I currently am setting up a server for my personal use based on an Intel Core i7 920 CPU. This is a 1st generation Core i7 2.66GHZ processor. I happen to have ONE CPU and TWO motherboards available so I am trying to choose the best motherboard for my needs. Both appear to serve my needs just fine but I am trying to determine the best one for the purpose. I plan to use a low-end graphics card so SLI and Crossfire are not a big deal.
The first motherboard I have is an MSI Eclipse that supports triple CrossFire. I always thought of MSI as a budget brand but haven't really ever been disappointed by anything they make. This is obviously one of their more premium units as it uses the solid capacitors and other things found on higher-end units. The CPU is currently installed on this board with a heatsink so it would be a little less work to leave it as is and just use this one. On the other hand, if I decide to sell one, I have all the boxes and manuals, etc. that belong to this one, which will make it more marketable. This one has 3x full PCIe slots and two short PCIe slots as well as two standard PCI slots.
The second board is an EVG Classified X58 with 4x full length PCIe slots, a single short PCIe slot, and a single PCI slot. I have none of the accessories (besides the backplane adapter) that go along with this one so resale value would be hurt. I am tempted to use it as it is also a nice board with high-end features.
My requirements for this system are 2x mid or full length PCIe slots for RAID controllers. I also have two video cards to pick from here. One is a PCIe 1x Radeon HD 5450 1GB card while the other is a Radeon X600 128MB card which is VERY LOW END. The PCIe 1x 5450 is actually a much better card overall but I really don't care for this application. I also have a PCIe 1x USB 3.0 controller as well as a separate audio card that is not integrated on the motherboard. Either board will work for my purposes and the basic specs are similar. They have the same chipset, both have SATA 2 support, both have USB 2.0 support.
Please provide arguments in favor of one board over the other to help make my decision. These are both nice boards but want to hear what others have to say.
The first motherboard I have is an MSI Eclipse that supports triple CrossFire. I always thought of MSI as a budget brand but haven't really ever been disappointed by anything they make. This is obviously one of their more premium units as it uses the solid capacitors and other things found on higher-end units. The CPU is currently installed on this board with a heatsink so it would be a little less work to leave it as is and just use this one. On the other hand, if I decide to sell one, I have all the boxes and manuals, etc. that belong to this one, which will make it more marketable. This one has 3x full PCIe slots and two short PCIe slots as well as two standard PCI slots.
The second board is an EVG Classified X58 with 4x full length PCIe slots, a single short PCIe slot, and a single PCI slot. I have none of the accessories (besides the backplane adapter) that go along with this one so resale value would be hurt. I am tempted to use it as it is also a nice board with high-end features.
My requirements for this system are 2x mid or full length PCIe slots for RAID controllers. I also have two video cards to pick from here. One is a PCIe 1x Radeon HD 5450 1GB card while the other is a Radeon X600 128MB card which is VERY LOW END. The PCIe 1x 5450 is actually a much better card overall but I really don't care for this application. I also have a PCIe 1x USB 3.0 controller as well as a separate audio card that is not integrated on the motherboard. Either board will work for my purposes and the basic specs are similar. They have the same chipset, both have SATA 2 support, both have USB 2.0 support.
Please provide arguments in favor of one board over the other to help make my decision. These are both nice boards but want to hear what others have to say.
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