HP Proliant DL380 G5 server for home use?

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mh321

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Jun 11, 2013
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Hello,
I recently got the above server with a bunch of other components for free. I got the server to run windows server 2003 without any problems. It has one 2.83ghz Xeon quad core CPU, so it is by far the fastest computer I have in the house, and I'm hoping on keeping it as the build quality is nice. I want to try to somehow replace my P4 PC with it.

The server has one pcie x8 slot (says x16 cards will run at x8 speed), can I install a good/decent graphics card onto it? What is the best card it will support? I would only want to play a newer 3d game a few hours a week, nothing intense, adult owner, but hoping for nice graphics. What kind of game performance can I expect? Any options for a cheap external pcie power supply just for the card?

What is a decent but cheap sound card for it?

How can I quiet it down without spending a lot of money? The vast majority of the noise comes from the fans. All the fans pull out easily out of their special slots, what can I replace them with? I know that quiet desktop PC fans are cheap, will they work?

Will it consume a much larger amount of power than a desktop PC?

Can it be mounted on its side to take up less space?

Can it be placed ~13ft away from the monitor and seat? Any limits on how long cables I can use (especially vga/dvi cables)?

Sorry for the large number of questions

Thanks
 
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I've run 50 ft. VGA cables before, so your only issue there is getting a cable long enough. You may have to order them on-line.

Should not be any problem turning the case on its side, I've done that numerous times before, there is nothing in it that gravity will bother, unless it causes some cables to drop onto a fan blade somewhere.

Servers are designed to run hard and to keep cool at all costs, so the fans usually run fast and it's no wonder it sounds loud. If you can find slower fans that fit in place of your current fans (probably small), that will help, but you should monitor temperatures after replacing them to ensure that the CPU and system do not get too hot. Even better if you get variable speed fans, the kind that have a little switch attached to them with a low, medium, and high settings. The problem with server fans is that they tend to be small, high-speed fans, and therefore noisy. Normal desktop towers cases use larger, 120 mm fans which, being larger, can move more slowly to move the same amount of air, and hence they are quieter.

Sorry, but I can't answer your graphics card question, but I know there are lots of people here who know enough to give you a good answer.
 
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Just to let everyone know, the server has 6 fans (excluding the psu fans), and they are all:

Nidec Beta V
TA225DC
Model B35441-94
12V DC 1.5A

It has 4 wires but a 2x3 connector

Does anyone have any reccomendations on a fan that is quiet?
 
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Anyone else have any reccomendations/advice?

My biggest concern right now is getting the server to be more quiet. Right now it isn't vacuum cleaner loud, like a older server that has fans that run at 100%, since the fans are variable speed, but the sound is still noticable compared to a desktop PC. Would be nice to quiet it down since I got it for free.

Thanks
 
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How big are the fans? Are they 80 mm fans? 90 mm? 120 mm? All you need is the size in order to get quieter replacements. 12 volt fans are pretty standard. Since we don't know what the exact specs are for those fans, in terms of rotation speeds, cubic feet per minute of air moved, and the decibel level of sound at each rotation speed, your best bet would be to buy a quiet replacement fan and see how it works. If it works well and is significantly quieter, then you buy more of them.

If you provide me with the size of your fans I can suggest replacement fans.
 
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There isn't much to choose from. The 60mm size is pretty freakin' small, hence they run very fast in order to move much air and are very loud. That's why it's better to use fewer, much larger fans, instead of a lot of small, noisy fans.

The best I could find is this one, which doesn't move much air, but your current case fans are probably moving more air than you need anyway. At least that's my experience with older, tower server cases and their array of small, noisy fans.

You could try these but it would be a gamble: they might not move enough air through your case. If the noise bothers you enough, I would try them -- they're not very expensive ($12 each).

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/4271/fan-232/SilenX_60x60x25mm_-_16dBA_-_18CFM_iXtrema_Pro_Fan_IXP-34-16.html?tl=g33c165s354&id=Psyxp9HZ
 
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Is it possible to use a larger fan mounted at an angle? The server has 4 fans at the front in a metal cage which is removable, this can give me 2x more depth with it removed, if that gives me more options.

Any options to put a fan control switch on this to slow the stock fans down further?

Here is something that might be useful from the manual:

Hot-plug fan operation
The server supports variable fan speeds. The fans operate at minimum speed until a temperature change
requires a fan speed increase to cool the server.
The server shuts down in the following temperature-related scenarios:
• At POST:
o The BIOS suspends the server for 5 minutes if itdetects a cautionary temperature level. If the
cautionary temperature level is still detected after 5 minutes, the BIOSperforms an orderly
shutdown and enters Standby mode.
o The BIOS performs an orderly shutdownif two or more fans have failed.
o The server performs an immediate shutdown ifit detects a critical temperature level.
IMPORTANT:An immediate shutdown is a hardware-controlled function and it overrides any
firmware or software actions.
• In the operating system:
o The Health Driver performs an orderly shutdown if it detects a cautionary temperature level. If the
server detects a critical temperature level before the orderly shutdown occurs, the server performs
an immediate shutdown. Additionally, the Health Driver performs an orderly shutdown if more
than one fan is failed or removed.
o When Thermal Shutdown is disabled in RBSU, the server performs an immediate shutdown if it
detects a critical temperature level.
IMPORTANT:An immediate shutdown is a hardware-controlled function and it overrides any
firmware or software actions.
 
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^I posted the part from the manual above, out of concern whether the bios might go crazy if I used less than 6 fans, that are larger, but at an angle. No health driver is installed yet.
 
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Thank you for helping me and your advice, mbreslin1954



Is anyone else able to help me with fans and the remaining questions I put in the first post?
Any help is much appreciated.
 
