HPE EC200A Xeon D-1518 'hybrid server' on ebay ~$150

[logan893]

I have one sitting about 3 feet from me running 24/7. It has a hum, but nothing terrible. If you had one set up near a TV for instance I doubt very much you would hear it.

With the storage expansion and stock cooling? How many HDDs, and what are their temps?

I can't find specifics on the fan used for the expansion unit but it looks like it is a single fan and could be the same fan model as in the main unit, in which case I would have expected it to be fairly noisy or drives toasty, when the complete setup is loaded with HDDs.

 

[logan893]

Fan mod update

A simple drop-in replacement with just about any 40mm 12V fan (thickness 28mm or less) is possible as long as you short the fan failure detection wire to ground. I ordered a bundle of 4-pin PicoBlade extension cables from aliexpress ( https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32803458861.html ) and made a small breadboard adapter for any 3- or 4-pin 12V fan to run at full speed. I want to have it be adjusted based on the server's PWM output, however, which leads to my next project...

Stock PWM control translation circuit

So far on a breadboard, using one 555 timer IC I create a 25 kHz square wave with a duty cycle right around 50%. (This will dictate the minimum output PWM duty cycle.) The square wave 555 output is then used as the input trigger of a second 555 timer IC used for the fan PWM output. For this second 555 timer I use the server's PWM output via a kind of low-pass filter as input for the control voltage, which allows adjusting the final output duty cycle based on the fan speed the server is requesting.

By tuning the various resistors and capacitors, it's possible to achieve an output PWM in a different range, e.g. 50-100% duty cycle instead of the default 12-80% (the server's output is also inverted). My initial tests have given me roughly 60% minimum duty cycle, and a ramp up to 100% slightly earlier than when the server's PWM hits its max at 80%. With a fan like the Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM I want to be able to reach 100%; it's quiet enough at full speed, and the cooling it can provide at 80% is not quite good enough at full load for comfort.

Result is great with a Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM, as long as I add an airflow guide between the fan and the tiny CPU heatsink. I used some Kapton (polyimide) tape between the heatsink and the fan where possible to funnel as much air as possible directly through the fins.

I do not have any HDDs installed, only two Samsung SM863 SSDs. With HDDs a Noctua fan will perhaps not provide sufficient cooling.

 

[skaro13]

I have one sitting about 3 feet from me running 24/7. It has a hum, but nothing terrible. If you had one set up near a TV for instance I doubt very much you would hear it.

Thanks for the input! I was also wondering… is the 180W power supply is included with the expansion unit or it’s shipped separately?

 

[Helzy]

Thanks for the input! I was also wondering… is the 180W power supply is included with the expansion unit or it’s shipped separately?

I was included, for the other poster, it came with 4 WD Red drives, replaced with some EXOS drives no difference to heat or noise, however, I have no tools to measure the true values and my assertion is anecdotal

 

[skaro13]

I was included, for the other poster, it came with 4 WD Red drives, replaced with some EXOS drives no difference to heat or noise, however, I have no tools to measure the true values and my assertion is anecdotal

Managed to find a brand new expansion unit and it came with the power supply and cables to support multiple almost every power outlet in the world

 

[Senses3]

Hey anybody know what GPU would have gone in the empty GPU BGA under the heatsink? I assume this would have made use of the plugged HDMI port in the rear.

 

[skaro13]

Fan mod update

A simple drop-in replacement with just about any 40mm 12V fan (thickness 28mm or less) is possible as long as you short the fan failure detection wire to ground. I ordered a bundle of 4-pin PicoBlade extension cables from aliexpress ( https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32803458861.html ) and made a small breadboard adapter for any 3- or 4-pin 12V fan to run at full speed. I want to have it be adjusted based on the server's PWM output, however, which leads to my next project...

Stock PWM control translation circuit

So far on a breadboard, using one 555 timer IC I create a 25 kHz square wave with a duty cycle right around 50%. (This will dictate the minimum output PWM duty cycle.) The square wave 555 output is then used as the input trigger of a second 555 timer IC used for the fan PWM output. For this second 555 timer I use the server's PWM output via a kind of low-pass filter as input for the control voltage, which allows adjusting the final output duty cycle based on the fan speed the server is requesting.

By tuning the various resistors and capacitors, it's possible to achieve an output PWM in a different range, e.g. 50-100% duty cycle instead of the default 12-80% (the server's output is also inverted). My initial tests have given me roughly 60% minimum duty cycle, and a ramp up to 100% slightly earlier than when the server's PWM hits its max at 80%. With a fan like the Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM I want to be able to reach 100%; it's quiet enough at full speed, and the cooling it can provide at 80% is not quite good enough at full load for comfort.

Result is great with a Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM, as long as I add an airflow guide between the fan and the tiny CPU heatsink. I used some Kapton (polyimide) tape between the heatsink and the fan where possible to funnel as much air as possible directly through the fins.

I do not have any HDDs installed, only two Samsung SM863 SSDs. With HDDs a Noctua fan will perhaps not provide sufficient cooling.

@logan893 Anything new since your last update? Still using the Noctua fan?

Just flashed one of my ec200a with ilo unlocker and will try to adjust min temps and algorithms to lower the fan at idle.

 

[logan893]

@logan893 Anything new since your last update? Still using the Noctua fan?

Just flashed one of my ec200a with ilo unlocker and will try to adjust min temps and algorithms to lower the fan at idle.

The fan mod works great, I've so far only had it hooked up direct via a very basic perfboard hack job so the fan is running at 100% but still reasonably quiet. Due to a lack of time I haven't fine-tuned the PWM conversion circuit I was working on, which I wanted to improve before resorting to soldering too much. It was working reasonably well on a breadboard though.

The HPE server has been sitting mostly unused lately while I'm considering which use case I want to cover with it. I'd prefer to have the storage expansion bay so I can have SSDs in the main unit and still fit a bunch of HDDs, though I worry about the cooling vs noise if I'd use this for more than a backup solution. I also picked up an m.2 to PCIe x4 riser to see if I can add something more useful like 2.5/10G NIC or HBA; haven't yet decided if and how much I want to modify/cut the case to make it fit the way I want.

On the topic of the storage expansion, I see an EU ebay listing popped up with 854159-B21 (8TB expansion unit), €325 plus shipping from Netherlands. "More than 10 available" as of today. Still, somewhat pricy at €350 shipped even with the included HDDs as I have no real use for four 2TB drives. Not sure if this includes the 180W power brick, I may have to ask the seller.

854159-B21 (NR) HPE EC200A EU/US 8TB Storage Expans.NEW RETAIL | NEW | eBay

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[Helzy]

Unless they are open box units they come with the 180W PSU