Usually at this place we tend to have a closer look at enthusiast level motherboards but this time it is a dual socket workstation motherboard Gigabyte sent us. The GA-7PESLX supports up to 384 Gigabyte DDR3 ECC memory via a triple channel memory interface and it comes with two sockets LGA 1356, which support the latest Intel Xeon E5-2400 series processors with up to 8 cores and 16 threads.
On the following pages we're going to introduce you to the latest dual socket motherboard from Gigabyte that supports the latest and fastests octocore Xeon E5-2400 series from Intel.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Specifications / Delivery
| CPU | Dual LGA1356 Socket Supports Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family |
| Chipset | Intel C602 |
| Memory | 12 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to
96GB (UDIMM) and
384GB (RDIMM) of system memory Tri channel memory architecture Support for 1066/1333/1600 MHz Support for ECC RDIMM/ UDIMM |
| Multi-GPU | N/A |
| Slots |
2 x PCIe x16 (@ Gen3 x16 bus) slots 1 x PCIe x8 (@ Gen3 x4 bus) slot 1 x PCIe x8 (@ Gen2 x4 bus) slot 1 x PCIe x4 (@ Gen2 x1 bus) slot |
| Audio | No audio chip |
| Video | Integrated ASPEED AST2300 More information on the manufacturer's website |
| Storage | 2 x mini-SAS 6Gb/s ports (8 x SAS 6Gbs via LSI SAS2008) 2 x SATA III 6Gb/s ports 4 x SATA II 3Gb/s ports Intel SW RAID 0/1/5/10 LSI IR RAID 0/1/1E/10 |
| LAN | 2 x Gigabit Ethernet LAN (2x Intel
82574L) 1 x KVM Server Management LAN |
| I/O internal | |
| I/O external | |
| Formfactor | EATX (305 x 330 mm) |
| BIOS | 1 x 64 MB flash AMI BIOS |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Bundle | 2x SATA II cables 1x Manual 1x CD Drivers 1x I/O Shield |
| On Manufacturer's Website | Gigabyte GA-7PESLX |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Layout
The Gigabyte GA-7PESLX comes with a non coloured green PCB and black expansion slots. This time not like the GA-7PESH1 we got last time, Gigabyte chose to not add stylish feature like the blue coloured PCB, they keep things simple for this one. Doesn't really matter as you won't see the motherboard anymore once you set it up in the server/workstation. The layout itself is also a bit different, the expansion slots are positioned differently and the sockets are not next to each others.
Gigabyte equipped his workstation motherboard so each CPU is powered by four digital power phases. Furthermore each set of six DIMM memory slots benefits form their own two digital power phases. With a total of 2x 2 digital power phases for the memory and 2x 4 for the processors a reasonable level of sability is being provided. Totally there are eight phases less than on the GA-7PESH1 which is normal given that you have only twelve memory slots vs sixteen and this motherboard is designed for Xeon E5-2400 series that need less power than the E5-2600 series ones. Furthermore Gigabyte went for high quality chokes from Coiltronics. The printing ontop of them reads 1007R3-R27. After checking the datasheets you find that these ferrite core chokes can cope with up to 61 amps.
Totally you'll find two sets of two times three DIMM-slots on the GA-7PESLX which means there are no less than twelve memory slots for an amount of total memory up to 96GB of normal memory and 384GB of Registered memory. Officially supported are the following clock speeds: 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz. Memory slots are quite close to the CPU socket so you won't be able to fit huge cooler on it but that's not a problem because this motherboard is designed for workstation use and worksation memory doesn't have high memory heatspreaders luckily.
Southbridge as well as current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive cooling blocks. But not only, also the LSI chip has an heatsink on to feel more fresh.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Connectors and I/O
Unlike the GA-7PESH1, there are only two SATA3 ports, additionally you'll find four SATA2 connectors. They are all located at the bottom right of the board. There are also two mini-SAS headers that provide up to eight additional ports. The SAS ports are provided by an LSI 2008 controller, which has been connected to the chipset using eight lanes. Therefore there is plenty of bandwidth for high-performance RAID setups. On the GA-7PESLX you will also find two full size PCIe Gen3 x16 slots (not spaced by one slot this time) with two PCI Express x8 ports working at x4 (one port is Gen3 while the other one is Gen2) and one PCI Express Gen2 x4 expansion slot. Furthermore there is an ASPEED AST2300 onboard 2D video chip that provides a VGA connector without the need to a third party graphics card.
Totally you'll find six fan headers on the Gigabyte GA-7PESLX which are three more than on the GA-7PESH1. This is more than enough for a workstation motherboard because usually workstation fans are directly connected to the power supply. Anyway you will find one cpu1_fan as well as one cpu2_fan located not far at the right of each cpu's power design and a sys_fan located next to the socket 0's power plug. The other three system fans are located upper the LSI SAS Controller on the right side of the motherboard.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel, Gigabyte equipped their worksation motherboard with four USB2.0 ports, no less than three Ethernet LAN ports, a COM connector and of course the video out (VGA) for the ASPEED integrated graphic chip AST2300. The third LAN port is a management port.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Conclusion
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| At a first glance we were surprised that the Gigabyte GA-7PESLX is very similar to the GA-7PESH1 when you look at it from a layout point of view. Of course the socket is not the same (LGA1356 vs LGA2011), the memory architecture as well (Triple channel vs Quad Channel) and also the PCB colour (most important ;) ) went from ultra fast blue to green. It was also possible to install large CPU coolers, which would be usful if you want to build a high-end workstation that operates at low noise level. Another nice addition is the LSI RAID Controller which is capable of managing up to eight drives. Therefore it is also worth mentioning that the RAID Controller has been connected via eight lanes. In other words, there is plenty of bandwidth. | - Design - LSI RAID Controller |
||
| Layout | + | - | |
|
Looking at the DIMM slots showed that they have been placed very close to the CPU sockets. Like this Gigabyte has been able to save some space which they needed because of the expansion slots. In fact there is a good mix. What you get is two PCI Express x16 Gen3 slots, two PCI Express x8 working at only x4 (one is Gen3 the other is Gen2) slots as well as another PCI Express x4 Gen2 slot. If you for example want to install a high performance PCI Express SSD then you'll be happy about the PCI Express x8 Gen3 Slots. We also have to mention that Gigabyte put the main PCIe 16x quite close to the last DIMM slot. Never the less this causes no issues since we managed to install a high end graphics card equipped with a backplate and it didn't collide with the memory modules. |
- Location of DIMM Slots - Expansion Slots - PCI Express Gen3 |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Author: c.ney@ocaholic.ch Copy edited and translated: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch c.ney@ocaholic.ch