Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

BUSTED!

Decided to run it some tonight... and caught it in the act. the error on the bsod:

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Basically means something tried to access a memory location it wasn't supposed to (aka a segmentation fault), which supposedly means a bad driver. However, all my drivers are known good ones... Another cause I read was file corruption (which could lead to bad pointers, which would cause such to happen), which I'm thinking is the issue due to a bad spot in one of the HDDs. Since it happens every time I re-install (sometimes without any extra drivers IIRC), I suspect that every time windows is installed it is installed to the same places on the HDD (think about it, this isn't a random process). Thus, a bad spot would cause a consistant failure?

Is there something similar to memtest86 for HDDs? If so, that would rule it out one way or another (at the cost of a reinstall, which for me is nothing as this system has no important files).

Edit- forgot to mention in this thread (it's in the SM curse thread instead): unlike my X5DAL boards, I did find a way to SLIC it. The trick, upgrade the BIOS with the stock file first, and then flash the SLIC'd file WITHOUT the bootloader (different options at the CLI command).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

Got the 9650 running... was a PITA though, as the BBU wasn't initialized with the controller. Had to use some tw_cli magic from a live cd. Also got the cables, all is good there.

I went looking at HDDs... apparently 80GB and even 160GB velociraptors are going for less in lots WD740's... And that is with the heatsinked 2.5" to 3/5" sleds. Like $55+ shipping for 5 160's or $30+ shipping for 5 80's vs $85 shipped for 6 WD740GD's.

They're so cheap for a second I though I could buy three lots of these and upgrade all my non velociraptor systems ( 4 + 3 + 8 = 15, or 3 lots of 5):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Our-Best-Lot...item3d02ce7d81

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Awesome-Deal...item3ab1fa852b


But then I remembered that I have other projects coming up (engine hoist and stand, etc.) and I chucked that idea. Not to mentions shipping is a bitch (I checked, it combines a bit but still pricey).

Damn, they're nice drives, but a bit much for what's on my plate right now. Maybe after Thanksgiving I'll think about it again. Between then and Now I have a busy work schedule (only one week free a week and a half from now, so I will be making some serious money).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

Upgrades are a comin'....

Saw these on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3ware-9650SE...item1a05d08f64

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3ware-9650SE...item1a05d08fa3

Well shit, they have BBUs even. They claim the batteries are toast, but even in that case I have a 3ware 9500 clay pidgeon with a good battery (the BBUs are different but the battery itself isn't)

And to go with it, I bought a couple of these lovely cables:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321843020056

Which is awesome as they have both 90 degree connectors, staggered cable lengths, and best of all, they appear to be straight cables (as I want to turn mini-SAS into SATA, not the other way around).

Why did I buy two? Because if we go back, I made this bit of awesome for it:



IIRC WD740GD and later Raptors (and Velociraptors) don't actually draw all that much in terms of power. So this probably could power 8 of them Also, since I have a fully fanned midplane, doing anything less than 8 10K drives feels denutted. To be honest this is the direction I've always wanted to go with this build.

Also, this also is my only system with PCIe not used for graphics (a 4x slot). My K8WE only has two 16x slots, and hell no am I swapping this for one of my SLI'd Geforce GTS 250's. FWIW supermicro did make a board (H8DC8) for opteron based on the same layout (nforce professional 2000 series) that in addition to PCI-X slots (What the k8we has for RAID cards) they had an an additional PCIe 4x slot (for a total of 7 slots vs the k8WE's 6). If it wasn't for the fact that said board is probably unobtanium... [ratdude checks ebay, only sees one for $800 ], I'd be tempted to swap as the layout would allow for said newer RAID card and also allow me to run both a kickass sound card AND my tuner card. Oh well. Damn. And thus is life... (that said, if I ever did find one for say $150ish or less, I'd hit it, Tyan is good but SM made the better board in this case, as all they tyan has better is a 1394 port )

Yeah, it may bottleneck a bit (the 9650 can do 8x) but I suspect the twin 160GB's in V4.1 may be sketchy. The rig isn't stable, I've had bad HDDs of this vintage and manufacture do the same thing, and swapping controller cards had no effect. Not to mention that the rig is kinda a waste right now as V4.1 does circles around it (and always will) and all it is really good for right now is going balls out and tossing in a 8 drive monster array.

