Supermicro vs EVGA

[captvash]

I am building a workstation and I need to decide between these two boards:

SUPERMICRO MBD-X8DAH+-F-O http://bit.ly/rSFsU vs EVGA Classified SR-2 http://bit.ly/bnQ5CN


SM $499 vs SR-2 $590 - SM win
Case: $179 SM vs $350 SR-2 - SM win
24Gb DDR3 ($449 SM vs $359 SR-2) - SR-2 win
2x GTX 560Ti - Tie
GT 240 - Tie
SATA III raid card - ($68 or $179 SM vs $34 SR-2) SR-2 win
Audio card - Tie
eSATA card ($24 SM vs $0 SR-2)

The SM build seems to be about $800 less than the SR-2 build. My only main concerns are: Are there enough slots on the SM board to fit 2x GTX 560Ti (2x profile cards each), GT 240 single profile card, audio card, 2x SATA III RAID card (or 1x 4port SATA III card), and an eSATA card?
The SR-2 would hold all of those cards, and not even need 1 of the SATA III cards or the eSATA card. The only major draw back of the SR-2 is that it's HUGE and expensive. So are any cases that fit it. All are $350+ Making it really just unbuyable.

 

[Emperus]

What kind of a workstation build are you going for..? In other words, which programs do you wish to run..??

 

[captvash]

I'm doing professional video editing and some light gaming.
Bad news though, I called Supermicro and that board only supports CrossFire not SLI. I'm currently looking for a new board that supports SLI in the same arena as this SM board.

 

[Emperus]

Are you sure you need dual CPU for your work..? In that case, get the EVGA board.. Its worth its premium..

 

[captvash]

Best answer selected by captvash.

 

[captvash]

Are you sure you need dual CPU for your work..? In that case, get the EVGA board.. Its worth its premium..

After much deliboration, I'm still landing on the SR-2. It came down basically to the other mobos not supporting SLI, since I do want to do some gaming as well with a PhysX slave card (mostly for the upcoming Battlefield 3 and Star Wars The Old Republic), I'm gonna go with the SR-2.

 

[HedgeHocker]

It is my opinion that Supermicro would be more suited for your needs. EVGA is okay but thier support is far better than their build quality. Supermicro has almost always been exceptional quality but I can't speak to their customer service, I don't know.

Supermicro hasn't been the enthusiasts option very often unless that has changed lately. I hate to see someone recommend EVGA over Supermicro.

I see that Supermicro is just not budget able for your needs though. I often encounter that when I put them on my shopping comparison list. EVGA has outstanding customer support. They abandon products fast as far as updates go, BIOS etc. Most others don't move along so fast leaving their products permanently outdated. They all do it eventually, right.

This all a customer perspective.