Replacement of fans FAN-0126L4

[g1ngerninja]

Hi All,

I want to reduce the noise my server makes and want to replace the 3 80mm fans attached in the middle.
These are FAN-0126L4 and have a beige holder that slides into the case. However stupidly I read some posts and people recommended replacing them with Noctua NF or equivalent.

So I went ahead and bought some Artic F8 PWM 80mm fans, which arrived yesterday. Only problem is the beige holder has a recess where your thumb goes to pull the fans out and it's too wide for the new fans. I am guessing this is because the old fans are 38mm and the new ones are only 25mm.

My first thought was to simply remove the fan holders and screw the new ones in directly. But there are no holes in the supporting plate for fans. So I might need to drill a few holes to get them to fit. Only problem is I can only drill holes for the top 2 screws as the bottom ones don't align with the plate.

Any advice as to how I can get these new fans installed.

I should probably mention I have this chassis :- http://www.supermicro.com/products/chassis/2U/826/SC826E16-R500LP.cfm?parts=SHOW#jump

Thanks g1ngerninja

 

[Ericloewe]

You can't just replace those fans with puny 25mm fans. You'll cook your system!

You might be able to find something better, but you'll have to go through catalogs and get something that matches the current fans' airflow and static pressure ratings.

That means you'll be looking at San Ace and Delta fans. Not crap like arctic cooling or silence-oriented stuff like Noctua.

 

[jgreco]

You may not replace the fans in a SC826E16 with lower static pressure fans without severe risk of cooking your drives, unless you remove the middle horizontal row of drives (effectively creating a way for the fans to be able to work somewhat-correctly).

A 2U high density storage chassis has almost no space for airflow due to the densely packed drives, and therefore has to resort to low static pressure in the plenum in order to force air to be sucked in through all the little millimeter slits that exist between the drives and the chassis. To generate a low static pressure, the use of high static pressure fans is required. Creating the low static pressure requires a lot of energy, and a fair bit of that ends up as noise.

Removing the middle horizontal row of drives isn't ideal because it gets you a little closer to the requisite airflow for the back half of the chassis, and sucks away some of the heat, but still fails to force air to continuously flow over both the top and bottom of each drive, so it isn't a great solution.

If you want to reduce the noise a high density storage chassis makes, replace the chassis or externally silence it. There are reasonable 12 drive consumer chassis alternatives out there.

Or go this route:

https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...-hds-recommendations.24453/page-4#post-255614

One other thing you can probably do is replace the power supply units with the 920 SQ units. I'm not positive but it may be a simple module swap.

 

[g1ngerninja]

OK thanks guys.

Any suggestions on a small rack I can put this server into? I'm a bit limited on where I can have this server, it's currently in my study and makes a right racket.

 

[jgreco]

Small's always the problem. If you have basement space, I know a lot of people have surfed Craigslist and scored a $1500 full enclosure with doors and fans and all that for $100 from businesses that used to have their own servers and "went cloud," but that's a big deal and probably requires you know someone with a truck and two buddies that you pay off with beer and pizza for the help, and isn't small.

The only general advice I'd give you is that you probably want to make sure your enclosure is deep. Most first-time rack buyers are thinking of the rack as something to hold their server, but you actually want it to be sufficiently large that there's space in the back to manage cables and let air flow and stuff like that as well. Shooting for something that's at least eight to twelve inches deeper than your deepest bit of gear is a good idea. You may be able to get away with shorter, especially if you're going with an open frame and don't have doors/etc to worry about, but even there, the frame forms a protective structure that reduces the chances of something snagging on cables, or whatever.

 

[droeders]

One other thing you can probably do is replace the power supply units with the 920 SQ units. I'm not positive but it may be a simple module swap.

+1 for this suggestion.

I have the same chassis as the OP, and replacement of the power supplies with the PWS-920P-SQ units decreased the noise level of the server considerably. A bit pricey, but simple to swap and well worth it for me.

 

[Mirfster]

Wow for a second there I thought you were @GingerNinja since they have a C2100/FS12-TY... Who woulda thunk there was so many red headed ninjas...

 

[Hobbel]

thread old, but topic fits. This is a kind of "kids, don't do this at home", "watch your step" and "use at your own risk" ;)

Will make it short and simple. replaced all fans in the supermicro 836 chassis with Noctua NF-R8 redux-1800 PWM. Results:





and this is ultra professionell. Should be used by everyone in production:
(case is open because this was in the middle of the modifications. The rack is only a temporary one. It is too short in depth)


(3x Noctua NF-R8 redux, 3x Noctua NF-R12 redux)


Yeah, does not look nice, but works. If someone has an idea, which does not require a 3D printer, you are welcome.

Got -1°C on all HDDs/SSDs compared to the default 0126L4. Next week I will replace the 0125L4 in the back.
Of course, system is running at "Full Speed" to use fans at max speed.