Why server M/B has perfect layout for airflow but consumer M/B not?

[vexa]

I was looking for server motherboard to build a NAS, and found out most server M/Bs have very effective layout for airflow. RAM and 24 pins connector on top allowing air from front fans to flow through CPU and RAM directly. Meanwhile, with mainstream consumer M/Bs, RAM and 24 pin connector on the side blocking air from front fan to get to the CPU, especially with tall RAM and low profile CPU cooler.

This just doesn't make sense no matter what case you're using because most consumer grade PC case has front intake and rear exhaust or at least one exhaust fan that pulls the air from front vent. The only good scenario is having intake from the bottom and exhaust on top without any PCI card, or with vertical PCI card and riser setup.

 

[13thmonkey]

Because server cases are nearly flat (mostly), consumer cases are a lot deeper so air flows up and over the ram, the sticks at the top of the server board would be in the air shadows of (what was) the ODD bays. There's also more scope for bigger air coolers on the consumer board which allows for quieter cooling, servers don't care too much about noise.

 

[atljsf]

most server mainboards are flat and designed to have over or near them lots of fans, 8 on ost models

that is great for airflow, but sounds like a jet engine all the time, i don't want such noise on my house all the time only to play some games or watch netflix

a server is meant to be set and left alone for 5 years more or less

the desktop pc in 5 years, usually gets enough upgrades to not be concerned for tis

on a desktop pc, you can buy low profile ram, a air cooler with better airflow thinking on that and the mainbaord, that one you posted there, the plastic parts can be removed if you consider they are a air flow problem

the area near the cpu uses heatsinks on most models, big ones, and your air cooler should blow cold air over them to keep them working properly

one thing that is clear form those two pictures is the amount of vrms and chokes on the mainboard of the left, thnking that you are going to overclock it, the server will not let you overclock, speeds will be kept at stock settings, so lesss vrms and chokes, so ram modules can be set up there

that mainboard is part server and part workstation, and it has lots of ram slots, when populated, they also blco airflow so you must use low profile ram modules and sometimes add another fan on that area, each workstation decides what to put or where to put it and how loud it will be

also remember that the consumer mainboard is small, the server one is almost the double of that, so you have space to play with in terms of ram location and component locations, the home pc, doesn't have all that space and full atx mainboards are not popular anymore, micro atx and atx mainboards is what is sold now, no full atx is sold anymore

the size of a pc case for a full atx mainboard is enormous, we are on the time where a mini itx is seen as big, well, that mainboard for the workstation is monstrous in comparison

 

[vexa]

Because server cases are nearly flat (mostly), consumer cases are a lot deeper so air flows up and over the ram, the sticks at the top of the server board would be in the air shadows of (what was) the ODD bays. There's also more scope for bigger air coolers on the consumer board which allows for quieter cooling, servers don't care too much about noise.

Yea, but what about HTPC and other shallow case? Also, we all see ODD is getting rare nowadays even most cases no longer have ODD bay. I don't see any disadvantages applying server layout to consumer M/B and some ITX board (mostly FM) has vertical RAM layout. I'd like to see more.

most server mainboards are flat and designed to have over or near them lots of fans, 8 on ost models

that is great for airflow, but sounds like a jet engine all the time, i don't want such noise on my house all the time only to play some games or watch netflix

Wait, isn't more obstacle causes more noise? I see horizontal RAM and 24 pin placement create more obstacle to horizontal airflow in most PC cases.

a server is meant to be set and left alone for 5 years more or less

the desktop pc in 5 years, usually gets enough upgrades to not be concerned for tis

on a desktop pc, you can buy low profile ram, a air cooler with better airflow thinking on that and the mainbaord, that one you posted there, the plastic parts can be removed if you consider they are a air flow problem

the area near the cpu uses heatsinks on most models, big ones, and your air cooler should blow cold air over them to keep them working properly

Plastic I/O ports cover? Nah, I was talking about the RAM and 24 pin placement which is directly blocking air from reaching CPU, especially in shallow HTPC / itx cases. I know the difference won't be much, probably not more than 2-3 degree celcius but I don't see any disadvantages having this layout on consumer MB, so why not?

one thing that is clear form those two pictures is the amount of vrms and chokes on the mainboard of the left, thnking that you are going to overclock it, the server will not let you overclock, speeds will be kept at stock settings, so lesss vrms and chokes, so ram modules can be set up there

*cough* non overclocked itx / matx setup *cough*

that mainboard is part server and part workstation, and it has lots of ram slots, when populated, they also blco airflow so you must use low profile ram modules and sometimes add another fan on that area, each workstation decides what to put or where to put it and how loud it will be

also remember that the consumer mainboard is small, the server one is almost the double of that, so you have space to play with in terms of ram location and component locations, the home pc, doesn't have all that space and full atx mainboards are not popular anymore, micro atx and atx mainboards is what is sold now, no full atx is sold anymore

the size of a pc case for a full atx mainboard is enormous, we are on the time where a mini itx is seen as big, well, that mainboard for the workstation is monstrous in comparison

You lost me at "consumer mainboard is small, the server one is almost the double of that, so you have space to play with in terms of ram location and component locations" Are you saying that server M/B able to have that layout because it has less components and bigger size?
Well, we also have small server board with same horizontal RAM and 24 pin connector. So I think board size is not the problem. Like this itx server board vs itx consumer board. Even between these two itx, the server M/B has more components and connector on it (more SATA connectors and VRM for example).

