Hello everyone,
unfortunately it has now happened, my mainboard is defective after less than 3 years
(purchased: 30.01.2022).

I would now like to put together a new server as quickly as possible.
The difficulty was to find a board with 10 SATA ports in my current case that met my criteria.
- Micro ATX
- 10x SATA (should be for 8xHDDs and 2 SSDs)
- 2x M.2 (4x + 4x)
- 2x PCIe (16x + 8x) -> PNY Quadro P2000 for Plex transcode (already in use) + Asus GTX 1080Ti for VMs (future project)

 

I only managed this with the combination of the mainboard mentioned below (4x SATA) and an M.2 SATA expansion card (6x SATA). Unfortunately, I was unable to install the second GPU because the USB3 port on the mainboard for the front connections on the case interfered with the installation of the second graphics card.

 

I am also open to new ideas such as a new case (including racks), it should just fit in my cupboard and not be too loud at the end, as the server is in the hallway one door away from my bedroom. (Pictures attached).

I would prefer an insulated server rack than to continue using my current housing.
The dimensions for the closet area are 50x50x50cm to place the server.

Would be nice if I could continue to use the 3900x, the RAM and the power supply, but it's not obligatory. The cost shouldn't be too expensive but with a good build I would consider it. Fortunately, I'm in a good financial position right now, so I'm not too affected by it. But it should also stay within limits

 

 

My current broken build looks like this:

Unraid: 6.12.14
Mainboard: Gigabyte B550m Aorus Pro-P
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, 12C/24T, 3.80GHz Core/4.60GHz Boost
CPU cooler: Be Quiet! DARK ROCK PRO 4
RAM: Mushkin Redline ECC White DIMM Kit 32GB (2x 16 GB), DDR4-3600, CL16-19-19-39, ECC (MRD4E360GKKP16GX2)
GPU: PNY Quadro P2000 5GB GDDR5
Case: Fractal Design Node 804
PSU: Be Quiet! DARK POWER 12 750W
Cache: 1x NVme - Seagate FireCuda 510 SSD 2TB, M.2
Storage: 1x SSD - WD Blue 3D NAND, 500GB, SATA
Storage: 1x SSD - Samsung SSD 870 EVO 4TB, SATA
Storage: 4x HDD - Seagate IronWolf Pro NAS HDD 12TB, SATA (One as Parity)
Storage: 2x HDD - Western Digital WD Red/NAS 6TB, SATA

 

 

Thank you for your time!

Edited December 23, 20241 yr by AceBurn90

I know the ASRock Rack x570-d4u I run has 8 sata ports and 2 m.2, but I'm unaware of any setups which will do x16+x8 unless you look at epyc or something - the cpus simply don't have the necessary pcie lanes. Adding a 2 port x1 SATA card would get this to 10 though that might not fit between GPUs now that I think on it.

If I'm misunderstanding and you are fine with running at x8+x8 speeds, some options with 8 sata; none I can find with 10 SATA onboard though (I only count 8 in your list?)

14 hours ago, _cjd_ said:

I know the ASRock Rack x570-d4u I run has 8 sata ports and 2 m.2, but I'm unaware of any setups which will do x16+x8 unless you look at epyc or something - the cpus simply don't have the necessary pcie lanes. Adding a 2 port x1 SATA card would get this to 10 though that might not fit between GPUs now that I think on it.

If I'm misunderstanding and you are fine with running at x8+x8 speeds, some options with 8 sata; none I can find with 10 SATA onboard though (I only count 8 in your list?)

Thanks for the suggestion. I have completely disregarded the lanes so far, but with so many devices I need to check this. 

I think to use a P2000 and a GTX 1080Ti with full performance potential 8x/8x should be enough or is that not enough for the 1080Ti?

I am not really sure on GPU needs, but it's common to run a sas expander board in an x8 next to a GPU at x8 so I imagine it's adequate for a lot of things.

I'll also note I only used the board I run as an example, because I know it well. There are other options, many less expensive. I do think you want the x470 or x570 chipset, not b450/550 as those are even more lanes limited. Newegg search is good at filtering products on specific criteria like form factor, cpu socket, and SATA port count, if they carry what you want.

Edited December 24, 20241 yr by _cjd_

@_cjd_ I'm glad you're in good spirits.

 

I think I've decided to build a new server with a new processor, mainboard, RAM and housing, etc.
The main reason is that I could replace the defective part more cheaply, but in the long run the electricity costs will make me regret it.

I would have built a rack server after 2 years at the latest anyway, as the 8 HDDs in my Fractal Design Node 804 would not have been enough in the long term.

Lastly, my annual electricity costs for the server were about 40% of my total electricity bill at just over ~865 kWh (1-person household)
The costs are as follows: 37.51 €-cents/kWh is about $357.46 in dollar terms.

