Super Silent Supermicro SuperServer E300 8D

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Silence In 2017 I wrote about my new My HomeLab purchase. If you want to take a look on my HomeLab details use link Supermicro SuperServer E300-8D. It costs me a lot because I upgraded it to maximum capacity in terms of RAM and I was very happy about it. I installed my whole VMware environment and I was kind of using it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t use it as much as I wanted. Under heavy load it was extremely loud. You cannot use it 24/7/365 at Home in normal environment.

Finally, I started to read in the Internet on different forums that some folks successfully replaced the fans on other different Supermicro Motherboards marked as X10SDV-TP8F. Following that lead, I purchased three Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM (4 PIN) fans and I replaced the stock ones.

Stock Fan replacement on SYS-E300-8D

In first phase I tried to replace the fans and mount them using rubber Noctua mounter.

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-1

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-2

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-3

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-4

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-5

As you see on this photo they look very nice.

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-6

Mounted to the chassis they didn’t fit. I had to revert to screws.

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-7

Noctua use some kind of weird screws so bear in mind that you need some angle when using screwdriver.

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-8

Temperature results

CPU TemperatureFan 1 (RPM)Fan 2 (RPM)Fan 3 (RPM)CPU Fan (RPM)Noise (dB)
Stock FansBoot48470050004500N/A69
Idle44520051005600N/A53
Full 3 min60630062006700N/A61
Full 10 min61630062006700N/A61
Noctua NF-A4x20Boot56110012001300N/A35
Idle61200021002000N/A36
Full 3 min84430044004300N/A41
Full 10 min88470048004700N/A45

Conclusion

Replacing stock fans really pays of! If you have X10SDV-TP8F based Supermicro server do it. It is totally worth it. Although you have to accept much higher temperatures.

Replacing Stock SYS-E300-8D Heatsink

I didn’t stop there and I wanted to try out if replacing stock heatsink will help lower down temperatures. I purchased SNK-C0057A4L without knowing if it fits 100% on my server. Although Paul Braren from TinkerTry tested many Supermicro servers, he didn’t test Supermicro E300-8D with active CPU cooler SNK-C0057A4L. Without much to loose (only return shipment to the store if it wouldn’t work :) ) I replaced stock CPU heatsink with new active CPU cooler.

SNK-C0057A4L

Heatsink removal

I suggest to heat a CPU a bit to make it easier for you to remove old heatsink. You can do it with hairdresser or as I did. I started my HomeLab for a few minutes, quick shutdown and after removing screws I was able to remove it without issues.

In package there is as well backplate which was supposed to be installed on the motherboard. In my case I skipped it.

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-9

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-10

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-11

I cleaned up the processor and without any issues I installed new CPU cooler.

Supermicro SYS-E300-8D-12

Temperature Results

Noctua NF-A4x20 & SNK-C0057A4LBoot59220021002200410043
Idle56240024002400430039
Full 3 min73340034003500540044
Full 10 min75400039006000390048

As you see, processor temperature decreased significantly, especially under full load from 88° to 75°.

BIOS settings

Almost at the end of the test I forgot to check what kind of settings I configured in BIOS 🤦‍♂️. Generally speaking all test were conducted on Set Fan to Optimal Speed settings. I realized that if I change the BIOS fan setting to Set Fan to PUE2(Power Utilization Effectiveness) Speed.

Power Utilization Effectiveness BIOS settings

Power EffectivenessBoot56130012001200320038
Idle59220021002100410038
Full 3 min76320031003100480042
Full 10 min78340032003200520044

With that setting in BIOS configured I finally found the sweet spot between noise and decibel level. 44 dB is ideal for my living room and it generates less noise than my Ubiqiti switch.