So, my points are:
1. Horizontal RAM layout on server board helps with airflow because most PC cases today have air moving horizontally from front to back, allowing air to move in between RAM modules easily.
2. We're no longer using ODD now, and it allows us to install fan on what used to be ODD bay, to move air on top of the M/B to cool down RAM modules.
3. Horizontal 24 pin placement also help with either airflow and cable management. you can just pull the cable vertically to the top of the case, no need to bend it 90 degrees to to reach the right side of the M/B where 24 pin connector is located. Also 24 pin is thick and dense, blocking air to reach CPU and VRM area.
4. Most cases have horizontal airflow, from front to back. Why don't place the components horizontally so air can easily move in between them?

See, there are no disadvantages of having server layout. except maybe, less space for big tower heatsink. But on small itx / matx build, I see more advantages and almost no disadvantages so why not?

 

[The Paladin]

look closely at the server board and homebuilt board, what does the home user has the server doesn't.....

yes this massive heat sinks ... you know those that permit to overclock and such.... and yes server board don't have those do they?

that's way the orientation is different... nothing else but engineering...

 

[atljsf]

Wait, isn't more obstacle causes more noise? I see horizontal RAM and 24 pin placement create more obstacle to horizontal airflow in most PC cases.

human ears should not be present when a server(s) are operating with the fans at full speed

that smal mainboard you sai it is for a server, must be for a small sever and parts are made to widstand high temeperatures, low airflow and requires a heatsink this big

as you see, this unit has very few fans, only 4, so cpus must work a bit hot and noise must be very high

on a 1u server things are worse

such unit with all those small fans, and still the server requires more airflow and possibly ac air, so the room is colder and the airflow is pure cold air, even there sometimes servers get hot and trottle down

 

[vexa]

Wait, isn't more obstacle causes more noise? I see horizontal RAM and 24 pin placement create more obstacle to horizontal airflow in most PC cases.

human ears should not be present when a server(s) are operating with the fans at full speed

that smal mainboard you sai it is for a server, must be for a small sever and parts are made to widstand high temeperatures, low airflow and requires a heatsink this big

as you see, this unit has very few fans, only 4, so cpus must work a bit hot and noise must be very high

on a 1u server things are worse

such unit with all those small fans, and still the server requires more airflow and possibly ac air, so the room is colder and the airflow is pure cold air, even there sometimes servers get hot and trottle down

Thanks for the response guys.
So, without getting any longer, what I'm asking is:
In term of noise or airflow, is there any disadvantages for horizontal RAM and 24 pin connector placement on low-end, non overclock-able board? Except for less space for heatsink, of course.

I'm talking about low-end chipset with no overclock, which is intended for non power user and / or HTPC build, thus no need for big VRM heatsink or tower cooler.

 

[atljsf]

on the area the ram is, in a desktop class pc, the parts are made to tolerate and perform under relatively high temperatures

the servers are made to use, abuse and abuse again and again 24/7 for years, so no one has to clean them, maintain them or see if a sensor or a part is doing well, cold or not

so they over provision and don't think on noise or power consumption much really, in terms of noise/amount of fans

in the area where the ram covers the desktop pc is the cpu and vrms, cpu has a heatsink fan(s) and near, a fan pushing air in or out, or both(top/back fans configuration)

vrms have heatsinks sometimes, or they have capability of throttle if temps are too high, server doesn't do that, just makes alot more noise with a bunch of really noisy fans

on desktops, ram doesn't really get too hot, even we that bought ram with shields and heatsinks, well, not really used parts/features unless you really overclock hard and use ram like crazy, on some games you might make ram hot at 40°c more or less, that is not really very hot

on a server the load is different, so ram doesn't block airflow and doesn't have heatsinks because that takes space and blocks airflow, there is not much space to dissipate heat and not much space between the ram modules so they go with the airflow better and since the enormous heatsink doesn't leave much space, all parts must be very friendly

in terms of noise, the fans on a server sound like a plane taking off in the airport, your desktop pc can get a bit more hot so it doesn't sound like a plane, in the worst case will sound like drill used in another house, a bit annoying

in reality, compare heat, power consumption and noise on a pc and on a server, really has not much sense thanks to the different approach of both machines, one can be on your desktop, the other, you don't want it on your desktop, trust me, i had one on my desktop, the noise, god the noise!