Topton NAS Motherboard Intel i3-N305

[thekiwi]

I am in the process of building a new server, but encountering a potential MB and/or PSU issue I am struggling to resolve. I bought one of Topton's N305 NAS motherboard from AliExpress and am wishing I didn't. It took over 2 months to arrive but now that I have it in a Fractal Node 304 with a be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750W PSU, the server is failing to boot on. It switches on and immediately flicks off again; the fans on the MB and case manage to get a few rotations in, but that is it. This behaviour repeats every couple of seconds - power on immediately followed by power off...

I have unplugged all the peripherals so that it is just the MB connected to the PSU but the issue persists. It is entirely possible I have something hooked up wrong, but I am stumped as to what it could be.

Any thoughts would be welcome on what to do to troubleshoot the issue.

 

[thekiwi]

Some more testing. Removed board from case and placed it on cardboard to see if that was causing it to trip. Issue persists unfortunately.

Anyone else experience this issue? Not sure about the success I'll have getting a replacement from AliExpress...

 

[Avathar77]

What are the rest of the specs? ram, SSD/HDDS?

 

[thekiwi]

I never hooked up the the HDDs. On the MB I have a single Crucial 32GB 4800MHz DDR5 SO-DIMM ram and a single M.2 2280 SSD (WD_BLACK 2TB SN770 NVMe).

I'm going to try connecting to another PSU later to rule that out.

 

[Tzvia]

I never hooked up the the HDDs. On the MB I have a single Crucial 32GB 4800MHz DDR5 SO-DIMM ram and a single M.2 2280 SSD (WD_BLACK 2TB SN770 NVMe).

I'm going to try connecting to another PSU later to rule that out.

Remove that 2tb nvme and try. Then if no go, remove the ram too. Board should beep an error due to no ram if it attempts to post - you should get a beep provided there is a speaker/buzzer on the board.

 

[thekiwi]

Thanks @Tzvia.

No dice on both counts after removing the SSD and RAM. I've also tried another PSU and get the same response. Seems quite fatal.

 

[Tzvia]

And you did reset the cmos.... probably a jumper on the board...

 

[tcutting]

I have had a lot of issues with similar (same?) board, and for me it seems the be issue interfacing to the RAM.
Started with Crucial DDR5 4800, 16g. Was able to get into BIOS, and ultimately get to install and boot Proxmox. However, saw instability and regular hangs/crashes.
I then manually set RAM clock from auto down the 4200MHz. Seemed stable after.
THEN tried to update the RAM to 32GB - Corsair 4800 stick. Could not get to boot at all - no startup beep, could not get into BIOS, nothing.
Did CMOS reset, and was able to boot, and get into BIOS. Left on auto RAM speed, and selected the "optimized" BIOS settings.
Seemed to work OK, but running memory tests within Proxmox, was getting some errors, and seeing instability (system would hang).
I've now manually reduced RAM clock again - I believe to 4400 this time. Ran Memtest from Grub bootloader - about 2 hours, 2 full passes, no errors.
Going to monitor system to see if it runs without crashing.

 

[Tzvia]

Boy, the more I read the original post here, the more I think... PSU... PSU. Is PSU known good? Fires up with a different mobo ok? Or is there another known good PSU you can try. Spins up then shuts down can be something in the PSU tripping... This would be the time I remove the mobo from the case, and put it on a cardboard box along with the PSU and some different ran sticks and just swap out bits...

 

[pkoci]

Did you connect both 24pin and 4pin Psu connectors to MB?

 

[emparado]

Hello!
I'm sorry if i'm posting in the wrong place or order here. This is my first post.

I am very new to pc building and motherboards and power supply and all that. I have also bought the Topton NAS motherboard with the n305 processor. The board arrived but i don't really understand how i should power everything.

I ordered the sku that included an external 12v dc psu, barrel plug style. I realize now that this powers the board, but i dont see how i can connect any drives. these are some cables included with the motherboard. but the backplane in the case i bought, there seem to be a molex connector (i think it is called that) and i believe that it is power to spinn the drives?

