Supermicro 847E16 Case, swapping motherboard

[Keresian]

Not looking to replace it right just minute, but I got a good deal on a 847E16 with a front and rear backplane to get access to 36 drives(sas2-846EL1 & sas2-826EL1 rear). It is using a "8" series supermicro board and dual xeon.

Would I be correct in assuming if I upgraded to a "10" or "11" series board, that the backplanes should work fine with it? I want to make sure i'm not going to be wasting my time by trying to get it all wired and working together if its not going to be compatible. They would be plugged into an sas 9211-8i HBA.

I'm looking to chuck a "couple" wd red's into this beast and use it for lots of storage, and some plex encoding. Just trying to plan a 'backup' for if it doesn't perform well enough :)

 

[danb35]

Would I be correct in assuming if I upgraded to a "10" or "11" series board, that the backplanes should work fine with it?

Don't see why not. They're standard SAS2 backplanes, so a standard SAS2 controller ought to work just fine. I have the same chassis, and I'm feeding it with my motherboard's built-in SAS2 HBA; it's working just fine (though admittedly the rear backplane is empty right now). The motherboard form factors are pretty much standard, and you should be able to match enough standoff locations on the chassis to holes on your motherboard for everything to work.

If/when you do change the motherboard, be aware that it's on a slide-out tray which gives pretty easy access to everything. The chassis manual will explain it. That tray also gives you access to space on the bottom between the backplanes, where you can install brackets to mount up to four 2.5" fixed drives, or two 3.5" fixed drives.

 

[depasseg]

The only issue I've seen with some backplanes is hooking a SAS2 BP to a SAS3 HBA. I would avoid that.

 

[Keresian]

Awesome, Thanks for the replies and the tips on what to watch out for. I'm hopeful for what i plan to use it, it wont have any issues and this will have been a discussion of theory. Otherwise, it will assist with my shopping :)

 

[Dice]

Isnt there a difference in the IO/front panel connectors between X8 and X11?
When I checked the X8 in 847, I "kind of noticed" a different set of pins was used to operate the front panel. If this set of pins are still used on X11, I cannot tell. I'd like some confirmation.

 

[Keresian]

I think it isn't the fact it's an X8, but the backplane just isn't a Sas2 on yours maybe? Total guess since I've not seen them. Definitely something I'd love confirmation on as well.

 

[Keresian]

Any tips for reducing the noise of the 847? I've seen mention of moving some of the fans to the motherboard so they aren't going full tilt 24x7. I'm only going to be using 18 of the available 36 slots for quite awhile, so seems a bit overkill on the noise and cooling. Has anyone successfully replaced the fans with quieter models that still cool awesome?

 

[danb35]

Can't help you there, I'm afraid. Even with the stock fans and only 18 drives in my install, I'm having trouble keeping them under 40 C, and the Seagate NAS drives I just bought are pushing 45 C. I could turn the fans up higher, but that gets quite a bit louder.

 

[Keresian]

Ah well, can't have insane storage and 0 sound I guess.. I will have to research and see what I can do. I'm wondering if I space the drives out between the 36 slots if it'll stay cooler.. if that's even possible.

 

[Dice]

I suspect that some of the provided temps in the 846, 847 is skewed due to environmental factors.
There are some points going on here:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/building-new-vs-buying-an-old-server.44666/

I'd say, if you havent heard one IRL in a 'home environment' before you won't be ready for what is ahead. It is really that bad.
I got one myself, did some experimenting to get the noise level suppressed enough for use in another room tucked away in a closet. Still could'nt handle the added noise to the apartment. I've not given up just yet, since I'm balls deep invested in that metal wreck.

Me as a fileserver enthusiast, still cannot put up with it inspite of it granting a frigging 144GB of RAM and a bunch of cores - still chooses to let it sit disconnected.

Then it's loud. That loud.

 

[Keresian]

Thanks for the details. I work in a data center, so have heard the amazing windtunnel of a bunch of racks of servers blowing all over. I have heard, in general, the noise a single machine makes in the basement of a house - Haven't necissarily heard it from a SM case. I'm not worried much about wind noise, just whine, which i've been searching for ways to reduce myself. Like you said, it will be a balance of heat vs noise. I am hopeful with this thing in the basement beside the AC blower, it won't be as noticeable once I move the fans to the mb.

 

[Dice]

@Keresian then you've all the experience one can ask for in this matter. That is great! In particular I appreciate your differentiation of wind noise vs whine.
I'd throw in a note on PSU's. From my readings, there is a HUGE range in noise among different product families/generations of SM psu's. The one's I have are the <whining> kind. A single 1200w unit easily over powers 7 standard SC847 fans, at conservative speed settings.
Some googling suggests that a swap to a more recent platinum or titanium certified psu would immensely reduce overall whine.
The model number I have are : PWS-1K41P-1R. 1400w Gold rated. These should be avoided, scrapped or repurposed elsewhere than in a home environment (anything closer than a shed on the yard is a big nono). The problem is that even with adequate ambient temperature, - the unit doesnt need to surpass 24c before being the most notable source of noise from the machine.

Best of luck!

 

[depasseg]

I tried changing fans in my SC847 to Noctua, but I couldn't get enough air movement, and my drive temps quickly rose. I found that my PSU fans weren't that loud (I tested them without any system fans in the system and I really couldn't hear them). I moved the system fans to the motherboard and the noise was much more tolerable, so that's what I've been living with. I think I posted some youtube links to some tests I did to compare the sounds.

 

[Keresian]

Thanks for all the suggestions and tips. At this point, I'm waiting for the server to arrive, and if they power supplies ( they are the ones DICE mentioned ) are as whiny as I fear, I already plan on grabbing a couple PWS-1K28P-SQ as replacements.

 

[Dice]

I found an unusually cheap deal on PWS-1K28P-SQ and placed an order. (When located in Scandinavia, US ebay prices are basically doubled to accomodate for shipping and import taxes. This applied to both the server itself and a single unit PSU. I'm pot committed x)

I wish I had a garage or some sort of arrangement where I could put the server further away than a few feet. (I live in 400sqft appartment - not ideal for housing server gear to say the least :P)

 

[Keresian]

The beat arrived and is assembled. I already swapped out the PS with the SQ ones ( one of the two i received is DoA though, so waiting for a replacement for that ). From what I can tell from the sensors, 4 of the fans are already plugged into the MB, because i see RPMs that are < 7000. It appears the other 3 are wired into full-on-whine-like-hell power, so I have to figure out the case setup to swap their power cords to the other fan spots.

I was correct that hiding in the basement is a good idea, especially until I can move the fans over :).. cause it is.... louder than one would hope.

On a positive note, I've been running it for a day, with 12 drives, and its only "maxed" at 320 watts, so i shouldnt have any power issues.

 

[philhu]

look at my sig

I exchanged out the std fans in that chassis to the SM ones listed. Had to move the fan boxes to the new fans, a bit of a pain, but my noise is way down and my disks (seagate nm series) sit at 44, all 22 of them. i am not using the back 12 bays - yet