Canteen - Server for Storage/VM/Casual Gaming

Hi there,

I am looking to start building my second unRAID server, and was hoping to get some thoughts on my parts list. The purpose of the server will be for storage, VMs, and some casual gaming (within a VM). I'd love to hear some thoughts on my parts list, particularly if there are any obvious incompatibles or pitfalls.

Case: D-316M Case

Storage:

- 4x6 TB WD Red Drives to start

- 2x256 GB Crucial M550 SSD for cache and VM

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2630 V3

RAM: 2x8GB Crucial DDR4 (ECC) - CT8G4RFS4213

GPU: EVGA 04-P4-3978-KR GeForce GTX 970

PSU: Seasonic Platinum Series X-860

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D9DX i4 3U

Fans: 2x Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX 60mm (and possibly some 80mm fans to replace the ones on the hard drive cages)

I am also thinking about an independent fan controller but I haven't looked into this yet. Does anyone have a recommendation for one that would fit in a 3.5inch slot?

Thanks in advance,

Greg

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2630 V3

RAM: 2x8GB Crucial DDR4 (ECC) - CT8G4RFS4213

As an update to myself: It looks like this RAM, though compatible with the motherboard, is incompatible with the processor. It looks like in order to utilize ECC RAM with this board, I'll need to go with the Xeon E5-1650 V3 or the Xeon E5-2650 V3. The 2650 is very expensive, and probably overkill for my application. Thoughts?

It also looks like the ASRock X99M Extreme 4 is basically the same as the X99M Killer but with a different secondary LAN port, so I'll switch to the Extreme 4.

I've now ordered most of the components. I ended up making a few different selections than was originally proposed.

- I switched to the EVGA X99 Micro motherboard. I did this to have more PWM capable fan headers

- Decided to grab Supermicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 now, rather than wait

- Increased the size of the SSDs to 512 and plan to use pooling

Here's the current list:

Case: D-316m
Motherboard: EVGA X99 Micro
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-1650 V3
GPU: EVGA 04-P4-3978-KR GeForce 970
RAM: 2x Crucial DDR4 8 GB CT8G4RFS4213 (ECC)
PSU: Seasonic Platinum Series X-860

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D9DX i4 3U
Fans (1): 2x Notcua NF-A6x25 FLX 60mm
Fans (2): 2x Noctua NF-A8 PWM 80mm

Expansion Card: Supermicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8
Cache: 2x 512GB Crucial M550 2.5 inch
Storage: 4x WD 6TB Red

...and the necessary cables.

Most of the items should arrive over the next week, I'm really looking forward to completing the build.

Hi there,

 

I am looking to start building my second unRAID server, and was hoping to get some thoughts on my parts list. The purpose of the server will be for storage, VMs, and some casual gaming (within a VM). I'd love to hear some thoughts on my parts list, particularly if there are any obvious incompatibles or pitfalls.

 

Case: D-316M Case

Storage:

- 4x6 TB WD Red Drives to start

- 2x256 GB Crucial M550 SSD for cache and VM

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2630 V3

RAM: 2x8GB Crucial DDR4 (ECC) - CT8G4RFS4213

GPU: EVGA 04-P4-3978-KR GeForce GTX 970

PSU: Seasonic Platinum Series X-860

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D9DX i4 3U

Fans: 2x Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX 60mm (and possibly some 80mm fans to replace the ones on the hard drive cages)

 

I am also thinking about an independent fan controller but I haven't looked into this yet. Does anyone have a recommendation for one that would fit in a 3.5inch slot?

 

Thanks in advance,

Greg

Officially jealous.  Nice setup. Only question is why you wouldn't just bite the bullet and do 32GB of ram?

Officially jealous.  Nice setup. Only question is why you wouldn't just bite the bullet and do 32GB of ram?

That's a fair point. When I first conceptualized it, I didn't think it was necessary so thought I'd save the money for now. In light of the recent purchases though, I might as well add 2 more sticks of RAM—I'll order some more this week.

