Log SolidServe - A Semi-Passive X99 Server Build

enricko7

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Original poster
Jun 12, 2018
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Welcome to my semi-ambitious, semi-passively cooled X99 Server build log. This will take a long time to reach 'endgame' completion levels, but that's fine with me.

Some of the Why behind this build:
I have a lot of physical media. My parents collected CDs and DVDs like crazy and I have a decent amount of Blu-Rays. However, physical media takes up a lot of room, so I want to digitize all of them. That way I can keep what I want physical copies of, and do whatever with the rest. I have a full tower that has been helpful for starting to things, but I want to go SFF/more space efficient.

Why the HDPlex H5.2?
  • Passive Cooling (advertised up to a 95W TDP CPU)
  • It can fit an ATX motherboard
  • Rackmount form factor (<20L is a huge bonus, and the case is 18.3L with/16.8L without the front handles)
  • Two backplates allow for different expansion card configs, but I mostly want the plethura of half-height slots.
  • Space for 2.5" or 3.5" drives and maybe a slim optical drive with some modding of the front panel. Might go external drive... we'll cross that bridge later.

PCPartPicker Part List for SolidServe.v1 (updated 21/1/16): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mfMqNP

Case: HDPlex H5 Gen2​
PSU: [have] HDPlex 400W AC/DC/ATX Combo​
CPU: [have] Intel Xeon E5-2640 V3 2.6 GHz 8-Core Processor​
Motherboard: [have] Asus X99-WS/IPMI ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard​
RAM: [have] VLP DDR4​
Boot SSD: [have] MyDigitalSSD SBXe 960GB​
PCIe Card: [have] Asus PCE-AX58BT PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi Adapter​
PCIe Card: [have] AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 4 GB Video Card​
PCIe Card: [have] LSI 9207-8e​
PCIe Card: [have] Icy Dock ToughArmor MB840M2P-B​
PCIe Card: [have] Icy Dock ToughArmor MB840M2P-B​
Bulk Storage: [have] Toshiba X300 5 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive​
Bulk Storage: [have] Toshiba X300 5 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive​
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-XS07UHD​
Case Fan: Startech PCIe Slot Rear-Exhaust Fan​
Operating System: [have] Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Full - USB 32/64-bit​


PCPartPicker estimates wattage of this build at 265W so I can probably run the PSU without a fan, but I'll probably use the stock fan anyways. I have a set of what Larry at HDPlex calls 'racks' for mounting the cpu copper block to the LGA2011-v3 socket. Yes, I know that my cpu socket is rotated sideways. I got the motherboard specifically because it's rotated. I love gimmicks like that, but it requires the VLP RAM. All in all, I should be able to fit what I need on the motherboard and still cool the cpu.

The spare full height pcie slot over the motherboard is where I plan to install the PCIe slot case fan. Not sure if I can adjust the speed of the case fan I have listed (it has Molex connector for power but only uses +/-), but I plan to mod the connector to plug into the cpu fan header anyways. I'm hopeful I can use voltage control to change the speed, but if anyone knows of an off-the-shelf, pwm, pcie slot fan, drop a comment so I can get that instead.



Why do I want half height pcie slots so badly? Well, apart from using a low profile gpu (the wx3100 is hh/hl and powered by the mobo), I want to move the HDD bulk storage to a JBOD or similar enclosure and use solid state drives on the local machine. It just so happens that Icy Dock released a half height, pcie expansion card that mounts m.2 SSDs into a hot swappable chassis. Like I said, gimmicks. So, the only change from v1 to v2 is the storage. See parts list for SolidServe.v2:


PCPartPicker Part List for SolidServe.v2 (updated 21/1/16): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pZCgqp
Case: HDPlex H5 Gen2​
PSU: [have] HDPlex 400W AC/DC/ATX Combo​
CPU: [have] Intel Xeon E5-2640 V3 2.6 GHz 8-Core Processor​
Motherboard: [have] Asus X99-WS/IPMI ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard​
RAM: [have] VLP DDR4​
Boot SSD: [have] MyDigitalSSD SBXe 960GB​
PCIe Card: [have] Asus PCE-AX58BT PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi Adapter​
PCIe Card: [have] AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 4 GB Video Card​
PCIe Card: [have] LSI 9207-8e​
PCIe Card: [have] Icy Dock ToughArmor MB840M2P-B​
PCIe Card: [have] Icy Dock ToughArmor MB840M2P-B​
Internal Bulk Storage: M.2 SSD >2TB​
Internal Bulk Storage: M.2 SSD >2TB​
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-XS07UHD​
Case Fan: Startech PCIe Slot Rear-Exhaust Fan​
Operating System: [have] Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Full - USB 32/64-bit​
External Bulk Storage: Silverstone RS431S or similar chassis​
External Bulk Storage Drives: multiple [have 2] Toshiba X300 5 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drives​
 
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enricko7

SFF Lingo Aficionado
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Jun 12, 2018
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First question for the people here. VLP ECC DDR4 seems to be easier to find than non-ECC VLP RAM. Does anyone here know if ECC will play nice with Windows 10? My CPU/MoBo support ECC, so I'm thinking I'll end up going for ECC.
 

enricko7

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
Jun 12, 2018
95
50
I've sold a couple of my unused/less used pc parts and have some needed parts for this build on the way. I ended up finding some VLP ECC RAM on ebay for a decent price... not as low as I was originally hoping to get it for from Aliexpress, but not one of these ripoff hundreds of dollars per stick prices at least. Fingers crossed for those to arrive soon and work well.

Also have the WX3100 gpu on the way. Ordered new off of amazon. Not worried about waiting for sales or anything so it's on the way. Gotta make sure all of the part work and then start plugging away at the gobs of cd's and movies.
 

enricko7

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
Jun 12, 2018
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Got the gpu and VLP Memory in! They are tiny! Even the box for the GPU is tiny! With these two parts, SolidServe.v0 is complete. RAID Storage is set up as well. The seller I bought the VLP from on Ebay remarked that the DIMMs could be different part numbers, but I got lucky and all 4 match part numbers. Batch numbers are different, but I don't think that will make a difference.

Now to get to SolidServe.v1, I need to get the actual small chassis and a wireless card. I've decided I want this build to be my Homelab/data hoard. If it can act as an ethernet switch for the handful of devices in the TV Stand, replace my router, and be a NAS/Media server, that will make a big difference in cable clutter/power usage.
 
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enricko7

SFF Lingo Aficionado
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Jun 12, 2018
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50
A bit overdue for an update, but here's what's up. SolidServe.v0 has changed up a bit. I ended up buying the rest of the PCIe cards that I planned for use with this build. The v0 photo album should have a bunch of new extra stuff in it. Now I'm set to figure out a workflow for ripping and some other software setup. Planning to get the HDPlex case towards the end of the first half of the year, and that'll probably be the next update. My S4M has taken up most of my time lately so look for my build log on that.
 
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