Computex 2006: 300W GPUs, Conroe, HDMI Video Cards and Lots of Motherboards
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 5, 2006 10:24 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
ASUS' Socket-F and Woodcrest Server Platforms
ASUS' server division was in full force showing off new platforms for both AMD and Intel servers. While ASUS' desktop shipments are approximately 32% AMD and 68% Intel, its server shipments are 40% AMD and 60% Intel reflecting the market appreciation for Opteron.
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Although all we've talked about lately is AMD's desktop DDR2 platform, Socket-AM2, the server equivalent is only about a month away. Because of the very high pin count (1207 pins), AMD's DDR2 server platform, Socket-F, moved to a LGA style socket similar to what Intel has been using on the desktop since Prescott.
This Socket-F motherboard uses NVIDIA's MCP55 Professional chipset, the server/workstation version of the nForce 590 SLI desktop chipset. The MCP55 + IO55 setup results in two x16 PCIe slots that can be used for a pair of Quadro cards running in SLI mode.
The motherboard also features two mini-SAS connectors, that each can provide four SAS/SATA connectors using a 1-to-4 splitter cable.
Given the server focus of this motherboard, finding two PCI-X slots on board isn't out of the ordinary at all. The Intel PCIe to PCI-X bridge underneath the blurry black heatsink at the top of this picture drives the two PCI-X slots. Who would've expected an AMD server board with a NVIDIA chipset and an Intel PCI-X controller.
ASUS told us that it is working on a passively cooled version of this motherboard that may be ready by the time it ships.
Next up is ASUS' Blackford motherboard for the Xeon platform. Intel's Blackford chipset supports Woodcrest as well as FB-DIMMs.
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The standard Blackford chipset features a quad channel FB-DIMM memory controller; each white FB-DIMM slot below indicates a separate memory channel:
ASUS also has a version of this motherboard based on the Blackford-VS chipset, which only supports two FB-DIMM channels:
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Later this week we will have our own review of Intel's Blackford chipset running Woodcrest, a platform that was officially announced late last month.
Before concluding its presentation, ASUS' server division introduced us to a very clean 1U server based on a Blackford-VS motherboard:
The server is very clean on the inside and features dual redundant power supplies, as well as a completely tool-less design.
There are three LAN ports on the back of the chassis (the one at the right is covered in this picture); the third port is for remote system management, which is very helpful in any enterprise environment.
The LED to the left of the VGA connector illuminates when the server fails so it is easy to pick out when installed in a rack of tens of these servers.
The cooling fans in the server are all easily removable should there be a failure:
There are four hot swappable drive bays at the front of the chassis, all of which support either a SAS or SATA drive.
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mindless1 - Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - link
Nice coverage. These new toys leave me drooling. Now off I go to find a smallish nuclear reactor to power everything. LOL.sri2000 - Friday, June 9, 2006 - link
You just need to get yourself a "Mr. Fusion" and you'll be all set.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Fusion">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Fusion
bespoke - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
Too bad the new DFI boards still have that hideous fan on the NF chipset - that little bugger runs at 4,000 to 5,000 and is terribly loud.I can't wait to upgrade to Conroe, ditch NF4 and get back to a quiet (yet nicely performing) PC.
Griswold - Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - link
Duh.. newsflash, there are also NF4 boards without fans - just not from DFI. What really sucks about the fan on the DFI board is, that it breaks after 3 months and you end up replacing it with a better fan.Stele - Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - link
Although that's not much of a use if you're aiming to get a DFI board - which I think is where he was coming from. :)
For one reason or another DFI does not seem to be interested, or at least eager, to implement more/more effective passive cooling solutions on their products. Besides the lack of noise, passive cooling's greatest advantage is the fact that it doesn't have moving parts that are prone to failure like fans... as you found out.
At least they did take a unique step in implementing a digital integrated VR design on their board... its remarkable compactness and 'clean' layout without large electrolytic capacitors makes it really worth looking at for motherboard power circuits. Can't wait till more details of their implementation and tests thereof surface.
R3MF - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
was the ECS miniITX A64 motherboard with an nForce chipset.i would love to see a AM2 MCP61-S variant with two dimm slots and PCI-E 16x card!
bldckstark - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
Dual redundant power supplies in the Asus 1U server would seem to indicate that there are three or four power supplies housed within, but I believe the actuality is that there are only two right? Redundant means secondary as I understand it. Dual redundant means two secondaries. Therefore dual redundant PS's include a backup power supply and then a backup of the backup power supply. Which is it? Are there 2 or 3 power supplies in that thing?hoppa - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
God I am so sick of hearing about x new card that is "even better than" the already $500 dual x1950.9 XFIRE XLI+ v2.0 ZI miss the days when those cards, the best cards, maxed at $300, the awesome stuff was at $200, and you could do quite well for $150. Now $150 is a joke.
One43637 - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
is it just me or does the GB motherboard offerings remind you of the Asus motherboards (A8N32 & P5N32) that were released last year...Griswold - Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - link
High time the dorks at Nvidia and ATI start working on the power saving front. At least they seemm to have that in mind for the follow-up generations... This only means that R600 and G80 wont make it into my computer until the following cards reduce the power envelope by quite a bit.*shakes fist*