Question 1

Does this board support ECC memory?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I purchased this board about 3 months ago.  I'm running ECC memory on it currently - works great.  The memory I'm using is Item # N82E16820239275 (currently not available).

Question 2

Does this board come with the 3001 bios installed for 63xx support or do I  really need to take apart another workstation to install a 62xx to boot and update the bios like the manufacturer site implies?

Accepted Answer

This board did come with the bios to support it, but beware! I had ASUS confirm 2 of these motherboards not work on arrival. The first worked for about 30 minutes and then died. The second one would not boot with two processors in it.

I went with the SuperMicro and am much happier for it.

Question 3

What operating systems does the board support?What type of memory and how much memory does the board support

Accepted Answer

It should run any 64bit OS. It's UEFI bios will boot whatever you got. I was running VMware ESXi hyperviser just fine.

Memory is standard DDR3 1600 240pin. You have to use buffered server class memory but it will take 16gb chips, so with 16 slots it can have a whopping 256gb, but I think you need both cpus for all 16 slots. And there is a strict slot filling order outlined in the manual. I would put in as many 16gb chips you have the budget for.

Overall it's a pretty sweet board if you go AMD.

Question 4

I noticed this board has dual 6 pin 12v supply requirements.  What power supplies are you guys using with this board?

Accepted Answer

I need a rear exhaust fan for our machines.  I've been using this:
Sparkle Power Inc. SPI SPI700A8BB-B204 700W ATX EPS 
It is a solid good power supply.

Question 5

So does any one know what tower type PSU will run this with both CPUs in it? I am going with an ultra tower and not a rack case for it. it will be my 1st server build and I dont wanna mess it up. thanks for input.

Accepted Answer

Just make sure the power supply has DUAL EPS (8 pin 12v) connectors or you won't be able to power up both CPU's.

Question 6

How many virtual machines can this board handle?

Accepted Answer

There's not really an exact number for that.  It depends on the number of cores you install as well as the number of cores you assign to each VM.  You have a total number of cores based on the processors you put in the board.  Same thing applies to memory / storage etc.

Question 7

Can I use this for gaming?

Accepted Answer

I used it previously as a server. Currently it is used for Developing games and testing.

My question to you is... Why do you need this particular motherboard for gaming?

Most games are not CPU/Memory Bound. I barley was able to ever get use out of the full system, serving, programming or gaming.

Current setup is 2 x 16 Cores (AMD G34 - 6376's), 32 GB Ram, 480 GB PCIE SSD, GTX 750 Ti.

Question 8

Does this board support crossfire video cards?

Accepted Answer

I had great difficulty fitting two cards on this board, just from a space perspective. The addon PIKE board (hardware raid) and the 1394 header really made it tough to fit both cards and any other expansion boards.

Question 9

Can I use all the SAS and SATA connections as SATA connections ? I.E. Run 16 SATA drives on this board ?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can but to take advantage of the four blue and adjacent red SATA connectors you will need to buy the pricy LSI 2108 Megaraid mezzanine board especially made by ASUS for this motherboard. The LSI manual printed by ASUS is terrible. I had to use the Supermicro user's manual to set this card up in BIOS. You must first enable Port 64/60 in the KGPE motherboard BIOS or your mouse and keyboard will not work in the LSI BIOS setup screens. You want to disable the same port when you are through. Once you have installed the operating system the LSI is much easier to set up through the support CD software provided with the card.  You can't combine both SAS and SATA drives in the same RAID drive.

Question 10

What is the make of the on board raid?
Thanks
John

Accepted Answer

Don't even bother with the onboard RAID, i tried to setup a RAID 0 with the onboard and it wouldn't even recognize the drives upon Windows Server 2012 installation.  If you want RAID, get the RAID addon card designed for this board, it is beyond worth it.

Questions & Answers