I have two Icy Dock cages and will eventually get a third, but one issue I currently have is the noise.  For my living room it's a bit too loud.  I'd like to replace the fans on the cages but not exactly sure how I would go about that.  I'm not sure if I buy a quieter fan how I would attach it?  Just looking for feedback.

 

BTW I can't seem to get to the Icy Dock website.  Seems to have disappeared.

A quieter fan will likely move less air, which may be a bad thing. Some people report temp issues on these just by filling up the drive bays. Going to a lower volume fan may exacerbate that issue.

The Icy Dock fan assembly is removable.  The fan is soldered into the assembly but it wouldn't be hard to replace the fan.  One caution...the fan assembly on mine were on so darn secure that I had difficulty getting any leverage on the release while they were in the case.  I think I remember the fan had a label on it so you can look up the specs.  Try to get one with approx the same cfm but quieter.  

If you had lots of room in your case you might be able to hotglue an 80-to-92 or 80-to-120 plastic fan adapter to the outsidr of the Icy Dock and just use a bigger  fan.  You could probably just hook those fans up to psu 12v molex and maybe even control them with a $2 speed controller.

I'm starting to think that it's not the fans making the noise.  There's a loudish hum coming from my system.  I put my ears to all the fans and don't think it's them.  The PS could be quieter but I'm wondering if some of the older 320GB and 500GB Seagate Baracuda drives are making the noise?  I have 9 drives in my system with only 4 of them being WD EARS drives.

 

I think I'll shut down the server and remove all the drives except for the EARS drives and see how loud the server is then. 

Okay, after taking everything apart I ended up booting up the server without the fans on the Icy Dock.  Big difference!  It's definitely the fans making the sound.  

 

I was actually thinking of using some crazy glue to stick some quieter fans on.  I know these fans are really quiet,http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/107/sp0925fdb12_detail.html. Any idea which of these in terms of CFM I should go with?  I'm leaning towards this one, http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=38012&vpn=SFF92B&manufacture=Scythe.  Also can I not just glue the fan onto the case with crazy glue or do I need an adapter and hot glue it?  I'm not sure what kind of adapter I would need?

 

I have 3 120mm fans handy but I don't see how I could possibly put them on the back of the Icy Dock since they would cover up the SATA and Power plugs.

 

Edit:  I just read that fan adapters are restrict quite a bit of air flow.  So I still figure I could just glue the 92mm fan on the back of the case even though the fan on the Icy Dock is 80mm.

Okay, after taking everything apart I ended up booting up the server without the fans on the Icy Dock.  Big difference!  It's definitely the fans making the sound.  

 

I was actually thinking of using some crazy glue to stick some quieter fans on.  I know these fans are really quiet,http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/107/sp0925fdb12_detail.html. Any idea which of these in terms of CFM I should go with?  I'm leaning towards this one, http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=38012&vpn=SFF92B&manufacture=Scythe.  Also can I not just glue the fan onto the case with crazy glue or do I need an adapter and hot glue it?  I'm not sure what kind of adapter I would need?

 

I have 3 120mm fans handy but I don't see how I could possibly put them on the back of the Icy Dock since they would cover up the SATA and Power plugs.

 

Edit:  I just read that fan adapters are restrict quite a bit of air flow.  So I still figure I could just glue the 92mm fan on the back of the case even though the fan on the Icy Dock is 80mm.

 

First, don't crazy glue anything in the case ever.  Hotglue is pretty safe and easy to deal with, only takes a small amount.  It holds but can be removed.  It's an insulator so it doesn't short out components.  You can tack the adapter to the back of the 5-in-3 and if there are any air gaps a small amount of tape can seal them up.

 

Here is an example of a fan adapter.  I've used these lots of times.  I've never experiences any sort of air restriction.

Essentially you are moving the same air the 80mm fan is able to do but with a larger fan that spins at a slower rate.  Same amount of air flow but quiet.

Well I just ordered 3 each of the following

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835610005&cm_re=nexus-_-35-610-005-_-Product

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811996008&cm_re=nexus-_-11-996-008-_-Product

 

You know I don't even know if there are fan mounts on the case once I remove the existing fan casing...

Well I just ordered 3 each of the following

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835610005&cm_re=nexus-_-35-610-005-_-Product

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811996008&cm_re=nexus-_-11-996-008-_-Product

 

You know I don't even know if there are fan mounts on the case once I remove the existing fan casing...

 

It doesn't.  The fan assembly has plastic tabs and a pressure clip to hold it on.  That's what the hot glue of for.

Personally, I don't like the adapter you selected.  First, I'd cut out the junk in the middle as it' just going to cause noise.  But mostly because it's not funnel shaped.  It's going to block the outer 12mm and I suspect that will affect airflow and it's sure to contribute noise.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g47/c121/s262/list/p1/Fan_Accessories-Fan_Accessories-Fan_Adapters-Page1.html

I did some reading up on it and the Nexus Beamair got good reviews.  It's only $5 each so it's no big deal.  My main problem is I don't own a hot glue gun.  Is there anything else I could use?

 

http://hardwarebistro.com/index.php?option=com_simple_review&Itemid=84&review=22-Nexus-BeamAir-Air-Guider-Review

 

Edit:  I decided to cancel the Beamair and just get an adapter.  It's kinda hard to find an 80-92mm adapter.

Okay finally received my new fans and 80-to 92mm convertor.  My friend has a hot glue gun and some glue but not sure what kind of glue.  Is there a specific type of hot glue I need or will Craft glue work?

I don't think the glue has to be any particular type.  Also, it doesn't take much.  Hold the adapter against the back of the Icy Dock and run a thin bead along where the two come in contact along one side.  Then hold for a couple minutes until the glue cools.  After that you can glue the other edges without having to hold it in place.

 

 

Craft glue will work just fine

Well I replaced the existing fan with the 92mm Nexus and a 80-92m convertor.  I hot glued the converter to the cage and then attached the Nexus to the converter. I noticed that there was a space between the converter and fan so I hot glued the fan all around. Definitely made quite a bit of improvement in reducing the noise level.  I think once I replace the non green drives with WD EARS, my system should be very quiet.  I can hear my old drives a bit but it disappears once I start watching a movie.