X540-T2 Overheating

[DHinm]

I have 3 HP Z800 workstations I am installing X540-T2 card into which are teamed to 802.3ad.

The first PC has installed fine and running smooth.

PC 2 and 3 the cards installed fine and work for about 5 minutes and then shut off due to overheating. The syncs are noticeably hot to touch.

The only difference spec wise is PC 1 has a mid range card where PC 2 and PC 3 have Nvidia GTX 980 cards and sata cards installed in each.

I have taken the cards out and put them into another Z800 box that is similar to PC 1 and have not had any issues overheating. Though I was only able to test over a 1gb connection.

I am fairly certain the cards were seated correctly in all instances.

I have the most current drivers/firmware for the X540-T2 cards installed.

Cards are installed into the last slot, closet to the bottom of the case. I believe this is slot 8.

Looking for any help or guidance as to where/how to check temperatures and power to the cards. Or any other information that might help me control this overheating issue.

Thank you in advance!

[VincentT_T_Intel]

Hi Spiralx1, have you tried removing the SATA cards from PC2/PC3 and check if you'll encounter the same issue?

[DHinm]

Hi Vince,

I brought in another Z800 system that has no additional cards aside from an lower level mid range nvidia and can update a little more details.

The cards work normal/as expected with only one 10gig connection in place. When I connect a second 10gig cable, the card over heats in about 20-30 seconds.

These are being installed into the last (bottom) port, however port swapping doesn't fix this. Cards are certainly seated.

Now, if I position an 80mm fan perpendicular to the card so it blows air directly onto the heat sync, this will prevent the card from overheating with two 10gig connections

[VincentT_T_Intel]

Hi Spiralx1, sharing the maximum operating temperature of x540-T2 = 55C.

[LHeck]

Vince,

The X540-T2 card has an "over temp" LED at the back. Do you know if it is in any way possible to retrieve the card or chip's temperature programmatically, i.e. through SNMP, IPMI or any such means?

X540 FAQ 2.35 implies it's up to the board manufacturer to design a temperature sensor into the board. I.e. Intel, in this case

I am also interested in such facilities for X540-T1 and 82599EB, which have no such LEDs.

Thanks.