Quieter Fans

[mark_anderson_us]

Hi All

 

Bought one of the lime-tech servers a few years ago. just moved house and it's much closer to home theater and fans are WAY too loud. Anyone know of any much quieter compatible fans?

 

Thanks

 

mark

[garycase]

Noctua fans are generally much quieter than others at the same level of air movement.

 

As long as you buy the right size, there's no problem replacing your current fans with them.

 

[bubbaQ]

Moving X amount of air through case design Y, will generate a minimum of Z amount of noise.  No way around that.

 

Given that, many systems are moving *more* air than they need, or at least are moving it all the time, and could move less most of the time.

 

First, rearrange things to make it easier for air to move through the case.  Try to space out hard drives so they don't cluster their heat together.  Clean fan blades and grills.

 

One by one disconnect the fans and start up the system... see if any particular fans are problems.  If the CPU fan is the culprit (especially if you are running stock), there are many alternative CPU coolers to try.

 

Install a fan controller and slow down the fans, and check drives and CPU temps.  If they are within acceptable ranges with the fans spinning slower, then go with it.

 

A push-pull system generally has lower sound... static pressure has a significant affect on sound.  So if you have a large intake or fan plate pulling air into the case, consider adding a slow speed exhaust fan to help it out (no pun intended).

 

Keep hot parts and heat exchangers CLEAN.... dirty fins do not exchange heat nearly as well as clean ones.

[dirtysanchez]

What bubbaQ said.

 

As for fans themselves, what garycase said.  Noctua.  Great fans.

[Sean M.]

Figured this might be a decent thread to jump into...I'm just curious if there's a way to set the case fan not to run when there are no drives spun up?

 

Basically the system sits tucked under my desk (located in the bedroom at the moment, unfortunately), generally the room is very cool given it's in the lower section of the house and especially at night - when nothing is causing the drives to spin, the fan is still running. 

 

Thanks!

[sgibbers17]

Figured this might be a decent thread to jump into...I'm just curious if there's a way to set the case fan not to run when there are no drives spun up?

 

Basically the system sits tucked under my desk (located in the bedroom at the moment, unfortunately), generally the room is very cool given it's in the lower section of the house and especially at night - when nothing is causing the drives to spin, the fan is still running. 

 

Thanks!

Probably the easiest way to do this by using a fan controller that turns fans on or off on temp.  There is a controller that I use in my media cabinet that turns my fans on a I think 80 degrees and off at 75 using a digital display and a sensor.  You can put the sensor or sensors on different hard drives and set the temp to turn off the fans when the hard drives are spun down,  when the drives spin up and start to heat up the fans will turn back on.  I would set it with a decent temp change so that if they just spin up when you are browsing or light usage and the fans are not quite needed yet they stay off.

 

This is what I use and it is powered by molex, had 4x 3-pin fan headers and one sensor.

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556090885.html

[kizer]

My Case has 3 fans in front and one in the rear. I'm running them all at 7volts to slow down the speed. Keep in mind my house also has central heating and cooling and I've constantly checked my temps with no worries. As well I'm running Western Digital Greens.

 

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/372297-Guide-to-the-7v-Fan-Mod

[NotYetRated]

Just a few cents here. Yes, moving any volume of air will generate a corresponding noise level. The trick is, to get fans which move air as aerodynamically as possible. Much of the noise from fans comes from turbulence of the air which is being moved. Proper fin design can alleviate much of this. So no, fan A moving X air will not be as loud as fan B moving that same volume, if fins are properly designed.

 

A second to this is vibration from the fans mounts, as well as from the motor itself. Noctua fans have been a favorite of mine, for moving generous volumes of air at noise levels lower than competing fans. Unfortunately, Noctua fans can be rather pricey.

[bubbaQ]

So no, fan A moving X air will not be as loud as fan B moving that same volume, if fins are properly designed.

 

It is not that simple.  There are a lot of variables.  A may be quieter than B in open air, but B is quieter than A in a restricted intake or restricted outflow scenario.  You have to test in YOUR environment.