Ratdude's Main Rig V5.6

[ratdude747]

This build is a revival of Main rig V5.5:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=53867

I attempted this in another thread but case incompatibilities wrecked my day:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?p=875727

I've since found a usable case and will make this into a stand-alone build:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro-...72.m2749.l2649

That case is basically the same thing as V5.5/V6 (and at the same cost more or less). It's missing the top cover (since it was probably used in the rackmount configuration), but that's not an issue.

It's also missing 1 of 7 caddies, but that's also not an issue. I have a source for such who I will not name (unless he names himself).

What I do have (or have coming in):

-CPUs, RAM, Coolers, and SAS RAID card (leftover)
-Fresh motherboard w/o LAN issues
-Optical drive(s), USB3.0 card, and card reader (see 2nd link, but I just scored another AFT Pro-77U 5.25" unit w/4 port 3.0 hub )
-Case and air duct
-PSU (I have a spare 920W unit, not sure what the case I bought has in it


What I don't have:

-GPU (coworker has an evga GTX 970 for sale, but that's not my only option...)
-HDDs (probably going to go with some SAS drives, 8 of them if I can make a deal)

[Topcat]

^
If you dont use that 970, let me know how much, i'd be interested. Also, if you end up with an extra IO shield that will fit the DWA (maybe from the bad one), I'd need that too...I have an X7DAL here that needs one.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Topcat

^
If you dont use that 970, let me know how much, i'd be interested. Also, if you end up with an extra IO shield that will fit the DWA (maybe from the bad one), I'd need that too...I have an X7DAL here that needs one.

If a shield is included, it's yours. Trade for a caddy?

[Topcat]

Originally Posted by ratdude747

If a shield is included, it's yours. Trade for a caddy?

Deal!

[ratdude747]

A bunch of parts have come in... and I've gotten a lot of the build done.

Anyway, I have pics but it's late and I'm sore and tired (had a nasty car wreck last night... I was literally hit by a truck ), so I'll keep this short (will post a proper pictorial tomorrow).

Good news: It runs... sort of. POSTs but no graphics on either slot. I think my testing card (one of the GeForce 8600's from a prior build) is fried. The gLAN does work too... And since everything else on the PCIe bus seems to work, (and the fact I faintly remembering the card having some issue the last time I used it), I'm pretty sure the card is the issue. I'll have to steal a card from something or borrow/buy one of my co-worker's "old" cards he has sitting.

Also, the case had a freebie in it:



No idea if it works and what condition it's in (had a fun time removing it, see below), but I'll take it!

Bad news: This has been a bad shipping method and damaged item nightmare... To start, jackass #1 shipped the motherboard in loose packing peanuts/Styrofoam with no AS bag:



The fact that it works at all is a miracle... the peanuts are static-heavy as you might be able to see. What a f*cking idiot. And no, they didn't include the I/O shield (but it wasn't pictured or in the listing), so I guess I'm back to owing Topcat favors (if I wasn't already) .

Then, the case had some issues to say the least. First, the back of it was dented pretty bad:



As will be shown in the pictorial, I was able to fix it w/o too much trouble.

Next, jackass #2 (whoever build the system) used a Molex to SATA adapter that was a cheap POS and fell apart in my hand:



It wasn't needed, luckily.

I don't have pictures (that turned out), but they also shoved some of the wiring and an unused PATA cable between the 5.25" bay sleeve and the case frame... was a PITA to pull apart, and they squashed and chafed a couple wires, which I had to tape back up (too thin for the heat shrink I have at the moment).

Going back the the 500GB WD Caviar Black, they installed the damn thing with M3 (Optical/floppy) screws, not the proper #6 screws:



Spin, spin, spin... I eventually got the screws to release the drive.

Finally, I discovered that Jackass #3 (Whoever gutted the case out) must have been on a yanking mission... as the connector shell from the original motherboard was still on the PSU backplane cable:



Doesn't affect me any, but sucks for whoever ended up with the original board.

One other thing: the USB 3.0 card I ordered had an renesas (NEC) chipset shown in the picture (but not called out in the listing), but had a VLI chip on the actual card received:



This seems to be the chip used on a lot of the cheapass cards... are they any good? Or do I need to get a verified renesas chipped card?