Officially jealous.  Nice setup. Only question is why you wouldn't just bite the bullet and do 32GB of ram?

 

That's a fair point. When I first conceptualized it, I didn't think it was necessary so thought I'd save the money for now. In light of the recent purchases though, I might as well add 2 more sticks of RAM—I'll order some more this week.

I can tell yah that I have two machines I test with localized vms and one has 16 where the other has 32. Both do fine, but I doubt I would see myself going with less than 16GB.

Ok, so something I glanced over without much thought has been bugging me and finally I realized why...  I'm worried that your GTX 970 may not fit in the D-316M case you purchased.  We've had issues fitting larger form factor PCI devices (GPUs) into the case.  If the reference cooler on this card is higher than the profile of the PCB itself, the lid to the D316-M may not close.  I know that we couldn't get the case to close with my GTX 780 nor with an AMD Radeon R9 290.  Please report back after you get your gear and let me know.  I looked up the EVGA 970 you bought and it MAY fit as it seems to be slightly lower profile than other 970's I've looked at, but if it does, it'll be tight.  So long as the lid closes, you'll be fine, but that's my primary concern.

Please let me know how this card works out for you in that case.

Please let me know how this card works out for you ...

( •_•) | ( •_•)>??-? | (??_?)

...in that case.

FTFY! ;-)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Hi Jon and Chugiak,

Yikes! Embarrassingly, I didn't think of this potential issue. I've already ordered both of 'em, so I'm riding on my optimism. It'll definitely be tight.

- According to the EVGA website, the height of the card is 4.376in.

- The depth of the D-316m is 5.25 inch?

Does the D-316 come with standoffs? If so, what size are they?

Let's hope for the best!

I've already ordered both of 'em, so I'm riding on my optimism. It'll definitely be tight.

Thinking about this some more, it doesn't really matter what size the standoffs are as it'll really be based on the clearance left over from the "shelf" on the rear of the case. The card appears that it will fit (measured compared to my friends 3U case), however the power connectors are located where the top of the case will need to close. I do not think these will allow for enough clearance.

A few options:

1) New Case

2) New GPU with different power connector locations/orientations

3) Low-profile right angled power cables (do these even exist?)

Otherwise, I'll probably have to try to modify either the case or the card (e.g. solder a pigtail). Any words of wisdom?

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2630 V3

RAM: 2x8GB Crucial DDR4 (ECC) - CT8G4RFS4213

 

As an update to myself: It looks like this RAM, though compatible with the motherboard, is incompatible with the processor. It looks like in order to utilize ECC RAM with this board, I'll need to go with the Xeon E5-1650 V3 or the Xeon E5-2650 V3. The 2650 is very expensive, and probably overkill for my application. Thoughts?

 

It also looks like the ASRock X99M Extreme 4 is basically the same as the X99M Killer but with a different secondary LAN port, so I'll switch to the Extreme 4.

I dont understand this, why would a E5-2650 v3 work, but a E5-2630 v3 not?  They both support ECC.

I dont understand this, why would a E5-2650 v3 work, but a E5-2630 v3 not?  They both support ECC.

As I understand it, the E5-2630v3 supports only slower RAM.

I've already ordered both of 'em, so I'm riding on my optimism. It'll definitely be tight.

 

Thinking about this some more, it doesn't really matter what size the standoffs are as it'll really be based on the clearance left over from the "shelf" on the rear of the case. The card appears that it will fit (measured compared to my friends 3U case), however the power connectors are located where the top of the case will need to close. I do not think these will allow for enough clearance.

 

A few options:

 

1) New Case

2) New GPU with different power connector locations/orientations

3) Low-profile right angled power cables (do these even exist?)

 

Otherwise, I'll probably have to try to modify either the case or the card (e.g. solder a pigtail). Any words of wisdom?

Hmm, what are your requirements?  What settings do you want to run for what games?  It'll be really helpful if we can narrow that down.

Hmm, what are your requirements?  What settings do you want to run for what games?  It'll be really helpful if we can narrow that down.

