Qotom Denverton fanless system with 4 SFP+

[Harddisk9144]

Bought 2 Q20331G9-S10 models 1 month apart from each other ~11 months ago.
This week, the box I bought first, experienced a random freeze and 2 shutdowns.
Today it wouldn't power on anymore, the ethernet interface still flickers when power is supplied.

Unplugging the CMOS battery as suggested in this thread got it powering on again, currently monitoring it to see if the random shutdowns still occur or not.
Going to be buying some CMOS batteries, I'll assume the same will happen to my second box sooner or later. I will check on whether I can actually measure CMOS battery drainage.

 

[Arjestin]

I will check on whether I can actually measure CMOS battery drainage.

I use this battery tester to check all kinds of non-lithium batteries. Very simple and reliable little tool

 

[TechUnsupport]

I wonder could it be heat related. Weather hasn't been good lately. My unit temp is higher than usual also. I added Noctua fan since I got the unit and recently replace the paste w/ MX4, still hovering around 60c.

 

[blunden]

I wonder could it be heat related. Weather hasn't been good lately. My unit temp is higher than usual also. I added Noctua fan since I got the unit and recently replace the paste w/ MX4, still hovering around 60c.

Is that the CPU/SoC temperature or something else?

 

[TechUnsupport]

CPU, package & cores

# sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +63.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 0:        +61.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 2:        +60.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 4:        +60.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 6:        +61.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 8:        +61.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 10:       +62.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 12:       +59.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 14:       +62.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)

jc42-i2c-1-18
Adapter: SMBus I801 adapter at e000
temp1:        +68.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C)                  ALARM (HIGH, CRIT)
                       (high =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)
                       (crit =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)

acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1:         +0.0°C  

jc42-i2c-1-1a
Adapter: SMBus I801 adapter at e000
temp1:        +64.5°C  (low  =  +0.0°C)                  ALARM (HIGH, CRIT)
                       (high =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)
                       (crit =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)

 

[blunden]

CPU, package & cores

# sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +63.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 0:        +61.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 2:        +60.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 4:        +60.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 6:        +61.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 8:        +61.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 10:       +62.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 12:       +59.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)
Core 14:       +62.0°C  (high = +73.0°C, crit = +93.0°C)

jc42-i2c-1-18
Adapter: SMBus I801 adapter at e000
temp1:        +68.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C)                  ALARM (HIGH, CRIT)
                       (high =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)
                       (crit =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)

acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1:         +0.0°C 

jc42-i2c-1-1a
Adapter: SMBus I801 adapter at e000
temp1:        +64.5°C  (low  =  +0.0°C)                  ALARM (HIGH, CRIT)
                       (high =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)
                       (crit =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)

I assume that's the model with the C3808, based on the number of cores? I don't have any personal experience with that one, but my C3758 unit is currently between 41-44°C on the cores and reporting a 45°C package temperature. That's mostly idle (with only passive cooling), with just a light routing workload at the moment.

I don't know what's a normal heat load on the 16 core models unfortunately.

Do you allow the CPU to downclock itself? If I recall correctly, some of those features are disabled in the BIOS by default.

 

[TechUnsupport]

It actually is 3758R and it's a 1U rack unit.

 

[blunden]

It actually is 3758R and it's a 1U rack unit.

Ah yes, I went by the core numbering but didn't think about things such as hyperthreading.

Sadly, the written STH review of that unit doesn't show temperature readings. I haven't checked the video, so that might be worth doing.

 

[FossEnjoyer99]

I wonder could it be heat related. Weather hasn't been good lately. My unit temp is higher than usual also. I added Noctua fan since I got the unit and recently replace the paste w/ MX4, still hovering around 60c.

I have the exact same model and I'm looking to do the same. Are the fan pin-outs on the motherboard the standard size/order, or do you need an adapter?
Also do you get a photo of the bottom of the motherboard while you were swapping out the paste? I'm just curious what the bottom of the motherboard looks like before I take it out of the case

 

[TechUnsupport]

I have the exact same model and I'm looking to do the same. Are the fan pin-outs on the motherboard the standard size/order, or do you need an adapter?
Also do you get a photo of the bottom of the motherboard while you were swapping out the paste? I'm just curious what the bottom of the motherboard looks like before I take it out of the case

You can look at the picture from the review site, there is no different. The easiest way to add fan is to get 12v version, and it should come with the pigtail adapter that you can attach directly to the PSU inside. But this can only help cool your board, but not CPU as CPU has it own PWM fan that is directly suck air underneath the chassis. The other downside is it will now be constant flow of air instead of PWM, but I doubt that matter.

 

[FossEnjoyer99]

You can look at the picture from the review site, there is no different. The easiest way to add fan is to get 12v version, and it should come with the pigtail adapter that you can attach directly to the PSU inside. But this can only help cool your board, but not CPU as CPU has it own PWM fan that is directly suck air underneath the chassis. The other downside is it will now be constant flow of air instead of PWM, but I doubt that matter.

