Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRSH (Nforce 430/6150) reliable?

[Elixer]

I was given this motherboard to turn it into a NAS.
They gave the RAM (4 sticks, 2GB total), and a A64 3400+ CPU, a old VCR case and 4 Sandisk SSDs and I need to get everything else to make it into a NAS (PSU, heatsinks, and whatever hardware is required to stuff it all into that VCR case.

Thing is, besides nforce 430 only supporting SATA II, (which means those sandisk SSDs will be limited by SATA II), I can not find any solid info on the TDP of this board or even if this is a reliable board. I am amazed it even has a gigabit LAN port.
Nothing would be worse than getting a call in the middle of the night saying the motherboard died.

Also, anyone know how much power this board sucks down?
I know the A64 is around 70watts, but, I am hoping I can underclock it to get it down to 40-50 watts (amazingly enough, seems this board you can change the multiplier and voltage), and use a fanless heatsink (another requirement, they want it to have as little noise as possible).

What say you all, is this a reliable board that doesn't use that much power, or is this thing going to use 100 watts?

Oh, also, what is the deal with foxconn using this pink goop all over their heatsinks? That stuff is very difficult to get off, and, as usual, they put WAY too much of it on, and it turned into a hard shell around the heatsink.

 

[mxnerd]

It's going to be ~100 watts when idle.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/1517/13

 

[VirtualLarry]

Nothing would be worse than getting a call in the middle of the night saying the motherboard died.

Also, anyone know how much power this board sucks down?
I know the A64 is around 70watts, but, I am hoping I can underclock it to get it down to 40-50 watts (amazingly enough, seems this board you can change the multiplier and voltage), and use a fanless heatsink (another requirement, they want it to have as little noise as possible).

What say you all, is this a reliable board that doesn't use that much power, or is this thing going to use 100 watts?

Oh, also, what is the deal with foxconn using this pink goop all over their heatsinks? That stuff is very difficult to get off, and, as usual, they put WAY too much of it on, and it turned into a hard shell around the heatsink.

I don't know about any "pink goop", I never noticed any on mine, but I think I used to have the same or similar board.

Anyways, if you want to run a board with a fanless heatsink, why the [expletive deleted] are you messing around with an old A64? Why aren't you buying an N3050 / N3150 Braswell mobo for $70-100. Use the right tools for the job.

I think an A64 would burn itself up over time, using a fanless heatsink. The TDP is just too high, and chips that old don't throttle, they burn out.

 

[Elixer]

I don't know about any "pink goop", I never noticed any on mine, but I think I used to have the same or similar board.

Anyways, if you want to run a board with a fanless heatsink, why the [expletive deleted] are you messing around with an old A64? Why aren't you buying an N3050 / N3150 Braswell mobo for $70-100. Use the right tools for the job.

I think an A64 would burn itself up over time, using a fanless heatsink. The TDP is just too high, and chips that old don't throttle, they burn out.

That is what the customer wants, they want to use old parts they had around.
I rather go with a SOC board myself, so... I try to do what they want, and yes, they already shot down my attempt at getting them a SOC board.

As for the A64, I under-volted my Opteron 165 on my Ultra-D years ago, and it did cut the power use down, and was still stable, I figured the A64 could be cut by at least a 1/3.

 

[mxnerd]

When idling, the system uses 106w, and uses 157w when in load. So average probably 131w. Use some online electricity calculator and show your customer how much it will cost and customer might change mind.

If customer still insists use a system that's 11 years old and it breaks down, it's not your problem.

 

[nenforcer]

That thing is certainly a relic - I think you'd be better of using the onboard video and plugging in a SATA III controller card into the PCI-E x16 slot if you truly want to make it a NAS.

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/ProductDetail.aspx?T=Motherboard&U=en-us0000182

 

[VirtualLarry]

Speaking of being a relic, I don't think that board has solid caps. Could be a ticking timebomb for your data. Just sayin'.

Edit: On the other hand, the system supports RAID-5 (FakeRAID), and is probably significantly cheaper than an Avoton server board.

 

[zir_blazer]

"Reliable" is not the proper word here. Even if the Motherboard was reliable, it also has a life expectancy, and it should not have a lot left since is already a decade old (Maybe if you recap it). I would donate that system to a museum.
I suppose that you're doing the job for a friend or something, since it would be weird if they pay you for labor costs but do not want to buy new Hardware. Actually, labor cost should be much higher if you have to deal with legacy quircks and support issues, same with electricity costs.

