Supermicro SoC MB with 17 SATA ports

Don't see a report of this here already. Looks like a tidy MB;

http://www.eteknix.com/supermicro-soc-motherboard-17-sata-ports-spotted/

Don't see a report of this here already. Looks like a tidy MB;

 

http://www.eteknix.com/supermicro-soc-motherboard-17-sata-ports-spotted/

Pretty cool. Then again, proprietary form factor (i.e. won't fit standard enclosures, unless you start modding) and power connectors, so if you get it, be prepared for some DIY.

All those SATA ports are certainly a plus and I'm sure it is pretty efficient....  as Doron says... dodgy form factor and power connectors coupled with the price are going to put most people off.

Price is indeed an issue. Was thinking this would work well in an old powermac 9600 chassis I have - I'd need to mod it regardless of what mb I picked so why not this one.

...over here in Germany, it is listed around 420EUR (inkl. VAT).

A X10SL7-F with 6+8 ports, combined with an i3-43xx will still cost around 100EUR less....headroom for another 8port HBA.

Pretty cool. Then again, proprietary form factor (i.e. won't fit standard enclosures, unless you start modding) and power connectors, so if you get it, be prepared for some DIY.

The proprietary form factor isn't a problem -- it will fit easily in any microATX case and MAY fit in some mini-ITX cases as well.    There are quite a few folks using the X7SPE boards (both the D510 and D525 versions) in mini-ATX cases like the Lian-Li Q25B.    I suspect that this board would likely fit as well.    For comparison, a standard mini-ITX board is 6.7 x 6.7;  the X7SPE boards are 7.5 x 6.7;  this board is 8.3 x 6.7.

What IS a much more significant issue is the proprietary power supply requirement.  A standard ATX or SFX PSU (If using a mini-ITX case I'd use SFX)  that has an 8-pin CPU auxiliary connector should work fine => the input of the 8-pin aux power is identical to what's needed for JPWR1; but you'll need to wire a 4-pin plug for J3 that provides the 5v standby and PS_ON connections.  The 5V standby power (purple wire pin 9 of the 24-pin ATX connection) and PS_ON (green wire on pin 8 of the 24-pin ATX connector) need to be wired to pins 3 (5v SB) and 4 (PsOn) of the 4-pin plug; pins 1 and 2 need to be ground wires (any black wires from the 24-pin ATX connector).    The hardest part of this is probably finding the 4-pin connector ... if you have an older unused PSU you can simply cannibalize the 4-pin auxiliary power connection.    The details of these power requirements are shown on page 2-19 of the manual for the motherboard.

Bottom line:  No "modding" required to use this board.    You simply need a PSU with an 8-pin CPU auxiliary power connector; and you'll need a 4-pin connector that you can use to move 4 wires from the 24-pin ATX connection to that connector.

Gary,

Where did you find the pin out specifications of that board?  I scoured (and still am) for them, but to no avail.

Namely, which connector is J3 on this board (the black or the ATX12v/P4 connector?)?

Gary,

 

Where did you find the pin out specifications of that board?  I scoured (and still am) for them, but to no avail.

 

Namely, which connector is J3 on this board (the black or the ATX12v/P4 connector?)?

As I noted above, "... The details of these power requirements are shown on page 2-19 of the manual for the motherboard."

J3 is NOT the ATX12v/P4 connector.  As I also noted above, it is wired to the 5v standby and the PS_ON lines [the 4 connection on it are those two lines and two grounds].    These are the only lines from a standard 24-pin PSU power plug that you need to re-wire to a 4-pin connection.    The main power for the board is from the JPWR1 connection, which is identical to an 8-pin EPS12v auxiliary power connector ... so you can simply use that.

The location of these two connectors (JPWR1 and J3) are shown in the diagram on page 1-3 of the manual.  J3 is at the bottom right of the picture;  JPWR1 is just above it, after an intervening JP12C1 header.

Note that the JP12C1 header is an SMBus header for the power supply.  I do NOT know for a fact whether the absence of this connection would have any impact on the board's operation, but I doubt it.  The other two pins provide all the power the board uses, and include a PS_ON connector, so the board can turn on the power supply.

Gary,

 

Where did you find the pin out specifications of that board?  I scoured (and still am) for them, but to no avail.

 

Namely, which connector is J3 on this board (the black or the ATX12v/P4 connector?)?

 

As I noted above, "... The details of these power requirements are shown on page 2-19 of the manual for the motherboard."

I suppose I should have noted, that, the manual on SM site is not loading up for me, thus, I figured perhaps you had a direct link (i.e. "where did you find the pinouts")

I'll just wait to see if the site loads properly for me, or will just, well whatever.  Thanks.

I suppose I should have noted, that, the manual on SM site is not loading up for me, thus, I figured perhaps you had a direct link (i.e. "where did you find the pinouts")

 

I'll just wait to see if the site loads properly for me, or will just, well whatever.  Thanks.

I assume you were able to download it from Supermicro -- if not, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll send you the PDF manual.

I suppose I should have noted, that, the manual on SM site is not loading up for me, thus, I figured perhaps you had a direct link (i.e. "where did you find the pinouts")

 

I'll just wait to see if the site loads properly for me, or will just, well whatever.  Thanks.

 

I assume you were able to download it from Supermicro -- if not, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll send you the PDF manual.

No sir, I wish.  Sent email address and thank you.

... On its way 

... On its way 

Got it, thank you sir.  PM sent again.