 

I looked around and decided to go for the Inter-Tech 4U-4416: https://www.inter-tech.de/productdetails-142/4U-4416_EN.html

Here is a summary of how far I have come so far with  my new 2025 build:

Planned System (as of December 2024)

1. Case

• Model: Inter-Tech IPC 4U-4416 (4U Rackmount Server Case)
• Key Features:
  • Supports up to 16× 3.5" HDDs (future proof)
  • E-ATX compatibility
      

2. Motherboard

• Model: ASUS ProArt X670E-CREATOR WIFI
• Socket: AM5
• Chipset: X670E
• Form Factor: ATX
• Onboard SATA: 4–6 ports (varies by revision)
• M.2 Slots: Multiple, up to PCIe 5.0
• ECC Support: Yes (with Ryzen 7000, proper BIOS required)

3. CPU

• Model: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
• Cores/Threads: 8/16
• TDP: 120 W
• Notable Feature: 3D V-Cache, highly efficient for gaming and multi-threaded workloads

4. RAM

• Capacity: 64 GB
• Configuration: 2× 32 GB
• Speed: DDR5-6000
• Latency (CL): ~CL36
• Example Kit: Kingston FURY Beast (KF560C36BBEK2-64)
• ECC Type: On-die ECC or partial system-ECC (depends on manufacturer specs)

5. Graphics Cards

• NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti
  • PCIe 3.0 x16
  • Installed in the primary GPU slot @ x16 (directly to CPU)
      

• NVIDIA Quadro P2000 

  • PCIe 3.0 x16 (mechanical), running at x4 (via chipset or 3rd slot)
      

6. HBA Controller

• Model: Broadcom/LSI SAS 9305-16i
• Interface: PCIe 3.0 (x8)
• Purpose: Adds 16 SAS/SATA ports for 16× HDDs + 2× SATA SSDs

7. Storage

• HDDs: 16× SATA 3.5"
• SSDs: 2× SATA 2.5"
• NVMe: 2× M.2 (PCIe 4.0 / 5.0) directly on motherboard
• -> (right now i have 5x HHDs and 2x SSDs and 1x NVMe)

8. Optical Drive

• Model: ASUS BW-16D1HT (Blu-ray burner)
• Interface: SATA

9. PSU

• Power: 1000 W
• Model: be quiet! Straight Power 12 1000W (80+ Platinum)
• Notes: Sufficient PCIe power cables & SATA strands; may need Y-splitters for SATA power

10. Cooling

• CPU Cooler: Initially planned a be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 (possibly too tall for 4U). Considering a lower-profile air cooler or AIO with max height ~155 mm.
• Case Fans: Standard 4U server fans, ensuring good airflow for HDD cooling

11. OS / Software

• Host OS: Unraid for Docker containers and various services
• Docker Containers: Plex, Deluge, SABnzbd, MakeMKV, Filebot, Komga, Pi-hole, WireGuard
• Game Servers (Docker-based): Minecraft modded, 7 Days to Die, Battlefield 3/4

---

Planned PCIe Slot Layout

• Slot 1 (CPU – PCIe 5.0 x16): GTX 1080 Ti @ x16
• Slot 2 (CPU – PCIe 5.0 x8 / x16 physical): Broadcom/LSI SAS 9305‑16i @ x8
• Slot 3 (Chipset – PCIe 4.0 x4): Quadro P2000 @ x4

---

Additional Notes:

• For 64 GB @ DDR5-6000 on a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, a recent BIOS version is recommended for stability.
• With 16 HDDs + 2 SSDs, plan your SATA cable management carefully (SFF-8643/8644 breakout cables).
• A 1000W PSU gives enough headroom for CPU, GPUs, and all HDDs.
• ASUS BW-16D1HT requires an extra SATA power cable from the PSU.
• #

 

 

Do you have an opinion on this?

Edited December 26, 20241 yr by AceBurn90

That board will limit something on pcie lanes still - x16 or x8+x8, and an x2, not the x4 you list. Or so says the Asus site.

SAS board will have higher power consumption than some of the good SATA expander boards. And, as a workstation boards I'm not sure how power efficient this can go.Have you reviewed the powertop thread? Gobs of useful info buried in there tuning for lower consumption. Intel may be the better path, especially as you can use onboard you for transcode.

On 12/26/2024 at 2:51 PM, _cjd_ said:

That board will limit something on pcie lanes still - x16 or x8+x8, and an x2, not the x4 you list. Or so says the Asus site.

ASUS specs:
AMD Ryzen 9000 Series Desktop Processors*:

2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slots (support x16 or x8/x8 modes)
AMD X670 Chipset:
1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot (supports x2 mode)**
* Please check the PCIe bifurcation table in support site (https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1037507/).
** PCIEX16_3 shares bandwidth with M.2_3 slot. Please adjust in BIOS setting to enable PCIEX16_3.

 

This should work just fine.

The 1080Ti is not a mandatory card but a test project for the future to see if I want to move my gaming/office computer to my server at some point.
This means that only the HBA and P2000 cards are relevant.

Sounds like a good plan then.

 

I do think you might find Intel an advantage, but totally get not wanting to go that way too. I'm struggling with that right now, but if ollama on igpu becomes a thing I might have to for power consumption reasons. Probably would still be lower with my current use cases than the ~45w idle I see now on the 5600x. But 30yr payoff so not cost effective for that reason alone.

My new Server is ready.
See my My server is now finished and in use.
The hardware components can be found in my signature -> just expand.