Pros: Seems like a good board with adequate features.
Nice board layout with the power connectors in a good spot compared to other boards.

Cons: This board is compatible with Intel Xeon 2600 v2 series processors, just not out of the box. The compatibility comes from a BIOS update. The frustration will come when you have no way to update this board because all you have is 2620 v2 processors and have to order a BIOS chip from ASUS.

Other Thoughts: ASUS support was good enough to help diagnosis this issue and send a replacement BIOS.

Pros: Good solid board
runs well after a year
good price

Cons: Bad documentation, labeling etc.. honestly you'd expect way better for such an expensive board when hundreds of desktop boards are put out by X brand and have way better documentation than any serverboard does.. not sure why they never care about serverboards.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We appreciate your time posting this review and we want to thank you for it. Its good to know that your satisfied with the product. For further assistance please email me at customerloyalty@asus.com and put case # N141258844 in the subject for your reference.

ASUS Customer Loyalty is dedicated in helping you and all other ASUS customers.

Thank you for choosing ASUS.

Regards,
Mark
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Lots of Ram capability, has been stable now for close to two years.

Cons: USB 3.0 would be nice, but not necessary

Other Thoughts: We've been using these boards at two different sites running as a Virtual server Host (Virtualbox, most guests are Windows server, anywhere from Server 2K to Server 2012) Host OS is Ubuntu 12.0.4. Planning on purchasing a third to virtualize a 3rd site's Physical servers. Have had good results.

Pros: We own three of these, and two of them have been working perfectly in a high-demand environment for more than a year, with great results. Solid, high-performing board with good features.

Cons: USB 3 would be handy but not urgently needed in a server board. 10GbE would also be nice, and would save a good $350 per system for users who need it. Asus could do better with documentation & labeling, but that's an issue with everyone.

One board of our three recently came DOA. Still trying to get it exchanged, 1.5 weeks after delivery.

Other Thoughts: Recommended. A good system builder can use this as the basis of a good workstation or server, and the reliability of boards that aren't DOA is enough to warrant continued purchases of this board in spite of the issues.

Pros: - Integrated KVM-over-IP (iKVM) is great and does not require any extra purchases like iDRAC. Requires Java in your browser for the console. Recording feature of iKVM to record a video of the startup and all those POST screens is nice for catching everything that flies by.
- Lots of memory slots (= lots of VMs!)
- Solid build quality
- Easy to assemble to build your own server
- Lots of SATA ports and PIKE option for RAID 0/1/10

Cons: - USB keyboard from our Trendnet TK-803R KVM does not work, which is a pain when trying to access in the rack. Need to connect a separate USB keyboard.
- Instability with VMWare ESXi 5.5 that has yet to be identified. Server will run for a few weeks and then it locks up and becomes unresponsive to VMware client. The console freezes when trying to view the logs and lots of SCSI command errors in the kernel logs possibly related to VMWare and X2APIC support and IRQ remapping. Still investigating and very hard to reproduce the issue.
- No COM port bracket in the box or COM port on the back panel I/O. Supported on the motherboard, but you need to supply your own bracket. And yes, serial ports still rule the server room, for example for serial console logging, switch configuration and UPS monitoring. Would be great if they put a COM port above the VGA port on the back panel.

Other Thoughts: - Be aware this is a dual CPU and requires two EPS 12 volt 8-pin connectors from the PSU. These are generally only on server grade or high-end PSUs.
- Purchased a PIKE 2008 add-on card and used the onboard connectors for RAID 1 array. Works well and all the RAID features you would expect from RAID 1/0/10 (not a RAID 5 solution).
- Used the onboard USB female connector for a memory stick with VMware ESXi. It works great, just set the scratch directory location in VMware to somewhere on your hard drive. It will not store logs on the USB stick.
- Once had to reset the iKVM using ipmitool from a Linux system. ipmitool mc reset warm.

Pros: Lots of RAM slots, dual CPU, dual NICs,

Cons: Bit unstable, had issues with the RAM speed even when it said it was supported. Not a huge deal for me.

