mobo for edius Nx and PCIe Raid controller

[the_count]

Hi guys,

i wanna build a new rig for NX Express pcie + the HD component out daughter card. i also want to drop in a hardware raid controller, probaly 3ware 9650 or some areca one.
was gonna use an ASUS P5K Deluxe, has two pcie x1 slots above graphix slot, but on closer scrutiny i figured that the NX base board is probably too long ('bout 21cm), would collide with ram and i'd have to put it in 2nd x16 slot.
or am i wrong here?
can anybody think of a DDR2 board that would fit the bill other than the slightly outdated Asus P5W 64 pro, which wouldn't work anyway cos i'm using a passive dual slot graphics card?

[STORMDAVE]

I'd go with a 65nm Q6600, seems to be a sweet spot. The new 45nm QX is quite expensive.

Asus P5B is a respected card, but new ones are out. Check out Jerry's signature.

[the_count]

hard times for raidin boyz

aye, unlike the mobo i got the processor already figured out.
jerry's setup is no good for me, he's using pci-x for raid, i wanna go for pci-e cos pci-x is gonna go the way of the dodo pretty soon.

[pjsssss]

PCI-X is still server king. I don't think it will go away as soon as you think.

[tingsern]

I agree. My Adaptec SCSI RAID card is PCI-X (64 bits) and is still a viable piece of h/w.

[xeberdee]

I agree with the_count.

Comparing a server to video storage is like comparing apples to oranges. Most servers won't do the i/o loads that video storage needs, they are streamlined to serve small files with random access. Video storage needs large files in a hurry, so a bus with more bandwidth is a better buy for the future (uncompressed HD?)

This is as good a description of PCIe as I've seen - PCI-E

[tingsern]

The bandwidth available on PCI-X (64 bits) is more than enough - at 133mhz, the bus can transfer 1GB/sec. PCIe (at 16 lanes) is 4GB/sec - but, that's reserved for the video card on most motherboards. PCIe at 4 lanes is the same as PCI-X at 133mhz (1GB/sec).

The limitation is not (and has never been) the bus bandwidth. It lies with the hard-disk. Nearly all hard-disks today only stream data at 50MB/sec at the most. I am talking about continuous data speed - not burst rates. To saturate the PCI-X bus - you need at least 1GB/50MB = 20 hard-disks in a RAID configuration. I don't think most people's workstation casing will even allow you to put in 16 drives ... 8 drives in hot swap bay is already nearly the top end.

[pjsssss]

In addition to what Ting said, a lot, if not most, of us with high end systems use server mobos. So we are comparing apples to apples.

[Jerry]

In addition to what Ting said, a lot, if not most, of us with high end systems use server mobos. So we are comparing apples to apples.

I was noticing some of the new seaburg models still have that lowly pci-x slot
included. I don't see it going away any time soon. One of the supermicro boards had everything on it that I need. It surprised me that it still had 3.3v
pci slots.
It all depends on how the chipset handles the bus. Newer chipsets seem to handle this better than my earlier Asus P5WDG2WS PRO.
It is now 2 years old, and due for an upgrade next year. I will probably move to a dual quad seaburg model with pci-x.

[tingsern]

There is nothing "lowly" about PCI-X bus. It is an evolution that brought it there.

The "X" - is a "parallel" bus - and that puts very tight constraints on timing signals transferring data on it.

PCI-e - is a "serial" bus - and makes things easier for the h/w chip designer (or motherboard layout designer).

As I explained previously, the "X" bandwidth is 1GB/sec. To saturate it, you need 20 hard-disks transferring data simultaneously ... I think, for 99.9% of the folks out there, you will never ever get a PCI-X bus limit reached.

[pjsssss]

I think Jerry is being a little tongue in cheek with the "lowly" comment. We have discussed systems many times.

[Jerry]

There is nothing "lowly" about PCI-X bus. It is an evolution that brought it there.

The "X" - is a "parallel" bus - and that puts very tight constraints on timing signals transferring data on it.

PCI-e - is a "serial" bus - and makes things easier for the h/w chip designer (or motherboard layout designer).

As I explained previously, the "X" bandwidth is 1GB/sec. To saturate it, you need 20 hard-disks transferring data simultaneously ... I think, for 99.9% of the folks out there, you will never ever get a PCI-X bus limit reached.

Holy Cow! How could you miss the sarcasm in my previous statement?
Thanks Pat! It felt like the old Canopus forum from around 2000 for a minute there.

[the_count]

Back to the topic

boys, we're drifting off....
i still dont't know what board to buy, need 4 available pcie slots while using dual slot graphics.
still, my recommendation: don't buy pci-x hardware now, the whole industry is shifting towards pci-e. the latest 3ware controllers are only available in pci-e flavour (9690, 9650) areca: same picture, their new 800mhz controllers can go up to 820MB/s, on pci-x or pci-e 4x you'd get bus saturation, thas why pcie x8 is the way to go.
editing red cam material for example would be tricky using pci-x.

WHAT BOARD? DOESNT ANYBODY USE EDIUS NX + COMPONENT + PCIE RAID?

[Jerry]

boys, we're drifting off....
i still dont't know what board to buy, need 4 available pcie slots while using dual slot graphics.
still, my recommendation: don't buy pci-x hardware now, the whole industry is shifting towards pci-e. the latest 3ware controllers are only available in pci-e flavour (9690, 9650) areca: same picture, their new 800mhz controllers can go up to 820MB/s, on pci-x or pci-e 4x you'd get bus saturation, thas why pcie x8 is the way to go.
editing red cam material for example would be tricky using pci-x.

WHAT BOARD? DOESNT ANYBODY USE EDIUS NX + COMPONENT + PCIE RAID?

I hate to say it, but, if you are editing Red Cam material, you might consider a different editor and system. Edius can not do 2k or 4k files, 10bit uncompressed or compressed, or native Red Cam footage anyway.
The Franken macs offer multiple pci-e slots and I believe will do Red Cam footage... or...
You might want to look at a high end gaming board. Ususally these come with 4 pci-e slots. Now you have to decide if you want pci-e or pci-e 2.0.
I wouldn't buy a new board without that little add on. The new stoakly seaburg models have that as well as many of the gaming boards being released now.

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...41&modelmenu=2

This is an older chipset, but very good and stable. It may or may not be what you are looking for. I have heard of forum users using this board.
Check it out. It will use 45nm chips.

[tingsern]

Unfortunately, no gaming boards support Xeon processors ... that leaves you with only one physical processor chip. If your editing program needs more horsepower than one Intel Core 2 Quad - then you are out of luck. At least with Xeon - you have up to 8 physical processors today (2 x quad core).