Ebay server part build help (compatibility help)

[TechnoSword]

Building a gaming computer to gift to a friend. Have already secured a friends old Antec 750 watt for 5$, and am donating my 2nd Radeon HD 7950 to the cause (crossfire setup currently) plus a spare HDD. 

 

SO, here is what I've seen so far, and am about to get, off ebay (unless anyone has some suggestions).

 

CPU (25$)- AMD Opteron 4184 

It's basicly a Phenom II X6 @ 2.8Ghz for 25$ instead of the 70$ they're currently going for.

Motherboard (40$)-  SuperMicro H8SCM-F

It's cheap, has a PCIe x16 slot, uses standard power connectors, and is a standard size unlike most server graded boards.

RAM (15$)- Samsung M393B5673GB0-CH9Q9  

There's 8GB of it, would fill every slot for OCD perfection, and seems to be on the compatibility list (please double check me on this). Old used ECC RAM is supper cheap since it can only be used on server boards- yay. 

Heatsink Retainer Bracket (5$+SH)

All the heat sinks that directly screw in cost way to much. For example, there's a compatible ASUS and Noctua cooler that'd kick butt, but they're in the 50$ plus range. However adding the bracket allows for the use of a tension heatsink...which run in the 10-20$ range instead of 30-80$ range. 

 

Heatsink (?)

Honestly, I need help here. There is very little documentation on AMD cooler compatibility. I've seen Socket C32 referred to as "Socket 1207" and "socket F". Would someone please tell me if they're different names for the same thing or not? Do C34 coolers line up with C32 screw holes, or are they differently space/threaded? Also, do all the AMD sockets use the same tension mounting system? If they do, could I latch a 10 buck chuck mass-produced FX 8000 series cooler onto it if I use that retainer bracket? Point is, I want something that will cool it under full load for under 20$.....and not be a anemic half inch high server cooler that has a fan with the power for a god strapped to it.

 

Zip ties are not a option for the heat sink. The screw holes are built in to the board, and I doubt they go all the way through. Plus even if they did, a single zip tie strapped across it isn't going to hold jack in place (only 2 holes here people). 

 

Total cost calculated thus far- 90$+SH. That leaves 10$ for a cooler to stay under/at 100$, which is my target, on a machine that can play GTAV (among other games). A Q6600 won't cut it people. 10-30 FPS is no way to live- we are masterful here. The 6 core there is around the power of a Q6600 with 2 more cores strapped two it. Figure that should do the trick. Plus, no amount of OCing that Q6600 will make up for 2 more cores of the same power...not to mention the impossibility of even finding a working board to OC it with for 40$.

 

EDIT: I can go up to 150$ (including shipping costs), but I'd really like to keep it under that if at all possible. 

[The Sloth]

what gpu are going to go for?

[TechnoSword]

1 minute ago, nerdslayer1 said:

what gpu are going to go for?

 

5 minutes ago, TechnoSword said:

am donating my 2nd Radeon HD 7950 to the cause

 

[stconquest]

Seeing the placement of the screw holes in the board, I would imagine you could fashion your own bracket for something like a CM Hyper 212 EVO quite easily. 

 

For the 212 EVO, as an example:

 

All you need is a straight piece of sturdy metal with two holes drilled on the ends for the motherboard and a small (off-center) hole in the middle of the metal for the cooler itself.  Two springs and two bolts and you have a bracket.  A trip to the hardware store is all you would need.  It would cost a buck or two in materials.

 

 

As with the 212 EVO, you could probably make a bracket for just about any cooler.  The 212 EVO was just an easy example.

[TechnoSword]

2 minutes ago, stconquest said:

Seeing the placement of the screw holes in the board, I would imagine you could fashion your own bracket for something like a CM Hyper 212 EVO quite easily. 

I've thought about it, but I want to make that a last resort option. The price difference would only be like 5$ too. So I figured it's worth the 5 extra to have something that is made to fit it. Will do it if the search for a sub 20$ heatsink gets no answer as to compatibility. I have very little AMD mounting bracket knowledge, so any help would be appreciated to determine compatibility. 

[stconquest]

11 minutes ago, TechnoSword said:

I've thought about it, but I want to make that a last resort option. The price difference would only be like 5$ too. So I figured it's worth the 5 extra to have something that is made to fit it. Will do it if the search for a sub 20$ heatsink gets no answer as to compatibility. I have very little AMD mounting bracket knowledge, so any help would be appreciated to determine compatibility. 

It is literally just two holes near the socket, vertically opposed.

 

Anyways:  I searched for coolers, but the cheapest new one was around $40.  There are server cooler units, but those tiny fans are not tolerable, too loud.

 

Maybe find a used one.

