Unexpected Upcycling: building a new server from an OLD server! IBM System X3400

I wanted to build a tower server with lots of hot-swap SAS disk bays, but case options are few and far between. However, with some creativity and hackery, one can retrofit ATX parts into semi-proprietary IBM System X (now known as Lenovo ThinkSystem/ThinkServer) Tower Servers. These machines are cheap (i bought mine for 60GBP incl. shipping) and spacious, and are therefore well suited for customization and modernization. The generous number of 3x5.25" bays and 8x hot-swappable 3.5" SAS/SATA bays on this machine was particularly attractive to me.
This video demonstrates the conversion of an IBM System X3400 to allow the use of standard modern components - an ATX PSU and motherboard - as well as modifying the electric wiring for the proprietary SAS backplane as well as the front USB and power button/led panels. This conversion is an excellent option for those looking to build a custom NAS.
Thanks to ‪@victorbart‬ for your x3400 teardown video - the details provided there allowed me to look at the case and parts in great detail, giving me confidence that my project had at least some chance of success :)
Thanks to Grant Emsley at www.emsley.ca for providing the SAS backplane pinout - without having it in advance I might not have opted in to modify this specific machine.
Some of the tools used in this video:
* Dremel 4250 Rotary Tool Kit (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0949FBVR...)
* Cheap and good tweezer set (www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...)
* UNI-T UT139C Digital Multimeter (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FCD7R9...)
* Wiha Plier Set (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001J71KC...)

[@kurtwilliams7771]

I worked on those in the film industry back in the day, the Thinkstations and the HP Z 8x0 series boxes. I have a few HP Z8x0 machines sitting around in the garage and I thought about converting those for modern use since I love the cooling design, shrouds, and all the hot-swappable fans, and drive bays. Everything toolless. I look at modern pc cases and just sigh at how dated everything is, screws everywhere. One big issue with adapting say a Z840 would be getting a different power supply since the shape is really long and thin so it would require some modifications which would impact a bunch of items. Possible big undertaking.

[@TheRepairLair]

I have looked around for other cases before getting the x3400, and also came to the same conclusion that the HP tower servers (as well as dell and some others) are not as atx-mod-friendly judging from some pictures. By far the x3100 and x3200 are the most atx-like, i believe some of them come with regular ATX PSU mounts as an alternative to the dual hotswap redundant psu's.

[@darylb4468]

What an amazing build and an amazing channel - massively appreciate the quality of this video and your others after stumbling across this!

[@TheRepairLair]

thank you for the comment! I really appreciate the lovely feedback :)

[@saionteller9427]

Thanks! Keep up the up cycles😆 I really got into reusing old tech and modding them for modern usage

[@giantballofyarn]

Nice work! Can't wait to see your future builds.

[@TheRepairLair]

Thank you! I really like the aesthetics of old tower servers,so i might do something like this again :)

[@SilentDecode]

Nice build! Also a nice way to reuse such a bulky looking machine!

[@TheRepairLair]

Thanks!

[@joemelnick]

Enjoyed your video and appreciate your use of the old IBM server case for something new.

[@TheRepairLair]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@harshbarj]

I love "older" servers. I have a Dell PowerEdge T420 (and a t320 as well) and just love them. The T420 has 2x E5-2470 V2 which are a 3.2GHz 10 core 20 thread CPU. So I have 20 cores 40 threads available. The thing easily beats my Ryzen 7 3700x in Cinebench (run in Wine on the server). Yes it's FAR from power efficient but if I wanted that I'd use a Pi cluster. Plus there is just something about these loud heavy beasts. If I decided to upgrade this as you did I'd have a easier time as at least the motherboard looks to be standard ATX. The PSU however is just like yours.

[@healthy5659]

Very impressive craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing :)

[@aciamage]

I really like the video, I can't wait to see the upgrade in the futur, and your next project. You have a new subscriber!

[@dagamore]

nice build I put the serial number of the disk on the trays to make finding them faster, for when/if one fails normally the log shows it by /dev/id and sn. Still glad to see another old case not just go to the landfill.

[@2pack4norbi]

Wow that's impressive. Very good idea and good execution. Thanks for this video. :)

[@niceguyjoe]

Great concept and a great video.

[@TheRepairLair]

Thank you, Joe!

[@soldiersvejk2053]

Very impressive handcraft. Thanks!

[@TheRepairLair]

Many thanks!

[@maudlyn375]

Very cool, well done! And, love the cat

[@Nokia17Rocks]

I have the IBM x3500 (Original one I suppose) but... Minimum details... The one that I have doesn't have the power supply! This video bring me a great idea!

