building a 1U dual Opteron

[P5-133XL]

I get the privledge of building a 1u dual Opteron server. Any special problems? recomendations for good PS's, cases, riser cards, and motherboards.

I understand that cooling is a big deal but I have no ability to judge a particular case design for its cooling cabability. So I ask for hints.

 

[Mercutio]

A good place to start.

These guys sell some must have items like riser cards and fans for 1U cases and other essentials. Their cases aren't bad either, but I've never done personally done 1U-anything.
I do know that anything in that form factor is hotter than hell. There's no place for heat to go! The linked case has 8 fans.

Perhaps something in an XPC-type enclosure. That's almost exactly the same amount of internal space, but with extra height. Why do you need 1U?

Is SuperC still bumming around SR? IIRC he had a bunch of dual AthlonMPs in 1U enclosures. Best guy I know to ask.

 

[CougTek]

Why don't you just get something from Appro or Angstrom instead? DIY 1U rackmounts are often less efficient cooling-wise than OEM-made solutions. Unless you can assemble the whole system for a lot less (doubtful, rackmount parts aren't dirt cheap), you should seriously consider an OEM system IMO.

I had to spec'ed a system from Appro last week for someone else and their prices weren't bad with the included softwares.

http://www.appro.com/product/server_1122h.asp#

Just for drooling...

http://www.appro.com/product/server_1142h.asp#

 

[timwhit]

I built a 1U PIV machine a while back, and it was extremely hot, and extremely loud. The fans were all 40mm iirc, and they sounded like jet engines.

I would personally go for a larger form factor.

 

[P5-133XL]

I would love to go bigger than 1u but I'm building it for someone else and that is the space I was given (part of the specification): no more, no less.

I too have never built a 1u rack system and thereby it will be a learning experience. I understand that rack components tend to be signifigently more expensive than traditional cases. I also understand that cooling a 1u system can be a bitch especially for a dual. I really hate 40mm fans but lots of them do make for good redundancy. All these are good reasons to ask for help before a diy machine is made.

I have no inherent problem with an OEM system. As to Appro: Yesterday (before I made this post) I actually asked for a quote from them. They have yet to respond (I'm willing to give them some time). They actually have an upcoming 1u quad system (which you linked too) that interested me but that is a bit overkill. Their current 1u Opteron systems all use 333DDR rather than 400DDR which to me tells me that they a tad behind the technology curve: Very normal and expected with an OEM. I don't know anything about Angstrom but I'll look into them.

 

[Buck]

How about the Tyan Transport GX28 (B2882)?

 

[P5-133XL]

How about the Tyan Transport GX28 (B2882)?

Yup that is basicly what I was looking for (the right motherboard) in a 1u rack mount. All I've got to do is add, RAM, processors, and HD's: They do all the hard work and I get all the glory.

Any reviews? I basicly want to find out any flaws like temp problems. Independant voicing of opinion on the state of reviews: It is a shame that most reviews are out there for the purpose of selling more product rather than actually helping the buyer.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm particularly fond of reviews like those I see at Anandtech, where every page of a "review" has some kind of ad for the retailer, the board, or the company in question.
Yup. Those reviews are entirely unbiased.

How much was Anand's last BMW?

 

[Buck]

How about the Tyan Transport GX28 (B2882)?

Yup that is basicly what I was looking for (the right motherboard) in a 1u rack mount. All I've got to do is add, RAM, processors, and HD's: They do all the hard work and I get all the glory.

Any reviews? I basicly want to find out any flaws like temp problems. Independant voicing of opinion on the state of reviews: It is a shame that most reviews are out there for the purpose of selling more product rather than actually helping the buyer.

Sorry P5, I don't know of any reviews for the hardware. Just as a note, the particular version that Tyan shows is the standard model GX28 (B2882G28S2H), they also have another GX28 (B2880T1S) that supports only 6-DIMM slots and only has 2Gbe without the extra 10/100 port. The reason for this is that the second model has room for 4 hot-swap HDD bays versus only 2 on the standard model.

 

[P5-133XL]

the S version is not an option becase it only allows for hotswap SCSI drives (no IDE) because of the backplane across the entire width.