Looking To Make My Server Quieter

[JukeBug]

I recently built Raj's 5 Drive Budget box and am now looking to make it quieter.  For now I only have 3 drives in the box which hover around 30 degrees Celsius, so I can probably get away with unplugging some of the fans in the Azza Helios 910.

 

I am also still using the stock heatsink/fan that came with the AMD Sempron 140.  I assume replacing this will provide the biggest difference in noise level.  Does anyone have any suggestions if noise is my main concern for the moment?

[DoeBoye]

In my experience, the cpu fan on the Sempron 140 is quiet enough to be inaudible, when paired with case fans and PS fan.

 

I would look at swapping out stock case fans for quieter fans first. What case fans are you currently using? Also, if you are using 80mm case fans, upsizing to 120mm fans can make quite a difference... They will move a similar amount of air, but spin at a slower speed.

[JukeBug]

I have tried plugging in each fan, one at a time, and it seems like the CPU fan is the loudest of the bunch.  The top fan on the Helios 910 does rattle some (which is a common problem since it is sleeve bearing), but I am just talking about general fan noise.  I will have to investigate some more when I get home tonight.

[DoeBoye]

Surprising! Is it an old fan? If so, it could be gummed up with dust etc., which would add to the fan noise... In my case, the case and PSU fans drowned out any noise the cpu fan was making (in my Centurion 590 case).

[Rajahal]

I find that surprising too, but if you tested it then you are probably right.  I did also notice the top fan rattling on one recent build using the Azza Helios 910.  I found that by uninstalling it and reinstalling it the problem was fixed.  I think it might have been overtightened in the factory or something like that.

 

Are you using the Norco SS-500?  If so, replacing the 80mm fan inside that unit will probably help a lot.

 

Another thing you might want to try before spending a bunch of money on new fans - insulate the interior surfaces of the server with thick foam.  You can even disable the side fan and cover that opening as well.  The side fan isn't terribly necessary in a server anyway (it is designed to cool video cards).

[GabrielB]

I find that surprising too, but if you tested it then you are probably right.  I did also notice the top fan rattling on one recent build using the Azza Helios 910.  I found that by uninstalling it and reinstalling it the problem was fixed.  I think it might have been overtightened in the factory or something like that.

 

Are you using the Norco SS-500?  If so, replacing the 80mm fan inside that unit will probably help a lot.

 

Another thing you might want to try before spending a bunch of money on new fans - insulate the interior surfaces of the server with thick foam.  You can even disable the side fan and cover that opening as well.  The side fan isn't terribly necessary in a server anyway (it is designed to cool video cards).

 

Raj or anyone, what fan replacement would you recommend for the Norco SS-500 80mm fan?

[christuf]

Raj or anyone, what fan replacement would you recommend for the Norco SS-500 80mm fan?

 

Yes - those SS-500 original manufacturer fans are horrendously loud.

 

I replaced mine with a Noctua NF-B9 (a 92mm fan) which I had lying around.  The screws wouldn't fit (obviously), but it was magnetized, so I managed to get it stuck in place!

 

I can't attest for the Noctua NF-R8 (80mm) fitting correctly (but am sure it will), but can to the whisper-quiet noise that these Noctua fans make.  When I get my next SS-500, I will probably get 2 of these and replace the improperly fitted one in my current SS-500

[kizer]

My fan on my Sempron 140 is so quite I can barely hear it. Make sure if that is that noisy one to check the Bios and make sure you have your CPU fan set to auto so it can ramp up as needed as well set to quite not performance. I did the opposite and nearly replaced the fan until I realized I selected the wrong performance setting. LOL

 

Case fans if I find them to be noisy I normally pick up an Molex to Molex splitter and try to 7volt undervolt them before unplugging and not using.

 

Azza Helios 910 I built for a friend I tried to adjust the fan and no matter what it just rattles and drives me bonkers.

[prostuff1]

My fan on my Sempron 140 is so quite I can barely hear it. Make sure if that is that noisy one to check the Bios and make sure you have your CPU fan set to auto so it can ramp up as needed as well set to quite not performance. I did the opposite and nearly replaced the fan until I realized I selected the wrong performance setting. LOL

 

Case fans if I find them to be noisy I normally pick up an Molex to Molex splitter and try to 7volt undervolt them before unplugging and not using.

 

Azza Helios 910 I built for a friend I tried to adjust the fan and no matter what it just rattles and drives me bonkers.

 

Frankly, that big fan is the only thing I do not like about the Azza Helios 910.  If it were my case I woudld take the fan out and cover the top with some electrical tape or the like that would blend in with the case.

[wsume99]

I'll add my 2 cents ...

 

My server is in a Antec 300 case and I only use a 120mm single fan for cooling. Granted I only have 3 drives + 1 non-array drive for apps running but I think this would work pretty well even if I had more drives.  I use a Delta AFC1212D-PWM 120mm Case Fan on the back panel of my case.  I disconnected the fan on the top of my case and taped off the opening. Basically air can only enter my case through the front panel - i.e. it must flow across my HDDs.  Then I setup my server to adjust the fan speed based upon the highest temp drive in my system.  I followed the instructions from these posts to get the script working: X7SPA-HF based small (perfect) server build & Temperature based fan speed control?

 

I am very pleased with how this all worked out in the end.  Since my server is in the basement the fan is off most of the time because my temps usually don't go above 30-31c when streaming video. When I run a parity check the fan kicks in at a pretty low speed and keeps the max temps stable at 33-34C. I'm only using about 25% of the fan's total available speed so if I were to add more drives I'm pretty sure I could maintain those temps, it would just require a higher fan rpm. The only hiccup I had was finding a PWM fan that I could command to zero speed.

 

[xamindar]

Not to point out the obvious, but why did you pick a cpu that requires a loud fan? Why not something like an atom board which either has no fan or a fan that spins slow?

[kizer]

Not to point out the obvious, but why did you pick a cpu that requires a loud fan? Why not something like an atom board which either has no fan or a fan that spins slow?

 

Its not very loud at all. He picked his CPU just like I did baised on a recommendation, which a lot of us did because its a proven good CPU. I'm guessing he probably didn't set it up like I suggested in his Bios or maybe his fan is bad. Who knows

[xamindar]

Yeah, you are probably right. It is kind of odd that the cpu fan is the loudest. Another thing he can do is attach the fans to a speed dial and adjust them to a speed that provides less noise.

 

I personally like the idea of having them off or spun down very slow and only spin up when needed (temperatures rise).

[kizer]

Yeah my atom HTPC does that and the Sempron 140 does it to an extent. My Sempron seems to always be on, but I have heard it spin up faster when I was encoding some videos. It wasn't to noticable thou.

 

My Atom I've heard the fan spin up and ramp up some, but it was barely noticable with my TV off and completely un-noticable when I had my TV on.

[Dase]

I have tried plugging in each fan, one at a time, and it seems like the CPU fan is the loudest of the bunch.

 

You've probably already checked this, but have you looked in your CMOS setup and made sure the BIOS is managing your CPU fan speed correctly? Depending on the BIOS, you may have to try a few settings to get this working.