And when i am looking at these ATX power supplies. They have a long connector that goes to motherboards, but this board from topton does not have that connector.

So when i look at this it seems like i need both the barrel connector to drive the board, and then i need a ATX power supply to drive everything else i connect to the board? Is that really the case? have multiple psu's hooked up to this board to make it work like a NAS?

And yes, i realize that i should bought a qNAP or something that is way more plug and play. but, we all have to start some where.

Please forgive me if this should have been a new post. i just saw that this threadwas talking about the same motherboard that i have and also discussed power to it.

Thanks!

 

[gbrossi]

Some more testing. Removed board from case and placed it on cardboard to see if that was causing it to trip. Issue persists unfortunately.

Anyone else experience this issue? Not sure about the success I'll have getting a replacement from AliExpress...

I'm having the same issue.

I tested with sodimm 'Kingston Fury Impact KF548S38IB-32' and 'Crucial CT32G48C40S5', both with the same problem you had.

I also tested to manual reduce mem clock speed to 4200 and 4400... but the problem still persists

Did you manage to solve the problem? Or did you have to return/replace the motherboard?

 

[devilsneer]

I have had a lot of issues with similar (same?) board, and for me it seems the be issue interfacing to the RAM.
Started with Crucial DDR5 4800, 16g. Was able to get into BIOS, and ultimately get to install and boot Proxmox. However, saw instability and regular hangs/crashes.
I then manually set RAM clock from auto down the 4200MHz. Seemed stable after.
THEN tried to update the RAM to 32GB - Corsair 4800 stick. Could not get to boot at all - no startup beep, could not get into BIOS, nothing.
Did CMOS reset, and was able to boot, and get into BIOS. Left on auto RAM speed, and selected the "optimized" BIOS settings.
Seemed to work OK, but running memory tests within Proxmox, was getting some errors, and seeing instability (system would hang).
I've now manually reduced RAM clock again - I believe to 4400 this time. Ran Memtest from Grub bootloader - about 2 hours, 2 full passes, no errors.
Going to monitor system to see if it runs without crashing.

I am having exactly the same issue with my CWWK N305 board, I have the 32 GB Crucial 4800 RAM with a 256Gb M.2 plugged in. Initially the CPU fan kept spinning for 30min at which point I turned off the PSU. FYI the PSU is a SFX Gold Thermaltake 1000W new PSU which I tested by jumping Pin3, Pin4 and it seems to be working fine. I really am at a loss what to do. Also I have not plugged in the 4Pin connector since my PSU didn't come with any 4Pin plug, theres a bunch of 6Pin PCIe connectors but not sure if I should connect that - any help would be appreciated!!

 

[Kobold81]

I have a n305 purple in a node 304 with a fractal ion+2 psu and 32GB crucial 5200 ram (running automatically at 4800) , everything runs without problems, except fan control at the moment.

Running for a whole days with 3 virtual machines without a problem.

4pin plug = no 4pins means no power for the cpu. There should be a cable for the cpu in the accessories of the psu. Sometimes a combined 8pin connector on the cable is a clicked together 2x 4pin and is meant to be separated by pressing a latch.

perhaps it is a loose connector? With my cables the 24pinnconnector does not click completely.

 

[Kobold81]

Hello!
I'm sorry if i'm posting in the wrong place or order here. This is my first post.

I am very new to pc building and motherboards and power supply and all that. I have also bought the Topton NAS motherboard with the n305 processor. The board arrived but i don't really understand how i should power everything.

I ordered the sku that included an external 12v dc psu, barrel plug style. I realize now that this powers the board, but i dont see how i can connect any drives. these are some cables included with the motherboard. but the backplane in the case i bought, there seem to be a molex connector (i think it is called that) and i believe that it is power to spinn the drives?

And when i am looking at these ATX power supplies. They have a long connector that goes to motherboards, but this board from topton does not have that connector.

