ASUS Z9PE-D16 SSI EEB Server Motherboard Dual LGA 2011 DDR3 1600

Pros: Quad Gb LAN Ports, great for Hyper-V.
ASUS released a bios update for server 2012
Had no problems installing 2012 in efi mode.
UEFI BIOS, lots of features and functionality

Cons: none so far

Pros: Decent server motherboard

Cons: Server 2012 won't install on this motherboard. Multiple reports of this and still no fix from ASUS. $500 piece of junk.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

The Z9 series motherboard is planned to support Windows 2012. Please check back at a later time for more information at http://support.asus.com.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Nice board and a lot of features.

Cons: I purchased this mother board few days ago and I was so excited for a new windows server 2003 enterprise edition but now I have no hope. On the spec it said support a lot of os including windows server 2003 but when I try to install window server 2003 EE in AHCI mode and after press F6 to install sata driver and finally I got this message : the file iaStorA.sys is corrupted, no hope. I called asus tech support and it seem like they know the probem but don't know how to solve it and they tell me that they will send this issue to engineer department. I am asus fan for so long and this disappointed me. If the board can't support windows server 2003 on AHCI mode then just say so. I want to let any guys that don't buy this board if you want to install server 2003 on AHCI mode.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize for the issue you had with the motherboard.

We tested Window 2003 on this motherboard in AHCI mode with BIOS version 0805 using Intel driver version V3.1.0.1068 and had no problems throughout the install. Please try to download the Intel driver again from http://downloadcenter.intel.com and retry.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Combined with 2 Xeon CPUs this board turned on the first try and works as expected.

Cons: Had to change a jumper on the MB to switch to Intel Raid because bios was having issues with LSI's controller. Could be a setting, but Intel just worked, so stopped caring :) . Lack of USB3 internal ports is a bummer too.

Other Thoughts: If you are looking for a solid base for your dual Xeon system, this is a good board.

Pros: Good board with a lot of functionality. Mainly using it for virtualization.

Cons: Lan port 1 is dead only after a few weeks of ownership. Also, the board that New Egg is selling is an older revision of the board. The picture here and the product received has 4 black sata ports which have been deprecated from the board. Please review the ASUS website to see what I mean. I confirmed the deprecation with a product manager at ASUS.

I've taken two eggs off for the above.

Other Thoughts: ASUS support has been good so far. Their advanced server replacement program allows overnight shipping of a new motherboard to you if determined the unit is defective. However, it seems to be taking them a few days to ship out the replacement item.

Pros: Solid server board, However SM and Tyan boards are cheaper for similar functionality.

www.servethehome.com/asus-z9ped8-ws/
Review of the Workstation board.

Cons: Price.

Other Thoughts: Yeah No cases...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008044&IsNodeId=1&Description=EEB&name=Server%20Chassis&Order=BESTMATCH

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583&IsNodeId=1&Description=EEB&name=Computer%20Cases&Order=BESTMATCH

Pros: Looks like a great board - excellent layout, plenty of connectors.

Cons: Incompatible with Intel Server Chassis P4308XXMHGC (and, I assume, all other P4000M chassis). It appears that the system panel connectors on the P4000M Intel Server Chassis must be proprietary, because rather than the standard 20-1 pin connector, it is a 24+6-pin connector, compatible only with Intel Server Boards.
Had to RMA and will be ordering a S2600CP model instead.

Other Thoughts: I don't really like the Intel Server Chassis, but feel like there is little choice for SSI EEB (12"x13") form factor cases with redundant power supplies.