Motherboards and unsupported servers that work with ESX 4.x and/or ESXi 4.x Installable

This table contains a list of systems, motherboards, storage controllers and network cards that have been tested and found to work with ESX 4.x or ESXi 4.x Installable. Please check out the source column for a system you are considering using as some systems will include special steps to enable ESX / ESXi to run on that system or have other issues to overcome.

None of these systems are supported by VMWare for running ESX. For a list of those systems please see this link. In some cases for ESXi, the system may be booting from a USB flash drive and be using no local storage.

NOTE: this list includes a number of SATA controllers that provide RAID functionality via a software component in the drivers supplied with the controller. Examples would be the Intel ICH series and the nVidia MCP series. ESX 4.x and ESXi 4.x do not support that software RAID functionality thus you will only be able to access the individual drives connected to controllers such as these.

Servers / PCsStorage ControllerESXESXi
Acer Aspire M3100OK
Dell Dimension 5150OK
Dell Dimension 8400OK
Dell Dimension 9100OK
Dell Dimension E521OK
Dell Inspiron 530OKOK
Dell Inspiron 545Intel ICH9ROK
Dell Inspiron 546OK
Dell Inspiron 580 i3 530OK
Dell Inspiron 580 i5 650OK
Dell Latitude D630Intel ICH8MOK
Dell Latitude E6400Intel ICH9OK
Dell Latitude E6500Intel ICH9MOK
Dell OptiPlex GX 280OK
Dell OptiPlex 330OKOK
Dell OptiPlex 580OK
Dell OptiPlex GX 620OKOK
Dell OptiPlex 740OK
Dell Optiplex 745OKOK
Dell OptiPlex GX 755OK
Dell OptiPlex GX 760OK
Dell OptiPlex GX 780OK
Dell OptiPlex 980OK
Dell PowerEdge 840OK
Dell PowerEdge 1800Dell CERC 1.5/6CH SATA RAID CardOK
Dell PowerEdge 1950OK
Dell PowerEdge 2800OK
Dell PowerEdge 2850OKOK
Dell PowerEdge R200Intel ICH9OK
Dell PowerEdge R410OK
Dell PowerEdge R510OK
Dell PowerEdge SC440OK
Dell PowerEdge SC1420OK
Dell PowerEdge SC1425OK
Dell PowerEdge SC1430OK
Dell PowerEdge SC1435OKOK
Dell PowerEdge T105OK
Dell PowerEdge T110OK
Dell PowerEdge T310OK
Dell PowerEdge T410OK
Dell Precision 390OK
Dell Precision 490Added Adaptec 2610SAOK
Dell Precision 490Intel 631xESB/632xESBOK
Dell Precision M6500OK
Dell Precision T3400OK
Dell Precision T5500OK
Dell Precision T7400OK
Dell Studio XPS 435Intel ICH10ROK
Dell Vostro 400OK
Dell Vostro 410OK
Dell XPS 400 / DXP051OK
Dell XPS 410OK
Dell XPS 420OK
Dell XPS M1330OK
Dell Zino HDOK
