Our goal with the server and workstation motherboard review is to bring you a wide variety of tests and results which will, hopefully, allow you to make the best choice for your future setup.
It is not possible to test motherboards without additional hardware, so I will have to add some things. At the same time, we don’t want to test the connected devices – we are interested in how well they the motherboard can utilise them. That is a fine line to walk, and I hope I’m hitting the spot. I will use the hardware needed, but I won’t go above that by adding tons of graphics power, for example. By keeping things to the basics, I’m eliminating a false sense of performance originating from another piece of hardware.
I am filling the available memory slots, up to 16 modules, add a processor with proper cooling, and storage drives of each possible type. There’s also a GPU installed, but not a flagship. I need the GPU to support 3D and I need a monitor-output in order to test the motherboard. Some benchmark applications will fail or create false readouts without a 3D capable GPU.
I hate changing my testing methodology as it makes comparing results to previous reviews more difficult, but it can’t always be avoided. With the new generation of motherboards, we’ve truly entered a new era. SATA is still supported, but it’s a true legacy device now. As such, we’ve moved to a PCIe NVMe card for our operating system.
The same goes for graphics cards. Our old card was BIOS only with no UEFI support. A lot of the new generation of motherboards won’t boot with legacy BIOS, and as such, we also had to upgrade the GPU. At first, we tried with a default desktop graphics card, but that created more trouble due to driver issues. Now I have a workstation graphics card which is a perfect match for these reviews.
Due to the changes, some of the previous results seem far lower in comparison. However, I will retest what is possible and update previous reviews as well as new ones with new and better comparable results. That will be done in between my normal reviews and not on a set schedule.
The last change is the Operating System which is Windows Server 2016 from now on.
We use a wide variety of applications to gain a broad spectrum of results for comparing diverse aspects of the system performance. The OS will be Windows 10 Pro, and most should be familiar with the other applications and tools too.
There are more components needed such as a switch to connect the network ports which the motherboard has to offer. For this, I’m luckily equipped with a nice D-Link DXS-1210-12TC switch and a full set of CAT7 cables. We’ll also be using a power meter to check on the electricity consumption.
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