Dell PowerEdge C8220 Build and Questions

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Spun Ducky

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Sep 20, 2016
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Looking at your picture of the power connection to the pci riser it looks like it is branching off of a molex plug that would normally be for hard drives or dvd etc. Those connections are generally at 60w and a high powered graphics card expects to pull 75w from the slot. I think that is one very probable cause of the code also considering a wifi card worked but that is far less power consumption. That is my best guess from hardware side of things. The real can of worms is if it is a driver issue.
 

drabadue

Active Member
Sep 15, 2016
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Looking at your picture of the power connection to the pci riser it looks like it is branching off of a molex plug that would normally be for hard drives or dvd etc. Those connections are generally at 60w and a high powered graphics card expects to pull 75w from the slot. I think that is one very probable cause of the code also considering a wifi card worked but that is far less power consumption. That is my best guess from hardware side of things. The real can of worms is if it is a driver issue.
@Spun Ducky you are correct. I am branching off a molex power plug. I may be entirely wrong in this line of thinking, but the power supply I am using is a corsair cx750. At the bottom of the product page

CX750 — 80 PLUS® Bronze Certified Power Supply

it says, "Dedicated single +12V rail offers maximum compatibility with the latest components" which lead me to believe that ANY 12v line was all coming from the same place. Maybe I am wrong in that assumption.

With what you are saying here, even though the card has its own dedicated power, it will still draw 75w from the PCI slot? I did not know that and it is definitely good information to have.

Unfortunately I have been swamped at work, and haven't had much time recently to look into the issue. Hopefully later in the week I will get some spare time to continue plugging away at it.
 

Ari P

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Oct 5, 2016
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I just bought C8220 V1.1 system board from Ebay. It is so cool and my goal is to run it alone without any racks or backbone PCBs. I am going to build an extremely cool transparent custom case for it during the next winter :) Hope can shared that design here when done.

Now... I have read few forums but haven't quite yet figure out, why v1.1 should not support e5-2600 v2 versions. Is it just a BIOS feature that can be fixed by updating newest BIOS (when e5-2600 v1 CPU is installed) or is it really a HW limitation? In that case what an earth could that HW limitation be? v1 and v2 have almost identical specs except IC process line width?
 

drabadue

Active Member
Sep 15, 2016
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My motherboard is burnt ... very strange, when I decided to insert the card deeper into the slot PCI-E when the computer is running. Be careful!
Now I want to try this motherboard
QUANTA WINDMILL OPEN COMPUTE SYSTEM BOARD V1 WITH 10GbE ETHERNET HEATSINK
@Wictar - Oh no! That is no good. Where did the board burn? Does it no longer boot? I have seen the "Quanta Windmill" boards and they are indeed a lot cheaper. If you do experiment with one, I am curious how well they work. Please post any updates if you try it. Powering those will be a bit more tricky with their power connector. The only thing I didnt like about these boards was the single PCI slot. I also am not sure how many USB ports they have, or if they have onboard video.

I do know there is a thread on this forum where people have experimented with them. I would like to see if they could be made to work with a high end graphics card. I saw that a few people had issues getting the graphics cards working, and that was why I steered away from them to begin with.

Potential Deal: 2 x Dual 2011 nodes @$199, Quanta Openrack

------

Another option is the HP Proliant G8 series. Specifically the SL230/SL250/SL280 boards. Seen here:

HP 744989-001 SL230 SL250 SL270 ProLiant Gen8 IVB Enhance VR Server Board

These seem to have a power connector that would be able to hook a standard ATX power supply up to if you had the right pinout and mini fit connector. They only have 1 usb port though from the looks of it.

------

There is also the Intel option.

USED! Intel Server Module Motherboard With Chasis 2x Heatsinks – S2600JF

Two USB ports, onboard video, 2 PCI slots, and mini fit power connectors.

------


I just bought C8220 V1.1 system board from Ebay. It is so cool and my goal is to run it alone without any racks or backbone PCBs. I am going to build an extremely cool transparent custom case for it during the next winter :) Hope can shared that design here when done.

Now... I have read few forums but haven't quite yet figure out, why v1.1 should not support e5-2600 v2 versions. Is it just a BIOS feature that can be fixed by updating newest BIOS (when e5-2600 v1 CPU is installed) or is it really a HW limitation? In that case what an earth could that HW limitation be? v1 and v2 have almost identical specs except IC process line width?
@Ari P - That sounds like a neat idea. I would like to see the clear case once you have a prototype. Here is the Dell Support forum I was reading that stated the problems with the E5-2600 V2 processors in the Dell V1.0 and V1.1 boards. I really haven't tried it, so I am not sure why it wouldn't work.

