ASUS P8C WS ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1155 Intel C216 DDR3 1600

Pros: Xeon 1275v2 processor. XMP 32GB Corsair 1600 memory.
Very fast:
Passmark CPU Mark 10,558. Passmark Memory Mark 7743. Passmark HD benckmark 4366 on Intel 525SSD.
Use internal Hd 4000 video.
I use VMware Workstation 9. 2012 server runs fine.

Cons: Want more SATA 3 ports, only 2 standard.

Other Thoughts: Dead quiet in Fractal Design Case with M2 620 slient power supply.

Pros: Supports both i7 and E3-12XX ivy bridge processors. Supports both EEC and Non RAM. PCI Ex 3.0 x16 and X8 crossfire. Supports Win 7, 8, Server 2K8 and Server 2K10.
Do yourself a favor and take the time to lookup the supported memory models. I used 32GB Kingston KVR16E11K4/32 in a matched set. This will solve most of the problems I have noted from other reviews about this board. Also be certain you are intending to use integrated graphics or not. If so, do your homework and get a processor that supports it. If you are intending to use Server 2K12, get an LGA 2011 board.

Cons: I had to give it four eggs for one single reason. There is only one USB 2.0 header on the board. If you have front panel USB ports, or a card reader like I did, you won't be able to use the D-bracket that comes with the board, and will have to choose between FP and card reader. It really should have had two or more sets.

Other Thoughts: I am the IT admin for a mid sized manufacturer. We purchased two of these and both run flawlessly when paired with supported hardware and OS. This board was purchased with an E3-1245 V2 processor, AMD FirePro W7000, and Kingston Hyper X SSD. This machine rocks SolidWorks 2013, AutoCad, and Adobe Illustrator. It is quite possibly the fastest 3D drafting machine I have ever built with our modest engineering budget.

Pros: Supports PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0 and ECC memory. Works with Windows 7 and 8 (upgrade the BIOS for Win8) pretty well. Virtualization using Hyper-V with Windows 8 is awesome! Much better than with Virtual PC in Windows 7.

Cons: This board kept loosing my USB devices (including my keyboard and mouse) and PCIe soundcard. I upgraded the BIOS and this helped.

Other Thoughts: I'm a software developer and wanted a system that was stable. I am using an Intel Xeon E3-1230v2 processor (liquid cooled) with 16GB of ECC memory, AMD Radeon 7770 (with three monitors), 500GB HDD and 250GB SSD drive powered by a 750Watt power supply. Its definately is a small power house but the issues with the USB ports not working properly was a BIG setback. Upgrading the BIOS helped tremendously. I would do this right away if you purchase the board.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Glad to hear that the updated bios resolved your issues.

If you have any questions or comments you can email me at cl-jeffrey@asus.com which I reside in the U.S

ASUS strives to meet and exceeds our customer expectations within our warranty policy.

Regards,

Jeffrey
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Supports Ivy Bridge Xeons, Dual Intel Gigabit NICs, Can use regular (non-registered, non-ECC) or ECC (non-registered RAM), dual PCIe 3.0 x16 slots for workstation graphics cards

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: This is a true WORKSTATION board. I run a Xeon E3-1240 V2 Ivy Bridge with 32 GB of RAM and everything has been very stable running Linux with a permanent Windows 7 VM. You really should look at something else for gaming, I don't understand all the people trying to build a gaming PC with this motherboard. Asus makes a great line of gaming motherboards, take a look at those.

Remember that to use the onboard video ports you must get an Intel processor with the integrated graphics.

Thank you Asus for using the Intel NICs, they are much better that the Realtek ones.

Pros: Great on paper...

Cons: No Windows server 2012 drivers. Yes I should have checked, but this is a first. I have it running WS2012 but with the chipset, ect., drivers missing I'm losing out on the functionality that I was counting on. Built this machine on a budget so I waited for items to go on sale so I can't return it. I use ASUS MB's for 90% of my builds. I'll be looking to other vendors from now on.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We're sorry to hear about your experience with the motherboard. Windows 2012 OS can provide drivers when it is installed. Can you go to Device Manager and tell me if any onboard devices are not properly detected / recognized? Please provide screenshot if possible. To continue support, please contact me at cl-benson@asus.com (reference #C1037-9288 in the subject line). Thank you.

For support information, please visit http://support.asus.com. For service, visit http://service.asus.com. For motherboard warranty, visit http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!Motherboard%20Warranty/c1c20; Refurbished products/accessories: http://www.service.asus.com/warranty.aspx#!refurbished-warranty/c16us. For RMA status, visit: http://am.eservice.asus.com/rmaweb/search/rmCustomerQueryAction.do?.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: don't see, as I can buy much cheaper mobo which will also work excellent when playing games or for office work.