[@TheRepairLair]

I'm curious! Let us know what you're planning to do :)

[@pinkeye00]

I see a few fun caps ready to spooge. :)

[@MickeyMishra]

Now this is a cool build! I plan to do something like this in the future with a Dell 2600/2500 case I have. No reason to use the Hardware as the CPU/ Mobo is VERY OLD. But the case is perfect for Multiple GPU cards and already has the provisions for forced air cooling of GPUS for A.I. workloads.

[@TheRepairLair]

The Dell looks like a great choice! Good luck, would be interesting to know how the modification goes for you :)

[@dvdgantt1]

He just Server+ the Server... This video is what I been lookin' for.😎👌💯

[@marianistefanoj]

congrats for your hard work, the result is really awesome, greetings and best wishes from Brazil

[@TheRepairLair]

Thank you!

[@LudiJR]

I had a similar Xeon as my daily for some time in my teenage years. Had a 775 system laying around and I thought I could put it to good use. Went on local second hand site found a 771 Xeon modified it and the board for it to work. Had no problems with it at all... Only weird thing was every time I pressed the power button the lights would flicker for a sec.

[@blakjebuz4229]

I know I'm late to find this video, but wow brother!! I am now thinking of doing something like this to my old AS400!! Great Video!

[@TheRepairLair]

as400 series are very good looking, would make an awesome conversion!

[@syed9640]

very nice Work....Bravo

[@TheRepairLair]

Thank you!

[@InsaiyanTech]

This was seriously a fun video to watch

[@TheRepairLair]

I'm really happy you liked it, thanks for the comment :)

[@Volodka7000]

Perfect!

[@dvdgantt1]

Server+ in the flesh...🙌🙌🙌🙏🙏🙏

[@Deses]

Nice build! With all that internal space I would fill it to the brim with more drives held with 3D printed brackets.

[@qwertNickqwert]

Got your video in recommendations. We need the final build! With new mobo.

[@TheRepairLair]

I added back the fan assembly with 3x noctua fans and an extra fan splitter on the mobo. But, im still running it with the ancient junk mobo! it suffices for what i need, lightweight virtualization and data storage :)

[@furionn]

Still rocking an X3400 M3 back in the office - it used to be one of our production server, nowadays its just acting as a Veeam repository. I give it a good dust off every year or so, runs like a charm! IBM knew how to make x86 servers... Great video btw!

[@TheRepairLair]

Thanks for the comment! Great to know more of them are still in use :) Althought the m3 is quite different from the m1/m2, the case is even less atx-like, with the io panel holes being cut out of the case (there's no removable io shield)

[@fluffyct100]

Love it

[@AverageAutomation]

Its like you have read my mind on this one I just bought the exact same one for super cheap but the rackmount variant and planning to to exactly this Thank you for linking the SAS backplane pinout as i will be reusing those as well. Prices of rackmount cases is ridiculous and the bigger you go the more it costs.

[@TheRepairLair]

Thank you so much for the lovely comment! I hope your modification goes without issues! Let us know when you're finished :)

[@AverageAutomation]

@TheRepairLair yeah so I got the server seems like a newer motherboard not a single stanoff match atx format and the IO backing plate is a cutout on the metal case itself so it seems I may have a bit more work cut out for me. Also came with different 2.5 sas backplane with 16pin power. I was able to measure the pinouts from that was really easy because it had an aftermarket color coded power cord just confimed that it was correct.

[@TheRepairLair]

@@AverageAutomation Thanks for the update, hope you manage to get the rackmount variant modified. You can buy standoffs of various heights in very cheap kits from ebay or amazon, but i'm concerned if there is enough space for the threads when protruding from the modular motherboard mounting plate without touching/scraping the bottom of the case. Let me know :)

[@AverageAutomation]

​@TheRepairLair yes I already have some standoffs will need to grind off all the current standoffs and bubble standofs to avoid them contacting the mb i should be fine taking to my Dads tomorrow maybe he is a qualified panel beater I am sure between the two of us we will figure it out.

[@Marc_Wolfe]

"I decided to clean it." As if that was optional.

[@TheRepairLair]

well.... you know... some people.... :o

[@ZeitreisenderDrache]

Mega geil

[@FennecTECH]

So is this what we need to fit those 5090 graphics cards?

[@tarekmahmudbhuiyan7368]

Nice.

[@davidlaurag]

gracias !! me llego una x3500 hace uno par de días . y no sabia que hacer con la alimentación del sas.

