Server whirring even without fans

DragonQ

DragonQ

DragonQ

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I have a server with 9 internal HDDs inside. It used to reside in a cupboard and the low amount of noise it made wasn't audible, which was fine. However, it's now located about a metre from the sofa and the constant whir is very annoying.

I can't even figure out where the noise is coming from. I've tried unplugging both case fans and the CPU fan, yet it still makes pretty much the same whir. As far as I can tell, this only leaves the PSU fan and the HDDs. The HDDs are set to spin down when not in use (and it does take 10 seconds or so when accessing a network share for the first time as the HDDs spin up), so I'm confused as to how it could be those.

I've had experience before where the PSU fan was the loudest fan in the system, which is annoying because quality, quiet PSUs with decent power are expensive. The only other thing I can think of is to replace the fairly cheap case with a quality, silence-oriented one with soundproofing. However, these are also expensive, considering I need one with at least 3 5.25" bays (for my 3-5.25"-to-4-3.5" caddy).

I've even considered buying some soundproof foam and basically making a cover for the shelf the PC is on, but this may not help and would require some DIY which I can't really be bothered to do. Maybe I should swap out the PSU (not a quick task) and see what happens? If that doesn't help then maybe a new case is the best solution.

Anyone have experience with this?
 
It's most likely from the HDDs. You say they spin down, but if on average there are several of them spinning then that vibration will be coupled to the case. The only way to reduce that is to isolate them from the chassis, using damped mounting hardware or bungies. Foam cladding won't help.

If it's the PSU it should be obvious, you'll hear it if you stick your ear nearby.
 
Well if I can ensure all the disks (except the OS SSD) are spun down, I can test that. Is there an easy way to see whether HDDs are currently spun up or down? I seem to remember finding a PowerShell command to do this years ago but it never worked for me. The "hdparm" method is also useless since all the drives spin up when it probes them.
 
Unplug all but the OS drive, and power it up (and just stick it into the BIOS so that it doesn't try to boot). If it's quiet - it's the hard drives.


Hint: It'll be the hard drives. My HTPC, with even a single mechanical HDD, was annoyingly audible across the living room. My server is in the basement - away from civilisation, which is where anything with multiple drives should be.
 
Hmm that's a good idea. I'll have to bust out my spare monitor to ensure I get to the BIOS instead of Windows.

Ideally the server would be hidden away but unfortunately there isn't space anywhere except for the living room or bedroom. I've contemplated putting it in the airing cupboard but it'd be warm and getting both power and Ethernet there will be tricky.
 
Stick a piece of card in the psu fan to stop it briefly. there not hard to change if it is indeed the fan.
though 9 internal drives is quite a lot of vibration even when they spin down there still spinning
 
also going to say its the drives have seen similar with different builds and at the same distance would be more noisy on the desk than the floor by quite a margin just what ever way the vibration travelled.

fill it full of ssds :D
 
LizardKing said:
Stick a piece of card in the psu fan to stop it briefly. there not hard to change if it is indeed the fan.
though 9 internal drives is quite a lot of vibration even when they spin down there still spinning
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Depends if it's a standard fan. Last time I tried to swap out the fan inside a PSU, it was a non-standard size which I couldn't find anywhere.
 
DragonQ said:
Depends if it's a standard fan. Last time I tried to swap out the fan inside a PSU, it was a non-standard size which I couldn't find anywhere.
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If that happens you just get imaginative and make something fit. ;)

OP, it is more than likely the hard drives I imagine, though I may be wrong of course so do check the PSU fan first.

Some HDD's, particularly older ones, are very loud. Server drives in particular.
 
Acme said:
If that happens you just get imaginative and make something fit. ;)

OP, it is more than likely the hard drives I imagine, though I may be wrong of course so do check the PSU fan first.

Some HDD's, particularly older ones, are very loud. Server drives in particular.
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Most of them are "eco" drives though, WD Greens and the like.
 
Had 13 od drives in my main pc, mounted via 5 in 3 backplanes. Was very hummy.
Moved all but one over to a silenced case, with decoupled internal mounting, noise dampening foam, and a baffle front door etc. Totally silent. Added in one backplane, now its very marginally audible when sleeping at night. I can hear things outside my room louder than I can hear it.

That case was a fractal XL, and ive just taken delivery of a Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 rev b and several additional hard drive cages. Should be able to hold 19 drives internally totally silently :D

Both cases cost me around £100 each, not much considering the build quality, silence, and features.
 
I had a Fractal XL with sound deadening, I can confirm that it was whisper quiet, and it even made the GTX480 I had in that system sound less like a turbine. :p
 
Ch3m1c4L said:
Had 13 od drives in my main pc, mounted via 5 in 3 backplanes. Was very hummy.
Moved all but one over to a silenced case, with decoupled internal mounting, noise dampening foam, and a baffle front door etc. Totally silent. Added in one backplane, now its very marginally audible when sleeping at night. I can hear things outside my room louder than I can hear it.

