Log Passively cooled X300M-STX server build with ECC RAM, iGPU, TPUs, 10GbE, IPMI, 10TB SSD

gagarin61

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jan 7, 2021
19
6
I'm looking to build a small factor server around the ASRock Deskmini X300M-STX. My uses cases are running VMs for learning Kubernetes and machine learning, storing files, web development and running a couple of services I need for myself such as Plex or Jellyfin.

The components I've come up with are the following, with the reasoning behind it:
  • ASRock Deskmini X300M-STX
    It seems like the best alternative when trying to minimize cost and physical volume.
  • AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G 8 cores, 16 threads, Radeon Vega 8, 7nm
    Many cores and threads useful for running a bunch of VMs. Somewhat powerful integrated GPU for GPU based workloads. Will undervolt the CPU. Ryzen Pro has DASH for remote management which I'm interested in trying out combined with Pi KVM (see further down).
  • Alpenföhn Black Ridge CPU cooler
    Already had this one. Hopefully it'll be able to cool the Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G without a fan once undervolted. Otherwise I'll get a larger cooler. Will require some modification to the X300M-STX case.
  • 2x Micron MTA18ASF4G72HZ-3G2B1 DDR4 3200 MHz ECC SO-DIMM
    ECC for protection against data corruption. 3200 MHz is the fastest ECC SO-DIMM memory I could find. Hopefully I can overclock it a little bit at least. And even more hopefully it'll work with the X300M-STX, will be interesting to try out.
  • SAMSUNG 970 Plus NVMe SSD 2TB
    Found it cheap during Black Friday. Samsung seems to be good enough at making SSDs.
  • 2x SAMSUNG 870 QVO SATA3 SSD 4TB
    QLC may not be the fastest SSDs around, but they are cheap and quiet. Good enough for me! Not sure if I'm going to mirror these or rely solely on 3-2-1 backup and running these striped or as individual disks.
  • Intel X520-DA1 10GbE SFP+ via ADT-Link M.2 Key M to PCI Express x4
    I have both of these already, so I might as well make use of them. Intel X520 seems decent enough and ADT-Link seems to be the go-to for M.2 to PCI Express adapters.
  • Google Coral M.2 Accelerator with Dual Edge TPU
    Low power, low cost dual TPU for machine learning inference. Makes use of the M.2 Key E slot on the X300M-STX.
  • SAMSUNG FIT Plus USB 3.1 Flash Drive 128GB
    Small and simple USB boot drive.
  • Raspberry Pi Zero based IPMI
    Since the X300M-STX obviously has no IPMI support, I'm going to add it using PiKVM running on a Raspberry Pi Zero. I have a Lusya HDMI to CSI-2 adapter I'm not using, and I'm interested in trying to develop a plugin to make PiKVM work with the DASH based remote power management features of the AMD Ryzen Pro. That way I can skip all the soldering.
This should make for a silent, yet small and powerful server I recon. Any input on the parts or my reasoning behind the choices? Once the system is built and tested I'm interested in designing and building a custom Motif Monument-esque case for the build.

Thanks in advance for any input and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
 

thewizzard1

Airflow Optimizer
Jan 27, 2017
333
248
I snagged a 4700G on Ebay pretty cheaply, but also there's a couple HP computers floating around with the 4700G for pretty cheap, like $450 at times.

One could snag for $450, swap in a cheap Ryzen 3200G, and resell for almost the same price.
 

gagarin61

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jan 7, 2021
19
6
After speaking with ASRock over several days I've reached the conclusion that the DeskMini X300 won't fit my requirements. It doesn't support ECC memory and according to their technical staff it won't even POST with ECC memory. ASRock Rack X570D4I-2T it is then!
 

another.jan.doe

What's an ITX?
New User
Feb 19, 2021
1
0
After speaking with ASRock over several days I've reached the conclusion that the DeskMini X300 won't fit my requirements. It doesn't support ECC memory and according to their technical staff it won't even POST with ECC memory. ASRock Rack X570D4I-2T it is then!
Hi gagarin. I'm trying to build my new machine with X570D4I-2T, 5950X, and MTA18ASF4G72HZ-3G2B1. But I'm not sure if they are compatiable.

Have you tried to use this ASRock motherboard with the memory?