Intel S3420GPLC ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1156 Intel 3420 DDR3 1333

Pros: UPDATED REVIEW: I have owned this server board for more than 2 years now and it has been very reliable once I got it setup. I am running the Intel X3440 Xeon processor with 8GB (4 x 2GB UDIMM) RAM and I just order 2 x 4GB Dual Rank RDIMMs that I am going to replace them with so I can eventually add a couple more sticks and have 16GB of RAM. Since DDR3 RAM is cheaper now then it was 2 years ago, 8GB RDIMMs costs less now than 4GB of UDIMMs two years ago.

Cons: Onboard RAID controller is useless if you have certain versions of the drivers. I started with Intel Matrix Storage Manager version 8.9 and was running a RAID 1 OS drives and RAID 5 storage drives and the RAID 5 kept losing a drive. After reading up on several forums, I found that people were having trouble with 8.9 and recommended 8.7. I installed 8.7 and I haven't had any problems since. I haven't even considered updating the drivers because 8.7 works fine. I did eventually get an Adaptec 2805 RAID controller with onboard memory to get better performance in a RAID 10 and the reliability that Adaptec offers. I still run my OS drives in a RAID 1 on the Intel RAID controller in case my Adaptec board won't post, but my Adaptec board has never not posted.

Other Thoughts: Overall I am happy with this board. I leave my server running 24/7/365 and other than a couple things early on, it has been very reliable. I have it running as a domain server, file server, ftp server, web server, VM server, and a server for streaming video and music. Recently, I tried running Handbrake on it to compress a DVD and it was able to compress it to 700MB h.264 in about 30 minutes. Not bad.

Pros: Made by Intel, who makes the industry leading Processors. They should know exactly what to do with making a motherboard.

Cons: Too many! - I have repeatedly tried to use Intel for server builds, and each time the server ends up with an Asus or Supermicro server board. Lately Intels motherboards are flat out horrible. VERY slow posts, VERY picky motherboard regarding components. ARECA ARC-1220 doesn't show up in half the boards in the boot rom. Overall I am very dissapointed in what Intel motherboards have become, perhaps I had to have purchased a $300+ mobo, idk, but for this price, I used Asus and SuperMicro that just flat out SPANKED this one. I now have 1 new boxed that I cant return and 3 other open box intel mobos laying around. Never again!

Other Thoughts: Perhaps a more expensive board will work better. So far this particular board has failed on 1 server for no reason, and 2 others simply just didnt want to work with the ram, raid cards, video cards, etc.. Server has a Matrox 8mb VGA built in.....you can forget about using a higher res monitor and if you get a PCI/PCIE video card, it will more than likely not let the server boot.

Pros: Right set of features

Cons: CPU too close to video card slot to hold a large cooler - even the Intel cooler doesn't fit if your video card is a rare lefty double-wide instead of a more typical righty double-wide (guess who has one of those). Note, the Thrermalright Mux-120 cooler will fit with a lefty double-wide.

DOA.

Bad documentation (things like mount with 7 screws at the indicated blue arrows when there are 8 blue arrows).

Missing documentation (had to go online to figure out that a 1-5-4-4 error code was saying that the power supply wasn't supplying power after power on - note the power supply works fine on other motherboards and other power supplies caused the same problem on this one).

Package was missing "server board bumpers" part.

Other Thoughts: I thought an Intel product would work, be well documented, come with all its parts, and be otherwise problem free. Ha. I was just trying to build a server-class workstation. I knew I had to add additional accouterments like sound and video but I expected standard parts to fit. The odd CPU placement probably has something to do with airflow in an Intel server chassis. This odd placement should be listed in the features section as something to look out for.

Pros: 6 SATAII ports, PCIe and PCI slots for good old and current PCI board compatibility, 5 fan headers, 6 RAM slots, great value for a small office server or a home server.

Cons: SATA ports are at the very bottom of the board and the SATA cables get cluttered with all of the front panel cables and any long PCI cards you have in the single PCI slot, BIOS beeps after shutdown are incredibly loud, needs many more BIOS settings, provided and online documentation are lacking.

Other Thoughts: I bought this server board to replace a server I have at home, so I was looking for something that was a good value and would not require a lot of airflow so it would be quiet. Fan loudness is not an issue, but the board speaker loudness is. After I shut down the server for the first time, about 10 ear piercing beeps came from the on board speaker. I thought the BIOS would surely have a setting to turn this beeping off, but it doesn't. I also looked to see if I could find out the reason the board was beeping, as stated in the CONS the documentation is lacking, so no such luck.

The BIOS lacks some features, but remember, this is a server board so memory timing will not be available. I had no trouble finding the specs on Intel's website that said the board only supported 4 unregistered DIMMs and I bought the board knowing that.

The SATA ports are crammed into a space at the bottom of the board with all of the front panel cables and the PCI slot.

Good board, but could be much bet

Pros: Boots, LED status lights on the back, Software that comes with it is decent, stickers for board layout are a nice touch, and it stops at about there.

Cons: BUYER BE WARNED! I researched this board and only through reading the boot CD autorun splash page does it state that this board can only use 4 DIMMs of unregistered non-ECC ram and only the 6 DIMMs can be used when you have ECC-Registered ram (I believe this may be true for all boards based in the same chipset). The Bios also allows for only the basic configurations, you can't even change timing on the memory or voltage (which can be critical in some cases).
As the reviewer before me said this thing takes forever to boot, but if it is a server you shouldn't be having to boot too often anyways.

Other Thoughts: The bios is lacking so if your looking for a good board to OC on, gamers look away and go with one of the better P55 boards with a lot more for the desktop space. If your looking to build a server with more then 4 DIMMS of Non-ECC ram look elsewhere as well as this is not your board. I bought this server thinking that it could use 12GB of desktop NON-ECC RAM in 2GB sticks (6 sticks total). When I tried to boot all I got was this beeping that was just annoying. LED poster was not helpful unless you print out the pages that pertain to it, but that's just normal. Other then that, if your looking for a good entry board this is an OKAY solution. I went with this board for the processor and mobo discount. If you can go with the supermicro if you really need a decent entry motherboard, its got everything this board has and it actually states the type of RAM in a clear manner.

Pros: Built myself a fileserver in an Antec 300 case using this board, a Xeon X3440, and a bunch of disks.

Everything works as expected.

Was very easy to setup.

Comes with a nice fold-out quick start guide.

Cons: Very loud and annoying beeping noises when connecting or disconnecting USB devices. Plugging in a USB keyboard (or booting with one plugged in) results in several loud beeps. There does not appear to be any way to turn this off.

Also sometimes soon after being powered off it goes even crazier with the beeping.

Some quibbles:
No audio headers (but it is a server board)
SATA ports not in sequential order and not labeled
No indication of positive/negative for the front panel pins
Poor documentation for some of the BIOS options
Takes a long time to POST

Other Thoughts: I recommend this board as long as you aren't planning on rebooting it or reconnecting USB devices very often.