Fujitsu Siemens (ASUS) A8NE-FMCK804 Serial ATA ControllerOK
Fujitsu Siemens E7935OK
Fujitsu Siemens Econel 100S2OK
Fujitsu Siemens TX150 S6LSI MegaRAID SAS 1078OK
HP 6005 SFFOK
HP 6550bOK
HP 6910POK
HP 8440pOK
HP BL460C G1OKOK
HP dc5800OK
HP dc7600 SFFOK
HP dc7700OK
HP dc7700pOK
HP dc7800OK
HP dc7900OK
HP dc7900 SFFOK
HP DL145 G2OK
HP DL145 G1OK
HP DL165 G7OK
HP DL360 G4OK
HP DL360 G4pOK
HP DL360 G6OK
HP DL380 G4OK
HP Elite 7000OK
HP Elite 7200OK
HP Micro ServerOK
HP ML110 G4OK
HP ML110 G5OK
HP ML110 G6OK
HP ML115OK
HP ML115 G5OK
HP ML150OK
HP ML150 G6OK
HP ML 350 G4OK
HP ML 360 G5OK
HP N36L MicroserverOK
HP Pavillon a6000 (Asus M2N68-LA)OK
HP Pavilion p6320yOK
HP Pavilion p6710fOK
HP RP5700 SFFOK
HP xw4400OK
HP xw4600OK
HP xw8400OK
HP xv6200OK
HP Z200 SFFOK
HP Z400OK
HP Z600OK
IBM Intellistation M Pro (6225-27G)OK
IBM xSeries 346OK
IBM xSeries x306mOK
IBM xSeries x326mOK
IBM xSeries x3650 (7979C1A)OK
Intel SR2600Intel ICH10OK
Lenovo ThinkCentre M57e (6305b6u)Intel ICH7OK
Lenovo ThinkCentre M58Intel ICH10OK
Lenovo ThinkCentre M90pOK
Lenovo ThinkCentre 8000tOK
Lenovo ThinkPad T400OK
Lenovo ThinkPad T61OK
NEC PM-ML7 (Intel D915 MB)Intel ICH6OK
PowerSpec B318OK
Shuttle SD37P2Intel ICH7ROK
Shuttle SG33G5Intel ICH9OK
Shuttle SG45H7Intel ICH10OKOK
Shuttle SH55-J2-BK-V1OK
Shuttle SH67H3OK
Shuttle SN95G5 v3OK
Shuttle SP35P2 ProOK
Shuttle SX38P2Intel ICH9ROKOK
Shuttle SX58J3OK
Supermicro PDSMi+OK
Supermicro X7DVLOK
Supermicro X7DVL-3OK
Supermicro X8DTiOK
Sun V40ZOK
ZT Systems (MSI X58 Pro)OK
MotherboardsStorage ControllerESXESXi
Abit IP35PIntel ICH9OK
Abit KN9OK
AOpen MP57-dOK
ASRock 4Core1333OK
ASRock 890GX Extreme3OK
ASRock ALiveNF6G-DVIOK
ASRock ALiveNF6G-GLANnVidia MCP 61OK
ASRock ALIVENF6G-VSTA AM2OK
ASRock E350M1/USB3OK
ASRock K10N78FullHD-hSLI R3.0OK
ASRock N68C-SOK
Asus A8N-EOK
Asus A8N-SLI DeluxeOK
Asus A8N-SLI PremiumOK
Asus A8N-VM CSMOK
Asus Crosshair Formula IV / AMD X6 1090TOK
Asus E35M1-I Deluxe Mini-ITXOK
Asus K8NOK
Asus K8NS ProOK
Asus KFSN4-DRE/SASOK
Asus L1N64-SLI WS/BOK
Asus M2A-VMATI SB600OK
Asus M2N SLI DeluxeOK
Asus M2N-E SLIOK
Asus M2N32 SLI DeluxeOK
Asus M2N32 SLI PremiumOKOK
Asus M2NPV-VMnVidia MCP 51OK
Asus M2N-EOKOK
Asus M2N-E SLIOK
Asus M2N68nVidia MCP 67OK
Asus M2N68 PlusOK
Asus M2N68-AM PlusOK
Asus M2N-LROK
Asus M2N-MX SEOK
Asus M2N-MX SE PlusnVidia MCP 61OK
Asus M3A78 ProOK
Asus M3A79-T DeluxeOK
Asus M3N78OK
Asus M3N78-EMnVidia MCP 78OKOK
Asus M3N78-EMH HDMIOK
Asus M4N72-EOK
Asus M4A78 ProOK
