12gen N-series Nas motherboard (topton, cwwk, ... )

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RolloZ170

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2016
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Is it possible that everything is fine and the beeps don't actually indicate any issue with RAM as everything does seem to be working okay...
possible.
e.g. supermicros beep crazy several times, that's normal, insert a usb device can give beep too.
 

Outbound0918

Member
Jun 29, 2024
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my purple board is not changed from the manufacturer, i have a stoc intel cooler on it and it idles at 33 ( cooler fan is off) and goes up to 65 in full load before the fan ramps up and stabilizes at 55. I also have 4 out fans on an n3 case that run at a low 1000 rpm most of the time.
50 with pad seems way to high, also why you all stress so much about coolers, a stock intel one fits perfectly, touches nothing, and is able to dissipate 15W of heat with no problems
FYI for everyone, the CPU (purple board n100) in my system, idles at 22°C using a thermal pad to fill the gap between the die and heat spreader, instead of a goop of thermal paste.
 
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KevinR

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Jul 3, 2024
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FYI for everyone, the CPU (purple board n100) in my system, idles at 22°C using a thermal pad to fill the gap between the die and heat spreader, instead of a goop of thermal paste.
Wow. That's a really good temperature. I'd forgotten that in your last post you were moving on to the thermal pad vs paste vs gap(s). Pleased to hear that you got a great result. Which thermal pad and thickness did you use in the end?
 

Outbound0918

Member
Jun 29, 2024
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Wow. That's a really good temperature. I'd forgotten that in your last post you were moving on to the thermal pad vs paste vs gap(s). Pleased to hear that you got a great result. Which thermal pad and thickness did you use in the end?
ARCTIC TP-3
0.5 mm
 
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Outbound0918

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Jun 29, 2024
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Idle mode can't really reflect the cooling performance. It should be tested using stress-ng for a 30-minute stress test.

stress-ng --cpu 4 --timeout 1800s --metrics-brief
It gives a partial indication of the cooling performance and I mentioned it as I was comparing to others idle temps for reference.
 

Outbound0918

Member
Jun 29, 2024
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Wow. That's a really good temperature. I'd forgotten that in your last post you were moving on to the thermal pad vs paste vs gap(s). Pleased to hear that you got a great result. Which thermal pad and thickness did you use in the end?
Under a 30 minute stress test, it stabilised at 47°C by the way :)

To note, this is in a Jonsbo N2 case.
 
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Outbound0918

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Jun 29, 2024
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don't you have the n100? can't really compare it 1:1 with the n305
Yes I have the n100 purple board, I assumed you did too as you did not mention your CPU in your post, you just said "purple board" when we were discussing the n100.
 

Outbound0918

Member
Jun 29, 2024
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nope, mentioned on some older posts, i'm on n305
Yep, the thermal pad discussion was regarding the n100 and you joined in the discussion without specifying you have the n305.

If the discussion is around the n100 purple board and you jump in saying u have x temps everyone will assume you have n100, if you don't, you **need** to specify that regardless of if you have mentioned it in some older non related discussion.
 
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Kobold81

New Member
Jul 2, 2024
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My n305 suddenly shut down today. I use a strong power supply (750w fractal design ion +2)
Server sometimes starts for 1 second, fans run but then it goes out. mostly, everything stays dark after pressing power button. Will check with a new power supply but I suspect that the board has a malfunction...
 
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pkoci

Member
Aug 13, 2023
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Hi guys,

I am thinking about selling my BKHD N100 mobo (the green one) and replace it with a purple one.

Does C6+ states work when both nvme connected? Anyone has tried to connect 2 nvmes via Pcie x4 slot... C6+ states still works? What about CPU and case fans... Can you regulate speed?

how many connected sata HDDs can you fully utilize before hitting the limit of the ASM1166 controller connected via one PCIE line? Does it have any native sata ports?
 

Kobold81

New Member
Jul 2, 2024
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My n305 suddenly shut down today. I use a strong power supply (750w fractal design ion +2)
Server sometimes starts for 1 second, fans run but then it goes out. mostly, everything stays dark after pressing power button. Will check with a new power supply but I suspect that the board has a malfunction...

Got in contact with cwwk. They told me to unplug power, wait 5min, remove memory. When it beeped then board would be ok.
ok, did that, board beeped, powered off again and reinstalled ram. Server booted. Will see how long it runs today.

-> have asked cwwk if they can explain why CT32G56C46S5 ram suddenly makes the board go off

-> strange that it worked for 4 months strait and suddenly break due to the ram. I did not change any ram timings or power saving stuff. Only changed fan speed (even that behaves not like I would expect)
 
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HaoSs

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Feb 27, 2024
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i don't think the pcie x4 can do lane splitting, you can regulate speed from bios and in Linux with the proper driver. At full speed you can connect around 4 HDD , i don't see that scenario happening often if ever.
 

phileas

New Member
Oct 18, 2024
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@asychev I took a couple of pics so you can see the orientation of mine. It looks like a fraction of a mm off to me. But yeah, it’s basically touching! Very tight fit.
Hi! I also bought the purple board with the “Jonsbo” radiator offered on the CWWK website. Your message helped me a lot because I was having trouble finding the best orientation.

