(water)cooling solutions for socket 2011 narrow ILM?

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DrDanger

New Member
Jul 9, 2020
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I have two Xeon 2650 v2s in a Supermicro X9DRH-iTF (edited to be the correct model)

Unfortunately I did not look too hard into cooling solutions before I got it, so I've been living with the screaming fans from a couple of 2U supermicro coolers for the past year and I'm finally tired of it.

As it happens, I have a spare d5 pump and rad sitting around, and I'm wondering if there's any way to get CPU blocks for 2011 narrow ILM without spending an arm and a leg on discontinued EK blocks?

My current, and pretty much only idea is to grab a couple of those $10 blocks off aliexpress, get some aluminum stock and carve up some new brackets with an angle grinder and dremel. I would prefer to not go this route as it's a lot of work, are there any less hacky solutions for this?

I would also be willing to air cool, my case has plenty of room for basically any cooler I can throw in it, although I wasn't able to find anything affordable other than the 2U coolers I currently have. I'd like to keep it under $30ish per CPU but I'd be willing to stretch my legs a bit if necessary.
 

DrDanger

New Member
Jul 9, 2020
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There are lots of AIO options, but I'm not sure about custom blocks.


This is a decent starting point -
I actually already saw that thread, although at the time the linked ebay listing was dead. I do see that the EK bracket supposedly fits any supremacy blocks, but I'm not too keen on spending almost as much on CPU blocks as I did on the CPUs.

It seems like the cheapest option would be to try and do the DIY mounts for the cheap blocks, which would run me probably $50 total assuming it works. Second cheapest would be picking up a couple asetek AIOs for closer to $100, followed by the EK blocks at around $140.

Does anyone have info on the exact specs for the 2011 narrow ILM socket? I did some hunting around the internet and couldn't find any diagrams showing measurements for the hole spacing and such. I might be able to get access to a CNC router which would greatly simplify things. Another option I also thought of just now was to saw off the arms of the cheapo blocks and 3d print a little block to clip onto the remains and match up with the 2011 holes, but once again I'd need exact measurements.
 

zer0sum

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2013
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Best stuff I could find :D

Here's a CAD file that might help. I think you need to register to download it

1594401175695.png

And a basic diagram
1594401041172.png
 
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DrDanger

New Member
Jul 9, 2020
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Thanks for digging up those diagrams, I think I'm gonna try to pick up a couple aliexpress blocks. I'll keep this thread updated on my progress, although it'll probably be a while for shipping. My print bed is big enough I should be able to straight up print a whole bracket for the block so I'll see if I can whip something up in CAD, if that fails I'll try to cut some from aluminum.
 

DrDanger

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Jul 9, 2020
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Screenshot from 2020-07-11 13-43-37.png

Here's what I came up with for a 3d printed bracket that should be able to just sit on top of the block to hold it down. Screw hole spacing is good to go, might need to mess around with the other dimensions once the blocks show up, and who knows how long that will be given the current global situation. I uploaded my freecad file here in the event anyone else wants to play around with it. You'll need 6-32 screws, and probably springs to get some good mounting pressure. I plan on printing it with petg.
 
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DrDanger

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Jul 9, 2020
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I return months later with success! I got a couple of those generic aliexpress blocks, sawed off the arms with a hacksaw, and 3d printed some mounts to slip over them. Took some trial and error but I got it. I used the screws that came with the blocks, and initially had some issues with the block hitting the VRM heatsink and had to shorten things up. The freecad file for the final block design is here. Temps are ice cold and it finally won't keep me up at night.


20201007_195231.jpg
 

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DrDanger

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Jul 9, 2020
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Oh yeah and of course if anyone has questions or wants to do this themselves I'm happy to help.
 

Emu

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Oct 11, 2020
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Which water blocks did you end up using? I have a dual e5 2650 v3 system that I have a hacked together 92mm fan and the original heatsink assembly on and I am considering using up my old watercooling extras to watercool (and quieten) my server as well. I have spent a day searching for narrow ILM waterblocks without too much luck (one place had great pricing on blocks but shipping pushed the total way out of what I would pay :|) before I stumbled upon this thread. I have a 3D printer and PETG to use with it so this is definitely something I can try out. :)
 

DrDanger

New Member
Jul 9, 2020
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Which water blocks did you end up using? I have a dual e5 2650 v3 system that I have a hacked together 92mm fan and the original heatsink assembly on and I am considering using up my old watercooling extras to watercool (and quieten) my server as well. I have spent a day searching for narrow ILM waterblocks without too much luck (one place had great pricing on blocks but shipping pushed the total way out of what I would pay :|) before I stumbled upon this thread. I have a 3D printer and PETG to use with it so this is definitely something I can try out. :)
I used some generic AliExpress blocks like these. You can find em' pretty easily on ebay as well. I actually have been using these same kind of blocks in my desktop for going on 2 years now and no isues. For the actual mounts just be extremely careful tightening it down if you aren't using springs (which I didn't). It's a waterblock so you only really need enough mounting pressure to spread the paste out. For the screws I used the ones that came with the blocks but removed all washer and springs. Then I took the large knurled knut and spun it up to the head to function as a spacer.

I think I saw these when I was shopping but the prices for this and any other commercial options were far too rich for my tastes. This came out to roughly $30 for both blocks including S&H.
 

alex_stief

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May 31, 2016
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It was rather a suggestion for other people with the same problem. Maybe they have different priorities ;)
 

acquacow

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Feb 15, 2017
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If you ever tire of the water setup, noctua has narrow ILM coolers of various sizes that work well and clear the ram.
 

gengar

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Oct 18, 2020
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If you ever tire of the water setup, noctua has narrow ILM coolers of various sizes that work well and clear the ram.
Yep, the NH-U12DX i4 is a godsend for narrow ILM server boards; I've been running them on my quad CPU Supermicro boards for years. The Supermicro OEMs are so obnoxiously loud and not nearly as efficient either. I love that Noctua includes two different narrow ILM brackets as well, to allow for different mounting orientations. Heatpipe clearance can be an issue though depending on how close the RAM slots are.

Think they also make a 90mm version.