Asus M4A78-EOK
Asus M4A78-EMOKOK
Asus M4A78LT-MOK
Asus M4A78T-EOK
Asus M4A785TD-V EVOOK
Asus M4A785-MOK
Asus M4A785D-MOKOK
Asus M4A785T-MOK
Asus M4A785TD-M EVOOK
Asus M4A79 DeluxeOK
Asus M4A79XTD EVOOK
Asus M4A87/TD-USB3OK
Asus M4A88T-MOK
Asus M4A88TD-MOK
Asus M4A88TD-M/USB3OK
Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3OK
Asus M4A88TD-V EVOOK
Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3OK
Asus M4A89GTD ProOK
Asus M4A89TD Pro/USB3OK
Asus M4N68T-M-LEOK
Asus M4N72-EOK
Asus Maximus IV Extreme B3OK
Asus NCCH-DLOK
Asus P2-M2A690GOK
Asus P5BOK
Asus P5BV-C/4LOK
Asus P5BV-M 3200OK
Asus P5E-VM DOIntel ICH9OK
Asus P5E-VM HDMIOK
Asus P5E WS ProOKOK
Asus P5G41MOK
Asus P5G41T-M LXOK
Asus P5KIntel ICH9OK
Asus P5K-EIntel ICH9ROK
Asus P5K PremiumIntel ICH9ROK
Asus P5K SE EPUOK
Asus P5KPL-AMIntel ICH7OK
Asus P5KPL-CMOK
Asus P5KPL-VMIntel ICH7OK
Asus P5M2Intel ICH7ROK
Asus P5M2/SASOK
Asus P5N-DnVidia MCP51OK
Asus P5N-E SLIOK
Asus P5N-EMOK
Asus P5N32-E SLIOK
Asus P5N-T DeluxeOK
Asus P5NT WSOK
Asus P5QOK
Asus P5Q-EOK
Asus P5Q-EMOKOK
Asus P5Q-EM DOOK
Asus P5Q-VM DOOK
Asus P5Q DeluxeOK
Asus P5Q SE2Intel ICH10OK
Asus P5Q3OK
Asus P5QDOK
Asus P5QL-ProOK
Asus P5QL-VM DOOK
Asus P6TOK
Asus P6T SEOK
Asus P6T WSIntel ICH10OK
Asus P6T WS ProfessionalOK
Asus P6X58D-EOK
Asus P7F-MOK
Asus P7F-XOK
Asus P7H55-MOK
Asus P7H55-M ProOK
Asus P7P55 LXOK
Asus P7P55DOK
Asus P7P55D-LEOK
Asus P7Q57-M DOOK
Asus P8H67-M EVOOK
Asus P8P67OK
Asus P8P67 ProOK
Asus P8P67 WS RevolutionOK
Asus P8P67-MOK
Asus P8P67-M PROOK
Asus RAMPAGE II GENE X58 S-1366 MATXOK
Asus SabertoothOK
Asus Sabertooth X58OK
Asus V2-M3N8200OK
Asus V2-P5G33OK
Asus Z8NA-D6OK
Asus Z8NA-D6COK
Asus Z8PE-D18OK
BFG nForce 680iOK
Biostar A770e3OK
Biostar A780LOK
Biostar A780L3GOK
Biostar H55A+ LGA 1156OK
Biostar NF61S-M2AOK
Biostar TA785G3HDOK
Biostar TA890FXEOK
DFI LANPARTY DK 790FX-B M2RSHOK
DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 SLI-DROK
ECS A780GM-AOK
EVGA Classified SR-2 270-WS-W555-A2OK
ECS GeForce6100PM-M2nVidia MCP 61OK
ESC P45T-AOK
EVGA 650i UltraOK
EVGA 680iOK
EVGA Classified SR-2 270-WS-W555-A2OK
EVGA X58OK
EVGA X58 SLI LEOK
Foxconn A7DA-SOK
Foxconn A7GM-SOK
Foxconn A88GMX 880G (AMD Phenom II X6 1055T)OK
Foxconn G31MXPOK
Foxconn M61PMVnVidia MCP 61OK
Foxconn RenaissanceIntel ICH10ROK
Note: Gibabyte MBs don’t seem to like the
default partitioning of ESXi when booting from a
USB flash device. Check the forums for a
solution to that problem.
