Tape Backup - Custom Server Build

I gave up on the HPE Microserver in the previous video on this subject and decided to go with a custom build. That went.. well.

BTW: Absolutely NOTHING in this video is sponsored, endorsed, nor otherwise shilled. I paid for everything out of my own pocket, bought it for my own reasons, and have no relationship whatsoever with any of the companies I'm about to mention below. There are no affiliate links or anything similar. You do you as far as these products go.

It's an iStarUSA D-300 case, ASRock Rack motherboard, Xeon Silver 4509Y, 64GB RAM and a Samsung 990 Pro NVMe. And, of course the Dell/IBM LTO-8 tape drive. Finding the right power supplies and fans was a bit of an issue due to my poor planning.

The PSU originally was a Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W, but that full-size ATX form factor didn't 100% fit so I ended up using a Corsair SF1000 SFX-sized PSU which was technically too small but whatever.

The fans were almost completely replaced between the beginning and end. I went with Noctuas for quietness and reliability, but the small ones in the back of the case didn't move enough air. (As found out in the "smoke test" -- not what you think). Swapped those out.

Of the two CPU coolers I tried, one suffered from extremely bad vibration at medium and high RPMs. The other also vibrated excessively (but less so).

Could I have made this a little easier on myself? Sure. But this was also my first ever custom rackmount build. And though I've probably built scores of computers over the last 30+ years, they were all desktops, and lately I've been buying so much used enterprise hardware that I lost the knack. Hence the super-long video. But that's why there's chapters!

00:00:00 Recap
00:02:35 New Case - iStarUSA D-300
00:07:06 Noctua Fans & Other Fans
00:09:13 Motherboard Intro
00:12:23 PSU
00:18:01 More Noctua Fans
00:20:16 Mounting the Motherboard
00:24:56 The CPU & Cooler
00:29:50 Fan Headers and Cabling
00:32:31 RAM, SSD and SATA Connectors
00:34:22 Power Cabling
00:35:50 Initial Power On & BIOS
00:39:07 More Fan Faffing
00:41:10 PCIe Cards
00:43:13 IPMI GUI, Failed Update & Fan Issues
00:52:49 Front Panel LEDs
00:54:11 Airflow "Smoke Test"
01:00:39 Replacement Fans (CPU and Rear)
01:14:48 "Smoke Test" with Side Vents
01:22:49 Mounting the Tape Drive
01:27:11 USB Card for "Fun"
01:28:42 Conclusion