Cooling the CPU, X11SDV-4C-TLN2F

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AndroGen

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Jan 21, 2019
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@Francis Augusto Medeiros

there are few things you might look at
this thread is primarily about Xeon-D based systems, which is not Socket LGA3647-0, hence heatsink from Supermicro (SNK-P0067PS) would not fit, and, what is more important, it is not passive. It is designed to be installed in 1U cases with special air flow tunnels.

Another heatsink - P0068APS4 - it's a nice one. again, it is for Socket LGA3647-0, and not suitable for the Xeon-D.
P0068APS4 is installed in one of servers with Xeon 4110. To make the noise bearable I have replaces fan by the Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX - since then system is very silent.

If you are talking about the Xeon-D based system (like e.g. Supermicro Mainboard X11SDV) - it does not work without active cooling. CPU gets overheated almost instantly. I have placed 80mm silent fan (Noctua NF-A8 FLX) on top of the installed heatsink and it has solved the problem - no noise and no overheating.
 
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To make the noise bearable I have replaces fan by the Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX - since then system is very silent.
Thanks! did you to adapt it in some form, or does it work right out of the box?

If you are talking about the Xeon-D based system (like e.g. Supermicro Mainboard X11SDV) - it does not work without active cooling. CPU gets overheated almost instantly. I have placed 80mm silent fan (Noctua NF-A8 FLX) on top of the installed heatsink and it has solved the problem - no noise and no overheating.
Are you sure? Supermicro sells the E300-9D server, on a 1U chassis, without place for active cooling, and I haven't heard of anyone complaining.

I was thinking about using the Fractal Design node 804 case, which has 3 fans and space for more. Sadly, the size of the fan you suggested is too small.
 
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Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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E300-9D has high rpm 40mm fans blasting right through the heatsink front to back.
 
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E300-9D has high rpm 40mm fans blasting right through the heatsink front to back.
Yup, but I might be making a confusion here. The case I want to buy - the Fractal Design node 804 - has fans. I am planning to install other fans on it. But when I mention active cooling, I was thinking mostly on CPU coolers.

What I wonder is, are fans on the case enough, or will I need active cooling attached to the CPU or to its heatsink?
 
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I am going to assume the case fans are not enough, the air is moving over the heatsink rather than being forced through it.
For the Xeon-D the easiest option is just attach a fan on top with a blob or 2 of hot glue.
Just make it work like in this article, I have done similar on mine.

Supermicro X10SDV-F Build; Datacenter in a Box | b3n.org
Thanks for the article. Gonna get that fan as well, but I have a hunch that installing fans on the top of the case (it takes up to 4 120mm fans on the top) might work. The fan on the back is big and seems to me will push some air through the heat sink, but without swing the case and the motherboard inside it, I can’t be sure.
 

AndroGen

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Jan 21, 2019
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Thanks! did you to adapt it in some form, or does it work right out of the box?
I just placed it on top of the heat sink

Are you sure? Supermicro sells the E300-9D server, on a 1U chassis, without place for active cooling, and I haven't heard of anyone complaining.
E300-9D has several 40mm fans in the body with intake from the front side - very noisy.
I have Supermicro Barebone SuperServer SYS-E200-9A - technically it is almost identical.
Case had 2 x 40mm fans - they are like an airplane during the takeoff.
I have replaced them by 3 Noctua NF-A4x20. In total there are 3 places for fans in the case - very silent now.
Search in the YouTube - there are couple of sound tests of these cases.
 

AndroGen

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Jan 21, 2019
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What I wonder is, are fans on the case enough, or will I need active cooling attached to the CPU or to its heatsink?
You would need to have a fan on top of the heat sink, otherwise it will overheat before system can boot.
Case fan would not be enough in this case.

XEON-D is very hot beast
 
Jul 29, 2019
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You would need to have a fan on top of the heat sink, otherwise it will overheat before system can boot.
Case fan would not be enough in this case.

XEON-D is very hot beast
Ok, guess I’m get a 60mm Noctua then. Any concerns about the plastic frame of the Noctua touching the heat sink?

and how quiet is it? Can you hear it at night on the living room? :)
 

AndroGen

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Jan 21, 2019
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watch this video - it could give you an idea

Paul has also a video with the sound and some thermal testing.
He has also a nice video about the Supermicro set-up on XEON-D.

FYI
I have placed 80mm Noctua - it was a perfect size.
I was thinking about the plastic problem, but since it was not hot (yet) - I have delayed this topic
 
Jul 29, 2019
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watch this video - it could give you an idea

Paul has also a video with the sound and some thermal testing.
He has also a nice video about the Supermicro set-up on XEON-D.

FYI
I have placed 80mm Noctua - it was a perfect size.
I was thinking about the plastic problem, but since it was not hot (yet) - I have delayed this topic
Thanks!

After a lot of back and forth with Supermicro, I got some explanation on how it works:

1 - They don't seem to sell the active cooling for the X11SDV-4C. One has to order it via RMA.
2 - The warranty is void if the user installs the cooler by himself. They do install it for you, no matter if you get the cooler from them or via a reseller.

Knowing this, I contacted a reseller in Norway, where I live. They will order both and order the installation for me, so I'll receive a ready installed motherboard with active cooler.

I just hope it isn't super noisy.
 

wazoo42

New Member
Apr 13, 2016
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The 80 mm fan shroud + a rather noisy Delta kept the temps around 55-60 C with an ambient temp of 26 C (having replaces the TIM with Arctic Silver 5).

