Figured I’d share my 2U NAS killer build since I deviated from the larger 4U build to create something to fit my rack.
This is essentially a 4.0 build but with a Rosewill 2U case, and the following changes:
Noctua NH-L9i, Premium Low-Profile CPU Cooler for Intel LGA115x (Brown)
A MUST have because all other coolers are too tall for the HDD bays in this case
SanDisk 16GB Cruzer Fit USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Again, a low profile USB is required to clear the HDD bays in the rack.
Rivo PCI-E Riser PCIe M.2 PCIe SSD to PCIe Express 3.0 x4 Adapter Card
I’m running a 500gb SSD NVMe card to minimize my drive writes
Crucial P2 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
Everything else from the 4.0 build is the same.
Mobo: Supermicro X9SCM (BIOS 2.0)
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1270 V2 3.5 ghz
Ram: 4x 8gb DDR3 1666ghz EEC (32gb total)
SSD: Micron 500gb NVMe M.2 PCIe
HDD: 4 6TB WD Red EFRX60 drives
Case Fans: 3 80mm Arctic fans
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-L9i
Running UNRAID 6.8.3
However, I have a couple of gripes…
- Heat dissipation is a must with the compactness of this case. I loaded mine up with 4 drives (one not picture), therefore I had to make sure I mounted this on the bottom of my rack so the fans could pull in enough cool air. At roughly 50% load, my fans are running around 1100-1200 rpm and CPU is roughly 150F. All 4 HDDs stay consistent around 100F. This CPU will hit max temp 80C at 100% load with all fans turning around 2000 RPM. I’m not sure I have many options to improve cooling other than a larger case and heatsink fan. My rack is mounted about 6ft off the ground in a closet, where there is little ventilation. I’m working on adding an AC duct into the closet to improve temperature control.
The CPU fan must be on Fan1-4 per Supermicro, not FanA. I learned this after building, so ignore the pictures of the CPU on FanA below.
- This case is cheap and cable management is a nightmare. Screw access is also tight so you need a plan of attack before you start throwing components into the case. It’s not impossible, but this case is less than accessible. However, you get what you pay for and these are designed to be cheap builds. Be careful when disassembling and reassembling the case. The screws into the flimsy aluminum do not allow much room for error.
