Pictures (as promised) of DrKK's New Build

[m0nkey_]

pimp

 

[anodos]

That dirty floor bothers me

Indeed. @DrKK don't you have minions who are supposed to clean up after you? Looks like they need to earn their keep!

Then again, my minions don't clean up after me either. They even object to being called "minions" I need to review their contract.

 

[joeschmuck]

I'm glad to see your power consumption is on par with mine, I pull 57 watts but I have 2 more hard drives in my case.

About the CPU cooler orientation, something to consider. The Voltage Regulator Modules (VRM's) (to the left of the CPU) have a nice heatsink on them. Typically a CPU heatsink would be oriented to push air towards the rear of the case and thus push some air over the VRM's to keep them cool. I would at least check out the temperature of the VRM's heatsink to see how hot it's getting. I have no idea what is okay and what is too hot other than the IPMI specs state 100C is the upper limit, that is hot!. Mine is currently 38C/101F as measured by an IR thermometer on the heatsink and 47C through IPMI. I'm not going to make any assumptions on why the large difference between the motherboard sensor and IR on the heatsink but I'm sure it's a few factors but that doesn't matter here. So keep that in the back of your mind.

As for the orientation of your hard drives, I think that is fine because it's easier to replace a failed drive by opening only one panel vice both, however I too dressed my cables up behind the drives because it looks good and to improve air flow.

Speaking of air flow, sine you got baby in the corner... How many fans do you have in the front of the case? If you have two fans running at say 7VDC (a nice slow spin) then that should provide you with enough cooling for the hard drives and keep the motherboard cool.

I really like the clean white case and it looks very spacious. How heavy is the metal, nice and thick or flimsy?

Cheers,
-Mark

 

[DrKK]

I'm glad to see your power consumption is on par with mine, I pull 57 watts but I have 2 more hard drives in my case.

About the CPU cooler orientation, something to consider. The Voltage Regulator Modules (VRM's) (to the left of the CPU) have a nice heatsink on them. Typically a CPU heatsink would be oriented to push air towards the rear of the case and thus push some air over the VRM's to keep them cool. I would at least check out the temperature of the VRM's heatsink to see how hot it's getting. I have no idea what is okay and what is too hot other than the IPMI specs state 100C is the upper limit, that is hot!. Mine is currently 38C/101F as measured by an IR thermometer on the heatsink and 47C through IPMI. I'm not going to make any assumptions on why the large difference between the motherboard sensor and IR on the heatsink but I'm sure it's a few factors but that doesn't matter here. So keep that in the back of your mind.

As for the orientation of your hard drives, I think that is fine because it's easier to replace a failed drive by opening only one panel vice both, however I too dressed my cables up behind the drives because it looks good and to improve air flow.

Speaking of air flow, sine you got baby in the corner... How many fans do you have in the front of the case? If you have two fans running at say 7VDC (a nice slow spin) then that should provide you with enough cooling for the hard drives and keep the motherboard cool.

I really like the clean white case and it looks very spacious. How heavy is the metal, nice and thick or flimsy?

Cheers,
-Mark

Sir:

I would be shocked if the VRM's heated up in this setup. I guess I can check it though. Here's what I have in IPMI:

CPU Temp: 23C
PCH Temp: 32C
System Temp: 22C
Peripheral Temp: 27C
VcpuVRM Temp: 26C
DIMMA2 Temp: 22C
DIMMB2 Temp: 21C
FAN1 (that bigass cooler): 600 R.P.M.
and then various voltages which you don't care about.

Also, can anyone think of any reason why having the cooler oriented as I have it, as long as the temperatures are fine, should be any sort of a problem?

The case comes with 2 fans; one in the front hidden behind the front stuff, I believe it's 140mm, blows directly on the 5-drive HDD cage. And I can tell the difference too, the drives in the 5 drive cage about 2-4C cooler than the one on the bottom cage. The second fan is another of the "better" Fractal Design 140mm fans in the standard rear exhaust position. I was going to add more fans, but I thought I'd see how this went first, and it's dead dead silent, and the temps are more than acceptable, so I was going to roll with it. And that's with the case fan controller set to max. I have the IPMI fan control for the CPU fan on "optimal speed" which I believe is code for "slow", as evidenced by the 600 RPM.

The metal thickness is definitely above average, but not premium. With the side panels off, there is negligible flimsiness, and with the case assembled, it's a brickhaus.

 

[Stux]

I'd run prime95 for a few hours then check the vrm etc temps. The vrms heat up when the CPU is under load.

With over locker motherboards the vrms only start getting real hot when you're pumping way more wattage into the CPU than standard. Ie when overclocked.

Not sure how that applies to SM boards though :)

If you're temps are fine then the CPU cooler in that orientation is fine, especially since You have the top vent open.

 

[DrKK]

I'd run prime95 for a few hours then check the vrm etc temps. The vrms heat up when the CPU is under load.

With over locker motherboards the vrms only start getting real hot when you're pumping way more wattage into the CPU than standard. Ie when overclocked.

Not sure how that applies to SM boards though :)

If you're temps are fine then the CPU cooler in that orientation is fine, especially since You have the top vent open.

Once I saw all the LEDs, I knew I had to have all vents open for the resplendent glory to dance upon the walls like a million Pleiades and Hesperides. Let there be LED !

 

[m0nkey_]

 

[DrKK]

I believe it was that great philosopher, Arianus Grandus Maximus, of Boca Raton, who said:

If my 'real' ain't real enough?
Then I don't know what is.

 

[joeschmuck]

Also, can anyone think of any reason why having the cooler oriented as I have it, as long as the temperatures are fine, should be any sort of a problem?