It turns out my model is indeed different. The CPU has a massive heat-sink and no hole in the bottom of the case.
I guess the idea is for the fans to pull in air from the front, through the heat-sinks and out through the back fans. I don't love the airflow, but it is what it is. I have reached out to the support team to see what the fan pin-outs are to swap with Noctua. I'll try attaching a heat-sink to the bottom or maybe a fan and see if it helps.
Attached are photos of the heat-sinks and the fan locations.

 

[foureight84]

Is there an open RS232 header under the board (on the cpu side)? Looking to incorporate a UBLOX or ATGM336H GPS for stratum 1 NTP. If not I suppose I can use the B-Key M.2 for a serial board.

 

[Caennanu]

@FossEnjoyer99 i been having random shutdowns with my 'old' model and was looking at the new one that actually has spots for fans and proper ventillation. (m.2 disks even got too hot causing data corruption, so had to re-install pfsense and pihole).

Since i am having heat related issues, i came across the new case, but no information on ali at all if the mainboard actually has fan headers. But looking at your pictures, they even seem to have fans installed. Can you verify? Maybe with a picture?

 

[TechUnsupport]

If you are having cooling issue, you may want to look into getting gen 3 instead of gen 4, if you don't have gen 4 speed requirement. Generally speaking gen 3 is running cooler. Also, you can still attach 40mm fan on the old chassis. Just make sure it's 12v and you can tap that directly to the PSU for constant full speed or get adapter and plug that into the bottom(CPU side) of the M/B.

 

[foureight84]

I reached out to Qotom for a motherboard manual. Seems that there are two SYS_FANs on the board. One on the back and one on the CPU side. Both JST PH 1.25 PWM.

 

[foureight84]

It turns out my model is indeed different. The CPU has a massive heat-sink and no hole in the bottom of the case.
I guess the idea is for the fans to pull in air from the front, through the heat-sinks and out through the back fans. I don't love the airflow, but it is what it is. I have reached out to the support team to see what the fan pin-outs are to swap with Noctua. I'll try attaching a heat-sink to the bottom or maybe a fan and see if it helps.
Attached are photos of the heat-sinks and the fan locations.
View attachment 44359

This is the newest model of their case. I reached out because I was seeing high temps on mine and it does not have the two fan mounts on the front, only fan cut out on the bottom for the CPU. I'm just going to make these cut outs and install new fans. Or look for a suitable new enclosure.

 

[Caennanu]

If you are having cooling issue, you may want to look into getting gen 3 instead of gen 4, if you don't have gen 4 speed requirement. Generally speaking gen 3 is running cooler. Also, you can still attach 40mm fan on the old chassis. Just make sure it's 12v and you can tap that directly to the PSU for constant full speed or get adapter and plug that into the bottom(CPU side) of the M/B.

Thank you for your suggestion. The entire box has always been about stability, never about speed. As such i've had an patriot and wd red in there since the start. And considering it are x2 slots, 4.0 never made sence. So it has always been 3.0.

Next to that, the proxmox was installed on the WD Red, and the patriot had a pci-e passthrough for the pfsense box. So incase the wd red with proxmox failed, i could 'dual boot' to the patriot. And what do you know... it is infact the wd red that is currently failling. probably due to heat. (so now i'm online by booting directly from the passed through device)
Media and Data Integrity Errors: 3,936
Error Information Log Entries: 3,291

I'm wondering about that adapter for the bottom of the mainboard tho. I've not pulled it apart since i first got it, can you elaborate on that? (noctua fan already in, so i can pull it any time.)

 

[TechUnsupport]

I think I have copper heatsink on my SSD and have 40x20mm noctua fan zip tie on the side, it should fit between PSU and the side wall. If you are concern about heat, I wouldn't use the chassis header on the M/B as that's PWM fan header. You can have your Noctua pull 12v straight from PSU. So it run constant on at full speed. Your Noctua should come with a pin header to 2 bare wires that you can tap that directly on PSU. If that's not enough, and you are not worry about noise, then there is an ARCTIC S4028-15K solution. You might even be able to get two in there, but that will be jet engine noise. Again, the added 40mm fan only help with stuff like SSD, not a solution for CPU temp.

 

[John T Davis]

How do we tell whether we're buying the newest hardware revision?

Amazon has this 1U C3775R version, for example.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CWPBMMJ6?smid=A14HQ326MGQ4AS

(Meanwhile, I'll be reading through the last 40 pages. I didn't even realize there was a fanless desktop unit; I'd only seen the rackmount unit.)

 

[Arjestin]

How do we tell whether we're buying the newest hardware revision?

Amazon has this 1U C3775R version, for example.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CWPBMMJ6?smid=A14HQ326MGQ4AS

(Meanwhile, I'll be reading through the last 40 pages. I didn't even realize there was a fanless desktop unit; I'd only seen the rackmount unit.)

If you want the latest revision, Qotom sells Q20331G9 V1.2 C3758R on their AliExpress store.
However, I'm not sure if their new cooling solution is an upgrade or a downgrade.