Finally, one other oops: the air dam fits the case but not my coolers... this one is a lot lower in the middle and while better for RAM cooling, isn't so great for fanned 2U coolers. Guess I'll need to hunt down a newer adjustable dam like was in the first build.

Anyway, more pictures coming soon. Yawn... Ouch. Getting in car wrecks doesn't feel good, even after pain meds

[Topcat]

Sucks about the dent....but it would be pretty easy to fix. I'll get the caddy on the way.....I forgot about it actually *ducks*.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Topcat

Sucks about the dent....but it would be pretty easy to fix.

I did fix it... again, see the upcoming pictorial. Had to get a bit barbaric with it

Originally Posted by Topcat

I'll get the caddy on the way.....I forgot about it actually *ducks*.

Got a working PCIe GPU you don't care about you wanna toss in too?

Kidding. Or not. You decide.

[Topcat]

^
I'll look through my junk and see if I can scare one up. I think I have a couple basic ones....good test cards.

Was the other side of the case damaged? Thats one of the goofy drawbacks of those cases, the right side and the case frame are all pop riveted together....

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Topcat

^
I'll look through my junk and see if I can scare one up. I think I have a couple basic ones....good test cards.

Was the other side of the case damaged? Thats one of the goofy drawbacks of those cases, the right side and the case frame are all pop riveted together....

Nope, just that one back rail. May have been shipping damage, I dunno. I fixed it, so no worries.

[ratdude747]

Found compatible air shrouds:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro-...Wn64z&LH_BIN=1

I bought 2 of them... as I'll probably build another down the road (these chassis are quite versatile and who knows what I'll find for cheap in the future). It's only $2 shipping per on additional units, so I might as well.

These newer units are nice since the sides are adjustable... Which is the hint to which shroud is which. Both fit the SC745 Chassis (2x 1U PSU eEATX), but only one as room for 2U coolers apparently.

[ratdude747]

Picture time... with updates from today (it's good news!)

Unboxed the case... and removed the (not pictured) Ablecom PWS-801-1R PSUs... since they're Ablecom branded with no 80+ tag (not Supermicro with an 80+ rating of some sort), I assume they are old screamers... No thanks. I have something more suitable (we'll get to that in a bit).

Pictures:







About that missing top- that's a cosmetic thing. I may make a wood top for it or something (main rig 4.1's is busted too, they are a bit flimsy). Ideas are welcome.

The backplane is indeed SAS (backwards compatible with SATA):



Anyway, another view of the dented back panel:



In that position, I used a big flatblade screwdriver and a 4lb drilling hammer to straighten her out. End result:



Time to start tearing her down. Oh look, a SATA DVD-ROM drive:



I didn't know SATA drives that weren't burners were a thing. Must be a server specific item.

Compared to the other cases I've torn down, it looks like SM did something to combat front panel cables popping loose:



Don't worry, I used the zip-tie cleat to re-secure the USB and beeper wires... when they come unplugged up there, they can be a b*tch to reconnect.

Here's my latest $30 score:



Normally those are $50 a pop. Got this one for far less.. it's supposedly used but came in the box still in bag and the cables and the like still sealed. Heck yeah!

Life is too short for cheap crappy SATA power adapters:



5.25" drives installed:



At this point I decided to try to test fit the air duct:



Yup, it fits. No worries here

Motherboard transplant time. Here's the before: (dead board on the left, new board on the right):



(I did clean the bench after the photoshoot )

And after:



Shoehorned the board in (the SAS cables make it a PITA, just like last time):



Installed the SAS card and tied up the SAS/SATA cables. Seems a bit excessive, but it was included:



I may swap to shorter SAS and SATA cables later. Not digging having a coke bottle of cable shoved in there.

Went to fit the air duct and... *sad trombone* :



As mentioned in the last post, the correct part is on order.

Spare 920W "Quiet" PSU going in:



I'd like to eventually swap the the lastest 920W SM offers which is quieter yet... but the money isn't there at $100 or so a pop.

USB 3.0 card and cables installed:



Powered it up, BEEEEEP BEEP BEEP! GPU not detected. Swapped the slots, same thing. I ended up pulling the 9800GT out of 4.1 to test it, and bingo:



I'm running it with the fans on full blast and the cover on to ensure I don't slow cook the memory. As of this writing it passed the test. Yay!

