EPYC3251D4I-2T build

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SoulsCollective

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Jun 26, 2020
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I'm also contemplating using the same board as the base of an upgrade for our now very aging home server, as it looks like it ticks all the boxes. However, I'll be building in the Silverstone DS380, which while a great little case from many perspectives (8x hot-swap 3.5" bays!) unfortunately requires rigging up baffles inside the case to direct adequate airflow over the HDD cage and therefore as a consequence leads to poor airflow over the CPU socket area.

I'm therefore hoping to improve the CPU cooling to compensate, either by replacing the stock fanless heatsink with something aftermarket or attaching an additional fan to the stock heatsink, as you seem to have done above. However, I haven't found any measurements posted online as to the mounting hole dimensions or the ease of attaching a fan with eg. zip ties. Can you offer any insight into how easy this was/anything to be aware of? :)
 

Aquatechie

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Oct 29, 2015
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I'm therefore hoping to improve the CPU cooling to compensate, either by replacing the stock fanless heatsink with something aftermarket or attaching an additional fan to the stock heatsink, as you seem to have done above. However, I haven't found any measurements posted online as to the mounting hole dimensions or the ease of attaching a fan with eg. zip ties. Can you offer any insight into how easy this was/anything to be aware of?
The heatsink itself measures 70 mm wide x 70 mm deep x 25 mm in height. Screw holes are 60 mm x 60 mm on center.

I used a Nocuta NF-A6x25 fans (60 mm)blowing into the stock heatsink. Use the supplied rubber mounting nubs to friction hold it in place over each each heatsink screw.
 

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csp-guy

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Jun 26, 2019
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The heatsink itself measures 70 mm wide x 70 mm deep x 25 mm in height. Screw holes are 60 mm x 60 mm on center.

I used a Nocuta NF-A6x25 fans (60 mm)blowing into the stock heatsink. Use the supplied rubber mounting nubs to friction hold it in place over each each heatsink screw.
Zip ties are working fine.

You can thread it perpendicular to the memory slots through the 2 edges of the heat sink, all that matters is that the zip tie should be very thin so you won't break off any PCB components.

Thats how I am solved to secure the cooler.

The rubber nubs are not safe.
 

SoulsCollective

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Jun 26, 2020
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The heatsink itself measures 70 mm wide x 70 mm deep x 25 mm in height. Screw holes are 60 mm x 60 mm on center.

I used a Nocuta NF-A6x25 fans (60 mm)blowing into the stock heatsink. Use the supplied rubber mounting nubs to friction hold it in place over each each heatsink screw.
Thank you very much, that's very helpful.

Decisions, decisions - the DS380 uses a vertical motherboard mount so I'd be a little worried about just using the friction of the Noctua anti-vibe grommets to hold it in place as a long-term solution. If the hole spacing is 60mm square, it might be possible to use a 70mm fan (also 60mm hole spacing) and longer screws to remount fan+heatsink as one package using the existing backplate - from the look of your photo above I'm guessing the board has a threaded backplate on the underside of the PCB?

Otherwise, was there any protrusion from the screw heads on those mounting screws that it might be possible to squeeze a zip-tie under? From the look of the photo the springs seem to be pretty flush...

Edit: just saw the above reply after I posted - thanks all for the very prompt input here!

Zip ties are working fine.
You can thread it perpendicular to the memory slots through the 2 edges of the heat sink, all that matters is that the zip tie should be very thin so you won't break off any PCB components.
I was hoping something like this might be possible. If possible - and I know you've probably long since sealed up the case, so please don't feel obligated - do you have any photos showing this so I can get a sense of scale?
 
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csp-guy

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Thank you very much, that's very helpful.

Decisions, decisions - the DS380 uses a vertical motherboard mount so I'd be a little worried about just using the friction of the Noctua anti-vibe grommets to hold it in place as a long-term solution. If the hole spacing is 60mm square, it might be possible to use a 70mm fan (also 60mm hole spacing) and longer screws to remount fan+heatsink as one package using the existing backplate - from the look of your photo above I'm guessing the board has a threaded backplate on the underside of the PCB?