Other than the VRM's I mentioned, there is no issue with the orientation of the CPU heatsink at all. Meaning that there is no mounting/interface issue nor cooling issue with your setup. If you had a card blocking/reducing the CPU fan air flow, that would be a different story.

CPU Temp: 23C
PCH Temp: 32C
System Temp: 22C
Peripheral Temp: 27C
VcpuVRM Temp: 26C
DIMMA2 Temp: 22C
DIMMB2 Temp: 21C

Wow! Great temps. I have a 50% CPU load, I keep forgetting about that Ubuntu VM I have running.

As for the 140mm fan, I found out that due to all the vent holes in my case that the rear fan was useless, all the heat was rising out the top. And with your CPU fan already pushing it out, you really don't need the 140mm fan in the back. I recommend you consider moving it to the fron of the case if it will fit there. This will produce a good possitive pressure of air and cool that lower hard drive. You could also space those drive apart a little bit to allow more air flow (less back pressure) which will result in better cooling. Just a thought. If you could induce smoke into the case to watch the air flow then you could see where it all goes. Maybe you know someon who does the Vaping thing and use them to your advantage. A photo of something like that would be pretty cool.

 

[Ericloewe]

All the LEDs are even causing Firefox an ocean away to mess up the rendering of scrolling pages.

 

[m0nkey_]

 

[DrKK]

As for the 140mm fan, I found out that due to all the vent holes in my case that the rear fan was useless, all the heat was rising out the top. And with your CPU fan already pushing it out, you really don't need the 140mm fan in the back. I recommend you consider moving it to the fron of the case if it will fit there

That's very reasonable. Might check it out

 

[Stux]

Other than the VRM's I mentioned, there is no issue with the orientation of the CPU heatsink at all. Meaning that there is no mounting/interface issue nor cooling issue with your setup. If you had a card blocking/reducing the CPU fan air flow, that would be a different story.


Wow! Great temps. I have a 50% CPU load, I keep forgetting about that Ubuntu VM I have running.

As for the 140mm fan, I found out that due to all the vent holes in my case that the rear fan was useless, all the heat was rising out the top. And with your CPU fan already pushing it out, you really don't need the 140mm fan in the back. I recommend you consider moving it to the fron of the case if it will fit there. This will produce a good possitive pressure of air and cool that lower hard drive. You could also space those drive apart a little bit to allow more air flow (less back pressure) which will result in better cooling. Just a thought. If you could induce smoke into the case to watch the air flow then you could see where it all goes. Maybe you know someon who does the Vaping thing and use them to your advantage. A photo of something like that would be pretty cool.

Little bit of incense works too. That should go with the LEDs ;)

 

[anodos]

@DrKK should replace his signature with this.

 

[Dice]

I recommend you consider moving it to the fron of the case if it will fit there. This will produce a good possitive pressure of air and cool that lower hard drive. You could also space those drive apart a little bit to allow more air flow (less back pressure) which will result in better cooling. Just a thought.

+1
Very good recommendation.
ADditional positive pressure also mitigates quite a lot of incoming falling dust debris via the roof ventilation. I've verified this 2 builds currently.

 

[BloodyIron]

Y u no hotswap?

Although, who knows if DrKK` will see this, I think he still has me on ignore >.>

 

[joeschmuck]

@DrKK Now that you have owned this system for almost a month, what do you think of the case and have you done anything like rearranging fans or something to make it better in your opinion?

I'm looking to buy a new case and while this case looks interesting, I'd appreciate your opinion and if there are any pitfalls to be aware of. I'm also not afraid to modify the case if needed but hopefully this case wouldn't need it.

Thanks,
-Mark

 

[DrKK]

@DrKK Now that you have owned this system for almost a month, what do you think of the case and have you done anything like rearranging fans or something to make it better in your opinion?

I'm looking to buy a new case and while this case looks interesting, I'd appreciate your opinion and if there are any pitfalls to be aware of. I'm also not afraid to modify the case if needed but hopefully this case wouldn't need it.

Thanks,
-Mark

First:

Since vBSDCon is like 5 miles away from your house, can I assume you're going? I will be giving a talk.

Second:

I'm real happy with the case. It's really palatial in terms of space. I opened up all of the vents and stuff, I like the look of it. I didn't bother moving around the case fans. My drives never get above 30 in that thing, usually much less. Would buy again. The pre-installed fans are literally whisper quiet at full throttle. Takes some getting used to, I always think my server is crashed/off when I walk in the room.

The only "pitfalls" really that I found, as outlined elsewhere:

1) You do have to remove that one pre-installed guide pin---it's apparently designed for full ATX and ITX only, and it is in the way of a microATX motherboard.

2) You don't get a lot of clearance from the side panels to the SATA connectors on the drives, unless you mount them with the interfaces facing inward (which is quite easy to do, since the access from the other panel is open).

It's a very good looking case. Definitely more than twice as nice as cases half the price, so it is a force multiplier, and it easily holds 8 drives or whatever.

DrKK recommends.
+1 Fractal Design

 

[anodos]

First:

Since vBSDCon is like 5 miles away from your house, can I assume you're going? I will be giving a talk.

Is your talk about travelling to Vegas to watch Britney Spears or something else? Will you upload the materials afterwards? I'm too lazy to google.

 

[BobCochran]

I've been following this thread with interest. I think I want to do something like it: keep the Supermicro X11SSM-F(O) motherboard and use an Intel Xeon E3-1230 V5 processor. Use liquid cooling for the processor, such as the Corsair H series liquid coolers. Install an LSI 9211-8i SAS HBA since I have 15 hard drives.