ASRock Rack C2750D4I Review: A Storage Motherboard with Management
by Ian Cutress on April 29, 2014 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Storage
- Atom
- ASRock
- Silvermont
- Enterprise
- server
- Avoton
ASRock C2750D4I Conclusion
There are many aspects to the C2750D4I that make you sit up and think. The combination of a proper 8-core CPU (even if it is based on Silvermont rather than Haswell) at under 25W powering a GPU capable system with up to twelve SATA drives, dual Intel NICs, up to 64 GB DRAM and management control is merely part of the perspective of this review. The purpose of this motherboard was ultimately cold storage, however many users are finding regular storage uses for it.
Ganesh currently has this motherboard and is more suited to testing the storage aspects of the motherboard than I, however in this review we focused on usability and the package as well as the other system performance.
If we look at the motherboard on paper it makes for interesting reading, and that functionality comes across as positive, however there are a couple of misses. The lack of USB 3.0 might be a cause for concern should a user need to transfer a sizable amount of data that way. The motherboard offers a possibility of a dual NAS/HTPC combination in the home, however the lack of onboard audio means that other methods will have to be used in order to do the HTPC part.
The BIOS and Software stack is server focused, and it is perhaps a shame that more from the channel side was not brought over now that this is a consumer-facing product. The ability to adjust the fans in the OS would be the best place to start, as the management interface fails to offer this and leaves the BIOS as the sole place for configuration. Also updating the BIOS is not as straightforward as ASRock’s channel line.
Having a management interface on a mini-ITX motherboard is rather interesting, especially one that offers control via a Java app and can record what is happening on screen should things go wrong. While it has been said that IPMI is vulnerable to Heartbleed, the interface should not be in a public-facing environment anyway.
Users wanting a storage platform with more than 8/10 SATA devices have in the past needed to invest in a RAID card or something extravagant like ASRock’s Extreme11 series of socketed motherboards or high-end server platforms. Now that the C2750D4I is available for casual purchase at $398, there is that route for home builds. ASRock Rack, the server element of ASRock, needs to develop an understanding of what customer-facing products have to be in order for users to see its products as more than just functional. The choice of Marvell controllers will be bemoaned by some users, especially if the aforementioned reports are prevalent.
When Intel’s next line of Atom-based processors hits the market, I hope ASRock build an updated version in a similar style and take on board the comments of current users. While a niche market, the users in that market are always looking for the ideal system build for their needs and it requires some lateral thinking from the motherboard manufacturers.
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A5 - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
For HTPC, I'd think you would probably want to get a small GPU for decode help anyway, so that would be where your audio comes from as well.bernstein - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
yeah it's a shame this doesn't come with a hdmi connector... then i'd be sold. even though i wouldn't use any of the sata plugs and just hook a sas controller+expander up to it...hdmi + ecc + pcie x8 capability cpu+mobo for $400 would be a steal
slayernine - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
QNAP's Intel Atom models have HDMI.bernstein - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
yeah if only they had fanless 10+ bay models for less than $1000.bernstein - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
oh and one that runs zfsGralgrathor - Thursday, May 21, 2015 - link
10+ disks without cooling? They won't last a day... And why would you need a hdmi-connector on a server mobo?DanNeely - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
At $400 it's priced out of the core HTPC market; it's clearly intended as an entry level large storage server. As pointed out below, the spaghetti explosion from wiring a dozen drives with individual cables makes it unsuitable for most enterprise use (or prosumers who know better).Samus - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link
For $400 you could put together a better HTPC/NAS combo solution with an AMD AM1 ITX system and an Areca SAS RAID card in a PCIe slot. You'd get a superior onboard GPU with HDMI, native USB 3.0, and a better RAID card, not some Marvell crap.Athlon 5350 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
ASUS AM1 ITX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Areca PCIe 8-port SAS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
This motherboard is interesting and ASRock is a solid consumer OEM, but it's a little premature of them to be getting into rack space.
UpSpin - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link
You don't have to buy the overpriced octa core board, but could buy the identical quad core version ASRock C2550D4I for $280.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Your mainboard doesn't support ECC RAM and your SAS Controller only supports 8 SATA drives without further expanders. Together with the two SATA connectors on the mainboard you got only 10.
The quad core has an even lower TDP of 14W vs. 20W of the octa version. The C2750 has a faster CPU compared to your Athlon 5350.
The only disadvantage is the poor IGP. Considering that this is more a storage/server board, less a HTPC (who wants 12 noisy hard drives in the living room?) and the unbeatable price, it's a very interesting porduct in my opinion.
Samus - Friday, May 2, 2014 - link
Well, UpSpin, that would be why I said 'htpc/nas'If you purely want a NAS, there are probably better solutions than what I outlined, but for a hybrid (and who is to say the NAS wont be SSD's or 2.5" 2TB drives that are dead silent) this board, like Ian pointed out, is kind of a joke for an HTPC solution. It is VERY market specific, and virtually ALL AT readers aren't part of that market. This board is grossly overpriced, especially for something with ASRocks name on it. Even cold-storage servers should have USB 3.0 or eSATA. and quality products don't use some buggy $3.00 Marvell chipset that wipes arrays at random.