>> So I guess another question here. Is it better to my SATA interface >> in Serial ATA mode or AUTO in BIOS? The motherboard calls it sda when >> in serial ata mode but hda when in auto mode. Will there be a >> performance difference? > > It depends on which kernel module gets used, and which version of CentOS we're talking about as to which will perform better. So research the libata module that drives it when in SATA mode (/dev/sda) versus the straight IDE layer (/dev/hda). > > Later kernels and newer CentOS is going to go to /dev/sda either way; /dev/hda is gone from later dists. > > Which Supermicro board is this? This is CentOS 5.x 64 bit updated to latest. Supermicro MBD-PDSBM-LN2+-O. North Bridge: Intel 946GZ South Bridge: Intel ICH7R. I always use Supermicro cases and motherboards anymore. Not too pricey and pretty good quality. I like there compact 1u cases that are relatively inexpensive as well. Matt