Hi i have just built ESX lab server with following hardware specs.

This hardware been tested with both ESXi and ESX 4.0 U1 and U2

Hardware Specs:

Motherboard: Asus Z8PE-D18
CPU: 2 x 6 core Intel X5650
RAM: Hyinx 24GB DDR3 ECC
RAID: LSI MegaRaid MR10
iSCSI: Q-Logic Single port iSCSI HBA
CD-Rom: SATA CD Drive
HDD: 1 x Seagate 320GB SATA II
HDD: 3 x Seagate 1.5TB (RAID-5)
LAN : 2 x Onboard
VM DirectPathIO (VT-d) = yes
VT-x = yes
Onboard SATA controller also works.

This motherboard is rock solid. The esx is running for last 2-3 weeks without any issue.

The VM DriectPath IO is fully working with various devices.

Thanks