What drives will I use? Not 100% sure; had I been able to negotiate a deal I knew of 8 WD740GDs that were up for sale (but due to their near-mint, less than 10 POH condition they were priced way out of budget for what this project is worth) I'd have done that. I also know of some number of other WD740GDs that may be getting retired soon. They have 5 zillion POH (albeit with few POCs) which sorta sucks but, if and when they are available, may also result in a price that is more what I'd feel it would be worth spending on said system.

(that said, if you happen to have 8 WD raptors or velociraptors that you'd like to sell, PM me)

Another "Upgrade" it will get when it goes back in service is the 17" Dell Ultrasharps I used to use with V3.5 (which are now much nicer 22" 1680x1050 HP L2245wg's)... Yay twin DVI. Right now it is out of service due to the aforementioned stability issues and also because my 2nd Xeon Gallatin build needed a place to be tested.

Still, nice score on the RAID upgrade?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

The guy took my $40 ($57 shipped) lowball of all lowballs... So coming soon: X6DA8-G2 (the nicest of the 4 options)... and my DDR2 I have sitting is no longer up for grabs .

Too bad my case doesn't have the backplane option that matches the board, oh well, I don't have SCSI drives either. Yay, two EATX builds with unused SCSI options (I'm sure one of you wants to bash in my wasteful skull )

edit- Well shit, I jut re-remembered that my DDR2 is 2 rank... I better check the manual..

edit2- It will do dual rank, but only 4 modules... I think I also remember topcat posting that

I guess I have 8GB I can use and 8GB I can't... oh well... not like I use more than 8 anyway (I've come sorta close a couple times though).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

If I go with B, it's gonna be a while... as the best deal I can find is this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro-X...item2336fd930e

Which IMHO is way too much for an untested board... while normally they are bombproof, as shown, they can be killed. After shipping, the best I could do given the condition would be so fucking low that I'd be worthy of an ebay ban... but I may chuck an offer and see. Or not. I find it odd that they have nothing but RAM... but what the hell, I will. Yes I'm cheap, but I'm not gambling that much on a potential pig in a poke.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

well shit. (again)

I've confirmed that Supermicro BIOS CANNOT be SLIC'd. Why? I took a pot shot with this one and it did the exact same fucking thing V2.x did... one good boot, freeze, fan spinner.

Since a USB channel was toast and this was the most "waste of EATX form factor" board of the series, I'm not too pissed off... kinda sucks... Now, do I:

A. Find a replacement BIOS chip (through SM or on ebay)
B. Find another X6D__-__ board (better would be good, like a DDR2 version, SCSI not so much) and move the parts over
C. Put something else in the EATX case (all I have is a pair of clay pigeon Tyan S2885's that are workstation boards in deifnition only)...

Call me whatever BS you want, I was having issues with V3.5 (which are at the time of this post mostly resolved) and wanted to/needed to test my BIOS flash and modding methods... Yes I have a negative IQ and the common sense of a lugnut...

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

well shit.

looks like one of the USB ports (on the header) is no good. right now I have it set as the USB port on the card reader... what's bizzare as the old setup (before I got the system) this port was unused.

If it wasn't Soo pricey ($100+) I'd get a X6DAE-G2 or X6DA8-G2 so I could use DDR2... but even the G's are $$$.

FYI, what happens when the bad port is used:

Linux: nothing, not shown by lsusub
Windows: reports a "usb device malfunctioned" error.

Suggestions on fixing this? Or is my best bet to toss in a USB/firewire card I have kicking that has a dual port USB header?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

while swapping RAID cards (since V3.5 has no floppy and I needed to flash firmware) the arrya took a shit and won't reconize itself... no biggie as I barely had anything setup.

Reinstalled 7 (barely), and while I was at it I cloned and tweaked over the arch linux x64 install from my Asus X83V... both use nvidia 9 series chips, so it was the best system to clone from (as my D630's install is kinda wonky and all my other x64 installs are intel gpu'd).

(posting from said arch install)

[Uranium-235]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

cpu went down, but thats expected from an older xeon

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

lost one of the boards this weekend. IDK how... but I still have two good ones, so I'm alive.

I made up the 8 port SATA to molex adapter:






Something interesting:

V3.5's novabench from awhile back:



Here's what this rig is getting:



Clearly two SLI'd 8600's isn't cutting it in the other rig... I'll have to see what I can get over xmas to beef it back up, but that' for that rig's thread.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

made 4 of the boards tonight; 3 turned out and one of the three is on loan as a sample.

Until the machine is more figured out, I'm not making any more... but to the one who was promised a few, you will get one of the three.