[@Marc_Wolfe]

T320s are a decent option too. Most standard motherboard mount holes are there, even the less standard server board stuff. Room to do the same standard PSU mod. 1st slot isn't missing, but is a goofy out of spec half height slot. the oher slots are Tool-less. Some have back planes. I put a SuperMicro X9DRH-7F in mine.

[@TheRepairLair]

I wasn't aware of the T320S, looks like a really good recommendation!

[@OP4455OP]

damn, I tossed used IBM X3200 3 years ago, that's too much work for revive a heavy AF case(and front panel is duct taped). but I savaged Xeon X3430, ECC RAM, PSU(My PSU model is ATX standard w/ SAS connector) and exhaust&HDD Bay Fan note: I don't save the SAS card because it doesn't come with SAS drive

[@TheRepairLair]

Ah what a shame! The x3200 is in fact much more atx-like than the x3400

[@JuanGonzalez-hv6vs]

It was very entertaining, but I would not dare to do some of that splicing and joining myself. 1. I am not very skillful with that stuff, and 2. I need to know precisely what wires I am splicing and joining together. Overall, excellent video.

[@TheRepairLair]

The wires can be either measured under live power, or you might find them as i did online. This really isnt recommended in general, but its a hack, and over one year later everything is still working perfectly :)

[@tomcraftdonkey2285]

Nice build man! I'm going to do something similar with a system x3200 m3 that I just picked up today.

[@TheRepairLair]

Best of luck! m3 might be more tricky though due to the back panel being quite weird, but i hope everything goes well for you!

[@tomcraftdonkey2285]

@@TheRepairLair Thanks for responding! I'm actually thinking it will be quite a bit easier because mine came with a standard ATX powersupply, and the motherboard I plan to use has a m.2 slot where the first pcie slot will be, meaning that hopefully I will only have to modify the IO bracket.

[@TheRepairLair]

@@tomcraftdonkey2285 If i remember correctly, the M3 doesn't have a removable IO panel, and all the pci slots are slightly offset from normal ATX, but i really hope i'm wrong on the latter and you manage to mod it without any issues!

[@tomcraftdonkey2285]

@@TheRepairLair Thank you for your insight into modifying the case, but I would also like to reuse my single sas back plane like you did in your video. Only problem is that the connector is different from yours, which converts a female 8 pin connector from the power supply into a 14 pin connector. Considering that I would only have to modify 8 pins, it doesn't seem as bad as yours. However, I have little soldering experience and no pinout. Could you please give me some advice if you can? Thank you very much for your time.

[@TheRepairLair]

​@@tomcraftdonkey2285 Can you power on the machine? As long as you can actually turn it on, you can just borrow or buy a cheap multimeter and measure out the pinout yourself :) I had a brief search online and couldn't actually find an example of an 8 pin power cable for the x3400 m3, maybe you can post a link here?

[@danthompsett2894]

Good Job, shame the motherboard isnt a proper server board like a dual amd epyc mobo or similiar, but great work with reusing the sas backplanes, and modifying the power button and usb connectors.

[@TheRepairLair]

thank you! i did consider a more powerful board, but i just have no need for it

[@youxie13]

Hey bro R u able share the ibm hdd cage back panel power socket pin diagram. Couldn't find online. I'm going to mod my 3100m4 too, try to save the hot swap hdd cage。thanks

[@TheRepairLair]

www.emsley.ca/hardware/ibm-x3500-sas-backplane

[@TheSchnitzelkiller]

Awesome case mod! Really digging the industrial apperance. Did something similar with a Powermac G5 case a couple of years back (which is still houses my daily driver pc). Now however, after seeing your build, I'm tempted to track down on of those IBM cases and use it for my next homeserver and then stick in some ridiculous Threadripper or Epyc system haha.

[@TheRepairLair]

Thanks! Should you go this route, there are some similar towers that may be more or less complicated to modify, including x3100, x3200, x3300, x3500

[@emanuellucena7306]

very cool, i'm from rio de janeiro brasil and i think same and go the project

[@TheRepairLair]

greetings, and best of luck!

[@DJLKM1]

Could you not simply have just drilled new standoff points and moved the mobo down so all the pci slots lined up?, would have been much simpler, plus the mobo tray is probably a cheaper part to replace if it didn't work out, did also wonder how you were going to tackle the backplane power as they looked like a nightmare. great job. Anyhow, nice to see a server get reused. Just like my own, truely love my supermicro mobo :)

[@TheRepairLair]

Adding new standoff points would be more complicated, and in fact, i COULD have just got a different motherboard without the first slot altogether, saving all the trouble!

