Adventures with building a home server
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Adventures with building a home server
I planned it all out and selected the components to make a windows home server. I selected this cheap case along with a iStarUSA backplane hard drive cage. I also selected the ever popular ga-ma74gm-s2 motherboard. All the parts arrived and so I began putting it together but there was a problem...
The HD cage would not slide all the way into place - it hit the ATX connector. So I searched high and low for another motherboard that would fit this build. I found very few that would work. There were a few options but they all required more power than the 740g. If only the connector was a old 20pin sytle atx connector all would fit. The manual states this board IS compatible with 20 pin atx power supply's! I'm in luck. I decided to swap the connector with a 20 pin version. I had a old motherboard lying around with just such a connector...
Here is the pic after removing the 20 pin atx connector from the donor board.
Now for the scarry part my nice new board...
And here the part removed is...
The donor connector transplanted...
It fits!!!
The patient awaiting a copy of WHS to be installed...
First let me say the fan included with the iStarUSA backplane is loud even on the low setting. That fan is going to have to go. In the next day or two I'll receive my shipment of Noctua fans and green 5400rpm drives.
The HD cage would not slide all the way into place - it hit the ATX connector. So I searched high and low for another motherboard that would fit this build. I found very few that would work. There were a few options but they all required more power than the 740g. If only the connector was a old 20pin sytle atx connector all would fit. The manual states this board IS compatible with 20 pin atx power supply's! I'm in luck. I decided to swap the connector with a 20 pin version. I had a old motherboard lying around with just such a connector...
Here is the pic after removing the 20 pin atx connector from the donor board.
Now for the scarry part my nice new board...
And here the part removed is...
The donor connector transplanted...
It fits!!!
The patient awaiting a copy of WHS to be installed...
First let me say the fan included with the iStarUSA backplane is loud even on the low setting. That fan is going to have to go. In the next day or two I'll receive my shipment of Noctua fans and green 5400rpm drives.
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I'm not sure what kind of adapter you are referring to. Do you have a link to one so I could see?that Linux guy wrote:What I've always wondered about doing with one of those backplanes is getting a 80mm to 120mm fan adapter and putting a nice 12cm fan instead of screwing with different 80mm units. Do you think it's possible? I would try, but I don't own one yet.
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I think that Linux guy was referring to and adapter similar to this one. The small end screws into the 80mm fan hole (on the backplane) and a 120mm fan goes on the other end.Houe wrote:I'm not sure what kind of adapter you are referring to. Do you have a link to one so I could see?
Nice mod! I don't know if I have the guts to remove the ATX connector from a new motherboard. I'm looking forward to your updates.
If a person had a lot of room maybe one of those adapters could be mounted to the back the hard drive cage. But with the very limited space I have I'm not going to even try that.angelkiller wrote:I think that Linux guy was referring to and adapter similar to this one. The small end screws into the 80mm fan hole (on the backplane) and a 120mm fan goes on the other end.Houe wrote:I'm not sure what kind of adapter you are referring to. Do you have a link to one so I could see?
I have some fancy solder equipment that makes such task easier, but you right it was a little scary. Doing something like that with a radio shack soldering iron would be near impossible in my opinion. You have to be able to heat up all 24 pins at one time and to it quickly or you could damage the board and melt the connector. Afterwords a suction solder iron is needed to clean out the holes.angelkiller wrote:Nice mod! I don't know if I have the guts to remove the ATX connector from a new motherboard. I'm looking forward to your updates.
I found out the fan inside this hard drive cage is the 80x15mm variety so I need to search for a quiet fan in that form. I figured it was a standard 25mm. hmmm
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That's what I'd try to do. Hell, I'd go for a 38mm thick unit while you're at it. 80mm x 15mm fans are difficult to find as it is. Finding a quiet one, or at least one that responds well to undervolting would be even more difficult.angelkiller wrote:Could you mod the cage so that a 25mm thick fan works?Houe wrote:I found out the fan inside this hard drive cage is the 80x15mm variety so I need to search for a quiet fan in that form. I figured it was a standard 25mm. hmmm
And Angelkiller, that adapter you linked to was exactly what I was thinking of. I had plans to use one of those on a planned Shuttle system that never got under way
Good discussion...
