Planning a HL15 build - thoughts?

Hardware
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Backstory: I’ve been using a Synology DS1817+ for years now (8x8GB in SHR-2, almost full) and I’ve been thinking of upgrading. I placed a deposit on an HL8 and I’ve been waiting for more reviews / posts to come out about it. While waiting I’ve been thinking on if I wanted to build it out vs purchase a fully made unit. I keep going back and forth on it, and during that looked more into the HL15. I came to the realization that if I transplant an old system into an HL15, it would cost around the same as a fully built HL8 but with more expandability.

So, here are my plans. Does anyone see any obvious issues I’m missing?

  • Barebones HL15 with Noctua Fans kit.

Existing parts:

Parts to purchase:

  • Storage: Leaning towards 6 to 8 20 TB Ironwolf Pro (refurb) from Server Part Deals.
  • HBA: Tough choice. I saw that Server Part Deals sells a new New 9400 Series 4x Internal SAS/SATA/NVME Ports PCIe 3.0 x8 430-16i for cheaper than a used 9305-16i. Any reason NOT to get this? SFF-8643, so the Set A Data Cable Set would be the correct choice here.

Am I on the right track for the CPU cooler and HBA?

Lastly, I’m trying to find documentation on the power distribution board. It looks like it just takes one PSU to 4 molex breakout cable, but that two is probably recommended. Is there an official place to confirm this other than spread out across multiple threads?

Thanks for reading this!

Sidenote: Would anyone else like to see a document wiki and/or a detailed build video over FAQs in the forum? Felt like it was harder than needed to find some of this info, and the HL15 build documentation didn’t cover some of this (not that I even know where I found it).

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I don’t see any issues with what you outlined. It looks like the Lenovo 430-16i should show up like a 9400-16i. It’s possible but unlikely it might need specific drivers depending on the OS you install. The cooler should be fine if it fits your socket; the main limitation for coolers is the 4U case height. As long as the height is less than about 160 mm, it should fit. I think the Noctua D9L is about 110mm.

The PDU has four molex connectors as input and some custom wiring as output that goes to the backplane and the fans. (With the Noctua upgrade kit the fan outputs from the PDU will be capped off and you’ll connect the fans to the motherboard. I think the kit has some splitter cables so you can run multiple fans off of one motherboard header.)

To me saying “I think I can use one PSU cable, two at the most” is a bit like asking “what is the minimum amount of wood I can use so my house doesn’t fall down on the first windy day?” I would rather ask “how can I build my house so it stands up to as much wind and rain as possible within reason?”. If it were me, my goal would be to have four separate single PSU to single Molex cables, and only back off from that with reasonable justifications. You may only have 8 drives at first, but when you start adding in more drives, will you remember that you need to redo the PSU cabling?

I don’t want to repeat all the stuff in the posts you linked, and the numbers can be a bit fuzzy, but very generally;

  • A HDD will draw 1A-2A during normal operation and maybe 3x that at spin up
  • The molex connector is rated to about 11A
  • 18 gauge wire is rated for about 15A @ 12V over short distances

Since your PSU uses the same 6-pin PATA/SATA port pinout as the RM750e (https://help.corsair.com/hc/en-us/articles/17759727689997-PSU-CORSAIR-PSU-Pinout-Diagram), the same PSU-to-Molex cables as the ones that 45HL uses for the full build can be used. Although they don’t sell them as a separate item in the store or in the configurator, you can contact info@45homelab.com after placing your order and special request to add a set to your order for a small fee. At least they would for me.

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Thanks for the quick response. Good suggestion on 1 cable per molex connector. Just remembered my main rig has an AX1600i. It uses Type 4 cables like the RM750e and HX1000 (platinum), so I’ll have plenty of molex cables for this project.

Another list of their PSUs and cable types for future reference: PSU CABLE COMPATIBILITY

I forgot to mention that noise is one of my bigger concerns. The Noctua upgrade option states: “Reduces noise by 4-6 dB at full speed.” Doesn’t say what the dB of the default setup (without HDDs) is. The reviews I’m re-watching are old enough that they were before the Noctua option came out officially, although I recall some coverage with them. I’ll probably stumble upon them tomorrow, but if you happen to know what the expected dB of the default fans are, that would be great!

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The only attempt I have seen to quantify a difference is the two charts at;

However, based on this thread:

and knowing that Noctua and 45HL have an interest in selling the kit, I’m not sure how much I trust those as being objective and scientific. In my experience, the issue with the fans and HL15 noise isn’t the fans, it is the way they are wired. If you run the Noctua fans at 100% like the stock setup, they are going to be loud; if you hook the stock fans up to fan headers that support RPM control like the kit, they will quiet down. The issue with the full build was the Supermicro X11SPH doesn’t support DC fans, and 45HL was too cheap or something to use PWM fans connected to the motherboard. Measuring dB v RPM is sort-of pointless; you need to measure dB v equivalent CFM.

I apologize, but for $900 it grinds my gears a bit that they can’t provide a set of reasonably decent PWM fans as standard; that’s all they need to do, other manufacturers can; there’s no need for a fancy kit, although they seem to be charging a fair price for the kit compared to buying the components separately. ˂/rant˃

Anyway, qualitatively, yes you need some sort of fan mod if you aren’t putting the HL15 in a datacenter. For me it was sufficient to hook the OEM fans to my motherboard, but my HL15 isn’t in the same room as me. Perhaps it would be a little quieter with Noctua fans; my Q30 had Noctua fans (direct from 45Drives as standard!), was in the same room and was pretty quiet.