SUPERMICRO MBD-X9DR3-F-O Extended ATX Server Motherboard Dual LGA 2011 DDR3 1600

Pros: Everything. The Kingston memory I used worked fine. You will need to update the bios to install the OS using onboard raid. And yes, narrow type heatsink.

Cons: The only problem I had was the power LED connection is not right. I had to modify the connector on the supermicro case in order to get it to work.

Other Thoughts: I am using this rig in a colo data center with Hyper V 2012. It runs several cloud based server environments for my subscribers.

Pros: Two CPU, everything seems to work. Worked well with Kingston KVR16R11D8K4/16I.

Cons: GigE ports not supported out of box on Win 7 install. BIOS seems archaic.

Other Thoughts: Needs narrow style LGA 2011 cooler, not square. No on-board sound. No IDE. No PS/2 connection.

Pros: pretty okay when you get it to work. (I can't say much because I just got it to work, and I can probably tell more about it after a few more months.) These comments are from assembling difficulties and problems while trying to get it to work, but supermicro offered good customer service and tech support. They helped me all the way from start to finish. Many times, I felt the urge to take it outside and take care of it Office Space style, but the price tag of $469.99 stopped me from doing so.

Cons: - expensive.
- pretty difficult to get to work
- LGA 2011 narrow type only. Be aware that the choices you have when choosing heatsink will be extremely low (there's about 6-7 types to choose from in newegg). I'm using SUPERMICRO SNK-P0050AP4 for heatsinks. I think my original choice of cooler master can get a more quiet computer, but this will do. they are still not bad.
- USB only keyboard.
- no onboard audio.
- updating driver for motherboard needs to be done, make sure you download and install the right ones. (the files' names from supermicro was a little bit confusing to me (a few drivers are called the same "win.zip" which led me to believe that they are the same thing (but they aren't!!))
- you should choose whatever memories they certified! (I tried kingston at first, which fits perfectly, but didn't work. They told me to use ones they certified in their website, I chose samsung, and they work nicely.)

To NEWEGG: I really wish you add LGA 2011 narrow as part of the specification on this board, because I bought a square one and wasting about a week or two extra (and restocking fees) while waiting for parts.

Other Thoughts: if you want a more quiet workstation or server, you may want to get other board that offer more options to choose from when choosing heatsink. BEWARE OF LGA 2011 NARROW!!

Pros: This is a very good board. It has everything you would need. I paired it with a 2U supermicro case and am loving all of the features.

Cons: Go ahead and download the latest (1.1) BIOS and if you intend on using the onboard RAID, grab the latest drivers for that as well. Otherwise install an OS will be a pain.

Pros: NONE

Cons: Horrible BIOS that is the problem with this board.Literally doesn't work with RAID controllers.9/10 times it will just hang and not boot into the OS.Keyboard constantly stopped working after reboots of the system.Installed devices sometimes didn't show in BIOS and required reboots to get them to show.Changes to BIOS configurations didn't help at all and sometimes made things worse.Felt absolutely helpless working with this motherboard.Will not buy from Supermicro ever again.

Other Thoughts: Supermicro should be ashamed of themselves for releasing an immature product.

Pros: * Sandy Bridge-EP support
* Works well with Windows Server 2008 R2
* Updated BIOS (v1.0c) appears to support Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012
-- Thank you, SuperMicro, for fixing the _INI bug!
* Integrated KVM (IPMI/BMC) over dedicated ethernet port (critical for physical separation of networks)
* Memory mirroring support
* Memory sparing support
* SuperMicro support is excellent for supported OSs
- Walked me through restoration of firmware for BMC/IPMI due to corrupted BMC state, over the phone

Cons: These are not significant enough to lose a star, but rather things to be aware of.

* Heatsink must be "narrow" type. Fewer choices than square mounts.
* May need to update both the BMC (aka IP based KVM, aka IPMI) and the BIOS upon receipt
- BMC shipped with old revision of firmware, which can cause significant loss-of-connectivity issues
- BIOS must be at least v1.0c to install Windows 8 / Server 2012

Other Thoughts: This is an update to a prior feedback from 6/20/2012.

Pros: Just an FYI - Takes an LGA 2011 Narrow cpu cooler

Cons: Wish that was in the specs here.

Pros: * Sandy Bridge-EP support
* Works well with Windows Server 2008 R2
* Integrated KVM (IPMI/BMC) over dedicated ethernet port (critical for physical separation of networks)
* Memory mirroring support
* Memory sparing support
* SuperMicro support is excellent for supported OSs (but see Cons also)
- Walked me through restoration of firmware for BMC/IPMI due to corrupted BMC state, over the phone

Cons: * BMC firmware ships with old revision with serious loss-of-connectivity issues
* Current/only BIOS has ACPI error (missing _INI object) that prevents installation of current Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012 pre-release builds
- Affects Windows Server "8" Preview
- Affects Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate
- Affects Windows 8 Consumer Preview
- Affects Windows 8 Release Preview
- SuperMicro support said will not investigate fixing their BIOS due to unreleased status of Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012 (but see Pros also)

Other Thoughts: If considering for Windows Server 2012 build, ask SuperMicro over the phone first if they tested the release candidate (or any later builds).....

Pros: it boots up with no raid card installed thats all thats good about this lemon

Cons: too many to list lets start out with the cpu cooler its slim size so the reg 2011 cooler does not fit newegg does not have any of theses coolers in stock and no one says that you need a speical cooler size slim 2011 so had to buy one from another company , second my raid card 900 dollar adaptec top of line card will not work computer frezzing up at bios with error 92
servers are made for raid this should be 100% compatable third it has 6 pcie slots get this now only 3 slots work the first 3 slots says for cpu 1 to get all 6 pcie slots to work you need 2 cpus this is nuts i never herd of these i have been building servers for years even a 29 dollar motherboard all slots work
if this is intel way of doing things the is not good

Other Thoughts: i will never buy another supermicro board i thought this was the best it was the worst this does not even dersive one egg i give it 0 eggs sending it back for refund and buying a old friend asus

Pros: Decent layout. It does work, for the most part.

Cons: USB keyboards and mice turn on and off incessantly, weird socket size. 8 pin and 24 pin location really sucks in reverse ATX with a top mount PSU.

Other Thoughts: I wasn't aware of this, but the mounting holes for the HSFs on this board are rectangular, while the "normal" X79-style sockets are closer to square. I'm currently using one 2650 (need a new HSF for the other one...) and the board does work fairly well. No problems except for the fact that the keyboard and mouse flick on and off constantly. This is about the most irritating thing I have ever experienced. I'm not sure yet if it's a Windows issue (server 2008 r2) or if it's a board problem, but regardless I have never seen this before in all my years. Other USB devices work fine, but not the keyboard or the mouse.