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Hi,
I recently got the same sever as well as the bigger brother. The problem with what you are trying to do is that normal PC fans uses cables to connect to the motherboard or directly to the power supply connections. HP made the fans different. They don't have cables. the connectors is on the fan and they slot directly into the connector beneath the fan. To get a normal PC fan, you would need an additional power supply to run the fans. But you still sit the BIOS problem. If a fan is not detected through it's connector, it will either register as a faulty fan or no fan at all and you won't be able to boot it. HP made these fans special for the servers as they are rack mount servers. The only option I can give you are either one of the following.

1. Keep the case as close as possible to an air-con outlet. This will ensure that the top part of the case is cooled down, which effects the air inside, thus the BIOS will run the fans at a much lower speed, thus reducing the noise level. keep in mind that if the air-con drips water from condensation, it might short out the server if the water gets in and then you can throw it away.

2. Put the case in the next room, drill a hole through the wall and run the cables through the hole. Make sure you have a USB HUB also connected for plugging in USB HDD or other USB devices. This will dramatically reduce the noise for where you are keeping the screen, keyboard and mouse. Though the next door room will be noisier, so be warned.

3. The silver PCI slot covers in the case, doesn't allow for air to go through. I took those covers out, drilled a few holes in each and put them back, this increased the noise very slightly, but it helps running the system a few degrees cooler, thus insuring the BIOS runs the fans at a lower speed for longer, thus reducing the noise.

These blade servers are designed to take up far less space, to be mounted in racks inside a specially cooled server room. They are basically there for deployment server, virtual servers, etc. to form a backbone of an organisation's network. This room is usually in the basement or ground level of a building, located so the noise doesn't bother anyone.

As for the sound card, you can pick up a USB sound card which you can plug into the USB connection. Though most USB sound cards have only a mic input and a single connector for speakers. So you won't be able to plug in a surround sound system, unless you get a splitter which you can hook up several output connections and then just emulate surround sound through software.

As for the graphics card, i am in the same boat as you. The graphics card needs to be an 8x compatible PCIx card. You should be able to pick one up second hand. Though make sure it doesn't require an additional power connections or you would need an additional power supply which you have to open a PCI slot to run the power cable through. From where I am, to get a graphics card like this is very difficult, sort of looking for a needle in 10 hay stacks.
 
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The way I solved my problem was that I noticed that the server would fit into the built-in closet in my room, so I decided to run the server inside there, as it cuts down the noise considerably. My desk is on the other side of the room, so I bought long cables for my mouse, monitor, etc. The server is currently sitting 15cm above the closet floor on wooden supports to keep it off the ground. It has cushions made out of spare egg carton foam to reduce the vibration and noise. I have no problems with heat. The noise is tolerable to me, but still not as quiet as a desktop computer.

I installed a Creative Sound Blaster X-fi soundcard into the pci slot, and a XFX HD7750 into the pcie slot. It is supposedly the best one you can get, if you don't have a gpu power connector. It was a while ago, but I remember being told something that a card like that won't use all 16 lanes. The video card is a single space one that fits fine in the server. Both cards work, although finding drivers for them is a pain, as I am running server 2003x64, and most driver installers for xp refuse to install onto server 2003. The AMD card's drivers, and its Catalyst Control Center are the hardest, as one driver revision will work, while another won't. I once had both install without a problem, but after reformatting the hard drive a year ago, for some reason, catalyst control center had problems. It does run most games that I have tried, although it is now not the fastest and newest anymore. I have a SCSI card in the remaining slot for a tape library.
 
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Im borrowing this thread.

Great inputs, and Im wondering if it would be possible to install W8pro or 7 Ultimate?
 
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I haven't tried those OS's, but I did try xp onto an old Cisco server once.

Many servers use array controllers which control the hard drives. When installing a non-server OS like xp, hard drives may not be recognized, because server OS install discs load server array controller drivers when the installer is loading after you boot to the CD. I don't remember if W7 has the option, but when installing xp, there is a key you press to load third party raid drivers during the loading phase.

If you can find drivers that will make the client OS installer recognize your hard drives, you might be able to install it, provided you can get drivers for everything else. You might need to manually install drivers after installing windows. You may have to manually install windows server drivers onto W7, because there might be no W7 drivers for some of the server components. If you try running a server OS driver installer wizard on a client OS, it might complain that you aren't running a server OS and install will stop. You may have to find/install the driver files manually, if you can find the right ones, and if they will actually work.

Windows 7 isn't the best choice if you have tape drives/libraries, as it doesn't support them out-of-the-box, and finding good tape software for W7 is hard. I am running windows server 2003 x64 R2 on mine. I have ran the newer games on my server.
 
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One issue about the fans, on most ProLiant servers, that until you install SNMP service and then the HP Insight Manager agents it'll be very noisy with the fans running full tilt. With the Insight Management Agents installed, they'll regulate cooling/fan speed. You can download the agents for this server using the link below. It still might be a bit noisy though since they're designed to run in data centers. Check the quick specs for the server and that'll show the power requirements.

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/public/readIndex?sp4ts.oid=1121413&swLangOid=8&swEnvOid=1005
 
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Most of the increased fan noise I had was caused by one of two power supplies. I unplugged 1 and removed it, no change. When I did the other one the change was immediate. I reseated the PS and it is still on low speed and bearable.
If your expansion cage supports PCI-E cards you can try the following. 'Nvidea' 8000GS 1GB PCI-E card. Mine is in slot 4.
I have an 'inateck' PCI-E USB3.0 card 'KT4004' in slot 3. And I have a 'Sound Blaster' Audigy Fx card with the low profile adapter in slot PCIe 2.
Currently running Windows 10, 64 bit, with Two quad core CPU's and 32 GB of memory.
Good luck.
 
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