kingcolex



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LegendaryActivity: 2310Merit: 1250 Octominer Server style case Review October 15, 2018, 03:22:37 AM

Last edit: October 20, 2018, 12:40:55 PM by kingcolex #1



So lets start this out, the hardware I have been using is an Octominer B8plus Motherboard which has 8 PCIE x16 slots an integrated Intel 3855U, I used 4gb of Laptop style so-dimm DDR4L and a 32gb M2 ssd (although I actually ended up running off flashdrives for ease of switching OS)



I had this set up with four different 2.5 slot AMD gpu, two 480 and two 580, this was originally in an open air rig from Spotswood, that case has more information here:



This setup is quite a handful and a mess of wires for the home miner as seen here:



This open air case also happens to have a bit of an odd psu mounting system that leaves a bit more to be desired, especially when using an expensive psu:



As you can see here when the board is not fully populated there is quite a large space between these cards, this is the only time I would actually really recommend not adding any extra cooling.



The package came via DHL in about 5 days from China (I want to say Shenzhen but I honestly can't remember) I had no issues with postage with this being delivered in the United States.



The box it came in really gave an honest feeling for how big this case really was going to be, but to my surprise it was quite light.







The case itself comes with three high powered fans preinstalled and makes the extremely long motherboard feel like a dwarf when first placed within.

This does give plenty of room to get everything installed correctly and set up, which was a great thing to me. You can also see the attached digital fan controllers back side from this photo, Octominer had sent me this and an analog controller as well.

I found my results with the included digital controller to be MUCH better as you can see what each fan is spinning at (RPM) and the temp in that area.



This also allows you to control each fan individually as compared to the analog single fan controller seen here:





The case itself fits everything very neatly on the inside and is made quite durably,





You can also see that compared to the open air the atx power supply fits quite well, this also comes with a bracket for fitting server style power supplies.





The front ethernet port connects to the ethernet port on the back, this comes through a small window beneath the power supply, i do wish this was handled some other way as this gives it an easy way to break a piece of the motherboard if laid down incorrectly.





My case also came with a custom engraved usb flash drive, this can be used for loading an OS if needed, I had already prepared an OS on a flash drive so I did not use it but it is quite the nice touch.







When it came to testing the open air system I had averaged a temp of 76c on all four gpu when mining Eth using the simplemining OS. This was a similar temp on a few different algorithms.



When placing the same setup in the Octominer case I was able to get the same temp with the fans set to 1200 rpm, when turning things up to 2200 rpm I was able to see temps drop around 1-2c, when cranking the fans up to their max (~4000RPM) I was able to see a temp drop of 3c on all cards while keeping all settings the same. It really seems to me that if you are going to be populating an entire 8 card board you will need to have these fans turned up to the highest speed to keep them cool and I believe they would stay cooler than an open air frame even with some fans due to an air tunnel effect. (static press blah blah blah) I also think that this case is a remarkably well made product and a beauty as well. My thought process for a case like this is that it will always have a use, GPU mining will always be relevant is one form or another and the main in tearing down and rebuilding an ugly, space consuming open air case just is a slow down. The ability to be able to only need to swap GPUs and keep the wife happy easily makes the decision for me. The case is for sale with DHL shipping from Octominer directly for $125 and $150 for the shipping and if you are going to build a nice GPU setup I really think it's the way to go, they even sell prebuilts with GPUs included for same shipment cost so that's nice if needed.

This is a review of the full server style octominer case, if you do not know who octominer is they are a company out of china with an international team that produces 8 slot riserless motherboards for GPU mining. More informatio can be found at Octominer.comSo lets start this out, the hardware I have been using is an Octominer B8plus Motherboard which has 8 PCIE x16 slots an integrated Intel 3855U, I used 4gb of Laptop style so-dimm DDR4L and a 32gb M2 ssd (although I actually ended up running off flashdrives for ease of switching OS)I had this set up with four different 2.5 slot AMD gpu, two 480 and two 580, this was originally in an open air rig from Spotswood, that case has more information here: http://spotswoodcomputercases.com/wp/?page_id=9194 This setup is quite a handful and a mess of wires for the home miner as seen here:This open air case also happens to have a bit of an odd psu mounting system that leaves a bit more to be desired, especially when using an expensive psu:As you can see here when the board is not fully populated there is quite a large space between these cards, this is the only time I would actually really recommend not adding any extra cooling.The package came via DHL in about 5 days from China (I want to say Shenzhen but I honestly can't remember) I had no issues with postage with this being delivered in the United States.The box it came in really gave an honest feeling for how big this case really was going to be, but to my surprise it was quite light.The case itself comes with three high powered fans preinstalled and makes the extremely long motherboard feel like a dwarf when first placed within.This does give plenty of room to get everything installed correctly and set up, which was a great thing to me. You can also see the attached digital fan controllers back side from this photo, Octominer had sent me this and an analog controller as well.I found my results with the included digital controller to be MUCH better as you can see what each fan is spinning at (RPM) and the temp in that area.This also allows you to control each fan individually as compared to the analog single fan controller seen here:The case itself fits everything very neatly on the inside and is made quite durably,You can also see that compared to the open air the atx power supply fits quite well, this also comes with a bracket for fitting server style power supplies.The front ethernet port connects to the ethernet port on the back, this comes through a small window beneath the power supply, i do wish this was handled some other way as this gives it an easy way to break a piece of the motherboard if laid down incorrectly.My case also came with a custom engraved usb flash drive, this can be used for loading an OS if needed, I had already prepared an OS on a flash drive so I did not use it but it is quite the nice touch.When it came to testing the open air system I had averaged a temp of 76c on all four gpu when mining Eth using the simplemining OS. This was a similar temp on a few different algorithms.When placing the same setup in the Octominer case I was able to get the same temp with the fans set to 1200 rpm, when turning things up to 2200 rpm I was able to see temps drop around 1-2c, when cranking the fans up to their max (~4000RPM) I was able to see a temp drop of 3c on all cards while keeping all settings the same. It really seems to me that if you are going to be populating an entire 8 card board you will need to have these fans turned up to the highest speed to keep them cool and I believe they would stay cooler than an open air frame even with some fans due to an air tunnel effect. (static press blah blah blah) I also think that this case is a remarkably well made product and a beauty as well. My thought process for a case like this is that it will always have a use, GPU mining will always be relevant is one form or another and the main in tearing down and rebuilding an ugly, space consuming open air case just is a slow down. The ability to be able to only need to swap GPUs and keep the wife happy easily makes the decision for me. The case is for sale with DHL shipping from Octominer directly for $125 and $150 for the shipping and if you are going to build a nice GPU setup I really think it's the way to go, they even sell prebuilts with GPUs included for same shipment cost so that's nice if needed.