Question 1

What 8GB RAM DIMM would you use with this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

I think Crucial CT102472BF1339 is the only 8GB ECC DDR3 SO-DIMM currently available that will work with this motherboard.

Question 2

Does the Sata controller support RAID 5?

Accepted Answer

No.  It's a Marvell controller of some model and only supports RAID levels 0 and 1 in firmware.  However, my model is about 18 months old and there could conceivably be an updated firmware.

Question 3

Does the onboard Sata controller support RAID? If so, which levels? I am looking at using RAID 5

Accepted Answer

Raid 0 and 1; as per the spec on the Supermicro site.  (Would link if newegg allowed me, apologies)

Question 4

On the Newegg specification page it says that there are 4x SATA 3.0gb/s ports. On the SuperMicro site for this board, it says that there are 4x SATA 3 (6.0gb/s) ports.

Which is it?

Accepted Answer

Supermicro states in the user manual, that it is 3.0, (AKA SATA II). However the disk controller is a Marvell 88SE9230 and the specs on the chip says that it is 6.0, (AKA SATA III). I do not  have any SATA III drives to test the validity of the higher speeds. Due to the disparity in claims, I would contact SM directly for clarification. For me this has been a terrific board. i now have 2 - 1 as a web server and 1 as a Windows 7 workstation both performing flawlessly. And with the phenomenally low power draw, (and lack of heat and noise), I can run them 24x7.

Questions & Answers