Server in a toolbox?

[DarthChowder]

So... Linus sparked an idea... cheap old server parts... I am running a Plex Server off my desktop and would like to take the CPU load off that thing... so I set out to make a $200-ish server.

 

Parts List:

• SuperMicro Dual Socket LGA1366 Motherboard - X8DTT-F-SG007 Rev.2 ($44.95 on eBay, free shipping)
• 2 Intel Xeon E5540 Quad 8MB 2.53GHz processors Socket 1366 ($9.95 for the pair on eBay, free shipping)
• New SAMSUNG 8GB DDR3 1333MHz ECC REG (2 for $35.16 each on eBay, free shipping)
• 2 Intel server grade heatsinks with fans ($36.64 on eBay including shipping...)
• EVGA 600B Bronze Power Supply, 600W ($46.84 from Amazon, not sure the shipping as I ordered some other things)

Cost of parts = $173.54 (I am not adding some of the minor parts I got like SATA cables or screws and nuts... because I mostly had that stuff laying around. I also got 2 HDD bays for free from a friend, they bought for this build.)

 

I was going to have my brother-in-law that works at a steal shop make me the case, but I ended up not waiting on him. I also didn't want him to get in trouble. So I ended up going to Harbor Freight and getting the cheapest metal tool box I could find that would fit my board. I figured it needed to be 20-21" in length, needed to be 7" in depth and the height needed to accommodate 6"... but I knew I had two options for mounting the board so I wasn't super certain at the time of buying it how this would all work out.

 

Picture 1 - is a stock photo from Harbor Freight's website of what the took box was like before I got a hold of it. Note the tray handle and the separators that are part of the handle... yeah those are gone...

Picture 2 - is my actual toolbox from the from view.Picture 3 - is the back view where you can see my power supply cut out as well as where I will pass the ethernet through.Picture 4 - Close up of the power supply cutout and you can see the ethernet passthrough as well.Picture 5 - The toolbox open. You will notice the handle from the removable tray is gone. My heatsinks are mounted and the power is ran through the cutouts in the tray.

 

In a future post I will show you more of the modifications to the case that I have made and am going to make. I have to do a full teardown of the server. I plan to pain the whole case a dark bronze color.

 

What do you don't see is what is below the tray. I have (2) 5 bay HDD enclosure with their own fans tucked under there where the PSU is. I also had the modify my 20 Pin connector from the PSU. My dad is an electrician and we spent an hour planning out the wiring based on looking at the pinout in the manual from SuperMicro and comparing it to the standard ATX pinout. After we figured out where we wanted everything on paper I happened to find someone else's image of how to pinout for this very board (don't have the link or our drawing sorry, I'll look for it if someone asks). I will get more pictures of all of the stuff I have done once I tear it down.

 

Next Steps:

1. Cut the HDD ventilation holes
2. Test mount the HDD enclosures
3. Plan out the placement of CPU fan ventilation holes
4. Cut the CPU ventilation holes...
5. Consider notching the lid to allow a VGA cord to passthrough the lid when closed... still not sure on that one.

Questions I have:

• I have tested the server and attempted to get video output... Why can't I get video output?
  • I thought this board had onboard Video for 2D. I assumed that meant the SuperMicro splash and Bios would show up when booted. I hear no beeps, which I did plug a speaker into the board not pictured. The CPU light is on and steady green like it should be. I have the front panel switches and the Power LED wired also not pictured. The Power LED is on and the CPU fans kick on (Loud as hell!) Anyone got ideas what could be the issue?
  • I am going to borrow a friends old PCI Express 2.0 video card they have laying around to test the video in a few days... maybe that will solve my issue.

 

What do you guys think of the build so far? What advice/suggestions would you give me?

 

[DarthChowder]

Did I post this under the wrong topic?

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

This is fucking dope, I love it!
 

Here's my dual LGA 1366 Xeon server!

[DarthChowder]

20 hours ago, Jacktastic-Mofo said:

This is fucking dope, I love it!
 

Here's my dual LGA 1366 Xeon server!

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Thanks man! Nice build. I've learned a few things so far in the build... like I should have been more patient in picking out the parts. I have since found, for a little bit more money... the same board essentially and the PCI-E riser board and the 20 pin riser board which would have allowed me to get the stock PSU hooked up. Removing one more area of potential incompatibility. Oh and the chassis and FREE SHIPPING!

 

Wish my board had an LCD display so I can read codes to see if the damn thing is even posting. My buddy is bringing me a PCI-E 2.0 video card tomorrow so I can see if that will get me any sort of video output.

[NathanGoing]

I love this idea!!! Three months ago I had grabbed 3 of these, 6 x5667's and 96GB of memory, but have been struggling to come up with a cases for them. (No skills or tools to build one). Since I don't want the noise of the high airflow environment, I replaced the heat sink on the northbridge. I need to find some cheap toolboxes ASAP! Thanks!

[DarthChowder]

On 8/7/2016 at 1:04 PM, NathanGoing said:

I love this idea!!! Three months ago I had grabbed 3 of these, 6 x5667's and 96GB of memory, but have been struggling to come up with a cases for them. (No skills or tools to build one). Since I don't want the noise of the high airflow environment, I replaced the heat sink on the northbridge. I need to find some cheap toolboxes ASAP! Thanks!

Glad I could inspire you. Just wish that someone had some ideas about what is wrong with mine.

[Quaker]

Since you bough a used motherboard from e-bay, there's always the chance that the onboard video is broken. But, you should check to see if there's any on-board jumpers that need to be set for the graphics to work.

 

Actually there does appear to be a jumper, if this is the correct manual:

https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/motherboard/X58/X8DTT.pdf

[DarthChowder]

9 minutes ago, Quaker said:

Since you bough a used motherboard from e-bay, there's always the chance that the onboard video is broken. But, you should check to see if there's any on-board jumpers that need to be set for the graphics to work.

 

Actually there does appear to be a jumper, if this is the correct manual:

https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/motherboard/X58/X8DTT.pdf

I did check over the jumpers an thought they were all in the correct position. Let me double check that one though. Any other ideas?

[DarthChowder]

3 minutes ago, DarthChowder said:

I did check over the jumpers an thought they were all in the correct position. Let me double check that one though. Any other ideas?

I just checked it out and the jumper appears to be on the enabled state (pin 1 and 2). Seems to me that RAM might be the issue since it doesn't even seem to get to the bios. I am going to break down and just start swapping around the RAM and CPU and crap to see if this thing will run at all.

[Quaker]

Adding a graphics card to that build would be a bag of snakes. Perhaps you could set it up outside of the case, and then use a remote control program after that, to view it from your main computer's desktop.

I used to use one called "Radmin", but I don't know if that's still available, or how much it costs, but there should be many similar apps available.