ASUS Z9PE-D16/2L SSI EEB Server Motherboard Dual LGA 2011 DDR3 1600

Pros: is uefi compliant, and has had no lock ups or crashes yet.
- works well with raid cards
- memory capacity is nice and stable
- easy to read debug LED (helps with figuring out hangs)

Cons: - board has issues with management chip, caused a few hangs in POST and inside OS.
- windows server 2012 non-compliant (drivers are not signed)

Other Thoughts: - defective ikvm (management) chip
- unable to disable onboard VGA from BIOS

Pros: Nice board

Cons: This is not a workstation board, even though ASUS lists windows 7 drivers on their page.

Also, the IO shield is junk... super flimsey and the IO shield is not heavy duty like you would get from Intel.

Other Thoughts: Even though there are several video ports here... why is their NO SLI support on the motherboard?

If it offered SLI... 4 eggs.. 5 if they upgrade the IO shield quality.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your feedback on this motherboard. The Z9PE-D16/2L is targeted at server use. If you intend to for a workstation usage, please have a look at our Z9PE-D8 WS (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z9PED8_WS/#overview), which can support 4-way SLI. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact me below. Thank you.

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

Pros: Lots of memory slots, solid running so far, remote power cycle and managment when it's running

Cons: management modules web interface hangs up periodically and need manual (on-site) intervention to reboot it
Asus tech support unknowledgeable about the product

Other Thoughts: Can SSH into the ipmi module but the web access is hung. Very limited abilities when SSHed in and can't restart webserver or reboot module. This has happened a few times already.

Pros: This kind of server board is only for people who are familiar with server and hardware.

Cons: Note: on bios menu, choose advanced, then set the 'SATA Mode' to IDE if you only got one dard drive. Otherwise, it board won't boot.

Other Thoughts: (This is my 2nd comment) I saw some people said their tech knowledge = 5 on newegg but they look like not really technical. They are not able to debug the issue at all. The system is not booted, as a tech person they should be able the debug it and find out the reason. eg, see the SATA setting on BIOS.

Pros: I haven't done very many server builds, but so far I am impressed with Asus. This board is laid out well and comes with plenty of SATA cables. The BIOS is incredibly feature rich, probably more so than anyone would ever need. The manuals detail every last setting and include very detailed pictures of connector locations.

Cons: The POST process is very slow. You can disable the LAN option ROMs to speed it up quite a bit. Make sure the chassis intrusion jumper is left in place or leave the side panel on when booting it up or it will halt with a fatal error!

Other Thoughts: I've tried server motherboards from Intel and Supermicro but they always have little quirks that make them a pain to use. Asus is more generic and much simpler to setup and start using. They have been my go to brand for many years, and will continue to be.

Pros: None - DOA

Cons: DOA

Other Thoughts: I've returned the board and NewEgg promptly refunded my money (minus shipping), so that gives me the peace of mind to shop at NewEgg again.
I've replaced it with an ASUS Z9PE-D8 W, which works great.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Sorry to hear that the motherboard was DOA. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the Z9PE-D8 WS. My email is cl-benson@asus.com. Please reference #C1037-4855 in the subject line when replying.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: None. It won't boot.

Cons: It tries to start up, gets to status code "06", then shuts off after a couple of seconds, then tries again...
No video, no keyboard lights.

Set-up : 2x E5-2687W CPUs, 1000W PSU, GTX580, several variations of RAM.
Read through the manual, tried nearly all possible jumper combinations, RAM configurations etc.
No luck.

Tested all components (CPUs, PSU, RAM GPU) in other systems and they work fine.
(I'm writing this, using one of the CPUs in another motherboard).

Other Thoughts: Filed RMA with NewEgg. We'll see what happens.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize that the motherboard was not able to POST.

Can you look on the side of a motherboard that has a long bar code sticker and look at the last four digits of that code? This is the BIOS version that the motherboard was shipped with. It will tell us if the motherboard needs a new BIOS to support your CPU. Was power plugged in to the 24-pin EATXPWR1, and both 8-pin EATX12V on the board? Please specify the the power supply used (model) and list the memory (part no.) tested.

I may be reached at cl-benson@asus.com. Please reference #C1037-4702 in the email subject line.

Regards,
Benson
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: All I can said is Excellent. Always runs well and never let me down. Neither burned or failed. Good quality. Standard design fits all components. not like supermicro.

Cons: user manual is too brief. It can be little details. Bio setup is not clear. Wrong SATA setting could cause system non boot.

Other Thoughts: felt like more confident on ASUS rather than Supermicro. Do not know why. maybe because I use ASUS's board for many years.