Cons: No iAMT => No server use;
No server use => No need of XEON and ECC;
No XEON => why C216 chip?
No C216 = Why buy P8C??

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

The P8C WS is targeted towards workstation use. AMT is not supported. However, it can take advantage of Intel® E3-1200/12x5 v2 processors as well as 3rd/2nd Generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 processors (see http://www.asus.com/Motherboard/P8C_WS/#support_CPU for a list of CPU's supported), in addition to ECC memory (see http://www.asus.com/Motherboard/P8C_WS/#support_QVL for QVL memory--best compatibility). If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the email below. Thank you.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty
cl-benson@asus.com

Pros: Supports ECC memory. Supports Ivy Bridge Xeons, Dual Intel Pro 1000 NICs, USB 3.0.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: This is a great board for folks wanting to build a
nice workstation with ECC memory. Its low "egg rating" comes from
folks who don't understand how Intel's Integrated Graphics work. I'm
using Linux Mint with this and an Intel Xeon E3-1245 V2 Ivy Bridge,
32 gig of ECC memory (4 Kingston KVR16E11/8), a COOLER MASTER Hyper
212 EVO (which clears all 4 DIMM slots by the way), a CORSAIR HX
Series HX750 PSU, all in a Fractal Design Define R4.

Before loading Linux, I played with Windows 8 just to see and it works
fine.

Pros: Dual gigabit NIC, 16x PCI-E 3.0 x2 for two high badwidth RAID cards, or GPU. Support for Ivy Bridge Xeon processors.

Cons: No support for Windows Server 2012, not even an ETA on the drivers release date.

Other Thoughts: This is definitely a great board for anyone looking to buy a workstation motherboard. My only problem that I've had so far is the lack of support for Windows Server 2012, specifically Essentials. There are no SATA, audio, or chipset drivers available for the latest Windows server OS (currently there is full support for Windows 8). Before I installed Server 2012, I called ASUS support to ask them if Windows 8 drivers would work with Server 2012 because of the similarities with the kernel. They had no idea and told me to do trial and error (install the OS and chipset drivers to see if it works).

I assumed it wouldn't, and I was right. I understand this is not entirely ASUS's fault, but also Intel's lack of support for putting out Chipset and Rapid Storage Technology drivers that support Server 2012. For an OS that has been out for three months, I would expect there to be driver support for it. I would have gone with Windows Home Server 2011 if it weren’t for the 8GB of RAM limitation. I might as well say for any of the previous reviews complaining about memory support, Kingston KVR16E11/8 1600MHz ECC unbuffered memory worked flawlessly.

I will update this review with a higher score if/when there is support for the newest Windows server operating system. It’s unacceptable for a workstation motherboard to not have these out yet. If you have no intention of using Server 2012, this review is obviously useless to you.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your feedback. We installed Windows 2012 on this motherboard, P8C WS, without issue. Drivers for Windows 2012 can be provided by the OS during installation. Please update BIOS to the latest version for best compatibility: http://www.asus.com/Motherboard/P8C_WS/#support_Download_38. If you have any questions, please contact me below.

Regards
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty
cl-benson@asus.com

Pros: ECC support, dual Intel NICs, USB 3.0 headers.

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: Not sure why this board is getting such bad reviews. I've been running it for 3 months with 0 issues. I also currently have the most recent BIOS update installed. Though even with the previous BIOS, I had 0 issues. Please make sure your processor has onboard graphics if you are planning on using that feature and also make sure your RAM is unbuffered ECC or non-ECC. Buffered or registered will not work.

Pros: this board runs as advertised. all negative reviews are from using the wrong hardware

Cons: so called high tech level leaving negative reviews when they are using wrong hardware! then blaming asus. :/

Other Thoughts: intel spec on this chipset ( NO REGISTERED MEMORY )only ECC / non ecc unbuffered memory!
Intel spec on video ( MUST USE A XEON / non xeon PROCESSOR WITH VIDEO NOT ALL PROCESSORS HAVE VIDEO )

amazing how these guys saying they high tech level then buying and installing wrong hardware there end resoult there build not work. then they blame asus a multimillion dollar corporation.
Really, high tech level my as?, try the epitome of a loser.

Listen guys it's so easy. when you have a new processor just type in the cpu id in google the first result should be intel spec from INTEL on that cpu in a simple easy to read outline a 10 year old cuold handle.

A minute or 2 to do this before your next purchase and you will never have these issues again.

i almost never use asus site or any manufacturers site for hardware compatibility, i go direct to designer, INTEL. remember all asus does is assembly and solder the INTEL parts together to there motherboard. all specs and hardware compatibility come from intel since the 1366 socket