Supermicro X10DRi-T4+ rj45 10gbps nic overheating under SAS hba card

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.
M

microlabster

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
7
2
3
The Supermicro X10DRi-T4+ mainboard has a 10gig nic - copper (RJ45 ports), so it runs hot. Temperatures are usually around 70 degrees C for the first and slightly less for the second one. I'm looking for ways to keep the nic cool. Why is it so hot anyway, given that it's only connected with a 1Gbps link?

This is a home lab server in a soho environment where the usual jet engine stock fans are not an option, so I made it quiet by replacing all fans, installed Noctua NH-D9DX i4 cpu fans and sq power supplies. For the most part, this works well, cpu temperatures are between 30 and 40 degrees C, so are the hdds, some ram modules are above 40 degrees C. The only hot spot is the 10g nic which is constantly around 70 degrees C. It's in the top left corner if you look at this picture, there's no place to mount a rear fan.

x10dri-t4_plus.jpg

As you can see, the heatsink is where the PCIe slots are, so it's right under the SAS card, an LSI 9201-16i. The drives connected to that card are rarely under high load, often idle, it used to be in the same place on an older but similar mainboard, but now it's right above the heatsink of that 10g nic. I'm looking for ideas on how to improve this situation in that corner.

I should note that the onboard nic is not used for 10G networking. If I wanted 10G networking, I would use SFP cards, which I already do elsewhere, those do not get hot at all. Unfortunately, when I picked the mainboard, I didn't notice that it has copper 10G networking onboard.

Any ideas?
 
M

microlabster

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
7
2
3
Turns out there's a jumper to disable onboard LAN, so I guess I could, if that's the only way to keep it cool. Then I'd have to install a 4-port 1G card to replace the onboard LAN ports - just because the onboard module appears to be inefficient. I'd prefer to use the onboard ports though.
Why is this onboard networking module producing so much heat, more than any 1G nic on other boards? The switch it is connected to isn't even warm.

I also wonder if such heat could cause the LSI card to misbehave. All connected hdds work fine, but ever since I put this new mainboard in, some of the red front bay drive leds randomly light up on their own from time to time. It's interesting that those bays go to the same sas connector on the card. However, there are no i/o errors when it happens and although solid red means failed drive, there is no failed drive. I do not remember those red status leds lighting up with the old Supermicro mainboard which didn't have an overheating nic.
 
N

nexox

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2023
1,514
730
113
If you have a single unused PCIe slot above that NIC heatsink then you could mount a blower with some zipties or something. The Dell 03WY43 is cheap, reasonably quiet, and comes with a standard 4 pin fan connector.
 
M

microlabster

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
7
2
3
Good idea, I do have an unused PCIe slot (two, next to the LSI card). But how or where would I mount something like that Dell 03WY43? Also, wouldn't it blow in the wrong direction, i.e., sideways instead of towards the rear of the chassis?

Edit. Thanks for bringing up zipties. I took an unused fan and tied it on the outside right behind the cards, so it's now pulling the heat away from that heatsink. NIC temperatures immediately went down by 10 degrees C. However, the fan isn't in the best place, outside of the chassis and it would now be covering the ports of an additional (networking) card. I don't really want to keep it there...
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: nexox
N

nexox

Well-Known Member
May 3, 2023
1,514
730
113
You mount it between two cards where the side intakes can get some free air and direct the output towards the heatsink, it won't be perfectly guided unless you have a 3D printer and some time to design a custom duct, but just a bit of moving air in the general vicinity will help. Then again you might be better off placing it further back so it blows over the LSI heatsink first.
 
M

microlabster

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
7
2
3
I see, thanks! Ok, so the onboard controller is not overheating, but it's still much hotter than that of older mainboards and I still wonder why. It's never running at 10Gbps, it only has a 1Gbps link.

And as for the LSI card, I guess it could still be affected by all that heat right under it, don't you think? I'm worried about that card, too.
 
T_Minus

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
7,797
2,174
113
Grab 4 screws, throw a 40mm (or was it 30?) onto the LSI heatsink and be done with it.
I do this in my desktop cases with not much air flow, in server chassis they get super hot too but haven't had them overheat... even running 4x LSI SAS2 HBA in a row :D w\out fans, no overheat in server chassis in a not-so-cool datacenter :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: nexox
G

grad

Member
Jan 9, 2021
34
5
8
I am also considering Supermicro X10DRi-T4+ because it is probably the only C612 thing that covers my needs, can be bought these days around here (Europe) without breaking the bank or going through ridiculous customs clearance. Does anyone still have, use, or know about this motherboard ?

1) I will DO need 10GbE networking but at the same time I will need to watercool my GPUs and I am afraid that the heatsink for the X540 chip will interfere with the waterblocks. Is it possible to remove it, deactivate onboard X540 in the BIOS, spend another PCIe slot for a 10GbE NIC and get away with it ?
2) 1) I will DO need a NVMe, I guess I can dedicate a 8x PCIe slot for that but I don't know if it will be bootable.
3) I am not sure if I can fit it in my Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 Server Edition case. The case feels rather large and it is ideal for my needs but it states XL-ATX and SS-EEB, not EE-ATX.
 
B

BlueFox

Legendary Member Spam Hunter Extraordinaire
Oct 26, 2015
2,352
1,742
113
Why not get the 1GbE version of that motherboard, which doesn't have the heatsinks? Model is X10DRi-LN4+.
 
G

grad

Member
Jan 9, 2021
34
5
8
G

grad

Member
Jan 9, 2021
34
5
8
I also see that there is a X10DRi-T version with dual ethernet ports on X540 (instead of quad) and half the heatsink but uses narrow ILMs (???). Supermicro site is so confusing. They have like 100s of motherboards and versions and not even one of them is perfect for me.
 
Last edited:
T

trumee

Member
Jan 31, 2016
251
17
18
55
I have the x10driT motherboard and it has the same issue. I stopped using the onboard Nic and instead using a 4 port gig card.
 
  • Like
Reactions: grad
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom