Found the site recently, looks useful.
I scavenged and ultimately built a pretty cool PC with an Asus PC-DL Deluxe board, dual 3.06GHz Xeons overclocked to 3.45GHz, ATI Radeon HD3850 video card, 4GB RAM, and a slew of drives. The case is a rack mount unit, and unfortunately the only way so far I've been able to keep things from getting massively hot inside has been to run far, far too many fans. I think that the thing is up to 14 fans. Getting it running had been my primary objective, but now that it's up and working I figure that it's time to tweak it out to not sound like an airplane or generator.
I had tried swapping the Intel windtunnel-type heatsinks and fans for some fairly massive copper jobs, but they seem to spin faster and louder than the old ones. I routinely hit 6K RPM. I'm considering a polishing technique on the heatsinks and CPUs to make them thermally conduct better, but that'll take time and patience. I also figure that I'll need more than just that in order to cool this thing down or quiet it down.
I'm open to any air-cooled suggestions.
Too noisy - P4 dual Xeon in 3U chassis
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Re: Too noisy - P4 dual Xeon in 3U chassis
Polishing heatsinks is not the way to go. That will get you maybe a few degrees off. Unless your heatsinks are really bad, you will get at most 5°C.
The only way to get it quieter is to use fewer fans. To move about the same airflow you have now, you'll need larger fans. Larger fans = more airflow per fan, so you don't need as many.
The most important thing that you'll need to do is to get some plan of the airflow in the case. 14 fans tells me that there is no plan of how air will go through the case. Unless your case is taking up a whole 6' tall rack, I don't see why you need 14 fans.
Could you tell us what case you're using and maybe your budget? You might want to consider buying a new rackmount case. I've had some experience with the Antec Take4. It's not housing anything as hot as what you're doing, but it's fairly quiet for a rackmounted server. Also, what copper heatsinks are you using that get up past 3k rpm?
The only way to get it quieter is to use fewer fans. To move about the same airflow you have now, you'll need larger fans. Larger fans = more airflow per fan, so you don't need as many.
The most important thing that you'll need to do is to get some plan of the airflow in the case. 14 fans tells me that there is no plan of how air will go through the case. Unless your case is taking up a whole 6' tall rack, I don't see why you need 14 fans.
Could you tell us what case you're using and maybe your budget? You might want to consider buying a new rackmount case. I've had some experience with the Antec Take4. It's not housing anything as hot as what you're doing, but it's fairly quiet for a rackmounted server. Also, what copper heatsinks are you using that get up past 3k rpm?
I'll have to look when I get home. I've got an older system monitoring utility that is no longer updatable but can give me temperature on the processors as well as CPU fan speeds and case fan speeds. When I put a load on the system I seem to end up around 125C.
As for the fans, from memory:
Two on the power supply
One on each of the two processors
Two 80mm in the middle of the case mounted from a bar, blowing toward the back, across the CPU heatsinks
One 60mm on the back of the case, blowing out the back
One on the video controller
One on the northbridge
One on one of the optical drives
Two on the 4 SATA hot swap bay
One on the IDE removable bay
There might be another, I can't remember.
I can't find a good picture of the case at the moment, but I'm thinking that it's a 4U model now that I browse cases. Four 5¼" bays on their sides one one half, three 5¼" and one 3½" with a flat layout on the other.
Last time I looked into cooling (years and years ago) Panasonic's "Panalflow" was the best fan. What's going on these days?
As for the fans, from memory:
Two on the power supply
One on each of the two processors
Two 80mm in the middle of the case mounted from a bar, blowing toward the back, across the CPU heatsinks
One 60mm on the back of the case, blowing out the back
One on the video controller
One on the northbridge
One on one of the optical drives
Two on the 4 SATA hot swap bay
One on the IDE removable bay
There might be another, I can't remember.
I can't find a good picture of the case at the moment, but I'm thinking that it's a 4U model now that I browse cases. Four 5¼" bays on their sides one one half, three 5¼" and one 3½" with a flat layout on the other.
Last time I looked into cooling (years and years ago) Panasonic's "Panalflow" was the best fan. What's going on these days?
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protellect
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:57 pm
- Location: Minnesota
why not start by un-overclocking it? if it's too hot... well, isn't it obvious? a small overclock like that isn't likely to really have much performance effect.
As fans go, I like Yate-Loon fans, with zalman fan controller. Works great and less than 10$ per fan+controller. Scythe and Noctua fans are considered some of the best out there.
