Too many fans

[Fret]

Can anyone offer any help with lowering the sound of the computer when recording? I have a HP Netserver with 5 fans in it. It is so loud I can hear it upstairs when it is running in the basement. Putting blankets over it doesn’t seem like a good idea, nor does it help.

Thanks

 

[ola]

There are quiet(er) fans and power supplies to buy of the shelf. No magic involved nowadays. If you need it dead silent, look into watercooling and other fun stuff.

 

[frederic]

You can fix this several ways - one is to mount all the noisy equipment into an isolation rack case - there are many available in stores and on the net. basically, its a rack that has foam, padding, and a door front/back that closes tightly, with ventalation openings underneath, directing noise down to the floor. Much quieter.

Netservers really can't have their power supplies upgraded, so as noisy as they are, they will forever be. Clone computers can have their AT or ATX power supply updated as they are all generic, and some models/brands/types have quieter fans.

I have two 4U rackmount clone PC's I use for the studio, and both of them got power supply upgrades last year with quieter fans. The Compaq 4500R, its RAID array, and the scsi drive box for my multiple Akai DR-series recorders, all are VERY noisy, and have way more fans than are necessary for what they do. Since all the fans were 12V fans, I just cut into the positive lead (red in my case), and inserted three diodes in series, to reduce the voltage, and the speed, for each fan. They are still audible of course, but I don't get a headache. This is in leu of my completing my homemade racks immediately which will contain one rack that's acoustically isolated. I have wiring to do first before I close it all up.

 

[Hard2Hear]

If it's anything like my good old Compaq Proliant servers, there's not really anything you can do to it. Servers are not designed to run quietly. My only suggestion would be to make a room for your computer equipment and do some sound treatment to the room itself, and make sure you keep it cool. There's a reason servers have so many fans on them. I spent the better part of the last few years fixing the ones that were abused.

H2H

 

[frederic]

If it's anything like my good old Compaq Proliant servers, there's not really anything you can do to it. Servers are not designed to run quietly. My only suggestion would be to make a room for your computer equipment and do some sound treatment to the room itself, and make sure you keep it cool. There's a reason servers have so many fans on them. I spent the better part of the last few years fixing the ones that were abused.

H2H

Understood, and agreed.

However, not changing the quantity of the fans but slowing them down can work if the server isn't overloaded with 2ghz processors, tons of memory, etc.

One of my 4500R's actually lost its fan power and all six fans stopped spinning for about three weeks without my noticing (the other four servers make so much noise it wasn't obvious). It didn't die. This is where I got the slow-the-fan idea from.

 

[Fret]

My original thought was to put the server in the next room but I didn’t want to have to poke a hole in the soon to be soundproof wall in order to access the server. Unless of course someone knows of a good cupboard sized door that would seal for sound proofing purposes and still allow access to the system. My other thought was to remove some of the fans but that could cause too many expensive problems. It is in my basement and only a 733 PIII (soon to be 2 733 PIIIs) so I’m only kind of worried about heat. The isolation racks that Frederic mentioned was what I kind of had in mind. Can you recommend a link to check some out?

Thanks for the help

 

[skippy]

Hushboxes. Don't get me started on hushboxes. Undoubtedly some of the commercial hushboxes can work, but one at least is demonstrably a piece of junk: I bought one, and had to return it because it was *noisier* than the gear I intended to put into it. Here's my review of that one:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=22806

The biggest problem with hushboxes is that you still have to move air, maybe a _lot_ of air, and moving air at any velocity at all will involve turbulence and therefore noise. Unless you can back your hushbox up against a wall so that you can duct the exhaust airflow through it and away from your recording space, it'll be hard to make one really work well.

Caveat emptor, and make sure you can audition one with a lot of equipment in it before you spring for shipping. I was extremely disappointed...

 

[frederic]

Hole?

I have the one server in the studio, and soon its moving to the basement with the other four, once the new power circuit is run downstairs.

Ethernet lets you put anything anywhere.

Also Black Box (and other companies) allow remote extenders close to 500' for mouse, keyboard, and video, over cat 5 cable (same as ethernet).

Mount network plate on wall, caulk plate to wall, screw tightly, and its soundproof enough that you don't have to worry about it.

Your local PC is different, with all the audio/midi hardware its tough to locate that too far away.A sound proof enclosure is the way to go, even if you stick it in a closet and just feed the closet cold air from your air conditioning.

My first "server farm" was a BBS system that people dialed into, sixteen IBM AT's actually, with a 14.4k Modem. Remember those days? Anyway, i had a wall mount A/C installed in a closet that was against an outer wall, had the A/C blowing into the closet, and the exhaust obviously was outside.

Depends on your space and how you have it set up. I can help you with ideas if you want, I've done this before.

Frederic
midiguy732@hotmail.com

My original thought was to put the server in the next room but I didn’t want to have to poke a hole in the soon to be soundproof wall in order to access the server. Unless of course someone knows of a good cupboard sized door that would seal for sound proofing purposes and still allow access to the system. My other thought was to remove some of the fans but that could cause too many expensive problems. It is in my basement and only a 733 PIII (soon to be 2 733 PIIIs) so I’m only kind of worried about heat. The isolation racks that Frederic mentioned was what I kind of had in mind. Can you recommend a link to check some out?

Thanks for the help

 

[Emeric]

Good posts frederic,

I skipped the diode route and ran the black and red to a 5V connector off the power supply. Slowed the fan (cpu fan) down bigtime and didn't raise the temperature much at all.

 

[frederic]

Good posts frederic,

I skipped the diode route and ran the black and red to a 5V connector off the power supply. Slowed the fan (cpu fan) down bigtime and didn't raise the temperature much at all.

Not to knock your idea... but the +5V supply is usually extremely filtered. Fans generally introduce noise onto the supply line because its a motor. Its called "back EMF". Your PC may or may not have problems with it... some do some don't depending on the power supply design, and of course, the fan motors themselves.

Just something to be aware of. If you get more lockups than usual, try it back the other way and see if things get better. Then you know you have a back EMF problem.

I have one PC thats uneffected, the other, well, doesn't like the fans on the main power supply.

 

[Emeric]

I foun☺└╓╜◙»



No, no probs here.

The diode idea is a goîod one, a more regulçated voltage, but the 5V is a quick fix.. your's is the bettÉer route.

 

[Fret]

Hole?

That's pretty cool about the cat5. I didn't realize the technology existed. My main concern with a hole in the wall is the ability to use the internal CD-RW and floppy drive.

Still thinking along the lines of an Isolation Rack or box and toying with the idea of building one. What is the secret? What allows airflow but not sound? I understand the need for quite fans to vent the box but what kind of design will keep the computers sound in?

 

[frederic]

Its been around for a little while... the KVM extension through Cat-5. Just been horribly expensive until recently.

The key to passing airflow but minimizing the sound follows suit with soundproofing air conditioning ducts - two filters seperated by an inch or two, at slightly different angles, within the ductwork. Building your own cabinet isn't that difficult, but picture a cabinet within a cabinet, with foam isolation between the two, and where the intake/exhaust fans are (to the cabinet), have two layers of filter/foam in front of them facing the room. Typically these are underneath so they aren't directly aimed at your ears.

That's pretty cool about the cat5. I didn't realize the technology existed. My main concern with a hole in the wall is the ability to use the internal CD-RW and floppy drive.

Still thinking along the lines of an Isolation Rack or box and toying with the idea of building one. What is the secret? What allows airflow but not sound? I understand the need for quite fans to vent the box but what kind of design will keep the computers sound in?