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PostPosted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:33 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:55 pm
Posts: 143
Location: Newcastle
Just a question to anybody using the ASUS M2N32 WS PRO.
I'm currently running a the above board fitted with a raid card (LSI Megaraid) in the first PCI-X slot and a PCI-E graphics card which blocks the second PCI-X slot (i thought i might use the second PCI-X slot in the future as i have another identical raid card). The graphics card looks like it is faulty (showing garbage on the screen) so i thought i'd take the opportunity to fit a PCI graphics card.
The system is stable - no shared IRQ's which i had no end of trouble on my last setup - but i'm worried that when i fit the PCI card i may run into problems
If you are using a PCI graphics card - which PCI slot are you using, and did you have to do anything particular in the BIOS setup re IRQ's?

Cheers

Colin


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:14 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:05 pm
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Location: Up State NY in the USA!!!!
Just remove the video card all together, the unit will run headless.

Mike


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:00 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 1:32 pm
Posts: 290
This board works fine with pretty much any old PCI videocard, I use an ATI Rage 3D myself. I'd be very interested in seeing some benchmark numbers from you if possible as I was having issues with the very same setup.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:32 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:55 pm
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Location: Newcastle
Quote:
Just remove the video card all together, the unit will run headless.

I always thought you needed a video card installed for the system to boot.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:33 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:55 pm
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Location: Newcastle
Superboss - what problems did you have?


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:07 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 1:32 pm
Posts: 290
Well performance was quite dissapointing and I got quite inconsistent numbers:

Code:
Writing 2000 x 699840 byte frames into file \\192.168.0.11\disk-0/framestream.dat
535 frames in 5,00 secs ==> 107,00 FPS (71,41 MB/s)
580 frames in 5,06 secs ==> 114,57 FPS (76,46 MB/s)
467 frames in 5,16 secs ==> 90,57 FPS (60,45 MB/s)
134 frames in 5,44 secs ==> 24,64 FPS (16,45 MB/s)
192 frames in 5,23 secs ==> 36,68 FPS (24,48 MB/s)
92 frames in 2,08 secs ==> 44,27 FPS (29,55 MB/s)

Write Summary : 2000.00 frames in 27,97 secs
: 24,64(min) 71,51(avg) 114,57(max) FPS
: 16,45(min) 47,73(avg) 76,46(max) MB/s


This was on the machine in my signature below. The latest BIOS update from ASUS for M2N32 WS Pro was suppose to fix a PCI-X performance issue but I saw no improvement after upgrading. I changed pretty much everything in my box but the problem with initial "high" numbers then dropping to about 50% remains.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:33 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:55 pm
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Location: Newcastle
Superboss - I think my numbers were worse than yours. I'm ready to upgrade my LAN to Gigabit, but don't know if that'll increase my figures. I'm not too worried about speed ATM, reliability is what i'm after. All of the media content i have at the minute plays fine.
Did you have any IRQ problems?


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:51 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 1:32 pm
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Nope no IRQ problems and I've replaced pretty much everything hardware wise. I've switched to Win2k3 server for the time being as Im now using an areca controller instead.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:11 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:55 pm
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Location: Newcastle
Thanks :D
That gives me some peace of mind. I'd get it in the neck from the wife and my son if the server was offline for more than a few hours.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:49 am 
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Joined: Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:10 am
Posts: 31
Can you tell me if the LSI MegaRAID SATA 300-8XLP card will have any problems running in the ASUS M2N32 WS PRO motherboard? This may be a dumb question, but I'd rather be safe then sorry. Or, can someone recommend a motherboard with a PCI-X slot? Thanks for your help.

Superboss: What type of CPU cooler are you using?


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:20 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 1:32 pm
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Until the PCI-X issue with the M2N32 WS Pro is completely resolved, I would not recommend buying this board. The only reason to go with a PCI-X raid controller is the lack of support for PCI-Express controllers in NASLite. PCI-E adapters have access to more bandwith and can easily be moved to new hardware if necessary. PCI-X is pretty much a dying standard and its hard to find new motherboards with PCI-X slots.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 1:55 pm 
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I already have the LSI 300-8XLP and now I need the motherboard to run it. Thats the problem I have.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:17 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 1:32 pm
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I see, well I would not recommend getting the M2N32 WS Pro based on my experience with this board.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:27 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:05 pm
Posts: 1688
Location: Up State NY in the USA!!!!
willsy wrote:
Quote:
Just remove the video card all together, the unit will run headless.

I always thought you needed a video card installed for the system to boot.


Not in my experience, in fact allot of server motherboards will even redirect their output to the serial port if there is not a video card. My Tyan K8WE motherboard does this.

Mike


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:55 pm 
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Any suggestions on another motherboard with a PCI-X slot?


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