Frankly, in my opinion it would be more prudent to spend money to buy a modern dual core, an E8400, or even a E7300 would most certainly be faster speedwise and much much cooler. [and require less fannage]
As fans go, I like Yate-Loon fans, with zalman fan controller. Works great and less than 10$ per fan+controller. Scythe and Noctua fans are considered some of the best out there.
Frankly, in my opinion it would be more prudent to spend money to buy a modern dual core, an E8400, or even a E7300 would most certainly be faster speedwise and much much cooler. [and require less fannage]
Ditto on what protellect said about the fans and overclocking.
I'm skeptical about your 125C temperature. That's awfully high for any CPU (or even GPU). I know server CPUs can probably take slightly higher temps, but most CPUs top out at 70C and I'd be worried about any CPU that goes past 90C. Are you sure it isn't 125 F? That would be about 50C, which is warm, but not dangerously hot. Could you try downloading SpeedFan and using that to check the temperatures and fan speeds? It might be more accurate. Also make sure that the temperature does change. Sometimes these programs will pick up other sensors that look like temperature sensors and misinterpret the reading.
Your case needs some work if it has only a 60mm exhaust fan out the back. Good rack mount cases aren't cheap. Probably $200-300 for a good one with PSU. Unless you're willing to do quite a bit of DIY modding, I'm not sure how this can be done cheaply. How much are you willing to spend on the system? It's not exactly new as protellect pointed out.
I'm skeptical about your 125C temperature. That's awfully high for any CPU (or even GPU). I know server CPUs can probably take slightly higher temps, but most CPUs top out at 70C and I'd be worried about any CPU that goes past 90C. Are you sure it isn't 125 F? That would be about 50C, which is warm, but not dangerously hot. Could you try downloading SpeedFan and using that to check the temperatures and fan speeds? It might be more accurate. Also make sure that the temperature does change. Sometimes these programs will pick up other sensors that look like temperature sensors and misinterpret the reading.
Your case needs some work if it has only a 60mm exhaust fan out the back. Good rack mount cases aren't cheap. Probably $200-300 for a good one with PSU. Unless you're willing to do quite a bit of DIY modding, I'm not sure how this can be done cheaply. How much are you willing to spend on the system? It's not exactly new as protellect pointed out.
I'll have to doublecheck units. The software I'm using is Motherboard Monitor 5. Since the original publisher is gone I can't update to add any of the PC DL-Deluxe specific stuff.
I put this system together for very, very little. I had the case and power supply dating back to the Athlon XP 2400+ that I had many years ago, and I was given the processors. I got the board used, and believe me, it is definitely fast enough for what I want it to do.
The main problem that I've had is that Socket 603/604 heatsinks are difficult to locate. To my knowledge there was no main-line P4 socket with the same heatsink mounting method, and since most people don't use this socket in a workstation it's difficult to find off-the-shelf parts at local retailers or even through many online retailers. I'm inclined to stick with it, though, because the performance is excellent, even with DDR, and the reliability has been superb. It literally is the most reliable system that I've had since my 8088.
I put this system together for very, very little. I had the case and power supply dating back to the Athlon XP 2400+ that I had many years ago, and I was given the processors. I got the board used, and believe me, it is definitely fast enough for what I want it to do.
The main problem that I've had is that Socket 603/604 heatsinks are difficult to locate. To my knowledge there was no main-line P4 socket with the same heatsink mounting method, and since most people don't use this socket in a workstation it's difficult to find off-the-shelf parts at local retailers or even through many online retailers. I'm inclined to stick with it, though, because the performance is excellent, even with DDR, and the reliability has been superb. It literally is the most reliable system that I've had since my 8088.
Could you find the model of the case? That would be helpful.
Basically, if you're not willing to spend money on a new system or case, you're going to have to open up your current case. A 60mm exhaust just isn't enough for your system. A 4U system should have plenty of room on the side to open up a hole for a 120mm fan. Preferably close to the CPU. See this picture of the Take4 for reference.
Secondly, those two 80mm fans in the middle of the case probably aren't doing anything and should be taken out. Unless the case is well divided and you need to get air from one compartment to another, I'd take it out. The optical drives also don't need a fan, and there's no good reason to have two for the hard drives. Hard drives only need a little bit of airflow. If you can put/hang a 120mm fan near the hard drive cage/bay, it should be enough.
After that, you'll have to beef up your heatsinks. I'm assuming the fan on the northbridge is pretty small right? I didn't see one on the ASUS page for the PC DL-Deluxe, so I'm assuming it's an aftermarket one. If it's 60mm or smaller, dump it. There's some beefy northbridge heatsinks out there. Here's a link to jab-tech's selection. If the mounting is compatible, I'd get the Thermalright HR-05. There's an SLI version of the HR-05 that might help if you have obstacles.