Processor Upgrades to PowerEdge C8220: Does System Board V1.0 (CN0W6W6G) support Xeon E5-2600V2? - PowerEdge General HW Forum - Servers - Dell Community

The thread really lacks information, but it states that he couldn't make it work, and the Dell rep basically agreed.
 

Wictar

New Member
Sep 19, 2016
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@Wictar - Oh no! That is no good. Where did the board burn? Does it no longer boot? I have seen the "Quanta Windmill" boards and they are indeed a lot cheaper. If you do experiment with one, I am curious how well they work. Please post any updates if you try it. Powering those will be a bit more tricky with their power connector. The only thing I didnt like about these boards was the single PCI slot. I also am not sure how many USB ports they have, or if they have onboard video.

I do know there is a thread on this forum where people have experimented with them. I would like to see if they could be made to work with a high end graphics card. I saw that a few people had issues getting the graphics cards working, and that was why I steered away from them to begin with.

Potential Deal: 2 x Dual 2011 nodes @$199, Quanta Openrack

------

Another option is the HP Proliant G8 series. Specifically the SL230/SL250/SL280 boards. Seen here:

HP 744989-001 SL230 SL250 SL270 ProLiant Gen8 IVB Enhance VR Server Board

These seem to have a power connector that would be able to hook a standard ATX power supply up to if you had the right pinout and mini fit connector. They only have 1 usb port though from the looks of it.

------

There is also the Intel option.

USED! Intel Server Module Motherboard With Chasis 2x Heatsinks – S2600JF

Two USB ports, onboard video, 2 PCI slots, and mini fit power connectors.

------




@Ari P - That sounds like a neat idea. I would like to see the clear case once you have a prototype. Here is the Dell Support forum I was reading that stated the problems with the E5-2600 V2 processors in the Dell V1.0 and V1.1 boards. I really haven't tried it, so I am not sure why it wouldn't work.

Processor Upgrades to PowerEdge C8220: Does System Board V1.0 (CN0W6W6G) support Xeon E5-2600V2? - PowerEdge General HW Forum - Servers - Dell Community

The thread really lacks information, but it states that he couldn't make it work, and the Dell rep basically agreed.
I could not find the part that burned, immediately felt the smell, but the next day the smell was gone. Power LEDs are lit but the power button does not light up can not turn on. As for motherboard Quanta, psi-e slots for connecting additional usb - there must be a connector mini psi-e. What about video cards for my work it`s enough of my 250 gts green. I hope that I can turn it on. I once bought it for $ 5 and it's my lucky card. In any case, I will be able to choose the video card without additional power, performance of which will be enough. As well
OEM Genuine Fujitsu RX300 S7 LGA2011 DDR3 System Motherboard D2939-A17 GS2
is a very interesting one. I think it is very easy to connect.
Thank you for supporting, I could not find on ebay such motherboards as HP 744989-001 or s2600jf. They are not much more expensive. maybe I'll buy one of them:)
 

drabadue

Active Member
Sep 15, 2016
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@Wictar - No problem. I did a lot of research before I bought the Dell board and I kept the others in my mind as backup options. I have never seen the Fujitsu board. That looks interesting. Let me know which one you decide to try.
 

ctrange

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Aug 26, 2016
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Hi, I have motherboard from dell blade but I don't know for what model. PN 09HYMD. It seems to be for 6220 II. Is there a difference for it connection in comparison with 8220. Maybe someone knows.IMG_20160722_112354.jpg IMG_20160722_112213.jpg Thanks.
 
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arcaster

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Oct 11, 2016
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I ordered the provided 24 pin to 16pin adapter, what was interesting was that pin 9 was bunched together with pin 10 (so both provide +12v). I also checked the voltages coming from the 16 pin connector and everything was +12v. I jumped the provided pins and left pin 15 & 16 jumped. Two green leds back by the PCI slots blink and after about a minute the green LED in the power-button comes on.

Heat starts to come from the single cpu that I installed in the CPU_1 slot, and the single stick of DDR3 ECC ram I've inserted heats up a bit too. What's odd is I haven't been able to get anything to come out of the VGA port.

I've tried jumping the POWER_ON pin on the motherboard to pin 16 on the PSU adapter, however, this just fails to turn the PSU on.

Since the 12vSB pin is definitely at 12v I'm a bit lost as to how I should proceed.