So I oriented the fan as you did, but strangely enough, it doesn't seem to make contact with the processor directly... I added a lot of thermal paste to dissipate the heat between the 1.5mm there seems to be between the contact zone of the radiator and the processor, but it doesn't really seem normal.

Have any of you had similar experiences on your build @zr0dfx ? The fan my package arrived with is the Jonsbo HP4005.

Thanks !
 

zr0dfx

Member
Jul 7, 2024
66
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UK
Hi! I also bought the purple board with the “Jonsbo” radiator offered on the CWWK website. Your message helped me a lot because I was having trouble finding the best orientation.

So I oriented the fan as you did, but strangely enough, it doesn't seem to make contact with the processor directly... I added a lot of thermal paste to dissipate the heat between the 1.5mm there seems to be between the contact zone of the radiator and the processor, but it doesn't really seem normal.

Have any of you had similar experiences on your build @zr0dfx ? The fan my package arrived with is the Jonsbo HP4005.

Thanks !
Hello :)
I actually had to reorientate the cooler so it would fit in the Jonsbo N1. It would not fit the way I had it in the pic. I have not had any issues. I never took any pictures or anything while installing and the system is in production now. Cooling is fine but I did repast the underneath the block as well. Everything does seem to be making contact. Hope this helps
 
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zr0dfx

Member
Jul 7, 2024
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Got in contact with cwwk. They told me to unplug power, wait 5min, remove memory. When it beeped then board would be ok.
ok, did that, board beeped, powered off again and reinstalled ram. Server booted. Will see how long it runs today.

-> have asked cwwk if they can explain why CT32G56C46S5 ram suddenly makes the board go off

-> strange that it worked for 4 months strait and suddenly break due to the ram. I did not change any ram timings or power saving stuff. Only changed fan speed (even that behaves not like I would expect)
Thanks for sharing.. good troubleshooting tip there.
 

MiauLightouch

New Member
Oct 15, 2024
7
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I received my CW-ALDN-NAS-K (the purple N305) last week. I'm using it mainly for my Unraid NAS to replace a 10-year-old i3-3340 due to its lack of hardware decoding ability and high power consumption.

After two full days of tuning, Googling, and reading tech articles, I still think it's a good MOBO. If you're interested in diving in, here are some things you need to know:
  1. RAM Compatibility: This MOBO is very picky about RAM. Micron Crucial, Samsung, and SK Hynix are good choices. Don't buy RAM with a frequency higher than 4800MHz; it's not supported by the CPU. update: it will be automatically downclocked to 4800MHz.
  2. USB Ports: According to comments from beta testers on the official page, the bottom port of the onboard USB (update: beside the PCIe slot) is unavailable due to the lack of a USB 2.0 port from the CPU. Only the upper one is working.
  3. M.2 Slot Spacing: The two M.2 slots are too close to each other, so the heatsink cannot be wider than your NVMe drive. Don't buy M.2 coolers, as most of them are wider than the M.2 itself and even larger than the M.2 heatsink.
  4. CPU Contact Issue: The CPU doesn't make good contact with the copper plate. Prepare a 0.5mm thermal pad to fix it.

Here's my setup:
IMG_3117_2.jpg
Code:
MOBO: CW-ALDN-NAS-K
RAM:  Crucial CT32G48C40S5 32GB 4800MHz
M.2:  KLEVV CRAS CV710 512GB x2
HDD:  10TB x1, 3TB x1, 1TB x1
OS:   unRAID 6.12.13

BIOS Configuration (Press Ctrl+F1 to open hidden options):
Markdown (GitHub flavored):
Advanced
- RC ACPI Settings
  - Native PCIE Enable: Enabled
  - Native ASPM: Enabled
- Power & Performance
  - CPU
    - C states
      - Package C State Limit: C10

Chipset
- System Agent (SA) Configuration
  - Graphics Configuration
    - RC1p Support: Enabled
  - DMI/OPI Configuration
    - DMI Gen3 ASPM: ASPM L1
    - DMI ASPM: ASPM L1
- PCH-IO Configuration
  - PCI Express Configuration
    - DMI Link ASPM Control: L1
    - C10 Dynamic threshold adjustment: Enabled
> ============= READ NOTE =============
    - PCI Express Root Port {1,2,3,4,7,9}
      - ASPM: L1
      - L1 Substates: L1.1 & L1.2
      - L1 Low: Enabled
Note:
The setting below in **BOLD** disable themselves if you go back into the BIOs after saving. They are in fact still enabled if you DO NOT re-save when they show as disabled.
What I am doing is configuring the BIOs, saving to User Defaults, then saving and exiting. Then if I want to make anymore BIOs changes, restore user defaults, make changes, save to user defaults, then save and exit. Annoying yes, but it is the best workaround until this bug is fixed by CWWK.
Markdown (GitHub flavored):
- PCH-IO Configuration
  - PCI Express Configuration
    - DMI Link ASPM Control: L1
    - PCI Express Root Port {1,2,3,4,7,9}
[B]      - ASPM: L1 # This gets disabled after reboot
      - L1 Substates: L1.1 & L1.2 # This gets disabled after reboot[/B]
Note2: If NVMe is unrecognized, try keeping ASPM disabled on ports 1 and 2.

