Help Installing Noctua Cooler on X10SRI-F Board

[Mog]

Hi folks,

Sorry ahead of time if this is a noobish issue I'm having, but I'm new to both server boards and intel sockets generally. I just upgraded to proper hardware for the homelab to replace my spare parts homelab I was using previously. I want to re-use the Noctua cooler from the old machine, but am confused with how to mount it.

Motherboard: SuperMicro X10SRI-F
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2698v4
Cooler: Noctua NH-D9L

I think this cooler should work for this socket, but the mounting hardware on the motherboard seems to defy all attempts at fitting the Noctua brackets, and the backplate doesn't look like it wants to come off. The SuperMicro manual only lists instructions for installing and removing a passive cooler, which would most likely cause thermal issues in my 4U case.

Some pictures (don't mind the thermal paste, I was test fitting the old cooler on top of it and made a bit of a mess ):

Looking for help here from any folks that are much more experienced than me. I figure either:
a) The cooler I have just won't work on this board, or
b) I need to remove whatever is already installed on the SuperMicro board (Not sure how the CPU will remain safely socketed though)

I figured I'd ask for help before potentially doing any damage

 

[jgreco]

This board requires a "Narrow ILM" solution. Your Noctua probably isn't, which is probably good, since its expected lifespan isn't going to be that high.

Noctua probably sells an adapter or alternative plate if you insist on using it.

You can remove the Supermicro-provided bracket if needed, but this will not change the hole spacing, so this is a last resort. Heating the backplate (hairdryer-warm, not paintstripper-gun hot) and then urging it off with a plastic spudger will successfully remove the plate.

 

[Mog]

This board requires a "Narrow ILM" solution. Your Noctua probably isn't, which is probably good, since its expected lifespan isn't going to be that high.

Noctua probably sells an adapter or alternative plate if you insist on using it.

You can remove the Supermicro-provided bracket if needed, but this will not change the hole spacing, so this is a last resort. Heating the backplate (hairdryer-warm, not paintstripper-gun hot) and then urging it off with a plastic spudger will successfully remove the plate.

Thanks for the reply. It being narrow ILM appears to be the issue with the current cooler. I've looked at other solutions from Noctua that support narrow ILM, but am curious what you mean by

which is probably good, since its expected lifespan isn't going to be that high.

Is using Noctua coolers on server boards frowned upon?

 

[jgreco]

Is using Noctua coolers on server boards frowned upon?

Fair question.

It is my opinion that Noctua and most other fans sold into the PC marketplace are targeted at a 2-6 year lifespan. This is typically the lifespan of a gamer's PC, and I do not have great confidence that a PC-grade fan will hit the 10 year old mark. They are made to be low cost, competing against other low cost fans, with some brands trying to differentiate themselves as "super quiet" or "very cool" or "lightsy flashy", but still, no one's going to pay forty or fifty dollars for a case fan. Features like "super quiet" also involve compromises, reducing the excellence of the fan. There are various bearing types, including sleeve bearings, ball bearings, fluid bearings, magnetic bearings, and dual ball bearings. Sleeves will wear out in just a year or two in many cases. Dual ball bearings may be good for six or eight years.

By way of comparison, the fans used in industrial PC's, including servers, are designed to be permanently mounted inside (often expensive) industrial equipment. Manufacturers of such equipment demand a better quality of fan, because warranty repairs for medical gear, industrial controls, factory automation, etc., are expensive and inconvenient. No one blinks at the idea of a $50 fan, or fans, even. Fans are designed to last the lifetime of the equipment, deployed redundantly on the outside chance one fails. Some of the forum users here once did some research and I believe we discovered that the expected lifetime of an industrial fan is 15 years plus.

So the question is, how much are you paying for your NAS, how long do you expect it to last, and how angry would you be if a fan stall caused your drives or boards to cook?

Looked at from another direction, the typical fan design in a 2U server involves ducting airflow from two different industrial fans over a passive CPU heatsink (or heatsinks). Server design is a matter of paranoia.

 

[Mog]

A quick follow-up for anyone stumbling in here from a google search. As jgreco suggested, the fact that this board is narrow ILM was the issue for the cooler I was trying to use. I found other forum posts with folks saying they were able to contact Noctua to have them send narrow ILM brackets for the NH-D9L but I can't confirm.

Instead I went ahead and purchased a NH-U9DX i4, which came with narrow ILM brackets in-box. I can also confirm you can access all 8 DIMM slots with the heatsink still installed, but the two closest to the CPU requires a bit of bravery. While the point about consumer hardware never being able to able to meet the spec of true enterprise gear, including heatsinks, is valid I nonetheless went with Noctua since it fits my homelab needs well. Hope this helps!

 

[ian351c]

Just adding on that I have a similar motherboard (Supermicro X10-SRL-F) and I have the exact same Noctua cooler on it. The DIMMs closest to the CPU are indeed not for the faint of heart, but it's been working for me fine for three years now.