Yet another RD workstation build... Socket F Fun!

[Topcat]

Re: Yet another RD workstation build... Socket F Fun!

I stripped the case, it's ready to roll.

[ratdude747]

Re: Yet another RD workstation build... Socket F Fun!

Knock RAM off the list. Scored 32GB of ECC DDR2 (800Mhz) for $40 shipped. I didn't see any rank limitations in the mobo manual, so I should be good to run 8 modules. I've seen benchmark results for my CPU with 12 ranks per CPU, so 8 Ranks per shouldn't be an issue.

[ratdude747]

Re: Yet another RD workstation build... Socket F Fun!

Cooler wise, made another discovery.

Apparently Rocketfish (Best Buy's store brand) used to sell a clone of the Cooler Master TX3's I'm fond of as the Rocketfish RF-UPCUWR. These can be found for reasonably cheap. The heatsink appears to be identical, don't know about the fans though. The biggest deal here is that for AMD uses, I can run the fans any direction I want; most side blowers I'm seeing are fixed orientation, which for this board would put them pointing up/down (which for obvious reasons is no-good, I need them blowing from right to left)

Found somebody with used ones for virtually free ($14 shipped per cooler)... but doesn't have any the retainer clips shown (which is the issue with these, nobody keeps the clips they don't use, which is why the one TX3 I have sitting is useless for AMD right now). Waiting on a reply from the seller. Worst case, for about $20 a hit (two sellers), I can get new in box ones.

I'm not using a windowed case, so I don't care if it's the same thing without the CM logo.

[ratdude747]

Re: Yet another RD workstation build... Socket F Fun!

Scored another GTX970 for $91 after shipping and taxes. Another EVGA 4GB SSC, so I shouldn't have to pull graphics cards to make an SLI pair with the SSC I have.

Still need to work out coolers, HDDs, and a few other things.

[ratdude747]

Re: Yet another RD workstation build... Socket F Fun!

Cooler wise, I'm thinking some large side blowers will work (like CM TX3's, which I used in my last dual AMD rig with great results). Luckily, it the same standard mount used by desktop AMD CPU's (940 and beyond), which makes for lots of cheap & effective options.

Seems like coolers have gotten expen$ive. Or my luck on ebay is not working.

Also seems like a lot of coolers have gone away from the AMD fan clips and instead bolt on like Intel 775+. No good for me, since socket F uses the same bolt pattern as 939/940, which nobody makes.

I did see the Rosewill ROCC 16003... but the clips are for thier bracket, not AMD's apparently (or so it seems). Also, said clips are fixed position, which puts the fans pointing up/down, no good for this particular case (if they did fit a 940/939 bracket, I could technically swap them for the TX3's in my other AMD rig, where up/down is correct).

The ZALMAN CNPS8X looks nice, but no deals worth nabbing on ebay. But I'm a cheapass, so maybe that's my problem.

I have a while to think on this... choices, choices, choices...

[Topcat]

Re: Yet another RD workstation build... Socket F Fun!

TC has a spare supermicro chassis (another EATX tower/4U Rackmount convertable like we've used a lot of) with an 865W PSU that I'll be getting via a trade... once the corona travel bans die down and I can safely make a trip out that way.

The build on my end that this horse trade will complete will be one of the 'keeper pile' crown jewels of the BCN retro gamer rigs....and I have several very unusual ones. I've actually parted with some of the more common ones....but I digress.

I'll get this case emptied out in the weeks to come. It has a X7DCA-3 in it that came from the 'tree'. The system kinda/sorta works....but the onboard SAS doesn't work, and the system has some strange ACPI problems. It's been narrowed to the motherboard....and really not worth diddling with. I really don't remember where the case came from, I've had it for many years...and I have several of them....but I picked it up used somewhere for cheap, and never really used it. Good to know it'll be put to work.

[ratdude747]

Over the next few months I'm going to be building another rig. In this case, it's ulitmatly to replace the last of my workstations that isn't 10 compatible (Main Rig V4.1). Likely, it will become my wife's computer, and her current system will replace V4.1 (which while venerable, is stuck on win7 and has been BSOD'ing a lot lately, and I'm sick of dealing with it).

The mainboard is a NOS Supermicro H8DAE-2 https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showth...ng for a while. I've ordered a pair of Opteron 2435 hex core demons to run in it (for less than $20 shipped, damn they're cheap!)

The main hangup is going to be the case... TC has a spare supermicro chassis (another EATX tower/4U Rackmount convertable like we've used a lot of) with an 865W PSU that I'll be getting via a trade... once the corona travel bans die down and I can safely make a trip out that way.

I haven't ordered RAM yet... but IIRC ECC DDR2 is dirt cheap, I just need to figure out how much I want to toss at it.

Cooler wise, I'm thinking some large side blowers will work (like CM TX3's, which I used in my last dual AMD rig with great results). Luckily, it the same standard mount used by desktop AMD CPU's (940 and beyond), which makes for lots of cheap & effective options.

HDD wise, I'll probably save up and get some more 15K spinners. I have another LSI RAID card sitting on the shelf that would fit the bill.

GPUs will be fun. I have an EVGA GeForce GTX970 SSC sitting (leftover from a failed SLI expirement)... and a clone in another system. This board supports SLI (officially this time), so if I found another GPU for said said other system, then I could crank things up a few notches. My wife does game, and while, yes, a lot of games are not optimized for SLI these days, do I ever follow common sense? If I did, I wouldn't be building this, now would I .

I also need to sort out optical drives and whether or not I'll be adding USB3.0 and a matching card reader. Choices, choices, choices...