is an ATX form factor motherboard.

What OS is required for this forensic rig ? The OS requirement can change what hardware is best.

 

[cyberdrone]

According to the manual that is an ATX form factor motherboard.

What OS is required for this forensic rig ? The OS requirement can change what hardware is best.

I run Windows 10 Pro and will continue to use that OS on this box.

 

[kanewolf]

I run Windows 10 Pro and will continue to use that OS on this box.

OK, that makes it much easier.
What is your budget ?
Do you have a graphics card or are you planning on using CPU integrated graphics ?

 

[cyberdrone]

Great questions guys. I have a couple graphics cards I can use, but I'm not opposed to using integrated since I don't have particular graphics requirements. I haven't thought about budget specifics either, but 1K seems about right to me and hopefully that gives me some decent options.

 

[kanewolf]

Great questions guys. I have a couple graphics cards I can use, but I'm not opposed to using integrated since I don't have particular graphics requirements. I haven't thought about budget specifics either, but 1K seems about right to me and hopefully that gives me some decent options.

Besides the removeable disks, do you need OS storage? What interface does the removable storage use? SATA ? How many SATA ports are required ?

 

[kanewolf]

First cut would be something like this
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($208.99 @ Walmart)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A 60.09 CFM CPU Cooler ($109.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ProArt B660-CREATOR D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($126.11 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $940.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-02-08 11:34 EST-0500

It has integrated graphics. 32GB RAM, which you could do a RAM disk if beneficial. The motherboard has two ethernet ports built-in. I would recommend a new power supply just because yours is so old.

 

[cyberdrone]

First cut would be something like this
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($208.99 @ Walmart)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A 60.09 CFM CPU Cooler ($109.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ProArt B660-CREATOR D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($126.11 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $940.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-02-08 11:34 EST-0500

It has integrated graphics. 32GB RAM, which you could do a RAM disk if beneficial. The motherboard has two ethernet ports built-in. I would recommend a new power supply just because yours is so old.

That's awesome. Thanks. This is an older Digital Intelligence FRED. It looks like it's using (6) SATA ports. Here are a couple pics:

 

[kanewolf]

I reduced the number of required SATA by one by using an M.2 drive for boot.
That motherboard only has 4 SATA ports. Is that enough?

 

[cyberdrone]

I reduced the number of required SATA by one by using an M.2 drive for boot.
That motherboard only has 4 SATA ports. Is that enough?

I could probably make (4) SATA ports work. What would be the implication of supporting (6) ?

 

[kanewolf]

I could probably make (4) SATA ports work. What would be the implication of supporting (6) ?

It would have to be a different motherboard, since I chose that one for the dual ethernet.
If dual ethernet is a requirement, then you probably will have to add an ethernet card to get six SATA ports.

 

[cyberdrone]

It would have to be a different motherboard, since I chose that one for the dual ethernet.
If dual ethernet is a requirement, then you probably will have to add an ethernet card to get six SATA ports.

Gotcha. I could live with one NIC. Here's the back panel in case it helps anyone in the future:

 

[kanewolf]

Gotcha. I could live with one NIC. Here's the back panel in case it helps anyone in the future:

If dual ethernet is not a requirement, then that makes it more possible.
What about the other ports on the back? It looks like a firewire port. Is that required? I don't know what the third port on the USB card is.

 

[cyberdrone]

If dual ethernet is not a requirement, then that makes it more possible.
What about the other ports on the back? It looks like a firewire port. Is that required? I don't know what the third port on the USB card is.

The third port on that card is a SATA port. The motherboard has (6) 3.0gps SATA ports and (2) 6.0 gps SATA ports. I'd like to try and keep all the functionality if possible.

 

[cyberdrone]

@kanewolf Circling back to see if your recommendation changed based on number of SATA ports desirec (6). Thanks!

 

[kanewolf]

@kanewolf Circling back to see if your recommendation changed based on number of SATA ports desirec (6). Thanks!

You can use my PCPartPicker link above. On the left side there are a bunch of filters. You can set the SATA ports to a minimum of 6. Most of the 6 SATA port motherboards a Z690
This updated list --
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($208.91 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A 60.09 CFM CPU Cooler ($109.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z690 Steel Legend ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($147.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Adorama)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $936.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-02-22 09:58 EST-0500

Actually has 8 SATA ports per the manufacturer's page -- https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z690 Steel Legend/index.asp#Specification

 

[cyberdrone]

Thanks for all the help - I really appreciate your knowledge/expertise. I will be ordering Monday.