ASUS Z8NA-D6

Zitat: The ASUS Z8NA-D6C is a very interesting motherboard. It has some great potential, but I think for many graphics professionals the D6C will not be the choice; they will go for the D6 with its built in LSI raid controller or an add-in board. However, as with most dual CPU (and multi-core) systems, you will run into applications that do not know how to use the second CPU or to get all of the cores available to work properly. We were impressed with the way the board handled games as well as the lower power usage (that was a very pleasant surprise). Although we did not touch on the way it would handle as a Linux or Windows server, we can see where the support is there for this role. Features like NUMA support, caching profiles, and remote management all combine to make this a very good product for the server/workstation market. Plus, when you consider the price tag of only $300.00 at NewEgg.com you are not getting a bad deal at all. We will try to revisit the Z8NA-D6C with a faster pair of CPUs and more RAM in the near future (as well as a couple of additional workstation related applications), but for now we can tell you that the Z8NA-D6C is a very capable board for either a workstation or server that needs dual CPUs in a small package.

Zitat: ASUS is well known for their motherboards and the Z8NA-D6C fits the bill as a motherboard that can act as a server or a workstation with dual Xeon CPUs. While the cost of a Xeon system is expensive for the most high-end CPUs, there are Xeon CPUs like the 5504 that cost much less and when paired with a Z8NA-D6C motherboard provide a powerful computer for any server or workstation applications you need to run. A definite plus is the addition of the PCI Express x16 slot to allow the motherboard to operate as a graphics workstation in conjunction with the appropriate video card. The onboard video is perfect for those wanting a server to only display the interface without the flair that a Windows GUI provides. Overall there is nothing to really complain about, the only thing that might daunt some Workstation users is the lack of onboard sound, and the fact you have to buy an Asus branded inline card to have audio. Whether or not this is an issue is up to the user interfacing with the system. Beyond that Asus once again has brought to market an excellent product.