Supermicro Xeon D 1521 Overheating on Stress Tests

[MrToddsFriends]

Would you recommend swapping out the stock Node 304 fans?

The stock intake fans of my Node 304 didn't start reliably start with the low speed fan controller position. Most possibly you would have already noticed if your copy had this (fan controller?) problem, too. Surely I could have urged a replacement from the retailer back then. I decided to order two Noctua NF-A9 PWM fans to have them monitored by the motherboard instead.

I don't use any fan related scripts so far, simply because I did not see the need to do so. All my WD Red 3TB disks did not get hotter than 41°C during their whole life (3 years) with the Noctua intake fans constantly spinning at their minimum speed (400rpm). Of course this will depend on number and model of HDDs as well as the location of your server.

After managing your CPU temperature problem you should look closely at the HDD temperatures at high room temperatures (e.g. in summer or at temperatures to be expected) with high HDD load (during a scrub, for instance) to control the functionality of your targeted cooling solution.

 

[chrisolson09]

After managing your CPU temperature problem

Alright so I think I'm getting a bit closer to solving this problem cooling problem. Your suggestion about getting into the IPMI has helped a ton. The cpu fan mode was set to "optimal". Which says that it should auto adjust based on system needs and power performance. I assume that means that the speed should go up when the load increases?? I was monitoring the speed as I was running the stress test and it wasn't going up much at all! In fact at times it would drop to 500 rpm and it would give me a red warning for a second until it went back up to like 600-700. That's where it sat most of the time. Once in a while it would jump to around 1500 or so but not much. I think this is why I'm getting such hot temps. I adjust the fan mode to full speed and then it was running at 3000 rpm. I ran the stress test again and this time my temps stabilized at 59C

Do you have any idea why the fan wouldn't be increasing rpm's like it should while under load? Could this be a bios software problem??

 

[MrToddsFriends]

In fact at times it would drop to 500 rpm and it would give me a red warning for a second until it went back up to like 600-700.

IPMI sensor thresholds can be can be change using ipmitool (from FreeNAS console) or ipmiutil (remotely).
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...nge-ipmi-sensor-thresholds-using-ipmitool.35/
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...nge-ipmi-sensor-thresholds-using-ipmiutil.34/

Do you have any idea why the fan wouldn't be increasing rpm's like it should while under load? Could this be a bios software problem??

I'm afraid that I can't help here. There's always a certain chance that PWM fan controllers and fans don't match to each other. You are not running the CPU fan on the FAN4/FANA ("second zone") fan header, correct? Maybe this is the time I would take a look at Stux' fan script.

 

[chrisolson09]

You are not running the CPU fan on the FAN4/FANA ("second zone") fan header, correct?

Actually I am! ...is running it off of that fan header a problem? After reading this from Stux's build I thought it made sense to have the cpu fan on Fan 4 cause it was the only header for that zone. That way if I ever wanted to could replace the stock fans and have them all be in the same zone (at this point in my learning I really have no idea of the implications of the different fan zones lol)

Quote from Stux: "The X10SDV v2.0 boards supports 4 fans and has 2 fan zones. Fans 1-3 are Fan Zone 0 and Fan 4 is Fan Zone 1. From the factory, the CPU fan is connected to Fan 1. This means all your HD and Exhaust fans need to be ganged off of Fan 4. Or alternatively, you can extend the CPU fan with one of the Noctua fan extension leads to Fan 4, and then connect the HD fans to Fan 1 and 3 and the Exhaust fan to Fan 2."

I can definitely change it to Fan header 1 and see if that makes a difference.

 

[MrToddsFriends]

Actually I am!

Just for comparison:
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?resources/supermicro-x9-x10-x11-fan-speed-control.20/

 

[chrisolson09]

Just for comparison:
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?resources/supermicro-x9-x10-x11-fan-speed-control.20/

Oh that seems to make a lot of sense...I'm just thinking out loud, maybe since I have the CPU fan connected to Fan 4 (second/peripheral zone) it's speed is being adjusted based on the PCH temps not the CPU temps...and since the PCH temps may not be nearly has high as the CPU it's not thinking it needs to adjust the fan speed.

I'll try changing the fan to Fan1 header and see if that makes the difference.

 

[chrisolson09]

IPMI sensor thresholds can be can be change using ipmitool (from FreeNAS console) or ipmiutil (remotely).

Sooo I think i've finally got this problem whipped!...I figured out how to change the fan thresholds and now everything seems to be working good. the fan rpm increases as the cpu load increases...in my stress tests my cpu temp is hovering right around 70C which doesn't seem too bad.

Thank you for all your help with this. No way could i have got this figured out without your advice!!

 

[diskdiddler]

How do you find the noise of the system with the fan on high? If it’s noctua it’s still fairly quiet, right?


I’m going to build the same case and some kind of super micro rig in the next 12 months and I want it under 60c for sure but with a reasonable volume.


How’s the stock 304 fans? Should I replace those with noctua as well?

Finally how’s that cpu? I either want denverton or Xeon d, can’t decide which one for my needs, what do you run on it?

 

[chrisolson09]

How do you find the noise of the system with the fan on high? If it’s noctua it’s still fairly quiet, right?

I haven't really checked the noise levels with the fans on high. I have them on medium all the time and the temps never get above 60 unless I'm really loading the system.

How’s the stock 304 fans? Should I replace those with noctua as well?

the stock fans seem fine to me. The only noctua i have is cpu fan, the rest are stock. It's in my living room currently and on medium I can't even hear it. I'd try it out first and see how you like the stock ones and then swap out if need be.

Finally how’s that cpu? I either want denverton or Xeon d, can’t decide which one for my needs, what do you run on it?

I really like the CPU! a tad pricey but it's a fairly beefy processor in a small form factor. I'm planning on using it for a Plex Media server. haven't got around to testing it with that but in all my research it seems to be more than capable of handling that. I also may put a virutal machine on it at some point.