power supplies for CS826 chassis

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mvmatch

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May 30, 2021
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Well, if you download the manual for Supermicro 826 chassis and read the section describing approved power supplies, it lists the PWS-1K28P-SQ as being supported by these chassis. Not so. My chassis has the PDB-PT825-S8824 power distributor and this power supply won't go into it. I guess now I have a pair of doorstops that I would not have purchased if they had not been listed in the manual. So beware. Anyone else found themselves in this predicament?
 

BlueFox

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Oct 26, 2015
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It really comes down to which version of the chassis you have. This chassis has been manufactured for ~15 years now and has received many updates. Newer revisions do support the PWS-1K28P-SQ power supply, but old ones won't. Some like the 826BE16-R1K28WB even ship with them.
 
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mvmatch

New Member
May 30, 2021
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Thanks BlueFox. I suspected that might be the case. However, I was under the impression that the PDB-PT825-S8824 power distributor was the most recent version. Perhaps this is the most recent version for the old chassis? Do the newer 826's use a different power distributor with a different physical configuration? Also I found nothing in the manual indicating that the PWS-1K28P-SQ worked in SOME 826's but not others.

Supermicro documentation is usually very good, but this is not the first time I've found confusing or conflicting data. I guess that's what this forum is for, thank you very much. But I suspect that if I'd asked for clarification here before buying the wrong power supplies someone would have posted "Of course they'll work, read the effing manual."

No matter, I've decided to run PWS-501P-1R supplies anyway, my configuration doesn't need huge power supplies. The only reason I bought these was because they were the only "SQ" supplies I could find on short notice. But of the 6 501's I've bought for my 2 826 chassis, 3 have been faulty. One is completely dead, 2 trigger eternal "BEEEEEP" from the motherboard . . . unless i"m missing something with these as well. So at the moment, one server is happily running with 2 501's and the other is making do with one.

I just wanted to warn others to pay attention so they can avoid getting caught like I did.
 

BlueFox

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Yeah, that's an older one. It's very close to the latest generation (PDB-PT826-S8824), but easily mixed up. The 1280W SQ power supplies have a wider connector and lower compatibility than the 920W ones (which is why they go for more on eBay).
 

discoeels

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May 8, 2013
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What is the difference between the PDB-PT826-S8824 and PDB-PT826-8824?

I'm glad I saw this because I just bought one of these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/234549555427
It was delivered the other day. In good condition, it's a barebones Netwitness appliance, but it looks like I will have to buy another PDB to use the extra SQ I have from an 826BE16-R1K28WB.

The goal was something cheap, I already ordered another backplane for it(30) because it had a SAS-1 expander; the PDB-PT826-8824 is 90, so 210 all in isn't too bad.
 

BlueFox

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Oct 26, 2015
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The model without the "S" appears to be slightly newer and has a 24 pin ATX power cable that is twice the length of the other.
 
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