Fujitsu TX1320 M3 - Cheap low power server (barebone)

[Rand__]

Hm, I have a second box with issues - its only taking 2 memory modules, its acting up with 4.
I replaced the modules and CPUs, everything is fine individually :/
Ah well, the are replacing the first (iRMC flashing issue) without a hassle, so this should be ok too.
Just wanted to mention it so u can take provisions with your seller for these cases

Also identified my remaining UDimms (4 identical, 3 individual 8g udimms) so will need to consider if ireally dont need the 1220's

 

[gb00s]

Appropos 'old hardware'. So if you take a:

1. Supermicro X10SLL-F or X10SLM-F
2. Intel E3 1240v3
3. 32GB ECC UDIMM (4x 8GB )
4. HP H240 HBA (IT)
5. 2x Samsung 1634A (3.84TB)
6. SanDisk SX350 (1TB)
7. IBM Mellanox ConnectX-2 VPI QDR 1Por 40GB/s
8. 1x Supermicro 32GB SATADOM

I end up at ~50W in IDLE.



Considering the 12W the SanDisk SX350 is taken at idle, then a P4510 2TB or 4800x should save another 7W. That makes it ~42-43W. You just still don't have a nice Barebone case like this Fujitsu. Another bad 'actor' here is of course the ConnectX-2. No doubt. But if you are not so PCIe dependent, then you may can live with ~40W on 2x PCIe3.0-8x and 1x PCIe2.0-4x on old hardware. I myself thought the diff to the 5th/6th Gen Xeons is bigger power-wise. Question is, what is the diff in prices for v3 hardware and how much do you depend on PCIe 3.0 slots?

Still not as efficient and performant as @Rand__ his version. But its way older and may cost a bit less. Could take some time to regain the costs of newer hardware from energy savings. And all these 5-10W builds are all sleeping with 3x Valium every 30min

@Rand__ >> Please, can you upload a screenshot from inside the case? Normally, Fujitsu has another pattern of 'power sockets'. Do you think an X10SLM-F/SLL-F would fit in the case? .... I just found some vids w/detailed pictures from inside the case.

 

[Rand__]

@Rand__ >> Please, can you upload a screenshot from inside the case? Normally, Fujitsu has another pattern of 'power sockets'. Do you think an X10SLM-F/SLL-F would fit in the case? .... I just found some vids w/detailed pictures from inside the case.

Adding anyway since i already took them


But to answer the question, Fujitsu uses custom power connector, so you' need to build adapters....

 

[Rand__]

double post

 

[dreamsin]

How is the noise level?

 

[Rand__]

Idle quite silent after boot, have not run with load yet, still on initial setup

 

[Bjorn Smith]

Idle quite silent after boot, have not run with load yet, still on initial setup

Does it use normal PWM connectors for its fans? i.e. do you think it would be possible to exchange the fans for less noisy versions if you would be so inclined?

(Which could also cut power consumption down by quite a bit) - since fans use a lot of power if running at high speeds

 

[gb00s]

Adding anyway since i already took them

Great .... Thanks.

But to answer the question, Fujitsu uses custom power connector, so you' need to build adapters....

Yes, that was my biggest fear. Had some experience w/Fujitsu in this regard . So need another case option with 4x 2.5 disks. Thanks again.

 

[Rand__]

Does it use normal PWM connectors for its fans? i.e. do you think it would be possible to exchange the fans for less noisy versions if you would be so inclined?

(Which could also cut power consumption down by quite a bit) - since fans use a lot of power if running at high speeds

They only have 2 fans, one cpu and one drive cage. they are probably not your most common ones (drive cage is 70mm), and I have not tested using a regular fan yet. But i have not had the need to replace anything yet, gimme a few days to generate some load...

 

[gb00s]

Considering the 12W the SanDisk SX350 is taken at idle, then a P4510 2TB or 4800x should save another 7W. That makes it ~42-43W.

Ok, in idle w Optane 4800x on avg for the last 5 hrs = 38.4W. That's not bad. Thanks to @Rand__ bringing this idea up. It's not as efficient as yours or the 7-8W idle monsters at HardwareLuxx, but old hardware has a purpose now again.

