My small server Intel Atom 16 Core (no HT), 128GB RAM
MBD-A2SDV-16C-TLN5F (Supermicro Motherboard)
CSE-E300 (Supermicro Chassis)
MCP-250-10122-0N (Supermicro 84W External DC Power Adapter)
4x MEM-DR432L-SL02-ER24 (32GB DDR4-2400 2Rx4 LP ECC Reg RAM )
I was looking for a small, low power and silent server for my home lab. I found Supermicro A2SDV-16C-TLN5 with 16 cores, and it fit perfectly in the Supermicro chassis CSE-E300.
The chassis included one fan. I thought this was the perfect home lab server; I could have 256GB RAM as max.
I thought the server didn’t need extra cooling, but I was very wrong. The CPU and motherboard chips had a passive heatsink, but this doesn’t mean everything will be within the normal temperature range. If there’s no fan inside, then there’s no airflow, and the temperature increases by the minute inside the chassis. It is a server that is meant to be used at data centers.
The CSE-E300 chassis comes with one Supermicro 40mm Axial Fan (FAN-0065L4) with a fan speed of 13,000 RPM, an acoustic noise level of 52.2 dBA, and a maximum airflow of 23.1 CFM.
The small fan is actually able to keep the server in the normal temperature range, but the noise is insane. It’s the same fan used for big servers.
Test 1 (3x FAN-0065L4)
Inside the CSE-E300 chassis, it’s possible to install three FAN-0065L4 fans, and I ordered four just in case. The cooling was good, but still, the noise was insane. I tried a riser card for making an airflow tunnel, but it had a very small effect. Having the chassis closed or open had no effect on cooling at all.
Test 2 (Old server airflow channel cover)
I took it from my old server airflow channel cover and placed it on this server. This made a small difference for cooling but didn’t solve the noise problem.
Test 3 (5x Supermicro 40mm Axial Fan (FAN-0065L4))
Then I tried all five Supermicro 40mm Axial Fan (FAN-0065L4). The cooling was amazing, but again the noise was insane.
Test 4 (Supermicro 40mm Axial Fan (FAN-0065L4))
For me, the big surprise was that whether the chassis was closed or not had no effect at all.
Test 5 (Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM 40x20mm Premium Fan)
Then I bought Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM 40x20mm Premium Fan.
Fan speed 1200–5000 RPM,
Acoustic noise level 14.9 dBA
Maximum airflow 9.3 m3/h
Those Fans couldn’t produce enough airflow and had no effect on cooling. So there was no difference at all without fans or with three Noctua NF-A4x20 fans.
Test 6 (HP DF04056B12U)
Then I opened my old servers and found an HP DL140G2 high-speed cooling fan (DF04056B12U). I could use it for this small server.
Fan Speed 18,000 RPM
Acoustic noise level 62 dBA
The airflow was amazing. The papers I had on my table flew away. The noise level was insane.
Test 7 (Akasa AK-F2230SM-CB)
The next fan that I bought was the Akasa AK-F2230SM-CB Blue LED 22cm PC case fan.
Fan speed 600 RPM
Airflow 95.63 CFM (162.1m3/h)
Noise level 23.48 dB(A)
I thought this must be it. Again, this made little difference.
Test 8
Then I bought a bigger, more silent fan with better airflow than the Akasa AK-F2230SM-CB. I don’t remember what version it was, but this also made little difference.
Test 9 (Scythe Kaze-Jyuni Slip Stream Slim Fan SY1212SL12SL – 120mm.)
Then I tried a smaller fan, the Scythe Kaze-Jyuni Slip Stream Slim Fan SY1212SL12SL – 120mm.
Fan speed 800 RPM (+/- 25%)
Airflow 19.40 CFM
Noise level 19.53 dBA
There was a fan-sized hole inside the top for air to pass through. But again, it had no effect.
Test 10 (Europlas Extra 120mm)
I thought the fan was too close, and I had my bathroom fan, the Europlas Extra 120mm, available.
Power 20 W
Airflow 150 m³/h
Rotation speed 2360 p/m
Noise level 42 dBA
But again, it had no effect.
Test 11
And as you can see, this had the best effect on cooling. I only used two 120 mm fans that came with the Kolink Levante Midi-Tower. It was silent even when open. I don’t know the fan specifications, but it produces enough airflow to cool the server.
My Takeaways
My small server motherboard fans are divided into two groups. The 1st group of fans (FAN1, FAN2, FAN3, FAN4) is cooling the CPU, and the 2nd group (FANA, FANB) is cooling the PCI-E and M.2 slots and the motherboard controller.
It is crucial to keep an eye on the motherboard controller chip temperature, especially when the server is turned off. When I turn off the server, fans stop working, but the motherboard controller is still under power, and the temperature can rise very high.
For me, it was a big surprise that the NIC 10 GB RJ45 could produce a lot of heat, even approaching 80 degrees C without any usage. Under good cooling, the temperature is around 67 degrees C. The warning is around 100 degrees for 10 GB RJ45 NIC.
A
This is the best cooling, where air can flow from front to bottom without anything stopping it. There is no blocking by cables or server chassis at the end. Of course, fan airflow matters a lot. If fans aren’t producing enough airflow, there won’t be much cooling. Sometimes the noise can be caused by cables and mesh.
B
B is similar to A, but the server chassis is closed at the bottom. Therefore, air can only get out the end of the server’s upper side. To produce the same airflow, fans have to work a little faster, and so will make more noise.
C
C is a bad option, where air can’t get out, and the fan will push more air inside from the front.
D
D is the worst-case scenario. The air punches back to where it came from and doesn’t deliver much cooling effect at all. At first, I thought it did, but it doesn’t. When the CPU gets more load, you will not make any difference, and neither will fan speed.
E
E is like D. It had no effect on cooling.
F
Here, it is essential for air to flow through the heatsink. Otherwise, there won’t be much cooling again. Take a look at A and B.
Server motherboard on PC case (Fractal Meshify C)
And this photo illustrates the problem I had with the same motherboard when I thought it would be cool to put this server into a Fractal Meshify C PC case. The PC case fans are 3 cm higher than the motherboard chips and CPU heatsink. So, the air went above the heatsink and didn’t cool much.
So, to solve this problem, I needed to add smaller fans on the same level as the motherboard. You can see the oranges FAN in the graphic and photo. It’s good if some air flows under the motherboard. Yes, I now have a double fan inside my server, and I’m completely fine with that.
Conclusion
You wonder why I didn’t replace the heatsink on the motherboard. I watched several other YouTube videos and blogs in which people were replacing a similar motherboard with a better heatsink. Unfortunately, when tightening the heatsink, it was very easy to break the motherboard.
So, I decided to go another route. I’m delighted I did because I learned the most effective ways to cool server chips (CPU, memory, M.2 NVMe SSD, controller, etc.) and what has little effect, if at all. You can have many fans on a server or PC case, but those might have zero effect on cooling. Airflow management is an essential aspect of creating a well-cooled server, and you can reach specific levels using some techniques. This made me even more interested in studying and learning about servers and data center cooling.
Soon I plan to build my server case with a dust filter. Using a HEPA filter, my server case will work as an air Cleaner/purifier. And as mentioned before, I’m looking for practical ways to use the heat produced by the servers, for example, to heat my home.