Now I just need a proper GPU, SAS drives, and that bleeping air duct. Maybe a better USB 3.0 card too (I'm reading the VLI chips are OK, and no more).

What do you all think?

[Topcat]

Not bad...That crease in the case didn't look bad from that view....easy fix. Note to self on that card reader. Is there a beige version?

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Topcat

Not bad...That crease in the case didn't look bad from that view....easy fix. Note to self on that card reader. Is there a beige version?

Not that I know of. AFT hasn't ever done beige in anything 5.25" as far as I know. Some of the older 3.5" models came in silver (like the PRO-28U in V2.x), and I have seen white versions of their uber-expensive 3.5" photo kiosk (heavy duty) units.

The case was dented about 3/8" at the peak of the dent.

----

I have pics of the new air duct (it fits!) but haven't gotten to uploading them yet.

Sniped a GPU:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/163520482577

EVGA GTX 970 (ACX 2.0) for $96... not bad? The cheapest I've ever scored one yet. Maybe some day I'll nab another EVGA one (like the one my coworker has and will never give me a price on ) and SLI main rig V6 (move over the Zotac 970 to this build). This rig can't SLI, but the x8dah in V6 sure can...

Now all I need are some SAS drives... As I don't think the one spare 147GB one I have leftover from V6 will cut it . Not seeing any deals on eBay... best offered on a lot of 6 but I doubt it will take. Some items I can strike bargains on (or snipe). HDDs don't seem to be one of them

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by ratdude747

Sniped a GPU:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/163520482577

EVGA GTX 970 (ACX 2.0) for $96... not bad? The cheapest I've ever scored one yet. Maybe some day I'll nab another EVGA one (like the one my coworker has and will never give me a price on ) and SLI main rig V6 (move over the Zotac 970 to this build). This rig can't SLI, but the x8dah in V6 sure can...

... Or not. WTF:



Sounds like this bozo got butthurt over getting sniped down. There wasn't an unmet reserve...

[Topcat]

^
Leave negative feedback. His score is so low, a negative is painful at this point.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Topcat

^
Leave negative feedback. His score is so low, a negative is painful at this point.

Can't. No feedback if you didn't receive the item. I looked.

Edit, found a way, negative feedback sent. Thanks, jackass.

[ratdude747]

Also received another message... Why not take the money and run? Or offer me a refund instead of outright giving me one?
Sounds like a technically valid but oh too convenient excuse so I'm still calling BS. Wouldn't be the first time somebody's yaked something out from under me. From internships to housecats I've I've had far too many things fall through after the deal is "completed".

[Topcat]

^
You really have mcdonalds & taco bell apps on your phone?!

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Topcat

^
You really have mcdonalds & taco bell apps on your phone?!

Online ordering! Really chops down the wait time during the lunch hour rush plus I do get legitmate deals (such as free drinks at TB half the time). They're my favorite fast food places in town right now... Arbys, Wendy's, and Rally's are good but $$$, and I haven't been feeling Burger King lately. Subway kinda sucks and also is $$$ any more to get a good portion. The dairy queen nearest me doesn't have a grill or fryer (sandwiches and chips, meh)... Not a fan of Captain D's (reasonably good seafood, but I generally am not feeling seafood at lunchtime). KFC sucks (I'll take Lee's or Popeye's instead, if we had either). Anything else we don't have. I know it's probably terrible for my physical health, but I'll take it over eating a shitty bag lunch with my boss and his buddies. Like a goldfish in a shark tank .

(Junktv, if you read this, Hinkle's downtown doesn't count as such as they're both too far away and too much of a sit down. Never been there, sadly )

[Hondaman]

Impressive. I only wish I had the time to put together such a great build. I was thinking about putting one of my 'Kabini' mini-ITX boards (2.05 GHz 4-core CPU) on a pizza box and plugging in my Radeon 7770 passive cooled video, for [email protected] (then rig up some 120mm fans), but your rig looks much more well-rounded.

(Mine would be CPU-poor and GPU-rich).

It looks like you're gonna have a fantastic rig there.