Norco 3x120mm PWM backplane

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EffrafaxOfWug

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Feb 12, 2015
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Well I haven't really looked since I made my own, but making your own PWM cable for this was pretty simple; I used one of my spare Noctua PWM cable extensions, cut it and spliced that on to a 6x3 2.54mm dupont jumper block; I first prototyped it just with twisting the wires together and then did a proper job with solder, cable braiding and heatshrink.

Does the 4216 use the same fan wall and connectors as the SC-316 variant?
 

Dodd

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May 7, 2020
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oh, Hello! I'm so glad you're still here after all these years.

First, let me thank you for replying. I found everyone's input intelligent and fun.
I've never heard of a Logic case sc-316, and when I google it, your comments come up first.
Looks the same. I have 3 fans in a 120mm fan wall with 6 pins next to a Molex 12v connector.

A short history; I've wanted to finally get around to building this for almost 30 years now, so I'm a little giddy.
I figured the Dupont jumper block was the way to go, along with mesh braiding.
I can solder well, and heatshrink.

What I don't know anything at all about is PWM signals, and am hesitant to try random pin assignments so I don't fry the mobo.
I saw your text diagram, but couldn't make sense of it at the time, as I hadn't slept in 48 hours.

If I now understand it correctly, all the "Y" cable pair elements can be made common; on a single wire for the 4-pin mobo header, while each of the "X" cable pair elements each go to one of the other 3 remaining pins?

Is that correct?

May I ask for a diagram of your pinouts, if you still know them and have that handy, please?






Ooh, this is very exciting. I'm using a 12 year old PC mobo I just upgraded from, added 4 4-port SATA cards, and have just ordered some reverse breakout cables, and a fan hub, just in case (thinking about rear fans.). I haven't bothered to turn it on yet, since it isn't finished.

Since 2005, i've accumulated 19 identical 2TB drives (16 for the ZFS array plus spares), and a pair of 16 TB Exos drives that make this whole server redundant, but it's a project I want to finally finish. It's got an i5 with 16 GB RAM in it, a 650W Power supply and gig ethernet. I'm planning to put FreeNAS on it to use ZFS, and run a File history, media and font server from it.

Many Thanks;

- Andrew Dodd
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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As far as I'm aware the Logic Case SC-316 is a rebadged Norco fir the UK market, possibly with some re-engineered components (since the Norco site doesn't have anything quite like the SC-316) so I was curious if your case had the same components as in my photos. From the sounds of it, yes.

And yes, you're correct; whilst sharing the lines used for power from a PWM header can be dodgy, the tach on pin 3 and the PWM signal on pin 4 can easily be shared between all three fans, or as you say you could just use the "y" PWM signal. It's essentially just a square wave sent from the mobo/fan controller so there's no issue with the same being sent to all fans.

I'm pretty sure that when I was looking in to this issue originally that wikipedia had a nice pinout diagram of the 4-pin PWM and the rest of it, but doesn't seem to be there now. Anyway, no guarantees (I've got precious little knowledge of EE) but there should be zero risk of frying anything; pins 1 and 2 are the only ones used for carrying any power, pin 3 is just used for the tach, and pin 4 is solely for the PWM signal - both very low voltage and current.

About the best diagram I made of this after figuring out the pinout was the text diagram on the previous page; as stated, there may have been some whisky involved (the most important part of any project). In a nutshell, from what I can remember (don't take this as gospel please!):
* Took a PWM cable (aforementioned Noctia extension) to attach to the mobo and chopped off the male end
* Figured out what wires 3 and 4 were from the colour of the wires; sealed off 1 and 2 with electrical tape since they're not needed
* Wire 3 was split in to three other wires which fed in to the "X" pins for the tach
* Wire 4 was split in to three other wires which fed in to the "Y" pins for the PWM

Incidentally, I think my comment in 17 about the tach reading wrong was incorrect; there seems to be a long-standing problem with Supermicro IPMI dealing with fans that drop below 300rpm or so (as frequently happens with low-rpm Noctuas). A merged tach signal hasn't seemed to cause me any problems since switching to different fans, but you might opt to take a sense/tach signal from only one fan (but if using a SM IPMI you'll probably want to avoid using Noctua or other low-rpm fans).
 

comet424

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Jun 7, 2021
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hi i just bought the 20 bay norco case.. and about that 6 pin header

from the 1 image kinda
is is the first column of Pins Sensor and Tach, then next 2 columns be the same for the fans
as i was either going to run 3 fans Y harness to 1 header so unraid can spin up and down the fans at the same speed

or i was gonna run 2 wires to each chassis fan plug on my motherboard a Asus Tuf Gaming.. as i wont need power as its the molex powering it


also what fans are you using? i tried a couple i liked the 7500rpm 5amp fan it sure blows didnt get 3 of those its pretty loud

but what did you use as a fan
 
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EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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Yeah, each of those two pins corresponds to the tach/signal and PWM sense pins (3+4) on the PWM connector (I can't remember which off-hand but it's easy to tell from the circuit traces). I tried two configurations - one where all three sets of pins were joined (which resulted in confusing tach readings) and another where only one tach was connected to the middle fan.

