Just posting my build in case anyone needs ideas, advice etc.
I fitted the CPU heat pipes on one side only (5 of them instead of all 6, more than enough for a 35W CPU) and the 2x SAS ssds on the other side cooling panel as I found they get quite hot whilst testing them without the case (there is a thread here about making the SSDs work when someone replied that these are SAS not NVMe, not sure why I assumed they are NVMe so I did a lot of "trying" and testing on them).
Inside is very messy as I am still waiting for few bits to tidy up:
- shorter PCIe riser
- shorter SAS cable and for cables for 2 drives only (Dell branded as amazon ones are all for 4 drives and 1m length cables)
- thermal pads for the SSDs (0.5mm I had are not thick enough so I ordered 1.5mm)
- USB 3.1 header cable to USB 3.0 so I can connect 2 side USB 3.0 ports
- USB 2.0 mini header to normal size header to connect the 2 side USB 2.0 ports - I need help please as I can't find anywhere a cable for the smaller usb 2.0 header on Supermicro board - one of my photos below show the headers
Parts used:
- Fanless Hdplex H3 case HDPLEX H3 V2 Fanless PC Chassis
- Supermicro mini itx X11SCV-Q X11SCV-Q | Motherboards | Products - Super Micro Computer, Inc.
- i5-8400T 35W cpu, I don't need Xeon for what I am using the server (raid 1 for backups and accessing my data from PCs and videos on TVs) - I have i5-8500T and i7-8700T CPUs but waste for money for this server
- 2x 15.36TB Samsung PM1643 SAS SSDs
- not sure yet if also 2x 3.84TB Micron 5100 Pro SATA ssds, waiting for delivery but may resell or use them in other PCs as my current data is half the 15TB SSDs
- 2x 8Gb DDR4 2666 Mhz SODIMM Samsung - I have 2x16Gb but waste of money/won't be used
- SAS cable https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QN2NN64/ but way too long and too many ports for my use so waiting for a short /2 ends Dell cable
- LSI 9341-8i SAS Raid card
- Samsung PM981 m.2 NVME SSD for OS only with a cheap heatsink
- Hdplex 160W AC-DC
- Hdplex 160W DC-ATX
- Hdplex PCIe riser but trying to find a shorter one
I had to "remove" the bios battery and solder it with wires horizontal as it was vertical and I couldn't fit the CPU heat pipes properly, I did a messy job but works fine. It took me many hours to troubleshoot as motherboard wasn't powering on but I realised I was trying to switch it ON by shorting 2 pins for TPM pins instead the correct ones as the stupid sketch showing all pins for front panel was under the TPM pins (even though I got it right the first hundred of times when I was testing the board with different parts).
I also had to cut few spikes for the cooling block of the northbridge chip or whatever is that due to the CPU heat pipes, again messy job but I don't have all the right tools.
It took me more than a day to figure out with my limited tools how to fix the 2 SSDs on the side panel of the case for cooling purposes. The photos show missing screws as I am waiting for the thicker thermal pads.
One small issue this LSI card does not work with CSM enabled in bios, need it disabled and set UEFI boot only. Ctrl+R is only working with CSM but I don't need to access its settings/RAID set up often so this is fine with me.
Now to install Win server and do some testing to check CPU & SSD temp and SSDs speed tests
Photos
I fitted the CPU heat pipes on one side only (5 of them instead of all 6, more than enough for a 35W CPU) and the 2x SAS ssds on the other side cooling panel as I found they get quite hot whilst testing them without the case (there is a thread here about making the SSDs work when someone replied that these are SAS not NVMe, not sure why I assumed they are NVMe so I did a lot of "trying" and testing on them).
Inside is very messy as I am still waiting for few bits to tidy up:
- shorter PCIe riser
- shorter SAS cable and for cables for 2 drives only (Dell branded as amazon ones are all for 4 drives and 1m length cables)
- thermal pads for the SSDs (0.5mm I had are not thick enough so I ordered 1.5mm)
- USB 3.1 header cable to USB 3.0 so I can connect 2 side USB 3.0 ports
- USB 2.0 mini header to normal size header to connect the 2 side USB 2.0 ports - I need help please as I can't find anywhere a cable for the smaller usb 2.0 header on Supermicro board - one of my photos below show the headers
Parts used:
- Fanless Hdplex H3 case HDPLEX H3 V2 Fanless PC Chassis
- Supermicro mini itx X11SCV-Q X11SCV-Q | Motherboards | Products - Super Micro Computer, Inc.
- i5-8400T 35W cpu, I don't need Xeon for what I am using the server (raid 1 for backups and accessing my data from PCs and videos on TVs) - I have i5-8500T and i7-8700T CPUs but waste for money for this server
- 2x 15.36TB Samsung PM1643 SAS SSDs
- not sure yet if also 2x 3.84TB Micron 5100 Pro SATA ssds, waiting for delivery but may resell or use them in other PCs as my current data is half the 15TB SSDs
- 2x 8Gb DDR4 2666 Mhz SODIMM Samsung - I have 2x16Gb but waste of money/won't be used
- SAS cable https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QN2NN64/ but way too long and too many ports for my use so waiting for a short /2 ends Dell cable
- LSI 9341-8i SAS Raid card
- Samsung PM981 m.2 NVME SSD for OS only with a cheap heatsink
- Hdplex 160W AC-DC
- Hdplex 160W DC-ATX
- Hdplex PCIe riser but trying to find a shorter one
I had to "remove" the bios battery and solder it with wires horizontal as it was vertical and I couldn't fit the CPU heat pipes properly, I did a messy job but works fine. It took me many hours to troubleshoot as motherboard wasn't powering on but I realised I was trying to switch it ON by shorting 2 pins for TPM pins instead the correct ones as the stupid sketch showing all pins for front panel was under the TPM pins (even though I got it right the first hundred of times when I was testing the board with different parts).
I also had to cut few spikes for the cooling block of the northbridge chip or whatever is that due to the CPU heat pipes, again messy job but I don't have all the right tools.
It took me more than a day to figure out with my limited tools how to fix the 2 SSDs on the side panel of the case for cooling purposes. The photos show missing screws as I am waiting for the thicker thermal pads.
One small issue this LSI card does not work with CSM enabled in bios, need it disabled and set UEFI boot only. Ctrl+R is only working with CSM but I don't need to access its settings/RAID set up often so this is fine with me.
Now to install Win server and do some testing to check CPU & SSD temp and SSDs speed tests
Photos
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