Gigabyte EP45-D3SRIntel ICH10ROK
Gigabyte EP45-UD3OK
Gigabyte EP45-UD3PIntel ICH10OK
Gigabyte EP45-UD3ROK
Gigabyte 73PVM-S2HOK
Gigabyte 790GP-UD4HOK
Gigabyte 870A-UD3OK
Gigabyte 870A-USB3OK
Gigabyte 880GMA-UD2HOK
Gigabyte 880GMA-USB3OK
Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5OK
Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3HOK
Gigabyte 965P-DS3OK
Gigabyte EG41MF-US2HIntel ICH7OK
Gigabyte EG45M-UD2HOK
Gigabyte EP35-DS3OK
Gigabyte EP43T-UD3LOK
Gigabyte EP43T-USB3OK
Gigabyte EP45-UD3LOK
Gigabyte EQ45M-S2OK
Gigabyte EX58-UD4PIntel ICH10ROK
Gigabyte G31M-ES2LOK
Gigabyte G31M-S2LOK
Gigabyte G33M-DS2ROK
Gigabyte H55N-USB3OK
Gigabyte H55M-UD2HOK
Gigabyte H55M-USB3OK
Gigabyte H57M-USB3 F5OK
Gigabyte H67N-USB3-B3OK
Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9OK
Gigabyte M52L-S3OK
Gigabyte M52L-S3POK
Gigabyte M57SLIOK
Gigabyte M61P-S3OK
Gigabyte M61PME-S2OK
Gigabyte M68M-S2POK
Gigabyte M720-US3OK
Gigabyte MA770-S3POK
Gigabyte MA770-UD3OK
Gigabyte MA770T-UD3POK
Gigabyte MA78GM-DS2HAdded Dell Perc 5/iOK
Gigabyte MA78GM-US2HOK
Gigabyte MA78GPM-DS2HATI SB700OK
Gigabyte MA78LM-S2HOK
Gigabyte MA785GM-US2HOK
Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4HAMD 790GX + SB750 (AHCI mode)OK
Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4HOK
Gigabyte MA790GPT-UD3HOK
Gigabyte MA790XT-UD4POK
Gigabyte P35-DS3Intel ICH9OK
Gigabyte P35C-DS3ROK
Gigabyte P55-UD3LOK
Gigabyte P67A-UD4-B3OK
Gigabyte X58A-UD3ROK
Gigabyte X58A-UD7OK
Gigabyte P35-DS3LIntel ICH9OK
Gigabyte P67A UD3OK
Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H-B3OK
Note: Gibabyte MBs don’t seem to like the
default partitioning of ESXi when booting from a
USB flash device. Check the forums for a
solution to that problem.
Intel BOXDQ45CBOK
Intel BOXDQ57TMOK
Intel D510MOOK
Intel D525MWOK
Intel D975XBX2OK
Intel DG33BUOK
Intel DG33BUCOK
Intel DG33TLOK
Intel DG35ECIntel ICH10OK
Intel DG35DOOK
Intel DG41MJ Mini ITXOK
Intel DG41RQOK
Intel DG43GTIntel ICH10OK
Intel DG45IDOK
Intel DG45FC Mini ITXIntel ICH10ROK
Intel DH55TCOK
Intel DH57DDOK
Intel DP35DPOK
Intel DP43TFOK
Intel DP45SGOKOK
Intel DP55WBOKOK
Intel DP67BAOK
Intel DQ35MPOK
Intel DQ45CBOKOK
Intel DQ45EKOKOK
Intel DQ57TMOK
Intel DQ670WOK
Intel DQ67SWB3OK
Intel DQ963GSOK
Intel DX50SOOK
Intel DX50SO2OK
Intel DX580GOK
Intel S3210SHIntel ICH9ROK
Intel S3210SHLCOK
Intel S3420GPOK
Intel S3420GPLCOK
Intel S5000PALOK
Intel S5000PSLAdded Adaptec 3805OK
Intel S5000VSAOK
Intel S5520HCOK
Intel S5520URIntel ICH10OK
JetWay NC81-LF Mini-ITXOK
Magic-Pro MP-GMHD-D3Intel ICH7OK
MSI 760GM-E51OK
MSI 785GM-E51OK
MSI 785GM-P45 AM3OK
MSI 870-G45OK
MSI 880GM-E41OK
MSI 890GX-G65OK
MSI GM965 Fuzzy (Mini-ITX)OKOK
MSI H55M-E33OK
MSI H67MA-E45OK
MSI IM-GM45Intel ICH9MOK
MSI K8N Neo4/SLIOK
MSI K9A2 PlatinumOK
MSI K9N Neo V3OK
MSI K9N SLI-FOK
MSI K9N UltranVidia MCP 55OKOK
MSI K9N2GOK
MSI MS-7519OK
MSI P35 PlatinumIntel ICH9ROk
MSI P45-D8OK
MSI P55-GD80OK
MSI P965 Neo-F V2Intel ICH8OK
MSI X58 Platinum I7OK
nVidia nForce 650i UltraOK
Sun V40ZOK
Supermicro S2SBA+IIOK
Supermicro C2SBA++0 Q33Intel ICH9ROK
