ASUS Z10PA-D8 - Dual Socket 2011-3

[EagerToLearn]

@joddlarn: What I find "confusing" is that on the homepage the following statement is written:

Slot Location 3 : PCI-E x16 (Gen3 X16 Link), Auto switch to x8 link if slot 4 is occupied
Slot Location 4 : PCI-E x8 (Gen3 X8 Link)
Slot Location 5 : PCI-E x16 (Gen3 X16 Link), Auto switch to x8 link if slot 6 is occupied *

Z10PA-D8 | Server & Workstation | ASUS Deutschland

The ASUS Z10PA-D8 serverboard integrates versatile features into a 12”x10” size allowing this board to fit into many ATX cases. Through innovative and top-notch engineering design, this board features server performance with compact design, enhanced storage expandability, premium components for...

www.asus.com

Or does it make scense to wire both PCIE slots to one CPU?

E: Ok, it could be that the x16 links are independently wired to CPU1 and if the x8 slot is occupied the resp. x8 slot will shut down...

 

[joddlarn]

@joddlarn: What I find "confusing" is that on the homepage the following statement is written:

Z10PA-D8 | Server & Workstation | ASUS Deutschland

The ASUS Z10PA-D8 serverboard integrates versatile features into a 12”x10” size allowing this board to fit into many ATX cases. Through innovative and top-notch engineering design, this board features server performance with compact design, enhanced storage expandability, premium components for...

www.asus.com

Or does it make scense to wire both PCIE slots to one CPU?

E: Ok, it could be that the x16 links are independently wired to CPU1 and if the x8 slot is occupied the resp. x8 slot will shut down...

It makes sense that all slots are wired to CPU1: the board supports the E5-1600 series and that series only supports single cpu.
The E5-1600 has 40 lanes of PCIe 3.0. if you add together the lanes from all five slots you get: 8+8+8+8+8 = 40.

The last PCIe slot (slot 1) is 2.0 and doesn't come from the CPU.

 

[EagerToLearn]

I have one more question: I am planning to equip the board with two 2680 v3 and overclock them a little bit. Which coolers can you recommend?

Earlier someone posted a picture of two Noctua NH-U9DX i4, but it looked really snug. And I have no idea if they are sufficient for my purpose. Given that they are fairly small and just barely fit, I was wondering if you have any reccomendation for bigger coolers me?

 

[tesla100]

I have one more question: I am planning to equip the board with two 2680 v3 and overclock them a little bit. Which coolers can you recommend?

Earlier someone posted a picture of two Noctua NH-U9DX i4, but it looked really snug. And I have no idea if they are sufficient for my purpose. Given that they are fairly small and just barely fit, I was wondering if you have any reccomendation for bigger coolers me?

I have these Noctua coolers on my main workstation with 2x 2673 v4s and I can tell that even they are small, they are pretty efficient. Another option would be it's bigger brother, the NH-U12DX i4, but I don't think you'll see much of a difference in CPU temps...

 

[EagerToLearn]

But the bigger version U12 probably won't fint side by side?

If you look at this pic (https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...8-dual-socket-2011-3.27669/page-2#post-256431 ) the two U9 barely fit next to each other

 

[ari2asem]

i have this mainboard, too. with two 120mm coolers. each cooler with 1 fan. the direction of airflow is parallel to pci-e slots. with this position of the coolers you cann't setup push-pull fan configuration, there is no room for extra fans, no room for 25mm thick fans.

i use my mainboard in a mining frame rig.

 

[EagerToLearn]

Thank you all. I went with the U9

One last question: What kind of PSU are you using? I intend to use 135W CPUs, which means I need an SSI PSU. Can anyone recommend an affordable one?

 

[EagerToLearn]

Got my 2 today. Would have prefered carton o top of the sockets. If smthg presses on it ... Hmmm.

View attachment 13216 View attachment 13217

Hi Mike,
how did you fit those two side by side? I got the same setup, but mine won't fit (they overlapp just a little)...