(PSST: T-tech PCB routing machines SUCK. thier software is a $1000+ POS as we've found. Finicky as hell).

Once parts come in and I have soldering access I'll build one up (monday or tuesday most likely)

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

Updated files attached (if anybody want's the KICAD/gerber files, let me know and I'll post 'em)

Here's a simation of what it will look like:



Only w/o silkscreen and the copper on the back of the board (mirror image).

Ordered the connectors, I was going to build up three of these but due to finances at this time (between paychecks, grr) I only ordered parts for one.

I will also note that in this configuration, shrouded keyed connectors DO work for the ribbon cable connection... had I gone with the original layout, the key would have been on the board side with AFAIK nobody makes a 90 degree connector for (although a straight could have been used in such case; the cable will flex obviously).

Cool hack or lame gimmick?

[Topcat]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

PS- the .zip has SVG files... which I wish were allowed attachments... could that be added, Topcat? (as SVG vector image files are pretty common).

Try now.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

Talked with a professor, they say the board is perfect for doing a tesslation test on the PCB router (which has been restored and is being tested). That means I get as many of these as they can fit on a US letter sized piece of single sided PCB as a "payment" for going through the trouble.

I did make a minor tweak to the design, cutting the corners (to make it a little more "interesting" than a square, and ensure decent clearance.

What to do with all of these? I've already asked one person who I know may want one... but if you have an SM board in an SM case with a RAID card, let me know and I'll mail you a board (if the deal works out, which they want sooner rather than later).

Edit- They're going to try it tomorrow. Here goes nothing... I better order parts.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

whipped up some PCB design files, it's a 1" by 1" board. see attached files.

I also added a jumpered breakout for the NIC2 LED, which on this board is unused. I had the space, so why not?

AFAIK the only thing SM makes that does this is a breakout header (like my other SM case came with) which is good for non-SM boards (lets you use any pinout) but for this is kinda dorky and lame. sure I could have made one of those with all the mobo ones on a header with hanging leads (like I did with V2.5) but IMHO that would have been a major pain to make up...

this, on the other hand I can make since I happen to have PCB router access right now... and single sided material is both cheap and readily avaible (I bet I could make it from some scrap)... and if I have to buy my own, If anybody wants one (obviously no silkscreen or solder mask), I'd be willing to make a few/bunch from the sheet.

BOM: (all are 0.1" pitch)

1x 90 degree male 8x2 header
1x 90 degree female 8x2 header
2x 2x3 male header
2x 1x2 male header
4x jumper


8x2 placement:

The female header side goes on bottom, the male to the top. The current orientation (for most/all SM boards) places the connections towards the front of the case for cleaner wire routing (in my case through the midplane and back)...

I kinda wanted to do it the other way around (back facing) but once I realized my error to me it wasn't worth the effort to redo it (if it bugs me, I could always mirror the copper/drill layers since I'm not doing silkscreen). But as I stated, it isn't a complete fail and from an "out of the way" cable point of view it's a a win... at the very least it's less likely to get in the way of RAM and the like.

Thoughts? Comments? Am I as crazy as I feel ?

PS- the .zip has SVG files... which I wish were allowed attachments... could that be added, Topcat? (as SVG vector image files are pretty common).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

Ended up getting the Pro-28 for $20... but I will need to make new cables.

What I'll do is buy a shell and pins from digikey and mod some external cables (as that's what it uses). That way I have a nice LONG set of cables.

---

Tried out the CPUs, they work alright...

Also tried running V3.5's 3ware card... that works and all but to use it long term I'll have to make an adapter to move out the HDD LED. I may use it as a oppertunity to try out my college's PCB router...

[goontron]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

huh, i just sold that same model out of my bits stack today too

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

Another note... If I can get away with it, I'm going to put the 9550 in V3.5 and pull it's 9500 and use it here... if either rig needs the RAID performance, it's V3.5 (although it's drives are still only 1.5G, not the 3.0G the 9550 supports).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

Correction:

make that a PNY Geforce 9800 PE 1GB... a BCN buddy who shall be nameless (unless he reveals himself) found one in his junk pile... looking at the passmark benchmarks, it's night and day (726 vs 290, but the 726 may be the slightly faster non-PE version).

Looks like to keep things competitive V3.5 will get a pair of 9600's at xmas (or something similar that SLI's well and draws a similar amount of power from the PCIe power jacks).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Main Rig V4.1

did the processors not make it today!?

Yes but I haven't been home since saturday night.