server motherboard issues.

[Pandora]

so i recently got my hands on a supermicro X8DTL-i. its a 1366 dual socket motherboard (yes westmire-EP cpu's still preform decently for my workload).

i was able to get a 12 core server 3.33ghz working decently for around 220$ us. (ram was only 4$ a stick 1333 ecc 24gigs).

anyway i have run into some issues that have halted my project.

the first issue is the heat. the chipset gets hot. i mean real hot. around 70-85 degrees. it was meant for workstations and servers with massively powerful fans.

i was thinking of addressing this in 2 ways. 

Option 1: buy a small fan 40mm x 10mm and littarly use sheet metal skrews to attach it to the existing heatsink.

Pros: cheep, might work, can be undone if it fails.

Cons: very good chance that the small fan wont be strong enough, metal skrews might not hold very well and may interfere with Pcie things.

 

Option 2: buy a small copper and fan chipset heatsink (or make one) and use thermal adhesive to attach it to the chipset. (the chipset holes arent standard)

Pros: will most likely be good enough, very secure

Cons: cannot be undone. $

 

my second issue is that i want Pcie baised storage. i would like the boot drive to be Pcie baised since i have an M.2 drive and adapter that i have lying around and the motherboard is only equiped with Sata 2 connectors. unfortunatly this motherboard seems to only support IDE and SATA baised storage. i am kind of supprised by this since this motherboard was used in servers until around 2014 at which time PCIe SSD's and such were common on the server side. i have checked supermicro's website and do not see a bios version that supports this (i cant even find a bios version #).

Option 1: stop being stingy and buy a PCIe to Sata 3 adapter + a m.2 to sata adapter.

Pros: will most likely work, more Sata 3 ports.

Cons: Long work around. Might fail. $.

 

Option 2: well i guess this is kind of up to you guys.

 

any help would be amazing.  

[dexT]

You could try using some high quality thermal paste like GC-Extreme on the chipset. 

[Pandora]

1 minute ago, dexT said:

You could try using some high quality thermal paste like GC-Extreme on the chipset. 

oh i like that. i have some cool labs gallium stuff that i could use.

[manikyath]

the second issue.. i dont think my opinion on fast boot drives applies to this topic

 

for the first ssue tho, do the fan thing, a 40mm fan is in the 3-15 buckaroo range, try it out by taping it on with aluminium tape, if it makes the chipset much happier (which by the way, 85°c isnt *too* bad) there's a bunch of thermally resistant adhesives you can get, as well as twist ties being godmode when mounting stuff that isnt supposed to mount

[dexT]

Just now, thorbrantly101 said:

oh i like that. i have some cool labs gallium stuff that i could use.

Nice. Be careful with that stuff, it's conductive.

[Pandora]

2 minutes ago, dexT said:

Nice. Be careful with that stuff, it's conductive.

ya. killed a laptop with it once. 

i like using it on macbooks and other laptops that suffer from heat issues. 

[Pandora]

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

the second issue.. i dont think my opinion on fast boot drives applies to this topic

 

for the first ssue tho, do the fan thing, a 40mm fan is in the 3-15 buckaroo range, try it out by taping it on with aluminium tape, if it makes the chipset much happier (which by the way, 85°c isnt *too* bad) there's a bunch of thermally resistant adhesives you can get, as well as twist ties being godmode when mounting stuff that isnt supposed to mount

i would like to know your opinion on boot drives. it might apply.

also this chipset isnt supposed to get that hot. its supposed to be around 60ish. i have had the computer give me chipset tempature warnings and shut down.

[manikyath]

14 minutes ago, thorbrantly101 said:

i would like to know your opinion on boot drives. it might apply.

also this chipset isnt supposed to get that hot. its supposed to be around 60ish. i have had the computer give me chipset tempature warnings and shut down.

well, if you arent specificly running a workload that requires high storage troughput, anything more than a sata SSD is IMO a waste of money.

my main rig runs off of an SSD, has a 4790k, 16GB ram, and all the party.

it reboots just as fast (~1 minute) as my media center that runs off of spinning rust with a 10 watt celeron, and 8GB ram.

 

difference? the media center is as bloat-free as i can make windows be

 

my server is running off of a mushkin triactor, running a slightly skinned down xubuntu (havent bothered with more than basics) on an i7 4770, 32GB ram, and two storage drives.

reboots look like this, with all steps taking about equally long:

-press reboot-

"shutting down"

"bios screen"

"black screen"

"desktop"

i fail to see how you would possibly need any faster on a server, and honestly the only reason my desktop is running an SSD is because if windows isnt on an SSD for my main rig, i lock up explorer.exe daily

[Pandora]

9 minutes ago, manikyath said:

well, if you arent specificly running a workload that requires high storage troughput, anything more than a sata SSD is IMO a waste of money.

my main rig runs off of an SSD, has a 4790k, 16GB ram, and all the party.

it reboots just as fast (~1 minute) as my media center that runs off of spinning rust with a 10 watt celeron, and 8GB ram.

 

difference? the media center is as bloat-free as i can make windows be

 

my server is running off of a mushkin triactor, running a slightly skinned down xubuntu (havent bothered with more than basics) on an i7 4770, 32GB ram, and two storage drives.

reboots look like this, with all steps taking about equally long:

-press reboot-

"shutting down"

"bios screen"

"black screen"

"desktop"

i fail to see how you would possibly need any faster on a server, and honestly the only reason my desktop is running an SSD is because if windows isnt on an SSD for my main rig, i lock up explorer.exe daily

The SSD is SATA baised. just M.2 form factor. pulled it out of a laptop. its nothing special. around 400ish reads and writes. the main bulk of the server will be 4 2tb HDD in raid 10.

[Energycore]

I'll propose something different. Grab a case that has a very straight airflow path for the motherboard tray like an NZXT S340, Corsair 400C or Phanteks Enthoo Pro M. Then get some high-speed fans (like 3000RPM NF-F12s or Gentle Typhoons) and place them on the case front. That should provide ample airflow for not just your chipset, also the rest of your motherboard components. The S340 can also be modded to house SSI-EEB sized motherboards if you want one of those (but the one you have is ATX so should be fine).

[Pandora]

7 minutes ago, Energycore said:

I'll propose something different. Grab a case that has a very straight airflow path for the motherboard tray like an NZXT S340, Corsair 400C or Phanteks Enthoo Pro M. Then get some high-speed fans (like 3000RPM NF-F12s or Gentle Typhoons) and place them on the case front. That should provide ample airflow for not just your chipset, also the rest of your motherboard components. The S340 can also be modded to house SSI-EEB sized motherboards if you want one of those (but the one you have is ATX so should be fine).

while i do agree. this would be the best long term solution for my problem and would probs be a good investment now, i am unfortunately a cheep fool. i am so cheep that instead of looking at current single slot GPU's such as the R5230 or the gt210 or similar i am browsing ebay for 10$ used hd 3650's

[Energycore]

5 minutes ago, thorbrantly101 said:

while i do agree. this would be the best long term solution for my problem and would probs be a good investment now, i am unfortunately a cheep fool. i am so cheep that instead of looking at current single slot GPU's such as the R5230 or the gt210 or similar i am browsing ebay for 10$ used hd 3650's

I'd go with pointing a small fan at the chipset heatsink then