Supermicro C2SBC-QOK
Supermicro C2SBXIntel ICH9ROK
Supermicro C7X58-0Intel ICH10ROK
Supermicro H8DIi+-FOK
Supermicro H8DME-2OK
Supermicro H8QME-2OK
Supermicro H8SSL-iOK
Supermicro SBI-7126T-S6OK
Supermicro X6DH8OK
Supermicro X7DAL-EOK
Supermicro X7DCL-IOK
Supermicro X7DVL-EOK
Supermicro X7SPA-HF Mini-ITXIntel ICH9ROK
Supermicro X8DT3OK
Supermicro X8DTiOK
Supermicro X8DTI-FOK
Supermicro X8SAXOKOK
Supermicro X8SAX-OOK
Supermicro X8Si6-FOK
Supermicro X8ST3-FOKOK
TUL TRS690-M1OK
Tyan Thunder K8QS S4882OK
Tyan Thunder T8HM S3892OK
Tyan S2865OK
Tyan S2912G2NRnVidia MCP 55OK
Tyan S2915-ELSI 1068eOK
Tyan S2932-E (Thunder n3600M)LSI 1068eOK
Tyan S2985 (Thunder K8WE)OK
XFX 680inVidia MCP61OK
XFX 750i-72P9 (SLI)OK
ZOTAC GF8200-C-EnVidia MCP 78OK
ZOTAC H67-ITX-i5-2400SOK
Storage ControllerPCI idESXESXi
NOTE: this list includes a number of SATA
controllers that provide RAID functionily via a
software component in the drivers supplied with
the controller. Examples would be the Intel ICH
series and the nVidia MCP series. ESX 4.x and
ESXi 4.x do not support that software RAID
functionality thus you will only be able to access
the individual drives connected to controllers
such as these.
3Ware 9550SX(U)-8LPOK
3Ware 9690 / 9650OK
NOTE: it appears that there is an issue with some Adaptec cards and EFI MBs. You can find more details here and here.
Adaptec 1210SAOK
Adaptec 24059005:0285 (subsystem 9005:02b6)OKOK
Adaptec 2405OK
Adaptec 2410SAOK
Adaptec 2610SAOK
Adaptec 2940 (aic7xxxx)OK
Adaptec 3405OK
Adaptec 3805OK
Adaptec 5405OK
Adaptec 5805OK
Areca 1110OK
Areca 1210OK
ATI SB6001075:00:00OK
Dell PERC 5/EHas 2 external x4 SAS portsOK
Dell PERC 5/iOK
Dell PERC 6/iROK
HP Smart Array B110iOK
HP Smart Array E200OK
HP Smart Array E200iOK
HP Smart Array E212OK
HP Smart Array P400OK
HP Smart Array P410OK
Intel SRCS28XOK
LSI 3041E-ROK
LSI 3081 E-ROK
LSI 9620OK
LSI MegaRAID 150-4OK
LSI MegaRAID 300-8X LPOK
LSI MegaRAID SAS3028E-ROK
LSI MegaRAID SAS3041E-HPOK
LSI MegaRAID SAS8308ELPOK
LSI MegaRAID SAS8344ELPOK
LSI MegaRAID SAS8433ELPOK
LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-8iOK
Promise FastTrak TX-4310OK
Promise SATA300 TX4OK
Silicon Image Sil3512OK
Silicon Image SteelVineOK
Sun STK INT RaidSUN re-badged Adaptec 5805 8 port 2x mini-sas PCI-EOK
Network CardsPCI idESXESXi
3Com 3C905B Etherlink XL 10/100OK
3Com 3C996-T (PCI-X)OK
Asus PIKE 1078 8-port SAS HW RAIDOK
Broadcom DCM5741OK
Broadcom BCM5761OK
Broadcom BCM578414e4:1698OK
D-Link DGE-528TOK
HP NC7170 (Intel 82576EB)OK
Intel 82576EB Gigabit EthernetOK
Intel 8492MT Pro/1000 Dual PortOK
Intel EXPI9301CTBLK CTPCI-EOK
Intel Pro/1000 *OK
Intel Pro/1000 GTOK
Intel Pro/1000 MTOK
Intel Pro/1000 MT Desktop AdapterOK
Intel Pro/1000 PTOK
Intel Pro/1000 XTOK
Marvell Yukon 88E8056OK
Realtek 8139OK
Realtek 8168 / 8111OK
Supermicro AOC-SG-i2 2xGigabit PCI-E(2 x Intel 82575)OKOK
Supermicro AOC-SG-i4 4xGigabit PCI-E(4 x Intel 82576)OK
VIA (VT6130) GbE AdapterOK
Storage
FreeNASOK
Openfiler 2.5OK
OpensolarisOKOK
Ubuntu Server 9.04 (iSCSI)OK

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