[@Niemand]

She's a beauty, not gonna lie

[@TheRepairLair]

definitely is! but noisy as hell too!

[@Niemand]

@@TheRepairLair She's a grown-up server, not dainty little everyday NAS. :P But, it's great work, you really earned a Like & Subscription, wanna see what you do next.

[@TheRepairLair]

@@Niemand thank you for the warm feedback! I dont have any immediate plans to mess with servers or casemodding, im currently interested in repairing synthesizers, and i have a massive restoration project in the works :) If i ever make any changes to the x3400 ill definitely do a follow up video

[@Niemand]

@@TheRepairLair That's even better, looking forward to you giving old synths some love

[@Lgmorrone]

very good project, congratulations mate! very inspirational video. I want to ask, why if you put warm hardware? it possible to cool ? or have to make modifications and ruin the original case? maybe cooler with liquid, you have a lot space inside.

[@TheRepairLair]

Thanks! Regarding the cooling, since ive uploaded the video, i added bqck the three fan assembly, but with regular noctua 120mm fans instead of the originals. You can of course modify it further, like using liquid cooling, but i dont need it for my use

[@renep702]

nice server, but i have an other question, what kind of stand do you use for your Thinkpad in the background? :)

[@TheRepairLair]

It's a cheap single pole dual arm monitor stand, manual (not gas), It's meant for two monitors, but it has an optional plate for a laptop :) Plenty of options on amazon or ebay, mine was about ~40$

[@knight8563]

Nice build and video :) could you share the link for the cd rom drive bay adaptor please?

[@TheRepairLair]

its the "Icy Dock MB608SP-B ToughArmor Hard Drive and SSD Caddy - Black", here's a link to the Amazon page : www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07DM2NQNW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

[@user-sr7fo5fe6x]

Love it... That is a great build. So much redundant space though. You really need to maximise that. 'wasted potential'.

[@TheRepairLair]

Ever since starting this project I was planning to put a supermicro H11SSL motherboard in this, but never really needed to upgrade as the crappy outdated motherboard shown in the video just serves all my needs and refuses to die! I did modify and add back the fan frame with 3 silent atx 120mm fans.

[@talos86]

Nice build! The PSU and the PCI slot modification was unnecessary. You shouldve use an SFX powersupply instead of the reguar ATX. With that you only needed to make a bracket for the SFX psu and you could secure it to the modular IBM PSUs place. For the PCI slot you could use a simple PCIe 16x riser and you only need to make 2 standoffs for the riser card.

[@TheRepairLair]

Thanks! I think using an SFX PSU probably wouldn't have changed the amount of work required all that significantly. The riser, however, might have been good, but making the extra pci slot was a mistake in general, and could have been completely avoided by using a different motherboard.

[@talos86]

@@TheRepairLair the SFX PSU dimensions are 125mm x 63.5mm x 100mm(4,9x2,5x3,9 inch). The X3400's PSU is 86mm x 381mm x 343mm(3,3x15x13,5 inch), so the SFX would fit perfectly in the dual PSU bay. You need only a bracket to hold the SFX in vertical position. Im planning a similar build in the future, becaus i started to grow out my current NAS. It have only 2 HDD bay and proper NAS HDDs with 4+Tb capacity are really expensive in my country(hell yeah to the 27% VAT and the special Artisjus tax).

[@Mr.Handen]

That can place any stuff inside lot a storage unit, Big over 8TB super performance. Can even keeping like Video old, document and other stuff..?? However is like Personal Home with no server?! 🤔

[@TheRepairLair]

I use it as a personal server at home, and one of the things i do keep there are old videos :)

[@informatikos-pamokos]

Pradžia tai užmušė 😄

[@TheSasquatchjones]

Any time you can use power tools to upgrade a computer case is a good day.👍

[@TheRepairLair]

When it comes to case modding, violence is never the answer, as they say. Violence is the question. YES is the answer :))

[@JohnDoe-qb3eq]

Wouldn't it be easier to use another IO frame that fits the MOBO?

[@TheRepairLair]

the io frame size is non standard, so no off the shelf option would fit

[@JohnDoe-qb3eq]

@@TheRepairLair In 18:00 we can see that you had a matching IO frame.

[@TheRepairLair]

@@JohnDoe-qb3eq that is the same one that i used in the final build. I didnt modify the io frame, its the original that came with that mobo. I only modified the case to fit the io frame.

[@ICgasm]

I started by buying some better lightning for filming, because I live in a basement with no lights.

