GIGABYTE MD70-HB0 (Intel C612) Server Motherboard Review

Introduction

The second GIGABYTE server motherboard has entered our lab, and this motherboard supports Intel Haswell-EP E5-2600 v3 processors and DDR4 memory. Just as we saw in our review of the GIGABYTE MD60-SC0, the new GIGABYTE MD70-HB0 also features new improvements to the board design. This newer motherboard has an all-IR-power design that uses IRPowlRstage IC controllers, OS-CON capacitors for extended life, and high-end ferrite core chokes for stable power delivery, which we think will be typical for GIGABYTE's server boards now.

The same general features that GIGABYTE continues to offer on its new boards include easy BIOS update capability, which allows you to flash the BIOS without utilities; and the IPMI web interface to updated to 2.0, which adds even more remote access features.

Accessories listed for the GIGABYTE MD70-HB0 on the GIGABYTE website include:

• 1x Driver CD
• 1x I/O Shield
• 1x User Manual
• 2x SATA III 6Gb/s Cables

The MD70-HB0 is the base motherboard used on GIGABYTE's R270-R3C dual socket 2U rackmount server. Now, let's take a closer look at the MD70-HB0 server motherboard.