Once you venture into the market for old and used server components, there’s no turning back. From solid processors that cost under $25 to affordable ECC memory sticks, it’s possible to save a lot of money when buying outdated server-grade parts. But if you’ve spent as much time tracking good server PC deals as I have, you may have come across some unbranded, generic X79/X99 motherboards.

Having purchased one of these for my home lab server, I can confirm that they’re quite reliable – but only when you’re aware of certain issues plaguing these mobos.

5 Proper documentation can be hard to find

The same holds for BIOS updates

While many PC enthusiasts may toss the manuals aside when they buy a new component, the documentation comes in incredibly handy if (and when) you run into issues. Unfortunately, unbranded X99 motherboards don’t ship with proper instruction manuals, and it’s just as difficult to find online documentation for these mobos.

So, websites like Manuals+ are your best lead at finding the user guides for your server motherboard. The situation is largely the same on the BIOS front, as I found two firmware updates from entirely different companies for my X99 motherboard.

4 VRM and chipset cooling provisions are downright terrible

You’ll want to invest in decent heatsinks to extend the mobo's longevity

When buying a motherboard for your gaming machine, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for the VRM heatsinks. Unfortunately, X99 motherboards from no-name brands don’t feature adequate cooling facilities for the VRM or chipset.

As you may have guessed, the lack of proper heatsinks can result in high VRM and chipset temps when you try to run demanding virtual machines and containers on your server PC. That’s something you should avoid if you care about the longevity of your home lab.

3 E-ATX cases are pretty much a necessity

How else would you house these weirdly shaped mobos?

While this statement may not apply to select mini-ITX X79 motherboards, you’ll need a spacious PC cabinet to accommodate clunky X99 boards. For those with dual-CPU and multi-GPU setups, your heavily decked-out server might not even fit inside the average ATX chassis.

As someone who had to give up after wasting hours trying to cram his server mobo inside a normal case, I can confirm that you’ll need some dremel skills to accommodate the awkwardly sized mobos inside the average case. And that’s before you consider the superior airflow and additional drive bays offered by E-ATX cases.

2 IOMMU can be finicky to deal with

Assuming you can even turn it on in the first place

Support for PCI passthrough can be a deal-breaking feature for hardcore virtualization enthusiasts – and for good reason. If you’re planning to game on your server machine (which is entirely possible, by the way), you’re going to need a motherboard that’s compatible with the Input-Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU) facility.

Although some of the branded X99 mobos support IOMMU, the situation is a bit of a mess on the cheap no-name boards. Heck, even if you happen to find a rare bargain X99 motherboard that does support IOMMU, you may encounter certain compatibility and performance issues when setting up PCI passthrough for your expansion cards.

1 ECC memory is either mandatory or entirely incompatible

And it's rarely an optional addition

Compatibility with ECC memory is one of the biggest draws of server systems, as it provides an extra layer of protection against data corruption. Unfortunately, compatibility with ECC RAM is even more finicky than IOMMU support on the affordable X79/X99 mobos.

For example, the particular board I purchased for my setup refused to boot with normal DDR4 memory, even though the obscure manual I found for the mobo claimed it supports both non-ECC and ECC memory. To make things even more confusing, I’ve heard many of these generic boards aren’t compatible with compatible ECC RAM kits, and can only work with non-ECC memory!

Still, there are plenty of reasons to go for the cheap X99 boards

Despite their inherent flaws, unbranded X99 boards have some advantages over their more expensive counterparts. For instance, the cheap board I'm using includes a Q-code display, and so did three other generic mobos I shortlisted before buying the current one, which may be quite surprising considering it's a feature you’ll usually find on the most expensive gaming motherboards. Plus, they’re available at ridiculously cheap prices, especially on combo sets containing CPU(s) and memory sticks, which makes them ideal for beginner home lab environments.