Otherwise, was there any protrusion from the screw heads on those mounting screws that it might be possible to squeeze a zip-tie under? From the look of the photo the springs seem to be ppretty flush...

There is a little free space between the memory slot and cooler sink, I had to push the zip tie very carefully. If you check my pictures at the first post, you can see the zip tie.

I didn't dare to poke the screws. At the moment, I do not know a better solution than what I have proposed. The 6 cm fan does its job perfectly.
 
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csp-guy

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The heatsink itself measures 70 mm wide x 70 mm deep x 25 mm in height. Screw holes are 60 mm x 60 mm on center.

I used a Nocuta NF-A6x25 fans (60 mm)blowing into the stock heatsink. Use the supplied rubber mounting nubs to friction hold it in place over each each heatsink screw.
Where did you get the OCULINK -> 4x sata cable? I wanted to buy one, too, but currently I resolved the lack of the cables with a Lenovo M1015 card -IT mode - installed.
 

SoulsCollective

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Jun 26, 2020
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Where did you get the OCULINK -> 4x sata cable? I wanted to buy one, too, but currently I resolved th lack of the cables with a Lenovo M1015 card -IT mode - installed.
...oh dear, that's making me nervous. Highly relevant to my proposed build, as I'll be using the onboard SATA ports to leave the PCIe slot free for later use.

I was worried about this - not being a resident of the US, a lot of server/niche parts are very hard to find - as the board manual only lists the '1 x Oculink to 4 SATA Cable (60cm)' as '(Optional)'. However, I contacted the retailer ahead of time to clarify whether the SKU they were selling included a breakout cable or not, and they informed me that the board came with the needed cable.

Your board did not?
 

Aquatechie

Member
Oct 29, 2015
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The rubber nubs are not safe.
The fan surprisingly stays put when I turn the chassis upside down. Though I would prefer a more permanent mounting solution, it's "good enough" for home lab purposes.


Where did you get the OCULINK -> 4x sata cable? I wanted to buy one, too, but currently I resolved th lack of the cables with a Lenovo M1015 card -IT mode - installed.
I ordered mine from the Supermicro eStore - CBL-SAST-0933
 

Aquatechie

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Oct 29, 2015
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I was worried about this - not being a resident of the US, a lot of server/niche parts are very hard to find - as the board manual only lists the '1 x Oculink to 4 SATA Cable (60cm)' as '(Optional)'. However, I contacted the retailer ahead of time to clarify whether the SKU they were selling included a breakout cable or not, and they informed me that the board came with the needed cable.

Your board did not?
I'm in the United States and ordered my board from Newegg. According to Asrock's support, the cable is not included in retail packaging. I never did get a response as to which SKUs did include the cable and how much extra they charged for the additional part.
 
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csp-guy

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...oh dear, that's making me nervous. Highly relevant to my proposed build, as I'll be using the onboard SATA ports to leave the PCIe slot free for later use.

I was worried about this - not being a resident of the US, a lot of server/niche parts are very hard to find - as the board manual only lists the '1 x Oculink to 4 SATA Cable (60cm)' as '(Optional)'. However, I contacted the retailer ahead of time to clarify whether the SKU they were selling included a breakout cable or not, and they informed me that the board came with the needed cable.

Your board did not?
I had only 2 sata cables and backplate, and the mobo.

It was brand new original, in box, bought thru a friend from Asbis.
 
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csp-guy

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The fan surprisingly stays put when I turn the chassis upside down. Though I would prefer a more permanent mounting solution, it's "good enough" for home lab purposes.



I ordered mine from the Supermicro eStore - CBL-SAST-0933

Thanks, I saw the cable, too.

But i have found this: Supermicro CBL-SAST-0956 55cm OCuLink SFF-8611 (x4) to U.2 PCIE x4 SFF-8639 with Power Cable

This would be a perfect solution for another U.2 drive. (I am using the mobo's nvme slot for an intel optane 900p u2 drive.)
 

SoulsCollective

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Jun 26, 2020
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I had only 2 sata cables and backplate, and the mobo.

