Supermicro 3u 16bay 3.5" chassis with SAS2 expander

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RXWatcher

New Member
Nov 29, 2014
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Ok, question on these..how much power will it draw just doing nothing? I understand it doesnt include anything related to the actual server and its just the Power Supply, back planes, fans, etc. The dual 1200watts power supplies just freaks me out thinking it will drain a lot of power by itself while idling most of the time even if I spin down the drives.

Thanks for responding..I'm new to building servers.

-Jim
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
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Well, it looks like the Zalman PWM Mate is discontinued
Discontinued but still widely available. Amazon. EBay, others... Perhaps overpriced at ~$40 considering you can replicate its function for less than $3 worth of parts.
 

Tristimulus

New Member
Jan 11, 2014
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I had similar (older) 3U supermicro 16bay chassis and each power supply will use about 13-17W and backplane about 5W (Mine was JBOD, not expander ). So about 35-40W
This is without fans. Each middle fan (full speed is about 1A * 12V = 12W. x 3 = 36W) Back fans are 0.55A at 12V will be 6W x 2 = 12W.
I've wired mine at 5V instead of 12V and put them at PWM and they are using about 6-10W together.
Also I've replaced Power Supplies with Platinum and now each are using just 10W.
So my current power draw is
10W for PS (I only connected one PS, instead of 2), 5W backplane + 10W for fans
So about 25W together, instead of about 80W originally.
All this without motherboard and and drives.
-Stan


Ok, question on these..how much power will it draw just doing nothing? I understand it doesnt include anything related to the actual server and its just the Power Supply, back planes, fans, etc. The dual 1200watts power supplies just freaks me out thinking it will drain a lot of power by itself while idling most of the time even if I spin down the drives.

Thanks for responding..I'm new to building servers.

-Jim
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
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is 1200w psu too much for just disk JBOD with system inside?
Yes. And no. 1200W is clearly overkill for a simple JBOD of 16 drives - especially considering you are likely to be using consumer SATA drives. But the PSUs are platinum rated and remain highly efficient down yo very low usage levels. Replacing them probably won't save enough to matter.
 

Hank C

Active Member
Jun 16, 2014
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Yea I understand that. What I mean is that the system will be able to power on right? I heard that some PSU doesn't work with low power Avoton boards.
 

Boddy

Active Member
Oct 25, 2014
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Edit I am now part of the club. Ready for pick-up tomorrow. They did $315 + tax for me so it ended up basically at $350.
Welcome to the Supermicro In The Home Club! :D
I picked up two for $320 each.
(FYI to the Aussies - they preferred to deliver to US address rather than send directly to Australia.)
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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Welcome to the Supermicro In The Home Club! :D
I picked up two for $320 each.
(FYI to the Aussies - they preferred to deliver to US address rather than send directly to Australia.)
Believe it or not but I was already an honorary member. :p
 

Madhelp

Member
Feb 7, 2013
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I grabbed one as well. Did a best offer for $300 + $50 for shipping. I didn't really need this, but I could see myself using it sooner then later.
 

canta

Well-Known Member
Nov 26, 2014
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Yea I understand that. What I mean is that the system will be able to power on right? I heard that some PSU doesn't work with low power Avoton boards.
I test with mini-itx j1800 bay trail. PSU works perfectly with it.
 

Entz

Active Member
Apr 25, 2013
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Canada Eh?
Actually that would even be useful in a JBOD case. Instead of going with the Supermicro JBOD controller , use a J1800 board. That would give you remote power-down/power-up (IPMI or SSH), PWM fan control (to a PSU powered adapter), UPS integration etc.
 
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RXWatcher

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Nov 29, 2014
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I ordered one and got it today. outer rails were mounted on the server during shipment and were all bent up making it impossible to mount on the rails. I've got a message into them.

Did your units come with a fan shield and rear fans? mine didnt.

thanks!
-Jim
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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Mine arrived with rear fans and the air shroud. Outer rails were removed. Inner rail extensions were mounted and one of them bent slightly during shipping but was easily straightened.
 

canta

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Nov 26, 2014
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mine came with shroud, all in perfect condition, only one minor: bend right ear.
this is easy to fix
outer rails were removed and bundled up together with tapes.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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Mine had fans, rails and a shroud. In person pick-up but I was one of the later batches.