Re-Build Thread

[Jason Evans]

Alright, so it was time for an upgrade. I need to downgrade my server blade first. My space will be limited very soon, so I need to switch to a tower style case. Tear down was easy as expected, except when I got to the raid card in the server blade. For whatever reason, the SAS cables were extremely difficult to remove. First issue. Now on to the build. It was pretty straight forward as any tower build usually is. I can say that the case I used is pretty good for what I need. Ran into on issue, the raid card didn't want to see my HD's for some reason. So i decided to switch the ports on the card, still no dice. Here's where I thought I could reuse the old cables from the server blade. Well after 20 mins of searching the net, I decided to just switch to the new cables I bought. booted up, and boom, in business. After that is was pretty smooth sailing. No major issues to report after that. 1 mem stick did die before the switch, and that's fine as I have plenty to use.

Also wanted to mention @Chris Moore for giving me all the suggestion on the hardware I purchased!

Parts used. All new to the build
PSU
MOBO
Case I got the very last one on Newegg.
Cables + Mini Sas + Sata power, intenrnal SAS, longer SAS for SSD's
SAS Expander
CPU
CPU heatsink look at the side by side pics to see why.

Old parts used
12x 2TB HGST NAS drivers. I pad a little less when I got them.
2x Intel 80GB SSD's
32GB ECC 1333 mem. No link as it came in the server blade.

Old Dell blade if anyone cares. Super close to what I have.

Got a few other random bits to assist with the build process like this TOOL KIT, and 2 of these. I chose those for temporary use until I can order a few new SSD's. And lastly THIS guy, just in case anything went wacky on the mobo USB header.

Ok, on to the build pics. :)

Old Dell sever blade.

New Case

Random Case bits included

MOBO and CPU

Heat sink side by side and in case

Heat sink clearance

Case with no HD's in

HD's in

And finally the finished product

Ok, so I have a bit more cable management to get done. There are a few odd bits bothering me from that last pic, but overall the it's complete and running. I also plan to get a few ICY docks to put into the 5.25" bays for the SSD's. I wanted to see if I had room to just throw them up top, which I do. But for cleanliness sake, I am going to do it proper.

I think that's it.

Thanks for looking :0

 

[Chris Moore]

What is the reason for the honking big video card?

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[Jason Evans]

What is the reason for the honking big video card?

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Going to test some Android emulators so wanted to try passthrough.

 

[joeinaz]

I have the exact same case and motherboard; I also have the Lian Li SATA backplanes installed. For my SSDs I installed a dual removable 2.5" solution in one of my 5.25" bays.

 

[Jason Evans]

I have the exact same case and motherboard; I also have the Lian Li SATA backplanes installed. For my SSDs I installed a dual removable 2.5" solution in one of my 5.25" bays.

Oh sweet. So I'm not the only one. Would you might linking the back plane and SSD solution? Please and thank you [emoji120]

Did you find cable management easy?

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[pro lamer]

MOBO
(...)
CPU

E5-2650 V2 CPU and an X10 mobo?

 

[Chris Moore]

MOBO

E5-2650 V2 CPU and an X10 mobo?

It is actually an X9SRL-F. You can see if you zoom in on the photos. The link is not correct.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Superm...2011-DDR3-ATX-Server-Motherboard/202340882106

There are none listed at the moment. It is a really good board. I have two of them.

 

[Jason Evans]

E5-2650 V2 CPU and an X10 mobo?

It's closest one they had up. Original one I bought isn't available.

It is actually an X9SRL-F. You can see if you zoom in on the photos. The link is not correct.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Superm...2011-DDR3-ATX-Server-Motherboard/202340882106

There are none listed at the moment. It is a really good board. I have two of them.

Chris is correct. Board is pretty darn good so far.

Edit: I forgot to mention in the OP. But pics show that board did come with a heat sink. Used, but it would be better to buy the one linked. Cpu is sitting at 29C.

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[joeinaz]

Oh sweet. So I'm not the only one. Would you might linking the back plane and SSD solution? Please and thank you [emoji120]

Did you find cable management easy?

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Several points:

1. The backplanes make disk management easy as the disks can be removed from the backplane without uncabling the disk. Almost as good as a removable frame but not quite.

2. The backplanes make disk cabling easier because each of the four backplanes power 3 disks with only two SATA power connectors.

3. To further reduce cabling, I used two 4 in one SATA power splitters. Since each of the backplanes uses 2 SATA connectors, I am able to connect my 12 disks and require only 2 SATA power ports. Technically I could run all 12 disks off a single SATA cable but I choose to use two separate power connections to my power supply.

4. I used a third SATA power connection to attach my SSD and Tape Drive.

5. Finally, a modular power supply is key to good cable management in a NAS solution. As an example, FreeNAS deployments rarely require PCI power connectors so removing those cables saves on cable mess and improves airflow through the system.