Pros: I thought it can be reliable. But.....it is not. Thanks gd, my the other Asus's MB same as this one is still working.

Cons: This MB stops working after one year. I sent it back to ASUS for replacement but they returned it back and said it was nothing wrong. I connected it again with brand new CPU and Power Supply but i still got no luck. Need to send it back again. :(. Call Asus for 30 minutes and no one pick up the phone. After one hour, someone picked it up. but he was rude and knew nothing about the MB. Asus service sucks. I am using Asus for many years but now I think it is time for me to move on.

Other Thoughts: Asus is not for server kind of devices.

Manufacturer Response:

Greetings,

We do apologize for the lack of support and service you have been provided with for your current RMA. At your earliest convenience, please contact me through email, and we can discuss this case further. Within the email, please include your RMA number and the serial number of the motherboard. Your reference number for this case is 3338825.

Regards,

Mark
ASUS Customer Loyatly
cl-mark@asus.com

Pros: Dual Xeon CPU's up to 512 GB of ECC Registered Ram, 256 per CPU, awesome board. Dedicated CPU for PCI-e slots 3 & 5. Makes a great Graphics station at half the price of a professional system.

Cons: If you are going to use the new Xeon E5-2600 series v2 Ivy bridge CPU's with this board, you need to get the updated BIOS chip from the ASUS e-store first. The new IVY bridge CPU's are newer than the BIOS was made to support. Should be fine if using Sandy bridge, but without the updated BIOS chip, you don't even get Video out to Flash the BIOS, so you need to order the chip. It is only $14. OK, fine, I wish there was some mention of this on the ad so I could have got it at the same time I ordered the board. Could have saved myself a week, lots of research and a few grey hairs. Read the Specs carefully. No on-board Audio and only PCI-e slots. No USB-3.0 native support. But easily solved with add-in boards.

Other Thoughts: ASUS customer support was great, I love ASUS and I am sorry for anyone who has had a bad experience with them.

Pros: Pros:
- expandable
- works well with raid cards
- memory capacity is nice and stable
- easy to read debug LED (helps with figuring out some hangs)

Cons: - Several Intel errata issues that HAVE NOT been fixed
a. Can cause iKVM issues that others have
b. Causes reporting errors on sensors
c. Will cause your system to halt, hang or function abnormally
d. Definitely can cause data loss
e. Can cause hardware damage to motherboard components
f. Might explain some "DOA" cases, as when errata is not fixed it causes abnormal behavior (Including constant resets)

- Limited support on these boards, only one issue was fixed since 6 months ago
- UEFI compliance is less than what it used to be as of the last update. Incorrect digital signatures in firmware will cause Microsoft OS installations to not function as intended.

Other Thoughts: Intel publishes errata on these boards on a regular basis, ASUS should be on top of this.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

I am sorry that you are having issues with the motherboard. At your earliest convenience, please contact me through email, and we can discuss this case further. Within the email, please include the serial number of the motherboard, any troubleshooting steps tried, and your reference number. Your reference number for this case is 3231369.

Regards,

Mark
ASUS Customer Loyalty
cl-mark@asus.com

Pros: None board DOA, system powers on, runs for 30 seconds and then resets, nothing ever posts, have tried every type of ram possible, ecc, non-ecc registered non registered etc. tried 5 different CPUs, took board out of case, Can't ascertain problem.

Cons: Dead on arrival.

Other Thoughts: Wish this board would have worked out, this is the second asus board i've had problems with in a week. I previously have used many asus boards and never had an issue. Two in a week concerns me, one desktop one server...
Anyways, not sure what board to choose to replace it.

Manufacturer Response:

Greetings,

I am sorry you are having issues with the motherboard. I would suggest setting up a RMA for the motherboard. Have you checked with Newegg regarding this yet? If you are outside of the return period and within the warranty, we can set up the RMA as well. Should you need assistance in this, please contact our RMA Specialist, Jolene, where she will be able to set-up the RMA. Her email is cl-jolene@asus.com. Your reference number for this case is 3090033.

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,

Mark
ASUS Customer Loyalty
cl-mark@asus.com