If you have enough PWM headers, you could connect each fan to one and have different speeds and whatnot set on the fans, but a bit pointless since they're in a wall.

FWIW I'm using the Noctua NF-F12's in the fan wall. They're relatively silent and the three of them provide enough oomph to keep my (relatively modest) backup server decently cool without the need for any extra gumpf besides the CPU HSF.
 

Lennong

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Jun 8, 2017
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I used a dremel and cut up holes in the wall in my Norco for three Noctua NF-A14. They fit perfectly and can really move some air.. Easily done but the hardest part was to get the fan profile right on my Intel S2600CP2J board. Anyhow, try to use all same fans and then only get tach from one. Less hassle then.
 

comet424

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Jun 7, 2021
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@EffrafaxOfWug
oh ok so i take it you dont have the case anymore?
so do you have to pop out all the screws outside to get that fan backplane out? i did take out screws as thats how i thought hte fans came out i didnt know they slide out no paper work..
and the company doesnt write back nore does the website work.

i did try the 1 7500RPM fan 120mm but she draws 5 amps so my idea was to run 3 of them off the Molex fan header and then run from the back plane to the fan headers on the motherboard..

1 fan sounds like a jet engine but it moves the air good i was able to run 1 fan to take up 3 of the fans wasnt too bad..but if i had 3 that be 15 amps and the fan headers cant handle it
found out they only handle about 1amp
i contacted noctua and they told me to try
Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM, Heavy Duty Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 3000 RPM (120mm, Black

so i giving those a try they actually came in this morning..

i using AMD Tuf x570 Gaming Plus board..

now noctua said i can use a 3 fan splitter cable and go off 1 header.. to run them all the same speed as i use Unraid so it is controlled there
i still waiting for the splitter.. but may try to use extension cables to the fan headers.. but its just nice

it be nice if noroc had a 6 pin header to 3 break outs like a SAS cable for your LSI card



@Lennong
as for the 140mm how was its that working for ya?

and do you guys know the hardware kit thats in the box whats it for? whats the extra bracket for a like 60mm fan.. what what the other brackets for

i cant tell just extra parts.. i like it but i really like the 45drives case i saw from Linus Tech tips but the damn case is 1000 just the case frig

so i made 1 out of wood.. then it turned into my desktop pc lol and it gets warm enough in there it becomes a dehydrator for food lol.. i need new fans

and what do you guys use for the rear fans?

for the 2 rear fans i swapped them with 2 5700 or its 6000 rpm fans all controlled by unraid
 

Lennong

Member
Jun 8, 2017
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@EffrafaxOfWug
oh ok so i take it you dont have the case anymore?
so do you have to pop out all the screws outside to get that fan backplane out? i did take out screws as thats how i thought hte fans came out i didnt know they slide out no paper work..
and the company doesnt write back nore does the website work.

i did try the 1 7500RPM fan 120mm but she draws 5 amps so my idea was to run 3 of them off the Molex fan header and then run from the back plane to the fan headers on the motherboard..

1 fan sounds like a jet engine but it moves the air good i was able to run 1 fan to take up 3 of the fans wasnt too bad..but if i had 3 that be 15 amps and the fan headers cant handle it
found out they only handle about 1amp
i contacted noctua and they told me to try
Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM, Heavy Duty Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 3000 RPM (120mm, Black

so i giving those a try they actually came in this morning..

i using AMD Tuf x570 Gaming Plus board..

now noctua said i can use a 3 fan splitter cable and go off 1 header.. to run them all the same speed as i use Unraid so it is controlled there
i still waiting for the splitter.. but may try to use extension cables to the fan headers.. but its just nice

it be nice if noroc had a 6 pin header to 3 break outs like a SAS cable for your LSI card



@Lennong
as for the 140mm how was its that working for ya?

and do you guys know the hardware kit thats in the box whats it for? whats the extra bracket for a like 60mm fan.. what what the other brackets for

i cant tell just extra parts.. i like it but i really like the 45drives case i saw from Linus Tech tips but the damn case is 1000 just the case frig

so i made 1 out of wood.. then it turned into my desktop pc lol and it gets warm enough in there it becomes a dehydrator for food lol.. i need new fans

and what do you guys use for the rear fans?

for the 2 rear fans i swapped them with 2 5700 or its 6000 rpm fans all controlled by unraid
It worked very nice. I even printed out a frame to mount 3 same Noctuas in front of the disks to push air through. Had it at home so needed it to be quiet. Still got the chassis but I grew out of it, now in one of those 48 disks chassis. Heavily modified of course..
 