Any tips?
 

drabadue

Active Member
Sep 15, 2016
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@drabadue Did you manage to get the graphics card working?
Sorry guys. @Gitrooman - I have been busy recently and haven't checked back here in a few weeks. I have not had any time to get the graphics card working. I am in the process of moving currently so the project has gotten put on hold. I wanted to try and do a fresh install of windows with the graphics card hooked up to see if that would possibly solve the issue.

Hi, I have motherboard from dell blade but I don't know for what model. PN 09HYMD. It seems to be for 6220 II. Is there a difference for it connection in comparison with 8220. Maybe someone knows.View attachment 3622 View attachment 3623 Thanks.
@ctrange - That power connector does look similar to the one on the C8220 board. It is 18 pins. I would check and see if you can find a picture with the color of the wires going to the power connector. The C8220 board was yellow = +12v, black = ground and purple = +12SB.

I ordered the provided 24 pin to 16pin adapter, what was interesting was that pin 9 was bunched together with pin 10 (so both provide +12v). I also checked the voltages coming from the 16 pin connector and everything was +12v. I jumped the provided pins and left pin 15 & 16 jumped. Two green leds back by the PCI slots blink and after about a minute the green LED in the power-button comes on.

Heat starts to come from the single cpu that I installed in the CPU_1 slot, and the single stick of DDR3 ECC ram I've inserted heats up a bit too. What's odd is I haven't been able to get anything to come out of the VGA port.

I've tried jumping the POWER_ON pin on the motherboard to pin 16 on the PSU adapter, however, this just fails to turn the PSU on.

Since the 12vSB pin is definitely at 12v I'm a bit lost as to how I should proceed.

Any tips?
@arcaster - I noteced the same with Pin 9 being bunched together with pin 10 in the jumper harness. The board should still turn on this way, but the power supply will not be able to automatically shut down and the PS_ON and +12VSB lines need to be modified to work with that jumper and an ATX power supply.

The two green LEDS by the PCIe slot are for the Board Management Controller. I forget if one is supposed to stop blinking or start blinking, but one of them will change the blinking state to tell you the BMC is ready.

Now, I did happen to change a setting in the BIOS that changed the Display Adapter to not output anything at all. It gave me a slight panic as I couldn't see what I was doing. I honestly dont remember how I fixed it, but I was trying to reset the BIOS. I tried pulling out the battery (with the power supply unplugged) and holding the power button to reset the BIOS, but I don't remember if that worked. There is a Password jumper on the board that I think I played with jumpering and firing up the board as well. Not sure if that worked for me either. But after messing with it for about 15 minutes, I did manage to get the BIOS reset and was able to get the VGA display port working.

Not sure if that is the same problem you are having, but it could be something to try in case someone has played with the BIOS settings and disabled the VGA port.
 

arcaster

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Oct 11, 2016
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Sorry guys. @Gitrooman - I have been busy recently and haven't checked back here in a few weeks. I have not had any time to get the graphics card working. I am in the process of moving currently so the project has gotten put on hold. I wanted to try and do a fresh install of windows with the graphics card hooked up to see if that would possibly solve the issue.



@ctrange - That power connector does look similar to the one on the C8220 board. It is 18 pins. I would check and see if you can find a picture with the color of the wires going to the power connector. The C8220 board was yellow = +12v, black = ground and purple = +12SB.



@arcaster - I noteced the same with Pin 9 being bunched together with pin 10 in the jumper harness. The board should still turn on this way, but the power supply will not be able to automatically shut down and the PS_ON and +12VSB lines need to be modified to work with that jumper and an ATX power supply.

The two green LEDS by the PCIe slot are for the Board Management Controller. I forget if one is supposed to stop blinking or start blinking, but one of them will change the blinking state to tell you the BMC is ready.

Now, I did happen to change a setting in the BIOS that changed the Display Adapter to not output anything at all. It gave me a slight panic as I couldn't see what I was doing. I honestly dont remember how I fixed it, but I was trying to reset the BIOS. I tried pulling out the battery (with the power supply unplugged) and holding the power button to reset the BIOS, but I don't remember if that worked. There is a Password jumper on the board that I think I played with jumpering and firing up the board as well. Not sure if that worked for me either. But after messing with it for about 15 minutes, I did manage to get the BIOS reset and was able to get the VGA display port working.