I'd like the card to last me for several years, and I'd like to play games on medium to high settings. I also plan on playing around with Steam's "streaming" service, and streaming games to other systems around the house. I've received the card and looking at it, it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to solder a pigtail in place of the power headers. I should have enough clearance in the case if I follow this route.

The case arrives this Friday, so I'll take some more measurements before I commit to anything.

Hmm, what are your requirements?  What settings do you want to run for what games?  It'll be really helpful if we can narrow that down.

 

I'd like the card to last me for several years, and I'd like to play games on medium to high settings. I also plan on playing around with Steam's "streaming" service, and streaming games to other systems around the house. I've received the card and looking at it, it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to solder a pigtail in place of the power headers. I should have enough clearance in the case if I follow this route.

 

The case arrives this Friday, so I'll take some more measurements before I commit to anything.

Well definitely keep me posted. Are you planning on a 4k monitor?

Well definitely keep me posted. Are you planning on a 4k monitor?

I won't be using a 4K monitor initially, but would like to leave my options open.

Case arrived today -- it looks great and the quality appears to be fantastic. The GPU doesn't look like it will fit, even if I were to add a pigtail. The card is also too long—it runs into the fan on the hard drive cage. Any suggestions for capable graphics cards with a smaller foot print?

Best,

Greg

Well definitely keep me posted. Are you planning on a 4k monitor?

 

I won't be using a 4K monitor initially, but would like to leave my options open.

 

Case arrived today -- it looks great and the quality appears to be fantastic. The GPU doesn't look like it will fit, even if I were to add a pigtail. The card is also too long—it runs into the fan on the hard drive cage. Any suggestions for capable graphics cards with a smaller foot print?

 

Best,

Greg

Ugh, that's what I feared.  There are limited options to get that class of GPU into that case because of the height / length.

Let me do some research tonight and see what I can find.

Ugh, that's what I feared.  There are limited options to get that class of GPU into that case because of the height / length.

 

Let me do some research tonight and see what I can find.

Thanks Jon,

The best option I can find so far is the EVGA 02G-P4-2962-KR GeForce GTX 960 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487093). This would solve the length problem, but the power connector is still oriented in the "wrong" direction, meaning I'd still need to do some modification.

Ugh, that's what I feared.  There are limited options to get that class of GPU into that case because of the height / length.

 

Let me do some research tonight and see what I can find.

 

Thanks Jon,

 

The best option I can find so far is the EVGA 02G-P4-2962-KR GeForce GTX 960 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487093). This would solve the length problem, but the power connector is still oriented in the "wrong" direction, meaning I'd still need to do some modification.

Ok, we are looking into options for you beyond this one.  I'd like to find a way to fit a big old card in there somehow, even with a custom cooling solution if need be, so long as it's rock solid.  I have a team of experts that I actually consult with on this and we're seeing what we can do.

Ok, we are looking into options for you beyond this one.  I'd like to find a way to fit a big old card in there somehow, even with a custom cooling solution if need be, so long as it's rock solid.  I have a team of experts that I actually consult with on this and we're seeing what we can do.

Awesome, thanks! I'll be very interested to see what your/their thoughts are. There should be a way to fit the original EVGA card in there. I ordered (2) 92mm Noctua fans that are 14mm thick. I'd need to modify the plastic backplates of the 5-in-3 drive cages to mount them, but it should leave me a few mm (~4-5mm) to spare. I'd still need to pigtail the power connector but if it fits and the cooling is sufficient, I think it'd be worth it.

The other issue I ran into is that the sata ports on the x99 boards are actually oriented to point right towards one of the drive cages. Even without a big graphics card this creates space problems. I found lateral right angled sata connectors that I'm going to try out for the space savings (http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=445).

Best,

Greg

I mounted the 14mm Noctua fans tonight.

