Twice as Nice: Asus Unveils Z10PE-D8 WS Workstation Board with Dual CPU Sockets

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Two is better than one

We're not at the point where we need to worry about running multiple processors for gaming and daily computing chores, though if you're piecing together a workstation for some heavy lifting, that second socket might be more of a necessity than a luxury. If that's what you're after, be advised that Asus just announced its Z10PE-D8 WS motherboard, a dual-CPU socket mobo based on Intel's C612 chipset.
The dual sockets support Intel's recently announced Xeon E5-2600 v3 processor family based on the company's Haswell architecture. Intel's product family tops out at 18 cores per socket and 45MB of last-level cache, so with two flagship chips plopped into the Z10PE-D8 WS, you could be rocking 36 physical cores - yeah, we just wet ourselves a little bit, too.
You can also run up to four dual-slot graphics cards with support for 4-way SLI or CrossFireX, along with RAID cards, PCIe-based SSDs, video capture cards, and other high-speed components (the board is equipped with seven PCIe 3.0 slots).
Since reliability is key in a workstation, Asus gave the board its high quality component treatment. It has integrated Driver-MOSFETs (Dr. MOS), Asus-exclusive Beat Thermal Chokes II (supposed to deliver up to 94 percent poer efficiency and lower temps), and 12K solid capacitors, which Asus says is a first on a server board.
The Z10PE-D8 WS will be available soon for $599 MSRP.
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