Motherboard – ASUS Rampage IV GENE mATX LGA2011
In order to get support for the higher core count processors, an LGA2011 socket board was needed. But even more than that, in order to fit it in inside the Silverstone FT03 (or SG10) you’d need a micro ATX board. The only board that seems to fit the bill is the ASUS Rampage IV Gene from their ROG line up. It also seems to be the only board left on the market that hasn’t been discontinued and ASUS does offer extremely good support for their flagship ROG parts even at end of life.
The board, unfortunately, does not support ECC DDR3 memory, though it does support faster non-registered modules, but only come in 8GB sizes currently, so we’re maxing out at 32GBs of memory right now. And the other unknown quantity we’ve come across is the fact that our chosen 12 core processor, is not officially supported, though we see no reason why the chip would not be supported since the socket does support a chip with its power requirements. The board is known to work with Xeon 8 Core and 10 Core parts though.
Connectivity wise, you won’t be getting Thunderbolt 2 support, but you do get a full complement of USB 3.0 and SATA ports for external storage expansion. USB bluetooth and WiFi dongles can add another $50 – 75 to the price tag to match the functionality of the Mac Pro.
Cost for the ASUS Rampage IV Gene will run you about $279.99 US.