Reading through the above thread and looking on the Noctua website, I thought the NH-L12S looked like a good candidate. I knew I needed all 4 RAM slots and I needed it to fit into a 4U case, which drove the above decision. After a couple attempts to find a setup which would let me modify the existing brackets I gave up and bought some 3/4" aluminum angle from the hardware store and 4-40 x 3/8" screws. Many hours with a dremel tool + drill and I had a setup that appears to work. The temps under full load (stress --cpu 12 --timeout 600s) is now 40-45 C and it is practically silent.

There is about 0.5-0.75" clearance between the heatpipes and the closest RAM. Putting in the RAM can be done with the HSF in place, but it requires sliding the front end in first. I did drill holes through the fins in 4 spots so I could get a screwdriver through to tighten down the spring-loaded screws. I have to make a 2nd set and will take some pics of the brackets.

x11sdv-nhl12s-back.jpg x11sdv-nhl12s-side.jpg x11sdv-nhl12s-top.jpg x11sdv-nhl12s-front.jpg x11sdv-nhl12s-corner.jpg
 
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Jul 29, 2019
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Thanks!

After a lot of back and forth with Supermicro, I got some explanation on how it works:

1 - They don't seem to sell the active cooling for the X11SDV-4C. One has to order it via RMA.
2 - The warranty is void if the user installs the cooler by himself. They do install it for you, no matter if you get the cooler from them or via a reseller.

Knowing this, I contacted a reseller in Norway, where I live. They will order both and order the installation for me, so I'll receive a ready installed motherboard with active cooler.

I just hope it isn't super noisy.
Just got my machine yesterday. While I loved all the capabilities, the original active cooler I bought from Supermicro and had installed by them is just too noisy for me, even setting its speed to optimal.

I got no temperature readings under IPMI, so something could be wrong, but I'm trying to man up and go with the idea of replacing it - if only I wasn't too afraid of messing with it...
 

AndroGen

New Member
Jan 21, 2019
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You might want to thing about replacing the fan - this might be an easy and cheep option.
Of course, the warranty becomes your own risk
 
Jul 29, 2019
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You might want to thing about replacing the fan - this might be an easy and cheep option.
Of course, the warranty becomes your own risk
Just did it. I replaced the original fan by a Noctua A6x25 PWM. Not really sure it was worth it. You see, I was using ipmi to reduce the speed of the original fan. I was having it at 2200 rpm. Working nice and all. Now with the Noctua I get a bit less noice, a higher temperature (around 55º C), but less rpm. When using it at 3000, it gets cooler, around 45º C, same I got with the supermicro, and about the same loudness.

All in all, I am not sure it was worth it. And no need to remove the whole heatsink - I got away by just removing the fan cage. Hard as hell, but it worked.
 
Jul 29, 2019
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Just did it. I replaced the original fan by a Noctua A6x25 PWM. Not really sure it was worth it. You see, I was using ipmi to reduce the speed of the original fan. I was having it at 2200 rpm. Working nice and all. Now with the Noctua I get a bit less noice, a higher temperature (around 55º C), but less rpm. When using it at 3000, it gets cooler, around 45º C, same I got with the supermicro, and about the same loudness.

All in all, I am not sure it was worth it. And no need to remove the whole heatsink - I got away by just removing the fan cage. Hard as hell, but it worked.
Never mind, it was worth it. To make a long story short. I realized the noise I was getting was from my Seagate |Ironwolf HDD's. The minute I shut FreeNAS' VM down, the machine went virtually silent. I then put back the Supermicro cooler back to see, and it was louder, but way more efficient when it comes to cooling the CPU down at the same rpm. So whenever I put my machine somewhere else, I will for sure put the Supermicro cooler back.

But for now, with my machine on the living room, Noctua it is.
 
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Jul 29, 2019
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I don't understand how people are getting such low temps. I have a Noctua CPU fan, have 3 fans on the CPU side of the motherboard - and with 2100 rpm on the cpu I get 44 C. With 1200 it's like 57 C (but way quieter).
 

Rolando

Member
Aug 8, 2019
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Nice setup!, I’m about to make some modifications to my setup the main issue I found is that the active heatskink that supermicro sells doesn’t fit a 1U enclosure, so is time for me to look other cases options. From your setup to be able to use the noctual nh-l12s cooler, about the custom brackets, you mean from the fan? Or like the one that it comes with the supermicro active heatskink? Any chance you could post some pics of that?.

Thanks!


I recently worked on a custom build using the same socket (xeon d 2146nt cpu embedded into fcbga2518) and needed to make it silent. I had to custom fabricate the brackets so that it would take the standard noctua nh-L12S cooler. It does a real good job of cooling and is virtually silent. In the process, I also found the stock active heatsink shown above and purchased from wiredzone. This active heatsink is very loud but effective at cooling up to 100 tdp: (and yes you can find just about anything on this forum!)
View attachment 9532
View attachment 9533
 

jpmomo

Active Member
Aug 12, 2018
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Hello Rolando,
The custom brackets were so that I could mount the noctua l12s cooler to the xeon d 2146nt cpu socket. the stock noctua mounts did not support this socket so I had a company custom make some mounting brackets. earlier in this thread, someone else did something similar. As mentioned, this keeps the cpu cool and the fan is quiet.