Hi all,
I recently upgraded my server to a dual Xeon L5630 on Supermicro X8DTE-F board and learned many things along the way. Funny enough one of the key lessons I want to share is choosing and using aftermarket heatsinks (if you have the space) for a quiet and cool system, or to save some $ as those Supermicro 4U heatsinks aren't cheap for their performance level.
With the flood of cheap boards flooding eBay recently I hope this helps some folks out
Background:
When I started this project, I figured heatsinks compatible with socket 1366 will fit and went ahead and purchased a Coolermaster Hyper 212+ heatsink to pair up with the one I already have. I didn't realize at the time that Xeon boards have a different backplate than consumer boards and that would cause issues with many aftermarket heatsinks' mounting mechanisms.
Consumer board:
Note the rectangular backplate, it doesn't obstruct or block the mounting holes in anyway, allowing for a variety of mechanisms such as the Corsair H100 brace above to be used.
Some UP and most DP Xeon boards have this backplate:
Note the wing shaped extensions which blocks the regular mounting holes, or rather they provide the mounting holes, M3 threaded to be exact. This creates a problem for most consumer solutions as they are designed to bolt directly through to their custom backplate, any screws etc included is designed to take that height into consideration and may not be M3 threaded.
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+/Evo
This is a cheap and effective cooling solution, often found for <$20 after rebates online and does a good job. It also has it's only backplate and mounting bracket with bolts preinstalled so couldn't be installed due to the mounting bolts are 6/32" threaded and needs to be fastened to the supplied backplate:
Solution:
Standard M3 PCB standoffs from eBay that will bolt directly to the Xeon backplate that provides enough height for the CM Hyper212+ mounting bracket:
Why did I include 2 different height standoffs? Because Coolermaster changed their heatsink base design for the 212+ and I had an older one along with the new one I bought:
Why they did that I'm unsure, but the base of these standoffs are meant to be flush against the motherboard PCB, so I measured their height above PCB then I measured the Xeon backplate mounting holes which protrudes about 2mm above motherboard PCB and got ones that would provide the correct height.
Here's the heatsink mounted:
Both mounted in the chassis:
Summary
I think the best options for selecting aftermarket tower heatsinks for these boards are to consider:
I recently upgraded my server to a dual Xeon L5630 on Supermicro X8DTE-F board and learned many things along the way. Funny enough one of the key lessons I want to share is choosing and using aftermarket heatsinks (if you have the space) for a quiet and cool system, or to save some $ as those Supermicro 4U heatsinks aren't cheap for their performance level.
With the flood of cheap boards flooding eBay recently I hope this helps some folks out
Background:
When I started this project, I figured heatsinks compatible with socket 1366 will fit and went ahead and purchased a Coolermaster Hyper 212+ heatsink to pair up with the one I already have. I didn't realize at the time that Xeon boards have a different backplate than consumer boards and that would cause issues with many aftermarket heatsinks' mounting mechanisms.
Consumer board:
Note the rectangular backplate, it doesn't obstruct or block the mounting holes in anyway, allowing for a variety of mechanisms such as the Corsair H100 brace above to be used.
Some UP and most DP Xeon boards have this backplate:
Note the wing shaped extensions which blocks the regular mounting holes, or rather they provide the mounting holes, M3 threaded to be exact. This creates a problem for most consumer solutions as they are designed to bolt directly through to their custom backplate, any screws etc included is designed to take that height into consideration and may not be M3 threaded.
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+/Evo
This is a cheap and effective cooling solution, often found for <$20 after rebates online and does a good job. It also has it's only backplate and mounting bracket with bolts preinstalled so couldn't be installed due to the mounting bolts are 6/32" threaded and needs to be fastened to the supplied backplate:
Solution:
Standard M3 PCB standoffs from eBay that will bolt directly to the Xeon backplate that provides enough height for the CM Hyper212+ mounting bracket:
Why did I include 2 different height standoffs? Because Coolermaster changed their heatsink base design for the 212+ and I had an older one along with the new one I bought:
Why they did that I'm unsure, but the base of these standoffs are meant to be flush against the motherboard PCB, so I measured their height above PCB then I measured the Xeon backplate mounting holes which protrudes about 2mm above motherboard PCB and got ones that would provide the correct height.
Here's the heatsink mounted:
Both mounted in the chassis:
Summary
I think the best options for selecting aftermarket tower heatsinks for these boards are to consider:
- If you like Noctua, they make special editions of their coolers with mounting mechanisms designed for Xeon boards:
- @Marsh has a great suggestion for a lower cost alternative: Intel Core i7 CPU Cooler Fan Heatsink Socket LGA 1366 PC E97381 001 | eBay Very cheap around $10-20, quiet and fits 4U enclosures
- Carefully look at the mounting mechanism of the heatsink you're considering, I think reversed bolt-through designs are actually easier since you can just go to the hardware store and get the correct M3 screw, example would be Corsair A50
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- The bolts are actually part of the backplate, which will not be used and the top plate provides mounting holes for M3 screws
-
- Be very mindful of hard to install and larger heatsinks such as Zalman CNPS14X, there's VERY limited space around the socket on Xeon boards and clearance may be a major issue.
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