Difference between revisions of "Blackbird/Hardware Compatibility List"

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m (→‎Good Cases: add Fractal Design Define R6)
(added findings for using Fractal Design Define R6 cas)
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** Add-in cards need to be inserted at an angle, as the bracer above them is not removable.
 
** Add-in cards need to be inserted at an angle, as the bracer above them is not removable.
 
* '''Fractal Design Define R6'''
 
* '''Fractal Design Define R6'''
 +
** The case provides three 3-pin fans so you have to use the integrated PWM fan hub to enable fan speed control (otherwise the fans will spin at full speed)
 +
** Connect the first chassis fan (labeled fan 2 on the motherboard) to the ''CPU fan'' connector of the PWM fan hub to let the motherboard control the fan speed
 +
** The USB 3.0 plug for the front panel of the ''Define R6'' case is too broad at one side (collides with the BMC serial console connector) so you have to remove (polish) a little bit of the rubber of the plug so that it fits completely into the internal USB 3.0 connector of the motherboard (TODO add a picture)
 +
** The HDD LED plug for the front panel cannot be plugged into the motherboard's header because it uses a combined plug for + and - but the pins on the header of the motherboard are not neighbors. You need an adapter or leave it unplugged
 +
** The USB 3.1 Gen2 plug for the front panel cannot be used since the motherboard has no connector for that (and USB 3.1 is most probably not supported at all)
  
 
== Power Supplies ==
 
== Power Supplies ==

Revision as of 23:30, 20 January 2020

Cases

Good Cases

These cases were successfully used by someone.

  • AeroCool CS-101
    • The C1P9S01 Blackbird is compatible out-of-the-box. It's exhaust fan lines up well above the CPU cooler.
    • Any bottom mounted fan needs to be narrow (=<1.5cm), otherwise it collides with the bottom of the motherboard.
    • Add-in cards need to be inserted at an angle, as the bracer above them is not removable.
  • Fractal Design Define R6
    • The case provides three 3-pin fans so you have to use the integrated PWM fan hub to enable fan speed control (otherwise the fans will spin at full speed)
    • Connect the first chassis fan (labeled fan 2 on the motherboard) to the CPU fan connector of the PWM fan hub to let the motherboard control the fan speed
    • The USB 3.0 plug for the front panel of the Define R6 case is too broad at one side (collides with the BMC serial console connector) so you have to remove (polish) a little bit of the rubber of the plug so that it fits completely into the internal USB 3.0 connector of the motherboard (TODO add a picture)
    • The HDD LED plug for the front panel cannot be plugged into the motherboard's header because it uses a combined plug for + and - but the pins on the header of the motherboard are not neighbors. You need an adapter or leave it unplugged
    • The USB 3.1 Gen2 plug for the front panel cannot be used since the motherboard has no connector for that (and USB 3.1 is most probably not supported at all)

Power Supplies

  • SilverStone SST-SX500-G 500W (The dedicated CPU power cable must be used rather than the integrated 4-pin, otherwise the Blackbird will not boot.)

Fans

  • As of BMC firmware branch "04-16-2019", Noctua Industrial 140mm (NF-A14 iPPC-2000) do not work correctly. However, normal Noctua 140mm (NF-A14 PWM) work as expected even using a splitter for 4 total fans.

Memory

See POWER9 Hardware Compatibility List/Memory.

PCIe Devices

See POWER9 Hardware Compatibility List/PCIe Devices.

NOTE: On the Blackbird, pin 1 of the "BMC TTL AUXILIARY SERIAL HEADER" (J10116) conflicts with some PCIe cards (or their metal mounting bracket) in the lower PCIe 4.0 x8 slot. This is the case for e.g. the Supermicro AOC-SHG3-4M2P, where the metal bracket touches pin 1 of J10116 such that either the pin gets bent or the card does not fully seat. Since the conflicting distance is less than 1mm, either the metal bracket or the PCB (depending on which one touches the pin) can be filed/ground a tiny bit (with a hand file or dremel), so that the cards fully seats without bending the pin. When doing so, care must be taken to not let any metal dust touch the PCIe card. Ideally the conflict would only be between the metal bracket and the pin, in which case the metal bracket can be unscrewed from the card and modified separately. Afterwards it should be properly cleaned and (if necessary) dried, before being remounted to the card.

Here are some pictures from mx08's modification to the Supermicro AOC-SHG3-4M2P's metal bracket:

An alternative would maybe be to place a 1mm spacer between the top end of the PCIe card's metal bracket and the case, so that the card can be tightened properly while still making firm contact (?) with the PCIe slot.

SATA Storage Drives

Connected via optional on-board 88SE9235 controller, or via PCIe controller. NVMe cards are also supported.

See also