So when i look at this it seems like i need both the barrel connector to drive the board, and then i need a ATX power supply to drive everything else i connect to the board? Is that really the case? have multiple psu's hooked up to this board to make it work like a NAS?

And yes, i realize that i should bought a qNAP or something that is way more plug and play. but, we all have to start some where.

Please forgive me if this should have been a new post. i just saw that this threadwas talking about the same motherboard that i have and also discussed power to it.

Thanks!

you could drive the board with a „micro psu“, but a real atx psu is safer and comes with all the cables you need to power sata drives and fans

 

[tcutting]

I am having exactly the same issue with my CWWK N305 board, I have the 32 GB Crucial 4800 RAM with a 256Gb M.2 plugged in. Initially the CPU fan kept spinning for 30min at which point I turned off the PSU. FYI the PSU is a SFX Gold Thermaltake 1000W new PSU which I tested by jumping Pin3, Pin4 and it seems to be working fine. I really am at a loss what to do. Also I have not plugged in the 4Pin connector since my PSU didn't come with any 4Pin plug, theres a bunch of 6Pin PCIe connectors but not sure if I should connect that - any help would be appreciated!!

You definitely need the 4-pin connector powered. Check psu cables- is there 8 pin which is two 4 pin connectors which can be separated?
For my issue, it was memory speed - been running stable with reduced RAM clock. Reached out to supplier, and they recommended higher speed RAM (eg, 5200).

 

[devilsneer]

You definitely need the 4-pin connector powered. Check psu cables- is there 8 pin which is two 4 pin connectors which can be separated?
For my issue, it was memory speed - been running stable with reduced RAM clock. Reached out to supplier, and they recommended higher speed RAM (eg, 5200).

yep turned out to be the 4Pin connector, found a cable that split in 4+4 pin and got it booted. Now I'm struggling with the NvME not being detected in BIOS, shows No NVME Device found even when I tried in both slots...

 

[devilsneer]

Hey guys, I was successfully able to install Proxmox on the M.2 SSD, but Im running into a few issues. 1. I cant seem to get all 4 ethernet ports to work (only 1 turns on when I plug in the ethernet cable) and my HDD that I just bought does not get recognized in Proxmox or the BIOS, not really sure exactly where to search in the BIOS for the HDD, and lastly while I do hear the HDD spin up, it gets stuck at Loading initial ramdisk.... and fails to boot into proxmox

 

[Kobold81]

Hey guys, I was successfully able to install Proxmox on the M.2 SSD, but Im running into a few issues. 1. I cant seem to get all 4 ethernet ports to work (only 1 turns on when I plug in the ethernet cable) and my HDD that I just bought does not get recognized in Proxmox or the BIOS, not really sure exactly where to search in the BIOS for the HDD, and lastly while I do hear the HDD spin up, it gets stuck at Loading initial ramdisk.... and fails to boot into proxmox

ethernet ports: had a similar issue after upgrading proxmox.the names of the Ethernet ports changed suddenly. do a ˋip a and note the device names. Add them manually to /etc/network/interfaces (you can get a login shell using ctrl-f2) or via the proxmox ˋnetworkˋ tab.

hdd needs a sata cable AND a separate power cable. No power means no sata connectivity. Did you connect both cable to the hdd?
could also be that a bios is flashed that does not allow booting from sata. The purple nas board has two bios versions: 1 with bootable sata, 2 boots only from nvme

 

[joms]

Hi, i plan to get the Topton n305 6x LAN 2.5G i226-V Mini PC DDR5 and i'd like to know what 32GB RAM would be most compatible given the choices below: (note: These are the only ones available in the Philippines)
.
a) Kingston Fury Impact 32GB | KF548S38IB-32 (2Rx8)
b) Kingston ValueRAM 32GB DDR5 4800MHz KVR48S40BD8-32
c) Kingston ValueRAM DDR5 32GB 5600MHz Non-ECC CL46 SODIMM Laptop Memory Ram (KVR56S46BD8-32)
d) Crucial RAM 32GB DDR5 4800MHz SODIMM CL40 Laptop Memory CT32G48C40S5