@tesla100 : You said, you are using them as well. Did you mange to align them with flow direction perpendicular to the PCIE slots?

 

[gb00s]

Here is my first attempt to set up the 2x Noctuas side-by-side from the day I originally posted it is possible to install them like this. It just works, but as you can see you can't use the inner clamps. I did not find a solution so far. But the fans did not move a single mm with a small & thin stripe of double-sided tape.



Regards

Mike

 

[EagerToLearn]

Interesting, because with my setup, their is/was no gap between the two. Unfortunately my Mobos aren't working, so I alredy disasembled it.

And the coolers are plain on the CPU and how are your temps?

Did you mount the as you would normaly, or did you apply any pressure from the side?

 

[tesla100]

Hi Mike,
how did you fit those two side by side? I got the same setup, but mine won't fit (they overlapp just a little)...

@tesla100 : You said, you are using them as well. Did you mange to align them with flow direction perpendicular to the PCIE slots?

That's true, but the mainboard I use is the Asus Z10PE-D8 WS. And I have the airflow parallel to the PCI-e slots, so the CPU2 is running a little bit hotter, which I don't think is a big deal.

 

[gb00s]

.... Unfortunately, my Mobos aren't working, so I already disassembled it.

Did you get them from the same seller? I also had 2 not working, but they sent me new boards and they are working perfectly fine.

And the coolers are plain on the CPU and how are your temps?

Yes sure. I think I posted it already earlier, but under full load for hours and room temp ~22-23C it never gets > 60C.

Did you mount the as you would normally, or did you apply any pressure from the side?

Normal installation, no adjustments, bending or any pressure needed.

I saw your earlier question about bigger Noctuas. I just tested old P12 SE2's (EOL) I had to lie around here on a board I'm waiting to fill with RAM and assembled them. They fit perfectly if you have the 2011 mounting kit. But take care of the size of the case. That might be the problem. It looks like a perfect pull/push/pull cooler.












Regards

Mike

 

[gb00s]

... And I have the airflow parallel to the PCI-e slots, so the CPU2 is running a little bit hotter, which I don't think is a big deal.

You could accomplish the same setup with the Z10PA-D8 and the smaller coolersas well ... just one less fan with same effect like above. Just holding them on and aligned, not fixed to the motherboard.



Regards

Mike

 

[sergi0]

I had this board and 2 NH-U12DX i4. They poerfectly fit, I have one fan per heatsink. There are between them, but no need to add anoter fan with this setup.
I have notice something strange, CPU1temp in BIOS are higher than CPU2. I test that on 2 differents Z10PA-D8 and with 2 different sets of CPU (2630Lv3 and 2650Lv3).
Does anyone have an idea of the situation ? Thermal paste, CPU contact and stuff were my primary cause, but I did the tests several time.

 

[EagerToLearn]

@sergi0: The CPU at the end will always recieve warmer air and therefor be hotter. How big is the difference?

 

[sergi0]

I test the mobo open air and the temp (with BIOS) were 37c for CPU2 and 43-45c for CPU1. Both motherboard with the 2 sets of CPU show the same pattern. I could feel the CPU temp with with my finger, just above the cooling pipe. I'll do more test, but that was strange enough to be measurable. I'll probably need to do some CPU intensive tests and see how it works, but I was assuming CPU temp in BIOS were the same for the 2 processors.

 

[EagerToLearn]

Do you have the fan setup as shown in #73?

 

[sergi0]

yes, it is the same configuration, with a total of 2 fans instead of 3. With my tests, it does not show any tangible improvement to have 3 fans, especially with L xeons.

 

[EagerToLearn]

Yeah, but one CPU heats up the air that goes to the second CPU, so the second CPU by laws of thermodynamics must be warmer. +7°C, as you have it, seems like a reasonable amount for this effect.

 

[sergi0]

You are probably right. I will make a test with only CPU1, and using differents CPU in order to have the difference between 1CPU and 2CPU. I should get the same kind of temp as the one I get at min.