BIOS Optional Configuration
Markdown (GitHub flavored):
> In-Band ECC: (part of the normal RAM is used for ECC)
- System Agent (SA) Configuration
  - Memory Configuration
    - In-Band ECC Support: Enabled

> Speed up boot:
- System Agent (SA) Configuration
  - Graphics Configuration
    - Skip Scaning of External Gfx Card: Enabled

> Suppress linux error log for usb3:
- System Agent (SA) Configuration
  - TCSS setup menu
    - D3 Cold Enable/Disable: Disabled
    - D3Hot: Disabled

> Disable unnecessary devices:
- System Agent (SA) Configuration
  - SATA Configuration
    - SATA Controller(s): Disabled # this mobo use ASM1166, not native one
  - HD Audio Subsystem Configuration Settings
    - HD Audio: Disabled
  - SCS Configuration
    - eMMC 5.1 Controller: Disabled

>  Beep sounds indicating a healthy boot and to use a safe resolution during boot
Boot
- Quiet Boot: Disabled


Startup Script:
Bash:
# -------------------------------------------------
# Set power-efficient CPU governor
# -------------------------------------------------
/etc/rc.d/rc.cpufreq powersave

# -------------------------------------------------
# Disable CPU Turbo
# -------------------------------------------------

# update: optional, uncomment this part if you don't need CPU Boost
#[[ -f /sys/devices/system/cpu/intel_pstate/no_turbo ]] && echo "1" > /sys/devices/system/cpu/intel_pstate/no_turbo
#[[ -f /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/boost ]] && echo "0" > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/boost

# -------------------------------------------------
# Powertop Tweaks
# -------------------------------------------------

# Enable SATA link power management
echo med_power_with_dipm | tee /sys/class/scsi_host/host*/link_power_management_policy

# Runtime PM for I2C Adapter (i915 gmbus dpb)
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/i2c/devices/i2c-*/device/power/control

# Autosuspend for USB devices
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/control

# Runtime PM for disk
echo auto | tee /sys/block/sd*/device/power/control

# Host bridge
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:00:00.0/power/control

# RAM memory: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-N PCH Shared SRAM
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:00:14.2/power/control

# Serial bus controller: Intel Corporation Device 54c5
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:00:19.0/power/control

# Serial bus controller: Intel Corporation Device 54c6
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:00:19.1/power/control

# ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-N PCH eSPI Controller
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:00:1f.0/power/control

# Serial bus controller: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-N SPI (flash) Controller
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:00:1f.5/power/control

# -------------------------------------------------
# execute `lspci -tv` to fit your build
# -------------------------------------------------

# NVME
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:01:00.0/power/control

# NVME
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:02:00.0/power/control

# SATA controller: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1166 Serial ATA Controller (rev 02)
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:03:00.0/power/control

# Runtime PM for ATA devices
echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:03:00.0/ata*/power/control

# Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation Ethernet Controller I226-V (rev 04)
# DO NOT uncomment; it may cause serious OS hangs, especially when opening powertop
#echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:04:00.0/power/control
#echo auto | tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:05:00.0/power/control

With these configurations, the CPU can enter C8 state:
Code:
           Pkg(HW)  |            Core(HW) |            CPU(OS) 0
                    |                     | C0 active   4.6%
                    |                     | POLL        0.0%    0.0 ms
                    |                     | C1E         4.7%    0.1 ms
C2 (pc2)   14.7%    |                     |
C3 (pc3)    0.8%    | C3 (cc3)    0.0%    |
C6 (pc6)   17.3%    | C6 (cc6)   85.7%    | C6          7.0%    0.9 ms
C7 (pc7)    0.0%    | C7 (cc7)   79.7%    |
C8 (pc8)   13.3%    |                     | C8          3.6%    1.1 ms
C9 (pc9)    0.0%    |                     |
C10 (pc10)  0.0%    |                     |
                    |                     | C10        78.6%    6.2 ms

Powertop Output:
Code:
>> Bad           VM writeback timeout
   Bad           Runtime PM for PCI Device Intel Corporation Ethernet Controller I226-V
   Bad           Runtime PM for PCI Device Intel Corporation Ethernet Controller I226-V
There are still some "BAD"s:
  1. SATA Link Power Management: Not supported by the ASM1166 controller.
  2. Intel I226-V Ethernet Controller: Has a power management issue. Enabling it causes serious OS hangs (though there's no issue if running on Arch Linux with the latest Linux kernel).
  3. VM writeback timeout: Can be ignored if you have UPS.
This configuration has been running for 24 hours without problems, even under full usage scenarios:
  • Jellyfin: Software decoding of high-bitrate H.264 High 10 video (no hardware decoding available) combined with HEVC hardware encoding. This results in full CPU and GPU loading.

update: Special thanks to @Outbound0918 for the valuable suggestions and guidance, which helped me resolve many issues.

ref:
  1. Reduce power consumption with powertop - unRAD
  2. The Curse of ASPM
 
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