For the CPU heatsinks, I found a few options using google:
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/thhr4ulownos.html
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/nonhforso771.html
http://www.crazypc.com/products/50986.html
http://www.orbitmicro.com/global/cooler ... -9681.html
http://www.orbitmicro.com/global/cooler ... -1290.html (same as above but not refurb)
I like the thermalright HR-01 4U since it comes with fan clips, and seems more available. You should probably check the clearance before buying.
All this will probably cost roughly $100-150, not including the tools required to cut a hole in the side of the case, but in the end you'll probably have maybe 5 fans outside of the PSU, and none of them should be smaller than 80mm.
Basically, if you're not willing to spend money on a new system or case, you're going to have to open up your current case. A 60mm exhaust just isn't enough for your system. A 4U system should have plenty of room on the side to open up a hole for a 120mm fan. Preferably close to the CPU. See this picture of the Take4 for reference.
Secondly, those two 80mm fans in the middle of the case probably aren't doing anything and should be taken out. Unless the case is well divided and you need to get air from one compartment to another, I'd take it out. The optical drives also don't need a fan, and there's no good reason to have two for the hard drives. Hard drives only need a little bit of airflow. If you can put/hang a 120mm fan near the hard drive cage/bay, it should be enough.
After that, you'll have to beef up your heatsinks. I'm assuming the fan on the northbridge is pretty small right? I didn't see one on the ASUS page for the PC DL-Deluxe, so I'm assuming it's an aftermarket one. If it's 60mm or smaller, dump it. There's some beefy northbridge heatsinks out there. Here's a link to jab-tech's selection. If the mounting is compatible, I'd get the Thermalright HR-05. There's an SLI version of the HR-05 that might help if you have obstacles.
For the CPU heatsinks, I found a few options using google:
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/thhr4ulownos.html
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/nonhforso771.html
http://www.crazypc.com/products/50986.html
http://www.orbitmicro.com/global/cooler ... -9681.html
http://www.orbitmicro.com/global/cooler ... -1290.html (same as above but not refurb)
I like the thermalright HR-01 4U since it comes with fan clips, and seems more available. You should probably check the clearance before buying.
All this will probably cost roughly $100-150, not including the tools required to cut a hole in the side of the case, but in the end you'll probably have maybe 5 fans outside of the PSU, and none of them should be smaller than 80mm.
yes very much so.TWX wrote: The main problem that I've had is that Socket 603/604 heatsinks are difficult to locate.
I also have a dual cpu socket 603 xeon setup and its actually very quiet.
I got a pair of swiftech heatsinks for my setup. not cheap ($65 each for me) but well worth the noise improvement over the intel wind-tunnel ones.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... s_id=21011
$59 on that website.
Add some quiet 80mm fans on top and your good to go.
The massive copper heatsinks sound simmilar to the ones I had on my dual opteron system at first. 7200rpm 48dba earbusters
They are slated for the recycling plant.For your case -- unless you have company regulations to worry about, cut out the grills for exhaust and intake fans.. I was skeptical of this at first as well but the improvement in cooling performance is amazing.
I haven't maxed the heatsink fans at 7500 but I wouldn't be surprised if they're like the ones you mentioned.
I did check, and it looks like the readings are in Fahrenheit, not Celsius.
One thing I'm considering doing is pulling one of the opticals entirely and putting a well vented drive bay cover in its place. That side lines up well with the CPU heatsinks, so if I work on the back of the case I should be able to get an intake/exhaust thing going. I had two opticals thinking I'd do disc-to-disc copying, but I've not used that so I'm probably not going to.
The PC is at home, so I don't have to worry about anything more than my own fingers. I'm thinking about getting one of those wire type grates instead of the machined out sheet metal that's there. The back of the case looks a lot like your average ATX case, just laying on its side. It wasn't a very expensive case.
I did check, and it looks like the readings are in Fahrenheit, not Celsius.
One thing I'm considering doing is pulling one of the opticals entirely and putting a well vented drive bay cover in its place. That side lines up well with the CPU heatsinks, so if I work on the back of the case I should be able to get an intake/exhaust thing going. I had two opticals thinking I'd do disc-to-disc copying, but I've not used that so I'm probably not going to.
The PC is at home, so I don't have to worry about anything more than my own fingers. I'm thinking about getting one of those wire type grates instead of the machined out sheet metal that's there. The back of the case looks a lot like your average ATX case, just laying on its side. It wasn't a very expensive case.