It was brand new original, in box, bought thru a friend from Asbis.
I'm in the United States and ordered my board from Newegg. According to Asrock's support, the cable is not included in retail packaging. I never did get a response as to which SKUs did include the cable and how much extra they charged for the additional part.
Oh, dear. That's not promising. If the cable isn't included, I shall have to have words with the retailer, given they have expressly told me it is. I'll try and remember to report back.

@csp-guy, from that list, are you saying that your board also didn't come with the ATX 24pin-to-4pin adapter listed in the board manual? I was also worried about locally sourcing this part, but took comfort from the fact it wasn't listed as '(Optional)'.
 

csp-guy

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Jun 26, 2019
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Sorry, here is the exact part list, my memories were wrong.

1.1 Package Contents •ASRock Rack EPYC3251D4I-2T / EPYC3101D4I-2T / EPYC3251D4I-NL / EPYC3101D4I-NL Motherboard (Mini-ITX Form Factor: 6.7-in x 6.7-in, 17.02 cm x 17.02 cm) •Quick Installation Guide •1 x Oculink to 4 SATA Cable (60cm) (Optional) •1 x SATA3 Cable (60cm) •1 x SATA Power Cable (80cm) •1 x ATX 4P to 24P Power Cable (8cm) •1 x I/O Shield •1 x Screw for M.2 Socket

Oculink cable was optional.

But you can also buy atx cable, it is common.
 

nasi

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Feb 25, 2020
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I'm slowly collecting all the parts I need for my build and have a lot of ideas running through my mind. I will try it first with an 120mm fan standing upright in front of the mainboard - should be easy to mount with little change to my case (see picture attached). Or would you think that's an bad idea?
If that's not satisfactory I'm thinking of watercooling. I bought an old and used cpu cooler for an AM3-Socket which looks like I could make it fitting with some drilling and cutting. I think that would be fun! But of course would still need some airflow for VRMs and stuff.

One serious question: is anybody using a Non-ATX-PSU / 12V-only-PSU? If so, how did you do that? Are there existing adapters for the 8pin power plug or did you build it yourself? Are there any up- or downsides in doing so?
In my case I plan with less than 100W of maximum power usage. Since there are no ATX-PSUs with such low power I could imagine a standard 12V PSU may be more efficient.
 

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Aquatechie

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Oct 29, 2015
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One serious question: is anybody using a Non-ATX-PSU / 12V-only-PSU? If so, how did you do that? Are there existing adapters for the 8pin power plug or did you build it yourself? Are there any up- or downsides in doing so?
In my case I plan with less than 100W of maximum power usage. Since there are no ATX-PSUs with such low power I could imagine a standard 12V PSU may be more efficient.
I'm not using a 12V-only power supply. The PSU included with my Supermicro CSE-721TQ-250B2 chassis has two 4-pin 12V connectors, but only #2 of the 2nd 8-pin connector can be used - #3 is not keyed the same as #2. I used the 24-to-4 pin connector included with the board in #1 (see picture) to send the "power on/off" signal to the board from the front panel switch. I debated with trying to find a 8-pin connector compatible with this board and wire my PSU to it , but I decided not to pursue the matter as the system has been stable using only 1 & 2.
 

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nasi

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Feb 25, 2020
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The PSU included with my Supermicro CSE-721TQ-250B2 chassis has two 4-pin 12V connectors, but only #2 of the 2nd 8-pin connector can be used - #3 is not keyed the same as #2.
Yeah, it's a bit confusing: there is a difference between "ATX12V" (4pin) and "EPS12V" which is 8pin but may be splitted so you can use half of it for an ATX12V socket. ATX12V-plug fits in first half of EPS12V. And there seem to exist mainboards with 2x ATX12V 4pin instead of EPS12V.
By the way: 8-pin plugs for PCIe are a completely other thing and not compatible at all. A short overview (in german but with good picture) can be found here: PC-Netzteil richtig anschließen

So the 8pin socket on the Asrock would be an EPS12V even if Asrock calls it ATX12V1.
The 4pin, which Asrock calls ATX12V2, isn't a ATX12V socket since it has only 5Vsb for power button - that's even more confusing.
 

csp-guy

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Jun 26, 2019
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I successfully upgraded BIOS and BMC, too.

The upgrade f.cked the boot order and BMC port settings and admin user of IPMI.

Otherwise the upgrade was success.