My power supply basically has a total of 5 cables connecting everything in the system. A total of 4 SATA power connectors are used.

As for the parts you requested:

Backplane: BP3SATA
2.5" Enclosure (several models): Syba SI-MRA25030, Vantec Nexstar MRK-5259T, Byytec BT-M-251-BK
SATA power splitter: Startech PYO4SATA

I can send pictures if it helps...

 

[Chris Moore]

You can upload photos directly to the forum.

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[Jason Evans]

Several points:

1. The backplanes make disk management easy as the disks can be removed from the backplane without uncabling the disk. Almost as good as a removable frame but not quite.

2. The backplanes make disk cabling easier because each of the four backplanes power 3 disks with only two SATA power connectors.

3. To further reduce cabling, I used two 4 in one SATA power splitters. Since each of the backplanes uses 2 SATA connectors, I am able to connect my 12 disks and require only 2 SATA power ports. Technically I could run all 12 disks off a single SATA cable but I choose to use two separate power connections to my power supply.

4. I used a third SATA power connection to attach my SSD and Tape Drive.

5. Finally, a modular power supply is key to good cable management in a NAS solution. As an example, FreeNAS deployments rarely require PCI power connectors so removing those cables saves on cable mess and improves airflow through the system.

My power supply basically has a total of 5 cables connecting everything in the system. A total of 4 SATA power connectors are used.

As for the parts you requested:

Backplane: BP3SATA
2.5" Enclosure (several models): Syba SI-MRA25030, Vantec Nexstar MRK-5259T, Byytec BT-M-251-BK
SATA power splitter: Startech PYO4SATA

I can send pictures if it helps...

Quite a bit of info there [emoji41] I fully understand backplanes. I was just mainly curious on which one you used, since you mentioned we are using the same case. I cruised around a little didn't much online Lian-Li site for them. My PSU I linked in the OP is fully modular [emoji6] some pictures would be awesome if you them available?

Thanks

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[joeinaz]

Quite a bit of info there [emoji41] I fully understand backplanes. I was just mainly curious on which one you used, since you mentioned we are using the same case. I cruised around a little didn't much online Lian-Li site for them. My PSU I linked in the OP is fully modular [emoji6] some pictures would be awesome if you them available?

Thanks

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The part number is BP3SATA and is available from Amazon among others. There are 3 backplanes available; the one I chose houses 3 disks. The inside of my case won't look as nice as yours because my EATX motherboard wipes out many of the cable management cutouts. Also, I have not done any formal cable management yet on that side of the case. I will try to get pics in the near future...

 

[joeinaz]

Quite a bit of info there [emoji41] I fully understand backplanes. I was just mainly curious on which one you used, since you mentioned we are using the same case. I cruised around a little didn't much online Lian-Li site for them. My PSU I linked in the OP is fully modular [emoji6] some pictures would be awesome if you them available?

Thanks

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I forgot, I posted pics awhile ago at this thread:

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/12x6tb-1240v5-lian-li-a76.62239/page-2

 

[pro lamer]

Technically I could run all 12 disks off a single SATA cable but I choose to use two separate power connections to my power supply.

Some folks in these forums warned even against SATA -> 2xSATA splitters...

SATA power splitter: Startech PYO4SATA

It is 18AWG... https://www.startech.com/Cables/Com...-SATA-Power-Y-Splitter-Cable-Adapter~PYO4SATA

@folks: My noob's idea: Is there a way joeinaz can validate his cable?

 

[joeinaz]

Some folks in these forums warned even against SATA -> 2xSATA splitters...


It is 18AWG... https://www.startech.com/Cables/Com...-SATA-Power-Y-Splitter-Cable-Adapter~PYO4SATA

@folks: My noob's idea: Is there a way joeinaz can validate his cable?

Some folks in these forums warned even against SATA -> 2xSATA splitters...

No power problem so far; I think the concern is the amp rating of a single SATA connector. The 4 way splitter plugs the current of 4 drives into one SATA connector. An alternative will be to use a single splitter (one into two) at the end of the supplied cable.

 

[joeinaz]

Interesting site for power and cabling...

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

The bottom line is the SATA connector is good for about 4.5A. At startup, a four 3.5" disks may generate almost twice that. To be safe, there are two immediate options:

1. Replace the 4 way splitter with a 2 way splitter.
2. Look in to staggered start options.

While the 4 way splitter works because the given specs are conservative and "risk period" (during spin up) is minimal, it is not best practice so I will look to alternatives.

 

[Bidule0hm]

We saw even 2 way SATA splitters burn so most of use will not recommend them (for example...). However you can use molex to SATA splitters without a problem because molex connectors can handle a lot more current (but 1 to 4 is pushing it, I don't recommend that).

 

[Chris Moore]

Here is a good video that explains the problem with why some SATA power adapters fail and others do not:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TataDaUNEFc