Coolerguys has many different fans as well as several versions of the fan adapters in stock...
http://www.coolerguys.com/fanadapters.html
Coolerguys has many different fans as well as several versions of the fan adapters in stock...
http://www.coolerguys.com/fanadapters.html
Silenx IXP-52-11that Linux guy wrote:That's what I'd try to do. Hell, I'd go for a 38mm thick unit while you're at it. 80mm x 15mm fans are difficult to find as it is. Finding a quiet one, or at least one that responds well to undervolting would be even more difficult.angelkiller wrote:Could you mod the cage so that a 25mm thick fan works?Houe wrote:I found out the fan inside this hard drive cage is the 80x15mm variety so I need to search for a quiet fan in that form. I figured it was a standard 25mm. hmmm
And Angelkiller, that adapter you linked to was exactly what I was thinking of. I had plans to use one of those on a planned Shuttle system that never got under way
or
SilenX IXP-52-14
Those are the only slim 80mm fans I could find at the egg. Thoughts on Silenx fans and these in particular? I'll ask in the fan forum...
Wow, nice workaround. I don't know if I would have been brave enough to try that myself, especially on a new board.
Have you considered removing the backplane's fan and rear housing and ducting the rear of the backplane directly to the PSU's intake? That might be worth trying if the drives inside the backplane aren't generating too much heat.
Have you considered removing the backplane's fan and rear housing and ducting the rear of the backplane directly to the PSU's intake? That might be worth trying if the drives inside the backplane aren't generating too much heat.
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According to this image (and if my orientation is correct) he removed pins, 11, 12, 23 & 24. Those pins carry voltages that are already carried by other wires, so technically they arn't needed. But I guess they were added to split the current over more wires. I'm assuming that this is why 20pin ATX PSUs are compatible with 24pin ones. (Similar to 8pin P4 connector vs a 4pin one. Same voltage, more wires and less current per wire)protellect wrote:what do the 4 pins you removed power? the pci-e slot?
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Wiki seems to agree with your suggestion stating: ATX12V 2.2 — One 24-pin connector, one ATX12V 4 pin connector. Main Power Connector changed from 20 pin to 24 pin to support PCI-Express requirements.protellect wrote:what do the 4 pins you removed power? the pci-e slot?
I guess that soon wasn't enough as now a lot of video cards require a 6 pin connector for power. Anyway I'm not worried at all since the manual states 20 pin power supplies are supported and I am using the onboard video. This is a really low powered rig.
Houe: Since you have already invalidated your warrenty by swapping the 24pin connector for a 20pin connector, why not just solder 4 short wires to the board and attach a 4pin molex connector.Houe wrote:Wiki seems to agree with your suggestion stating: ATX12V 2.2 — One 24-pin connector, one ATX12V 4 pin connector. Main Power Connector changed from 20 pin to 24 pin to support PCI-Express requirements.protellect wrote:what do the 4 pins you removed power? the pci-e slot?
I guess that soon wasn't enough as now a lot of video cards require a 6 pin connector for power. Anyway I'm not worried at all since the manual states 20 pin power supplies are supported and I am using the onboard video. This is a really low powered rig.
If the board needs extra power, you just plug in a molex and bingo extra power delivered!
you'll find silenx has a pretty bad reputation in general for the bogus claims they make regarding their noise levels.Houe wrote:Silenx IXP-52-11that Linux guy wrote:That's what I'd try to do. Hell, I'd go for a 38mm thick unit while you're at it. 80mm x 15mm fans are difficult to find as it is. Finding a quiet one, or at least one that responds well to undervolting would be even more difficult.angelkiller wrote: Could you mod the cage so that a 25mm thick fan works?
And Angelkiller, that adapter you linked to was exactly what I was thinking of. I had plans to use one of those on a planned Shuttle system that never got under way
or
SilenX IXP-52-14
Those are the only slim 80mm fans I could find at the egg. Thoughts on Silenx fans and these in particular? I'll ask in the fan forum...
14 db at 1800 RPM? this kind of statement is insane.