That case was a fractal XL, and ive just taken delivery of a Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 rev b and several additional hard drive cages. Should be able to hold 19 drives internally totally silently :D

Both cases cost me around £100 each, not much considering the build quality, silence, and features.
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I was considering a Nanoxia Deep Silence 2, which is basically the slightly smaller (and cheaper) version of the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 Rev. B. The only issue is it's slightly bigger in all dimensions than my current case, especially in terms of height...and my current case only barely fits where it is now. Which drive cages are you using? Can the 2.5" bays in the DS1 be converted to 3.5" bays?
 
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The cages I have bought at the Nanoxia ones. 2 x 3 bay and 1 x 2 bay.
You can mount a 2.5 or 3.5 in each of the standard cages, or the additional ones you buy.
On the rev b versions it comes with an adapter thingy, which converts a 3 bay into a cage that can hold 6 x 2.5 drives.

The cages in the whole range look to be identical, check out there website. I emailed them asking about the DS1 and DS5 and the total drives I could add to each. Using an ITX board and cages, DS1 is 19 and DS5 is 21. Thats without using a 5 in 3 5.25 convertor. The top additional cages will block the rear of the 5.25 bays, but its blocking them with pretty much the same number of drives, so im willing to sacrifice one drive for better sound isolation.

Had to purchase from their german partner though, since I couldnt find the cages in the UK.

If you can, I would ditch the 5.25 backplane, and mount all drives internally. It will help with noise and vibration deadening.

I cant post results of the nanoxia for a while, since the server motherboard isnt arriving until next friday :(

edit: Have you looked at the fractal range? the define S is the newest "normal" size one, and it reviewed very highly.
 
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Haven't had a chance to run it without the HDDs yet, hopefully can do that tonight.

I did look at the Define S but it only has 3 HDD bays. Unless of course there's a drive bay unit that can be installed (and bought in this country)? The R5 would be viable if it had 3 instead of 2 5.25" bays, so that I could fit 12 HDDs in total - as it is, it'd only be able to fit 8.
 
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I Hear my WD greens in my PC (Which is used as a file server when idle) spin up/down and seek quite often. But, they are not overally audible in a normal room environment, unless i'm trying to sleep, then you hear them do thier stuff if backups are being performed, unless they are pretty much silent as they spin down. I have 4 by the way, which is half of yours but mine have rubber grommets on them to reduce noise.
 
OK I've just tried booting the machine without the HDDs plugged in and, although it does make a difference, there's still an audible high-pitched whine. Sounds like it might be the PSU fan. I don't know whether it's worth replacing the PSU with one designed for HTPCs (£35ish) and seeing if that helps.

Annoyingly it looks like vibrations are an issue though, since the low hum only occurs when the PC is on the bookshelf (where it lives for now). Maybe relocating is the only real solution - there is a cupboard in the kitchen it can go in, it's just a matter of finding a way of routing an Ethernet cable in there. The door is too close to the carpet to run it under there I think.
 
A high pitched whine, could this be capacitor/coil whine? Can you tell if it changes with the PSU fan speed (might be the bearing?).

PSU wise, get one that is about double the draw of your PC under load, which doesnt spin the fan up until its hot/high load. Then it probably ownt ever spin, but has the capacity should it be a really hot or whatever.
Server I went with a platinum 600w and while its been perfect, I have opted for a much lesser rated one for my NAS.
For my NAS I have ordered a Superflower amazon bronze 550w since it wont spin the fan up until high loads, and I cba with the premium of platinum rating for such low loads that will take forever to earn itself back in electricity savings lol.

Get rubber case feet, or similar like a couple of sheets of bubble wrap under it etc. That will stop the vibration spreading to the shelf that its on, at least somewhat.

But, without hard drives, and with the fans off, it shouldn't be vibrating at all.
Could you post a full spec of the machine?

A silenced case will help you, since they have anti vibration mounting/pads on every component, or you can buy the bits yourself, such as silicone grommet/mounts of rPSU and what not. Its just easier to buy one thats designed for it all to begin with.
 
Yeah the noise when the fans weren't plugged in wasn't a virbrationy noise, it was higher pitched and sounded like a fan and/or bearing as you say. I'm guessing it was the PSU fan but I haven't ever heard it change speed. I recently changed the PSU in my TV server (a separate machine) and that one is now super quiet (the PSU fan spins very slowly). So I know from experience that the PSU fan can make a difference.

I have a good opportunity to try moving the server to the kitchen cupboard later this week so I will try that. If I can get the Ethernet cable to withstand the door opening and closing, that is probably the best solution. Failing that, I'll try a different PSU and send it back if it makes no difference.
 
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