Computex 2014: The ASUS Booth Tour
by Ian Cutress on June 11, 2014 11:45 AM ESTMotherboards and M.2
Recently at AnandTech we have attempted to diversify more into the server motherboard segment, especially in terms of compute-restricted content generation that requires significant power and/or features in order to let the user continue with their workflow. Also as part of Computex we have been on the hunt for X99 related motherboard showings, either in the consumer or the server space. The trip to ASUS did not disappoint, with two 2P LGA2011-3 motherboards on show:
The two models are the Z10PE-D16 and the Z10PE-D8, featuring 8 DIMMs per slot and 4 DIMMs per slot respectively.
The D10 model has 10 SATA ports in total, some of which will be earmarked for SAS 12Gbps I would imagine. The sockets are offset due to the extra power connectors at the top, and the motherboard supports three PCIe 3.0 x16 devices. We get server management from an Aspeed IC and USB 3.0 support via a header on board. There are four NICs on the rear, plus another for the management, though it is unclear if two of these are 10GBase-T NICs or they are all gigabit Ethernet.
The D8 model moves the sockets closer together, reducing the DIMM slots but still keeping 10 SATA/SAS ports on board. The rear panel loses a lot of its functionality in order to accommodate the dual slots in what looks like an E-ATX format. M.2 is here as well, with two fill-length PCIe x16 slots and management via an Aspeed IC. A USB 3.0 header is here also.
Also in the server motherboard line was a mini-ITX motherboard focusing on mini-SAS (cia a Marvell 88SE9485) and gigabit Ethernet ports:
This looks like an Avoton C2750/C2758 platform, similar to the C2750D4I we reviewed a little while ago. Here we have one DIMM per channel, with all the NICs being gigabit Ethernet. ASUS are promoting this as a high-density node for cloud storage or a micro server, will support up to SAS 64TB/SATA 96TB :
There was nothing much to mention regarding the Z97 motherboard segment, as the new models on display were the ROG ones and the rest were available from launch.
One of the interesting aspects from the ASUS booth was a way to get M.2 x4 into a system that does not have it. Much in the same way that Kristian tested the XP941 on his regular testing motherboard, ASUS seems set to launch their own M.2 x4 PCIe adapter, named Hyper M.2 x4:
This does what it says on the tin – an M.2 x4 Gen 2/Gen 3 upgrade card. Not sure when ASUS will release this, as M.2 x4 cards might not hit the consumer market properly until the end of the year.
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457R4LDR34DKN07 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
Are you sure the MPCIE combo IV is PCIE 3.0? JJ from ASUS told me it was PCIE 2.0.Ian Cutress - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
I'm double checking for you. I was under the impression that it was only PCIe 2.0 by virtue of a lack of PCIe 3.0 drives but still PCIe 3.0 capable due to CPU lanes rather than PCH lanes. I'm sure I asked this question during my tour; I either remembered what I hoped, or what I heard, given the whirlwind of meetings that week. I'll update when I get an answer back.Ian Cutress - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
I got a response: PCIe version not yet confirmed. Device is due out Q3, and they have time to choose either way. If you have a preference, note it here: I'm sure ASUS will be looking.PCIe 3.0 x4 will reduce the main GPU slot to PCIe 3.0 x8, but in my testing at 1080p gaming, frame rates drop less than 1%.
PCIe 2.0 x4 will give a full 16 lanes to the GPU, but might restrict some of the lane allocations for extra functionality. This effect is lessened by using a mITX board because there is less space for the extra functionality so the designers are restricted in what they can do.
457R4LDR34DKN07 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
I don't have a preference as I have a z77 and not compelled to upgrade until broadwell or beyond. If I was ASUS I would stick to PCIE 2.0 because: A) No current M.2 drives with gen3 B) PCIE 16X 3.0 might be more important in future video cards and is a more likely upgrade for a gaming motherboard.k4z3t5ub4k1 - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
Awesome, thanks for taking the time to ask. IMO, on the Mini-ITX boards, I am hoping that the combo card is 4x PCIe 3.0 from the CPU. Since the Mobo only has one PCIe slot for graphics, thus SLI or Crossfire is not even an option, PCIe 8x is more than enough so satisfy the requirement of even a top end GPU. I would rather lose the 1% FPS going from 16x to 8x and gain the added storage speed that can be brought with M.2 over 4x PCIe 3.0.Freakie - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
I would vote for PCIe 3.0. Waiting for drives to catch up is better than waiting for drives to be the ones that start. The faster the rest of the ecosystem is ready for a new technology, the faster we get the new technology. It would be nice if they could implement a BIOS feature to switch it from 2.0 to 3.0 (not sure if that is even possible) so that way we have the flexibility to upgrade in the future, or customize our current setup by deciding if we want to give the mPCIe device 3.0 bandwidth and sacrifice slight GPU performance, or give the device 2.0 bandwidth and keep the performance.In the end, I think SSD's need more attention than GPU's right now.
dgingeri - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
I saw my MB up there in the Server section. The Z97-WS is a really nice board, but I have already had trouble with it. The DIMM slots 3 and 4 died on me after 10 days.I understand that issues like this do come up once in a while. (I'm the admin of a server software test lab. As reliable as server hardware is, I still have about a quarter of my time taken up replacing defective parts.) Still, Asus's support system is a bit lacking when things do go bad. I started this ticket last Thursday, and they still haven't shipped my replacement board. The hoops I had to jump through took me until yesterday to get done, and they say they'll ship it within 48 hours. It looks like I probably won't have a replacement in time for the weekend. This has discouraged me from buying any of their server line for my employer. It just takes too long to get things swapped, specifically because their support system is flawed.
extide - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
If both slots on a single channel no longer work you may want to try removing and re-inserting the CPU... Sometimes you can have issues like that.dgingeri - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
yeah, tried that. no luck. There are a couple solder points on the back of the board at the DIMM slots that look suspect, though. That's why I went for the RMA.martixy - Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - link
I've been waiting for precisely this article.Light on the details, but in any case at least we have an update on upcoming release dates, be it from here or other coverage of Computex.