SM CSE 826 sweet deal

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anemoiac

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Jan 7, 2021
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For those who got in on this deal - what motherboards are you using? Sticking with Supermicro or opting for something different?
 

Fritz

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Apr 6, 2015
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Supermicro X10SRH-CF. Has on board, LSI SAS3 3008 Fury – StorPort.
 

cap

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Sep 20, 2021
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Supermicro X10SRH-CF here as well.

@Fritz did you find that the 24-pin power-supply cable doesn't quite reach the motherboard? Mine is short by just a couple of millimeters. I just sort of forced it, but one of the wires is visibly under tension. It works, but I don't like it. I have an extension cable on order, but I was not able to find a short one, so I'm worried about making a mess or blocking airflow with the excess cable. I guess the best end result would be to replace just the one wire with a custom longer one, but time.

Sorry, I just reviewed the thread and saw that you already noted the need for an extension cable.
 
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Fritz

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Supermicro X10SRH-CF here as well.

@Fritz did you find that the 24-pin power-supply cable doesn't quite reach the motherboard? Mine is short by just a couple of millimeters. I just sort of forced it, but one of the wires is visibly under tension. It works, but I don't like it. I have an extension cable on order, but I was not able to find a short one, so I'm worried about making a mess or blocking airflow with the excess cable. I guess the best end result would be to replace just the one wire with a custom longer one, but time.

Sorry, I just reviewed the thread and saw that you already noted the need for an extension cable.
Yea, didn't have so so had to cool my heals till Amazon could get one to me.
 

Markess

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May 19, 2018
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Interesting. From the model number in the pictures on Ebay, this server originally came with an E-ATX X10DRH-CT installed, which as @Fritz noted, is why the 24 & 8 pin connector wires are short.

Through sheer luck, the two CSE 826 I'd bought (from a different seller) originally had X10-SRH-CF in them. So, when I put my X10SRH-CF in mine, all the cables including the front panel and SAS ones just "fell into place."

I had no idea Supermicro had PDBs with different length power cables to match the installed motherboard.
 
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Fritz

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Interesting. From the model number in the pictures on Ebay, this server originally came with an E-ATX X10DRH-CT installed, which as @Fritz noted, is why the 24 & 8 pin connector wires are short.

Through sheer luck, the two CSE 826 I'd bought (from a different seller) originally had X10-SRH-CF in them. So, when I put my X10SRH-CF in mine, all the cables including the front panel and SAS ones just "fell into place."

I had no idea Supermicro had PDBs with different length power cables to match the installed motherboard.
I've run into this every time I've put a non E-ATX MB in a Supermicro chassis. Given how stiff this particular plug is I can appreciate it being pre formed to just go where it needs to go. On the other hand, an extension cable makes this a mute point because excess cable is way better than not enough cable. a modular PDB would be the perfect solution.
 

NablaSquaredG

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It's a shame that Supermicro uses so low-quality and stiff cable for their PDBs. Would be a lot cooler if the cables weren't as stiff as they are.
 

Fritz

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It's a shame that Supermicro uses so low-quality and stiff cable for their PDBs. Would be a lot cooler if the cables weren't as stiff as they are.
Yea, I need to check and see if they're solid conductor. I doubt it but they sure feel like they are.
 

Markess

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I've run into this every time I've put a non E-ATX MB in a Supermicro chassis. Given how stiff this particular plug is I can appreciate it being pre formed to just go where it needs to go. On the other hand, an extension cable makes this a mute point because excess cable is way better than not enough cable. a modular PDB would be the perfect solution.
This is how my 826 came, zip tied bundle and all, and as a unit the bundle was very stiff. I was able to drop the X10SRH-CF motherboard in and just push the connectors down. Just lucky I guess.