 

@TechnoSword

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Arctic-Cooling-Silencer-64-TC-Base-754-939-940-C32-F-3Pin-CPU-Heat-Sink-Cooler-/282025910855?hash=item41aa0de247:g:ZPYAAOSw~OVWyt0g

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dynatron-T319-AMD-Socket-C32-F1207-1U-Passive-CPU-Cooler-Heatsink-/162270305360?hash=item25c8105c50:g:ZaIAAOSw44BYHetT

[TechnoSword]

2 minutes ago, stconquest said:

Maybe find a used one.

That's the idea. Well eBay is the idea.

2 minutes ago, stconquest said:

Anyways, I searched for coolers, but the cheapest new was around $40.

You aren't looking on ebay X3

 

Right here for 14$- AMD HK8-00002-A1-GP

 

It uses a tension mount, so I'd need the bracket, but it is for it right? No ones gotten back to me on weather or not if Socket C32, Socket F, and Socket 1207 are the same thing or not. If they are it'd work. 

[stconquest]

7 minutes ago, TechnoSword said:

That's the idea. Well eBay is the idea.

You aren't looking on ebay X3

 

Right here for 14$- AMD HK8-00002-A1-GP

 

It uses a tension mount, so I'd need the bracket, but it is for it right? No ones gotten back to me on weather or not if Socket C32, Socket F, and Socket 1207 are the same thing or not. If they are it'd work. 

I saw a few of those, but I could not figure out if it would work.  Sadly I don't have the practical experience with the socket type.  I just see the threaded holes, and go with I know will work; namely C32 Socket friendly units.

 

I can't see how that cooler would "clip" on, but like I said... no practical experience with the socket.

[TechnoSword]

1 minute ago, stconquest said:

I can't see how that cooler would "clip" on, but like I said... no practical experience with the socket.

The bracket I listed.

58 minutes ago, TechnoSword said:

Heatsink Retainer Bracket (5$+SH)

 

14 minutes ago, stconquest said:

It is literally just two holes near the socket, vertically opposed.

We don't know that for sure. Some server boards have screw holes permanently on them that don't go all the way through. I'd have to wait till after I ordered it, and it got here, to see if they even go all the way through or not. 

[stconquest]

1 minute ago, TechnoSword said:

The bracket I listed.

 

We don't know that for sure. Some server boards have screw holes permanently on them that don't go all the way through. I'd have to wait till after I ordered it, and it got here, to see if they even go all the way through or not. 

Awesome.  Looks about right.

[TechnoSword]

1 minute ago, stconquest said:

Awesome.  Looks about right.

Yeah, was bugging me to no end for about an hour why all these Socket F/C32/1207 coolers had tension mounts when I had seen nothing to mount it to. Luckily stumbled onto that. 

However, that still leaves the question of if the tension mount system is universally the same size, and if so, could I then attach a FX 8000 series stock cooler to it?

[stconquest]

1 minute ago, TechnoSword said:

Yeah, was bugging me to no end for about an hour why all these Socket F/C32/1207 coolers had tension mounts when I had seen nothing to mount it to. Luckily stumbled onto that. 

However, that still leaves the question of if the tension mount system is universally the same size, and if so, could I then attach a FX 8000 series stock cooler to it?

Do you have a FX stock cooler?  It might work:

 

 

 

[TechnoSword]

1 minute ago, stconquest said:

Do you have a FX stock cooler? 

I do-not. However I have a friend who probably does.....actually didn't think of that till now. I'll ask him for it later. If it doesn't work, I'll just order the socket specific tension one. 

 

Ok, there is a game plan for the heat sink. Now, do you think the RAM will work? 

 

Checking the RAM support page here. It lists it part way. The RAM I linked is Samsung M393B5673GB0-CH9Q9, as aposed to the shorter M393B5673GB0-CH9 model number shown on the page. Does the "Q9" part at the end make a difference? I have no idea. 

[stconquest]

1 hour ago, TechnoSword said:

I do-not. However I have a friend who probably does.....actually didn't think of that till now. I'll ask him for it later. If it doesn't work, I'll just order the socket specific tension one. 

 

Ok, there is a game plan for the heat sink. Now, do you think the RAM will work? 

 

Checking the RAM support page here. It lists it part way. The RAM I linked is Samsung M393B5673GB0-CH9Q9, as aposed to the shorter M393B5673GB0-CH9 model number shown on the page. Does the "Q9" part at the end make a difference? I have no idea. 

I don't see how that memory would not be supported.  DDR3 ECC RDIMM is supported by the mobo at that capacity/frequency.  Chances are it will be fine, but I won't say for certain because I have not tried it.  Small risk, but I would be confident in that choice of RAM.