I got a server, four-2.6Ghz AMD opteron and 10Gigs RAM on TYAN Thunder board, for free. The thing is massive and loud, I'd like to reclaim the processors and RAM into two smaller computers each with two processors. Can someone suggest a motherboard for these processors that I can fit into a home computer case?
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The Tyan S2927 is an dual processor ATX board that is easy to find. There are also EATX boards and EATX cases if you want to go that route.
Watch out for motherboards that run the memory for the second CPU through the first one on the ATX boards. I know the S2927 is setup to give each processor it's own memory bank which is why I mention it.
Newegg.com is a good place to get an idea of what parts are available.
quinnr
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I'd highly recommend Tyan. I use them for Socket F Opterons but from your CPU speed, it looks like you've got 800 series (socket 940), not 8000 (socket F). Please correct me if I'm wrong.
As of right now, I'm unaware if Tyan has any Socket 940 motherboards available and if they do, they certainly aren't actively listing any on their website, but they list a whole slew of 940 motherboards in their archives.
Some people may recommend Supermicro and I've used them nearly a decade ago, but I've always seen Supermicro lean towards the Intel camp and at times it seems like AMD is treated as a stepchild in their product line. Just my opinion of course. ASUS and Gigabyte may be vendors to investigate, but as companies go, their market is in the enthusiast sector - not typically workstation/server sector.
You might be able to snag a good deal on eBay and such, but a little more information is needed as some of these motherboards may only fit eATX (full tower) vs. ATX (mid tower). The price and size differential between eATX and ATX can be large. I've built several Tyan Opteron server systems and in terms of quality, they're great but in your specific issue, case size may determine the motherboard you can buy.
On a side note: another factor for your home is heat and noise. You may want to investigate cooling and noise issues as if these systems will be in your home, take that into account. I'm currently looking into water cooling my dual socket F rig as noise and especially heat are becoming serious issues.
osij2is
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another option is to install the motherboard into a full-tower case made for the gamer/enthusiast/overclocker market. Of course, this is only a viable idea if the two computers you want to split the machine into are going to be in the same location....then you could keep it as one machine and use virtualisation to run multiple servers on it.
they tend to have excellent cooling with much less noise than traditional server cases because they aren't constrained by a 1, 2, or 4RU form-factor and can use very large slower fans (e.g. 230mm fans) rather than smallish (60 or 80mm) fast & noisy fans.
e.g. the Antec 1200 or the Coolermaster HAF 932 or similar. you'd have to carefully examine the specs of the cases to make sure they'll actually fit your motherboard. The spec sheet PDF from Tyan's web site says that it is an SSI motherboard 13" x 16"...that's significantly larger than EATX at 12" x 13", but many of these gamer/enthusiast tower cases have a LOT of room in them.
finally, one related option is to replace the fans in your existing server case with quieter fans. it's not that hard to find much quieter fans that move almost as much air (or sometimes even more) as the standard ones that come with traditional server cases. optimising for minimal noise isn't a priority for standard server fans that are intended to go into a server room with big noisy air-conditioning etc anyway, but it IS a priority for the home gamer/enthusiast market.
cas
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Best is to use another Tyan, a smaller model.
Problem with your configuration is you need a specific motherboard for the CPU and the memory.
And general motherboard dont fit.
The two main vendors are Intel and Tyan as far as I know.
The Tyan website is not the most user friendly but you can easily find the reference of your board, you just have to choose a motherboard of the same familly with lower spec, for only 2 CPU.
Fleole
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Take a look at this MB from Tyan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813151098
Read the reviews, it appears that this board might fit a standard ATX case
Breadtruck
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