- I removed the hard drive cages, and disassembled them until I had my hands on the rear plastic "housing"

- I used a dremel tool to remove the old mounting posts

- I drilled new holes to accommodate the Noctua fans (they are 92mm vs the 80mm that are included)

I tested the fit with the EVGA GPU installed. It fits (lengthwise)! I have about 5mm to spare. Now I just need a solution for the power connectors. I will likely try my luck at soldering a pigtail tomorrow.

Another day of building. Today, I installed the processor and cooler, and did the initial cable management. My friend and I disassembled the GPU and soldered a pigtail connector. It all fits! BARELY.

Close up on the pigtail:

(the connector on the pigtail is the original connector that was on the GPU. Both connectors are black, the flash made it look white)

My happiness didn't last long though—since the initial boot I'm getting a POST error B7, which appears to be a memory timing error. I've tried every combination of memory modulations, the issue still persists. I contacted EVGA and it seems that this board doesn't support my Xeon processor out-of-the-box; compatibility came with a BIOS update. Sadly, I don't have another CPU to through in there and update it.

EVGA said they are either going to a) send me an updated bios chip or b) RMA the whole board and send me one with an updated BIOS chip.

Hopefully I'll be able to get this all resolved by next weekend.

Another day of building. Today, I installed the processor and cooler, and did the initial cable management. My friend and I disassembled the GPU and soldered a pigtail connector. It all fits! BARELY.

 

 

Close up on the pigtail:

 

 

(the connector on the pigtail is the original connector that was on the GPU. Both connectors are black, the flash made it look white)

 

My happiness didn't last long though—since the initial boot I'm getting a POST error B7, which appears to be a memory timing error. I've tried every combination of memory modulations, the issue still persists. I contacted EVGA and it seems that this board doesn't support my Xeon processor out-of-the-box; compatibility came with a BIOS update. Sadly, I don't have another CPU to through in there and update it.

 

EVGA said they are either going to a) send me an updated bios chip or b) RMA the whole board and send me one with an updated BIOS chip.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to get this all resolved by next weekend.

Evga has pretty good support (more than I can say about Asus from a recent experience).

Please keep us updated. We are watching this build with great interest here at LT!!!

Hi everyone,

I was finally able to get my hands on my replacement x99 micro board, so I thought I'd provide an update:

- I installed it into the system and when I tried to power it on it would quickly cycle through a few codes then restart (endlessly).

- I removed/detached everything with the exception of the CPU, CPU cooler, Power, and 1 stick of RAM. The issue persisted

- I reinstalled my original x99 micro board, and my original fail symptom reappeared (b7 error)

- I swapped the BIOS between the two boards and the new failure presented itself

- I removed all memory and the the system would simply power off after a few seconds

Oddly, the new failure appeared to follow the BIOS. I wonder if these new BIOS were not properly flashed or fully updated. I contacted EVGA again and they are puzzled. I confirmed that the CPU is on the supported CPU list and they said they would issue me an advanced RMA and have the board tested with this CPU prior to shipping it to me.

When I get the replacement board, I'm going to try swapping the BIOS again first (I am tired of resocketing the CPU each time / installing it into my case -- I don't have a test bench).

So, hopefully in another week or two I'll have some sort of resolution. This has become quite the headache!

Hi everyone,

An update: I went through another RMA with EVGA until they told me that the power cycling behavior I was experiencing was expected (with no RAM in), and that my RAM wasn't compatible. I really wanted my ECC RAM, so I ended up purchasing a different motherboard.

I went with the ASROCK X99M Killer (this was what I was originally looking at). There is a mail in rebate for ~40 dollars, bringing the end price to about $180.

I installed the motherboard and Canteen lives! The graphics card even works. I'm trying to update the unRAID software now using the plugin manager but it seems like it might have stalled the webGUI as a result or is taking a painfully long time to download (I am trying to download it separately on my notebook and I'm getting very slow speeds—about 50 KBs—is anyone else experiencing this?)

Prior to attempting the update, I noticed that none of my drives that are attached to my SuperMicro

AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 card are being recognized, so I'll need to see if I need to configure something in the BIOS, or reseat the card.

I'm ecstatic to have a system that boots and hoping to get it all up and running soon.