comet424

New Member
Jun 7, 2021
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i had an osciallting fan in front of the case but didnt help..
so you had it on the outside ya i out grew my Antec Df-85 gaming case of 8 bays so i wanted bigger but the 45drives is just too expensive
wow 48 drives is that a 45drives tehy got up to 60 drives i seen in one chassis

what do you hold at home that you need 48 drives.. i slowly changing from 2tb drives to 12tb drives
 

Lennong

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Jun 8, 2017
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I'm a movie buff. At this point I got ~230TB hanging in my livingroom. Its a BigFoot chassis thats hanging in three of each side of those rubber bands that you see on delivery cages. Hard duty rubber bands and no transfer of vibrations. Inside a Ikea furniture. I have a water cooling system underneath blowing up (fan coil) because I have free communal 15 degree water nearby. Dead silent.

I like to engineer stuff, hehe.
 

comet424

New Member
Jun 7, 2021
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well thats impressive 230TB frig very nice very nice
now can you watch all those movies before your dead is another thing lol
i wanted to do water cooling.. but when i started that 20 yrs ago it was in its infency and my friend and i would make water blocks
and there was no good solution it didnt work right websites had experiements.. stuck with fans

how do you like teh water cooling.. i use my computer in my garage so winter time comes the computer is always cold lol

well least you can use the ikea furniture.. and thats the name BigFoot chassis?
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
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I'm still using the case (it's a local backup server), but although it resembles the Norco it's not the same; it's a rebadged/re-engineered version, possibly with a different fan wall to the one you're talking about. The fans themselves are in orange hot-swap cages that plug in to the PWM backplane pictured on the first page of the thread.

 

comet424

New Member
Jun 7, 2021
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@EffrafaxOfWug i guess Logic Case and norco is the same company.. ya my case looks exactly like that one just mine has 1 more row..
is the logic case company still in business as i could use parts from them for the norco if they the same.. no one is replying at norco

i also finding the 3 NF12 fans i got do reduce the hard drive temps but not as good as the 7500rpm one .. but its much quieter
 

Lennong

Member
Jun 8, 2017
119
24
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well thats impressive 230TB frig very nice very nice
now can you watch all those movies before your dead is another thing lol
i wanted to do water cooling.. but when i started that 20 yrs ago it was in its infency and my friend and i would make water blocks
and there was no good solution it didnt work right websites had experiements.. stuck with fans

how do you like teh water cooling.. i use my computer in my garage so winter time comes the computer is always cold lol

well least you can use the ikea furniture.. and thats the name BigFoot chassis?
Well, it's more like a collection and hobby so I stock some and watch some again. I fiddle with combining audio track for one release with video from another. Same with any collection & hobby I guess. :p

This is the chassis:
RAUSCH BigFoot Storage XXLarge Server 2x L5630 CPU 48GB Ram 90.56TB BIGFOOTXXL

It's hanging vertically on total of six industrial rubber bands inside this furniture:
https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/besta-hylla-med-doerrar-svartbrun-lappviken-svartbrun-s19429704

Under it it's another Ikea furniture half the height holding the fan coil that gets cold water near by. I cut out a channel for blowing cold air up to the chassis and have a RPi with some sensors controlling fan and ball valve for water flow. I get year around 15C water here so it's just a matter of dialling in the desired temp and let the fan coil do the work. It pulls some 25W only and water is self pressurized from water tower near by:
SRX140 M/FanCoil AERMEC Omnia UL 16 P: Amazon.de: Baumarkt

The Ikea furniture is only 60cm wide and 40cm deep so it's not intrusive at all. ..and ofcourse dead silent.
 

comet424

New Member
Jun 7, 2021
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48 drives be nice thats gotta be power hungry for yourself too.. here electricty expensive so i try to keep all the hard drives off..
so is the purpose of the rubber bands to take vibrations
so thats still cool better if i could see it.. and thats pretty good when it runs silent and you have the option to run water cooling.. i tried back in the day of its infency 23 yrs ago.. water cooling burned soo many boards.. id try it but i dont know which one is good or ones that never need maintance etc.. plus the when the pump fails there is no warning pump burned out and then boom there goes your cpu lol

but thats a good hobby lol
i only got 52TB and i tried to make a wireharness found that the middle Fan header the PWM or the SENSOR doesnt work so you couldnt run 3 of the 7500rpm but the motherboard says its realyl only 6500 rpm but its still fast lol. as i was going to get 3 of those
and run off the header so power is off the molex.. for now i got those industrial noctuas they keep the heat around 42-44 when was hot not as good as then 6500rpm lol... but i linked all 3 off 1 header till i can seem to figure how to get a replaced fan backplain