Lsi 9212-4i running hot?

Cyber-Mav · 25 Sep 2019 at 18:55

got a Lsi 9212-4i card for adding more drives to my server and using my ir temp gun i noticed the heatsink gets very hot 70c just sitting there doing nothing. so i modded the card and found a heatsink in my parts bin that would fit. dropped temps to 45c just sitting there doing nothing.

what i would like to know is are these high temps normal for these sorts of HBA cards? i get that they are supposed to be in servers with high air flow but its pretty daft to put such crap cooling on them to begin with from factory.
anyone else had temp issues with these cards?
pics:

on top of it the crap factory heatsink is stuck on with some sort of epoxy. had to heat it up with a hair dryer to get it off and put proper stuff on.
replacement heatsink is from an old motherboard chipset cooler, i think that heatsink was a thermalright, thermaltake or zalman brand, cant remember since its so old. lol

MassiveJim · 25 Sep 2019 at 23:14

like you say they are designed with their application in mind which is high airflow servers.
i have a similar one in a tower in my workshop and it also gets very hot.

leezer3 · 25 Sep 2019 at 23:31

Zalman

EssexBoy · 25 Sep 2019 at 23:39

Get a fan blowing over it and it will be fine.

mikedigitales · 25 Sep 2019 at 23:42

I've popped one of the little Noctua fans on my lsi 9211. It made a huge difference, adding airflow is a must if you're using it in a non server case.

Cyber-Mav · 26 Sep 2019 at 06:05

Glad to hear the high temps are normal in home server use.
Yes i noticed having a fan directly ontop of the original heatsink knocked off over 20c according to the ir gun. Since its a home server that sits in my bedroom i didnt want to keep the small fan so found and used the bigger heatsink insted.
Is there another way to measure temps without the ir gun? Do these cards have any software that can monitor the card temp? if it even has a built in temp monitoring that is.

Justintime · 30 Sep 2019 at 08:37

I *think* the Megaraid storage manager software can monitor the temps if sensor present. Not sure anymore as i use all of my lsi stuff flashed to IT HBA in Freenas boxes

Cyber-Mav · 30 Sep 2019 at 08:54

will take a look at that software. thanks

Cyber-Mav · 30 Sep 2019 at 10:33

just an update the megaraid software works and shows all adapter info but i dont get any temp details so im assuming the 9212-4i doesnt have onboard temp sensor.

Avalon · 1 Oct 2019 at 04:53

LSI cards tend to run hot, they will usually do so for many years without issue, that said if your case had airflow, it usually keeps them cooler. STL files exist for fan mounts, larger heatsinks are also available, but realistically they are designed for server environments. That said, cooling is good

p9512254 · 9 Dec 2021 at 22:33

Sorry for posting to an old thread but I'm looking to add a fan to a 9212-4i and noticed the J9 header on the card that looks a lot like it could be to power a fan. It has 3.3V on it but that could be for an LED! I can't find any documentation on this header. Does anyone know what J9 is for or has anyone powered a fan from it?

Cyber-Mav · 14 Dec 2021 at 00:22

best run fan from molex or mobo header. iv been running it passive with blue/purple heatsink for over 2 years now and its not even flinched. last month i swapped the 9212 for a 9211-8i for more ports and used the same bigger heatsink i had on swapped onto it. passive works fine.
you may find some graphics card heatsink may fit it.