 

[Sheep221]

That is what the customer wants, they want to use old parts they had around.
I rather go with a SOC board myself, so... I try to do what they want, and yes, they already shot down my attempt at getting them a SOC board.

As for the A64, I under-volted my Opteron 165 on my Ultra-D years ago, and it did cut the power use down, and was still stable, I figured the A64 could be cut by at least a 1/3.

I work with customers everyday and the best you can do when they want something crazy is just refuse to do it because it won't be safe/reliable, believe me this is the best route, because if you do as they please they can ask for any damages etc later, the shit you don't want to put with especially with someone who is asking something idiotic like cooling Athlon 64 passively. It will be a NAS, the CPU will overheat and the system will turn off, or mobo will break, then the raid setup will break they ofc will lose some or all data and bum, your head is at stake - 100% guaranteed.

I tried to passively cool single core celeron G465 which has box TDP of 35W but generates probably 15W of heat, but it wasn't enough, it reached temp of 72 degress(its T-case) just in about an hour running outside of the case.
You have no chance even when running on possible lowest frequencies to cool it down even with low spinning fan, let alone passively, not to mention it's slow enough on stock, and you will cripple it even more with underclocking. Its stock TDP - 89W is just way too high to be cooled passively.
Either get the SOC/Atom/Nuc etc low power new stuff and attach the SSDs to it, or return that crap thing and send them somewhere else.
That CPU was good for people wanting to upgrade their thoroughbred Athlons and Durons back in 2003. It's 2016 now and there had been some 10 generations of platforms since, from both Intel and AMD, that each are far better than your Athlon 64 3400 in every way. Just junk the whole thing and buy something new, it's worthless.

 

[tcsenter]

Not even any efficient 65nm dual-core Sempron64's to use for that, plus DDR1? I agree with others, not worth it. Sometimes you just gotta pass....

 

[Elixer]

Looks like the matter solved itself, the board was begging to be scrapped.

I wanted to see if I could even fire up the thing after cleaning it, and... doesn't even POST.
The board has severe squealing noises, which are coming from the CAPs (mostly OST & some teapo), so, looks like some are pretty darn close to failing.

I once again explained to them that it would be better to just get a new setup, and he goes, "Damn. That board worked fine!"
I go, when did you last run it?
He goes "the guy showed it to me working at a garage sale!"
I go, when?
He goes "has to be at least 5-6 years back, but these things don't break!"
I go, yes, they can and do break all the time.
He goes "I have more I can bring over! I got 40 of them!"
I go, what year are these?
He goes "Just because it is old, doesn't mean they are no good!"
I go, yeah, I agree, but, it is going to cost you more trying to find a good one from that pile.
He goes, "How much more?"
I go, to test boards, $45 each, since it would involve stress testing them, to make sure...
He goes, "WHAT? $45? I didn't pay $45 for all these combined!"
I go, you could test them yourself, just...
He goes, "DAMN! I WASN'T BORN YESTERDAY! I DON'T GOT TIME TO TEST THEM!"
I go, that is why it costs...
He goes, "How about $40?"
I go, "$40 a board, and you have 40 of them?"
He goes, "NO, FOR ALL OF THEM!"
I go, that isn't possible, all my time would be...
He goes, "FINE, JUST BRING BACK THE STUFF I GAVE YOU, AND WE WILL CALL IT EVEN!"
I go, OK sir, just need to total up this bill, and...
He goes, "NO! NO! NO!, I AIN'T PAYING A DIME! WE CAN WORK OUT A DEAL! COME ON OVER, AND WE CAN BARTER! I GOT WHEELS, I GOT TUBES, I GOT KNIVES, I GOT FANS, I GOT METAL, I GOT BALLOONS, I GOT VCRS, I GOT OVER 2000 ITEMS! SOMETHING MUST BE GOOD FOR YOU!"

Since I have an appointment out that way anyway, I figure I got nothing to lose by looking at what he has.
Makes me want to ask for $$$ up front on these type of things. Bah.

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[VirtualLarry]

"NO! NO! NO!, I AIN'T PAYING A DIME!"

Makes me want to ask for $$$ up front on these type of things. Bah.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Sounds like some of my customers.

 

[tcsenter]

He's got balloons?

 

[Sheep221]

Sounds like some of my customers.

To be really honest, dealing with annoying ones is much easier than dealing with those who don't understand or can't follow instructions, takes considerable effort to learn them anything.