 

[Bjorn Smith]

They only have 2 fans, one cpu and one drive cage. they are probably not your most common ones (drive cage is 70mm), and I have not tested using a regular fan yet. But i have not had the need to replace anything yet, gimme a few days to generate some load...

Well - if your disks do not generate a lot of heat, you could unplug the drive cage fan possibly and shave off a couple of watts

 

[Bjorn Smith]

Now what would be awesome to test, is if a e3 v5 would work in the motherboard.
The chipset & socket should support it - and if it does, it opens up a lot more cheaper options for cpu's

This ebay seller seems to sell a M3 with a v5 CPU inside:

Fujitsu Server TX1320M3, 16GB Memory, 2X SSD 480GB, Windows 2016 Std | eBay

2 X 480 Dischi SSD (4 Slot Disponibili). Server Fujitsu Tx1320 M3. 16 Gb Ram DDR4. Incluso Windows 2016 Standard Oem.

www.ebay.co.uk

I have sent a message to the seller asking if he is 100% certain that its a V5 CPU, and if it is - I am a happy camper

Picture shows its a M3, but who knows it might be a stock photo.

 

[Bjorn Smith]

Just fyi - without the CX3 the box idles at ~27-28.

That makes me happy, since I want to use SATA SSD's and they draw 1-2W when idle, so possibly I should be below 20w without nic idle Not that they would ever be idle, but still

 

[Bjorn Smith]

I have sent a message to the seller asking if he is 100% certain that its a V5 CPU, and if it is - I am a happy camper

Damnit, seller replied and its a V6 CPU thats in the machine, he just wrote something wrong in the description.

 

[Bjorn Smith]

okay, I am going to buy 1 chassis and test it with my existing E3 V5 and RAM I have - then I know if I can use it for sure - and if it does not work I have an expensive door stopper
Edit: I cannot decide I suffer from decision anxiety :-D One moment I want to buy 1, the other I want to say "fxck it" and buy all 5 preconfigured and just hope I can use them as I thought I could.

Also by my calculations I can possibly save 10-15 EUR per server if I buy all the stuff with 3 different sellers, assembly it myself, and have the pain of having to contact 3 different sellers if something is not working.

If I buy it all at the seller that offered it for 205 ex VAT per server (-5% discount on top of that) - then its a one stop complaint if something is not working.

 

[richard.dzavoronok]

My humble recommendation is to buy 1 chassis, test the E3 V5 and help the community

 

[Rand__]

Well - if your disks do not generate a lot of heat, you could unplug the drive cage fan possibly and shave off a couple of watts

I considered that, but out of the box the bios is complaining (temperature monitoring feature).
I then reconsidered since the NVMes might get hot on use, so a fan is actually welcome.

I moved the backlpane to the other cage and now rest the nvme in the cage with the fan which is directly before the add in cards - hoping that the cx3 gets some coldish air too, or at least airflow.
I assume I will prefer to spend 3W to have some cooling.
The sata dive will stay cold so i dumped it somewhere (for as long as I dont have a caddy. I disconnected the backplane though to save a tiny bit.

 

[richard.dzavoronok]

Regarding you problem with RAM, maintanance manual says that after memory error, you need to reset the error status after replacing memory. Maybe worth the try?

Did you have any issues with first PCIe slot (closest to CPU)? Manual states that it's "Dedicated slot for boot controllers".

Manual also states the installation order of expansion cards is somewhat important.

I just found out that if you have hot swap PSUs, one of two PSUs can be replaced by battery unit, that's pretty neat feature.

 

[richard.dzavoronok]

I found spare parts catalog for M3 and it lists i3-7100 in there.
So if you need extra punch in single thread performance but you are OK with 4 threads. and don't want to destroy your wallet on Xeons.

catalog: PRIMERGY Illustrated Spares Catalog

 

[Bjorn Smith]

I found spare parts catalog for M3 and it lists i3-7100 in there.
So if you need extra punch in single thread performance but you are OK with 4 threads. and don't want to destroy your wallet on Xeons.

catalog: PRIMERGY Illustrated Spares Catalog

I already saw that and I am considering it - but its only two real cores, so that is kind of a no-go, otherwise you can also just grab the Pentium - thats also only two cores, and then you still have a "real" server CPU.