SOLVED Buying a Supermicro 1U with X9DRI-LN4F (EE-ATX) and replacing the case.

[zis8snbt4p]

Hi all,

I have changed my mind a million times about what hardware to get for my first FreeNAS system and I have been convinced by the resident grinch to start with older hardware such as Xeon E5-26xx v2 and I have found this which I will probably kit with dual Xeon E5-2650 v2's which come at 35 pounds each.

Now this is a pretty nice price for the motherboard, but the chassis does not meet my requirements as it is very small ( I would like to house 6 HDD's and a couple of SSD's) and 1U will potentially be too noisy for my living room where the server will reside.
The problem is then that the aforementioned motherboard is EE-ATX and finding a cheap case for it is not easy.

Do you think this is a good idea? Or should I find a motherboard that is at max E-ATX for which there are a multitude of options for the case.
On another note, provided the chassis comes with a Supermicro PSU, are these of good quality? Or should I replace this as well with a Seasonic one?

Cheers

 

[Inxsible]

Maybe ask the seller if they are willing to sell you just the board and CPU so you don't have to deal with an empty chassis.

I have one of those 1U Supermicro servers which hosts my Proxmox VM server. Given that I already have a separate TrueNAS system, the 4 disks on the 1U are more than sufficient because all my data is hosted on the NAS box anyway.

But if it were my only system then 4 disks might be a tad short. They do make significant noise at startup. Those factory fans screech like jet engines after a cold boot but about 30 seconds after, they are not so bad. My server resides in a 24U rack in the basement which is also why I am not that concerned with the noise. Putting it in the living room -- I'd say you would get used to the sound eventually. Since it's a server, the aim is to keep it online 24/7, so it's not like you'd be dealing with the screeching sound constantly.

 

[Spearfoot]

Hi all,

I have changed my mind a million times about what hardware to get for my first FreeNAS system and I have been convinced by the resident grinch to start with older hardware such as Xeon E5-26xx v2 and I have found this which I will probably kit with dual Xeon E5-2650 v2's which come at 35 pounds each.

Now this is a pretty nice price for the motherboard, but the chassis does not meet my requirements as it is very small ( I would like to house 6 HDD's and a couple of SSD's) and 1U will potentially be too noisy for my living room where the server will reside.
The problem is then that the aforementioned motherboard is EE-ATX and finding a cheap case for it is not easy.

Do you think this is a good idea? Or should I find a motherboard that is at max E-ATX for which there are a multitude of options for the case.
On another note, provided the chassis comes with a Supermicro PSU, are these of good quality? Or should I replace this as well with a Seasonic one?

Cheers

That's a fine motherboard, but as you've already discovered, you will have a very hard time finding a suitable case.

I can vouchsafe from personal experience that 1U servers are far too loud to install in a living room. Even the 4U cases are too loud for this usage, IMHO.

 

[Inxsible]

I can vouchsafe from personal experience that 1U servers are far too loud to install in a living room. Even the 4U cases are too loud for this usage, IMHO.

If no rackmounts can be put in the living room --- then that precludes buying any other form factor except mini-ITX and micro-ATX and maybe a few ATX. Given the dearth of mini-ITX server boards and also the fact that they don't offer much in expansion, the only sensible choice left is micro-ATX for which you would find plenty of decorative & quiet cases that can be placed in the living room.

 

[ChrisRJ]

There are also 2U versions from Supermicro around with this board (or something very similar) inside it.

 

[zis8snbt4p]

In the end I went with a Fractal Design Define 7 XL. I am quite happy with my choice :)
If anything it can be repurposed to a massive gaming rig :p