I am thinking my best path forward would be a 2U build in a Supermicro SC825 using ATX form factor parts. While i don’t expect it to be dead quiet I’m far more confident i can get the noise levels down to being a background hum in the room.
What i am thinking so far:
Case: Supermicro SC-825
PSU(s): PWS-920P-SQ
Disk(s): 8x 2.5" SSD (mirrors in a single ZFS pool).
NIC: 10gbe SFP+ card
Option 1 is all “new” parts and option 2 moved my desktop CPU into the server the cost for both is close enough to be called the same. While the Ryzen CPU has better single thread performance I’m restricted for future expansion by PCIe lanes and memory capacity.
The primary goal for this build is a 2U server that can live in the corner of my downstairs living space and most of the time blend into the background as a fridge like background sound. Easier with 3 or 4U but I am trying hard to keep the density of my 12U rack high.
If it doesn’t stand out much from my Dell R210ii or the cat fountain then mission accomplished.
Keen on what people think of the plan, am leaning to the Epyc configuration myself.
Don’t use a 2U server for a home lab, if not unavoidable.
And I would only use Epyc ROME if you definitely need the PCIe lanes.
Once that’s the case, you can always upgrade.
One well built 2U server can be really silent.
I would avoid using Supermicro for it though.
Supermicro expect that their boards live in high airflow environements so implemented less options for fans.
AsRock rack on the other hand have a lot more settings for these and can therefore really be quiet in a home environement.
That’s why I say it’s better to choose a 4U case and the board based on PCIe layout rather than secondary features.
I managed to get my Supermicro system running quietly in a Fractal Meshify 2 with a fan controller.
Option 1 will not be quiet. My epyc system is a similar setup, though it’s an h12ssl-i board with some extra GPUs. Even without a GPU workload it can/will get loud. I wouldn’t want to have it in a living space personally.
I bit the bullet on a 2U Supermicro case to play around with, not committing to the Ryzen or Epyc hardware yet no point if i can’t get the 2U case quiet in the first place.
@anon94159786 your Epyc system is it just loud at times as the server is under more load? Also which CPU are you currently using in it? I’m looking at the 7282 since it has a 120W TDP.
That server runs a 7502. It’s always louder than background noise, and under load it’s much loader than background noise. The issue I’ve found with running enterprise gear in a home environment is that the build and operating requirements for enterprise vs consumer are quite different.
Enterprise is not concerned with noise levels or heat generated. The assumption is that this hardware will live in a climate controlled isolated environment (server room, data center, etc). The only concerns here then are performance and heat dissipation. Noise doesn’t matter since 95% of the time there isn’t anybody around these systems.
Consumer gear on the other hand takes the fact that a person will be near the device 95% of the time and adjust the concerns accordingly. Most folks have no desire to run an AC unit year round to keep the server conditions happy, nor do folks want to wear hearing protection in their living room.
I would recommend figuring out your use case for the server and deciding how much horsepower you need to accomplish those tasks. Either way you go just know that enterprise gear is not quiet, as it’s not designed to be. It is loud, power hungry, and throws out a decent amount of heat. But if you need it for your desired workload then as long as you consider the downsides and mitigate for them (dedicated spot in the home where people won’t be most of the time, has the ability to add AC for most of the year depending on where you live, etc.). then running an enterprise grade homelab can not only be rewarding, but the knowledge gained can be quite lucrative depending on your career path.
Fair points one of the hardest things I’m finding about upgrading my gear is exactly that, finding what hardware will meet my needs for the next X amount of time until i do it all again.
There is so much more to it on a server platform versus a desktop where you end up just buying what fits your budget and dropping a disproportionate amount of that on a graphics card.
I could probably get away with a Ryzen based setup but how long that keeps things going for and how much headroom i have to play around on it are potentially limited. It’s the memory capacity I’m finding that for a larger VM server you can easily top out.
If i go the consumer hardware route i could move my R630 to DEV duty so i then have the extra capacity to play around with if needed.
The 2U form factor is still the hard requirement at the moment so breaking it down that will be the first step finding out if the case can be quiet enough accepting the fans may ramp up from time to time. Oh and i never mentioned what summer sounds like here hahaha
I have seen that there are some lower noise fan options available in different Supermicro SKUs so i have those bookmarked should i need then once the case arrives.
I’d go for either a silverstone variety case, or a supermicro 3U one. With both you at least get full height slots, Supermicro SC836 has support for very quiet power supplies with decent output and redundancy. Silverstone cases support standard ATX PSUs, so it’s gonna be quiet anyway. Unless you have some weird high-density requirements, I’d suggest >3U.
I got an SC826 with an X8 board to test noise and cooling. The stock fans certainly have a drone to them but i haven’t had a chance to run them down to a low speed.
Given the challenges of building this kind of system in 2U keeping it quiet and my needs I’m currently leaning towards an AM4 Ryzen system since i don’t need all the PCIe Epyc provides, it’s a newer architecture with good single thread performance, it can be found relatively cost effectively at the moment.
I run about 20 or so VMs which are usually idle my current average CPU usage is between 6-18%. With my aggressive thermal targets sticking with a 65W TDP part might be wise which means i can look at the following configuration in the 2U case and have a chance of keeping it quiet-ish.
CPU: Ryzen 3900X (underclocked to perform as a 3900), 3900, 5900, or Ryzen Pro 5945.
Memory: Full 128GB
Motherboard: Something AM4, maybe an AsRock Rack for the optimised server case airflow and IPMI.
Along with a SAS3 HBA and dual port SFP+ 10 gigabit network card. Thinking of also picking up a new set of 8 SAS3 SSDs to create a new ZFS pool for Proxmox using mirrors.
I was looking at AM5 but it looks like all the parts have a higher TDP, you could try cool that with one of those Dynatron liquid coolers (kinda cool) but that ties the chassis fans to the CPU and on paper the liquid Dynatron coolers for a 2U are louder than the air coolers at 100%.
If it all doesn’t pan out i’ll have to look for a bigger case and move some things out of the rack to… somewhere but i’m aiming to avoid it if i can make some other sacrifices.
For the HBA - do NOT buy Broadcom 9300-series, 9400/9500 only.
For the networking - E810 intel NICs are really cheap for what they are. You can easily get a 2x25Gbe SFP28 card for not that much more than a 10Gbe one.