CS826PDB.jpg

I also just looked at my 2U SC-219 chassis that had shipped with an older UIO layout board installed, and it has short cables as well. UIO is deep like E-ATX and also has the power in the corner of the board near the PDB. I'd already had a WIO layout board to put in it and the cables were fine for that. I never even thought about it at the time.
 
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Fritz

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This is how my 826 came, zip tied bundle and all, and as a unit the bundle was very stiff. I was able to drop the X10SRH-CF motherboard in and just push the connectors down. Just lucky I guess.

View attachment 20703

I also just looked at my 2U SC-219 chassis that had shipped with an older UIO layout board installed, and it has short cables as well. UIO is deep like E-ATX and also has the power in the corner of the board near the PDB. I'd already had a WIO layout board to put in it and the cables were fine for that. I never even thought about it at the time.
Mine is definitely shorter than yours. There was no ty wrapped slack at all. Can't see how they're saving money making the cables of different lengths. Management logistics have to cost more than a few inches of wire. But I could be wrong.
 

nthu9280

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Feb 3, 2016
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@Markess @Fritz - you may want check this thread and links within.
Basically, SM has few variations of PDBs for 21x, 82x, and 836 chassis. Housing, edge connector sizes (19 pair narrow vs 23 pair wide) and the length. They can be interchangeable and I have swapped the innerds of the PDBs between housings as well.

Regarding the stiffness of the cables - stronger the wire gauge, less flexible it is. Hope this helps.

 
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Fritz

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I recently replaced a TQ backplane in a 836 with a SAS2 expander backplane. At first I thought it wouldn't fit. The TQ backplane is frameless and the expander backplane comes with a frame. After taking it out of the frame I could see there was no way in hell it was gonna work. Then, guided by mysterious forces, I put it back in the frame and put it, frame and all in the chassis and lo and behold it fit perfectly and all the holes lined up. Supermicro works in mysterious ways.
 

Markess

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May 19, 2018
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@Markess @Fritz - you may want check this thread and links within.
Basically, SM has few variations of PDBs for 21x, 82x, and 836 chassis. Housing, edge connector sizes (19 pair narrow vs 23 pair wide) and the length. They can be interchangeable and I have swapped the innerds of the PDBs between housings as well.

Regarding the stiffness of the cables - stronger the wire gauge, less flexible it is. Hope this helps.

Well that was enlightening. Especially the bit about 19 vs 23 pair edge connectors. I knew about the different sizes, but thought it was a generational thing, not a model number one. I'd always just shined a flashlight in from the back of the case and hoped the PDB had a 23 pair connector (giving the flexibility to use either size).
 

Markess

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May 19, 2018
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sorry for offtopic question, but how you tied that small fan to CPU heatsink? it's a 4cm fan?
Its a 6cm fan. Noctua NF-A6-25 PWM along with 4 long shafted rubber Anti-Vibration mounts (Noctua NA-SAV4).

I fed the mounts though the fan body, just as if I were going to mount the fan in a case. Then, I used a long thin clamping tweezer/forceps to pull the shafts of rubber mounts between the heatsink fins until the fan was almost, but not quite, touching the heatsink. The openings between the fins line up almost perfectly for that. You have to PULL the rubber mounting shafts INTO the heatsink using something passed through the fins from the heatsink's far side. Pulling will stretch the rubber a bit, making it a smaller diameter and easier to pass between the fins. If you try to push them in from the fan side, they will just get stuck about half way.

It is a very snug fit, so the fan stays in place, plus rubber mounts insulate from vibration noise. The heatsink is a Supermicro passive 2U.
 

pancake_riot

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Nov 5, 2021
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For those who got in on this deal - what motherboards are you using? Sticking with Supermicro or opting for something different?
I went for the original X10DRH-CT that matched my chassis. I toyed with the notion of using a standard ATX board, but between the cost of new components and needing to sort out cable extensions and I/O cables, going with a Supermicro board seemed more hassle-free.

The hardest part was finding a good deal on a Supermicro board that would do SAS3.
 
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