[@TheRepairLair]

lighting is super important :)

[@jdsim9173]

It's a server, they all take forever to post. I recommend using rivets instead of screws and nuts

[@TheRepairLair]

one can never pass up an opportunity to complain about the slowness, though! :) I did think about riveting the case, but decided not to in case i mess up something and need to disassemble. Would certainly look better if riveted

[@4verageYTuser]

I love the look of old machines, this is pretty cool, i always wanted to fit new components on an Alienware Aurora r4 but these are almost impossible to find in Brazil

[@1964catt]

No one goes to Brazil so I joke 🤣

[@4verageYTuser]

@@1964catt it is hard to live here being a tech enjoyer

[@paulstubbs7678]

I have an X3500 server, it has a copy of Windows server on it, I've always wanted to get past it's login and play with it - for a dose of retro fun, however your path is probably the easier one. (Dare I say, 'More sane') I loved the 2.5 inch docking bay, I'll have to get one of those. Actually I'm considering a server just using SSD's as it will be 99% read with little writes, Way more power efficient than a pile of spinning disks. If anyone knows how to break into a Windows server, let us know.

[@TheRepairLair]

hi Paul - do you really need to access windows server? why not just reinstall it from scratch, or, perhaps easier yet, just get a linux distribution running on it? particularly if you're interested in using the server for storage, you could get truenas for free.

[@paulstubbs7678]

@@TheRepairLair I'm more interested to see what services etc it has on it, hopefully it can do remote booting of workstations etc, or something else equally interesting. Windows on it's own is nothing special, I'm just hoping it's got other goodies inside. As there seems to be so many subsystem at play when I boot it, I kind of assume it needs a special version specifically written for it. As for truenas, I have several other PC's just waiting for similar use. I currently have an old atom industrial board running FreeNas as a play thing, unfortunately it will only take 4G of ram, so hence watching your vid

[@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI]

I just want that case

[@TheRepairLair]

If you're in the UK, i happen to have another one that hasn't been modified yet. It doesn't have the SATA backplane boards, but those could be had cheap. Let me know if you're interested :)

[@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI]

@@TheRepairLair Sadly I am not in the UK.

[@soldiersvejk2053]

E5420? That can be modified and used on a LGA775 platform.

[@TheRepairLair]

i think so, but its such an old platform, im not sure there is a good reason to do it?

[@mirfanalfian8313]

sir, What type of RAM use on that server?

[@TheRepairLair]

The replacement motherboard uses DDR3, non ecc

[@mirfanalfian8313]

@@TheRepairLair won't it be a problem if you use a non-ECC ram server?

[@TheRepairLair]

@@mirfanalfian8313 Not really a concern for me, I'm not storing anything critical there, and have weekly backups of everything

[@TootNuggetEdits]

What the dog doin?!

[@TheRepairLair]

Installing Linux on the old pc :)

[@debugin1227]

Most servers start with that noise.

[@TheRepairLair]

complaining in video added for comedic effect :)))

[@FennecTECH]

Should have used color coded spade connectors

[@TheRepairLair]

yes, but didnt have any coloured ones on hand at that time

[@paulstubbs7678]

A few notes, tinning wires then using crimps over that is never a good idea, the solder will flow causing a lack of tension over time, you should either skip the tinning, or add some flux and solder the crimps onto the leads. Also, that SAS controller you made an extra slot for, as it has no ports on the back, wouldn't it be easier to just remove the bracket?, or just screw it to the existing metalwork, as it needs no outside view.

[@TheRepairLair]

thanks for the comment - i didnt know that about the crimp connectors as i almost never use them, useful info, i really appreciate! Regarding the extra bracket, honestly i shouldnt have made one at all - lots of server atx motherboards (like supermicro) dont even have a socket there. Ideally i should have just bought a new motherboard. Lesson learned!!

[@paulstubbs7678]

@@TheRepairLair No, nothing wrong with recycling/reusing stuff, make use of what you have, the world has enough land fill as it is.

[@netautorisationnetautorisa545]

!!

[@benjamintackett2050]

My 6 year old daughter thinks your cat is so cute.. she made me post this.

[@RicardoAlves-pj1ru]

Esplêndido.

[@Pan_Torcha]

rip cd drive

[@mabuchild]

现在把电子产品造得太多,淘汰太快了.有些还没有欣赏就被岁月掩埋了.

[@luisvillar]

Nice build! Also a nice way to reuse such a bulky looking machine!

[@TheRepairLair]

The case is really great for a home server - if you have the time to spare, this is the cheapest and likely best way to get something with lots of hot-swappable sata cases!