Not sure if that is the same problem you are having, but it could be something to try in case someone has played with the BIOS settings and disabled the VGA port.
Although heat comes from CPU 1 and ram, along with the power button illuminating, I haven't been able to get anything to show up over VGA on a monitor.
 

drabadue

Active Member
Sep 15, 2016
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Although heat comes from CPU 1 and ram, along with the power button illuminating, I haven't been able to get anything to show up over VGA on a monitor.
Are you using the jumper for the front panel connector that was discussed earlier in the thread? Does the power button near the VGA connector illuminate green?
 

arcaster

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Oct 11, 2016
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Are you using the jumper for the front panel connector that was discussed earlier in the thread? Does the power button near the VGA connector illuminate green?
Yes, I'm using the front panel connector with single indicated jumper. And yes, the button near the VGA port illuminates green.

What's most weird is the CPU in CPU1 starts to produce heat. I've also tried booting with CPU's in both sockets.
 

drabadue

Active Member
Sep 15, 2016
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I had no issue booting with only 1 CPU. If the power button is turning green, then the board should be powering up. I still think it is probably an issue in the BIOS settings. I hope to be moved in this week. Once I get moved, I can share screen shots as well as try to replicate resetting BIOS.

I am not surprised the CPU gets hot. I fired mine up without any CPU cooler and it got hot fairly quickly with the system at idle. The ram also gets warm to the touch just sitting idle.



Yes, I'm using the front panel connector with single indicated jumper. And yes, the button near the VGA port illuminates green.

What's most weird is the CPU in CPU1 starts to produce heat. I've also tried booting with CPU's in both sockets.
 

arcaster

New Member
Oct 11, 2016
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I had no issue booting with only 1 CPU. If the power button is turning green, then the board should be powering up. I still think it is probably an issue in the BIOS settings. I hope to be moved in this week. Once I get moved, I can share screen shots as well as try to replicate resetting BIOS.

I am not surprised the CPU gets hot. I fired mine up without any CPU cooler and it got hot fairly quickly with the system at idle. The ram also gets warm to the touch just sitting idle.
Thanks for the info! Glad the CPU and ram getting warm is normal. My hardware is currently in my university's EE group lab, so I'll try reseting the bios tomorrow morning and report back. The blade I received was still sealed in anti-static packaging from Dell, so I don't think it was tampered with prior to purchase.
 

drabadue

Active Member
Sep 15, 2016
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Thanks for the info! Glad the CPU and ram getting warm is normal. My hardware is currently in my university's EE group lab, so I'll try reseting the bios tomorrow morning and report back. The blade I received was still sealed in anti-static packaging from Dell, so I don't think it was tampered with prior to purchase.
No problem. Just retrace your steps if you don't think it can be a BIOS issue. I know when I first applied power to the board, I had the 2 green LEDs blinking but nothing actually powered on. Once Wictar found out the jumper was needed, the board powered up.


I will note this as well:

1. No jumper in the front panel connector. Power supply off.
2. Turn the power supply on. (assuming the +12vSB is receiving +12v all the time and is NOT a stand by line)
3. Both green LEDs will blink.
4. Jumper the 2 pins in the front panel connector to power up the board.
5. The board will power up.

-OR-

1. Jumper in the front panel connector. Power supply off.
2. Turn the power supply on. (assuming the +12vSB is receiving +12v all the time and is NOT a stand by line)
3. Both green LEDs will blink.
4. After a few seconds the power button should illuminate green
5. Press the power button.
6. The board will power up.

I am not sure why, but if you have power to the board and unhook the front panel jumper, the board will shut down.

If you have power to the board and connect the front panel jumper, the board will power up.

If your StandBy line is actually +12SB, then leave the jumper hooked up, turn the power supply on, and when the power button turns green, push the power button momentarily and the board should power on.

The first thing you will see is a black screen that says, "Configuring Memory... Done." And that screen will stay up there for probably 20-30 seconds or more.

Also, please note that the way Wictar and I drew the front panel connectors are different. I tried my best to indicate the position of the alignment nub in the connector to avoid any confusion.
 

drabadue

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Sep 15, 2016
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At some point in the future I will do my best to make a clear cut post as to what needs to be done to make everything work. I just haven't quite gotten there yet.
 

arcaster

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Oct 11, 2016
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At some point in the future I will do my best to make a clear cut post as to what needs to be done to make everything work. I just haven't quite gotten there yet.
Thanks, most of my worry is that I haven't been able to get any output from the board whatsoever. I'm going to try reseting the BIOS (leaving the BIOS battery out for a while and using the NVRAM clear jumper). See if that does anything.

Right now, I'm just jumping the PSU to turn on, I've attached an imgur link showing my jumper config.

jumper Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

I'm just going to assume the board is DOA or has some problem with it's onboard video if this problem persists. Might just end up buying a "real" workstation board after all.