Are You Looking For A Less Expensive Norco 4220 / 4224 Alternative? - Page 32

You can always just undervolt the fans rather than buying new ones.

Wait, you're not talking about the original fans, are you? Those can't be undervolted enough to run quiet.

Maybe I'm just too timid but for the life of me I can't get them to twist out.

Wait, just to be sure, I should grab them from the top/motherboard side, twist and pull, right?

(oh, the humanity!)

No some 120mm pwm fans that I had. No i'm taking them out and got a 4 pack of 120mm's for a little bit of nothing to use for now to see how they work (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O8I474) they are only 19 dba. I will have to post pics after im done.

How much air do you really need going through these things for our purpose? Im thinking that should be plenty but will watch of course.

hhaha....

let the force be with you.
correct. do from the top:D.

a bit wiggle and twist.

7W-10W :P..

if just populated in 4 slots, you are saving ~28-40 W :P hhehe

I have 8 slots populated (4 from the server and 4 from mine).. 4G modules are expensive hehehe...
Edited by bima - 9/5/12 at 12:43pm

Just check fan spec:
120mm
1200 RPM±10% 44.73 CFM
Sleeve

please remember, sleeve bearing fan has a short life for 24/7.

1200RPM should be adequate for your purpose. on my testing: 1200-1600rpm should not hurt HDs,






I recommend to buy better fans, for example, liquid/fluid bearing, ball bearing , or dual ball bearing( noisier).

I think sleeve bearing fans are fine when installed upright, as they are in the fan wall (and at the back of this case, for that matter.

Sleeve bearing fans have a much shorter lifespan when installed "flat", but should have an average lifespan of about 7 years as installed - especially if it is low-rpm. No doubt, a ball bearing fan will last longer at around 11-12 years of continuous operation.

Please take all these numbers with a grain of salt. They are quoted from one manufacturer and should not be indicative of your fan's lifespan.

I much prefer sleeve bearing fans when I can install them in the preferred orientation. I go for fluid dynamic bearings when I have to install a fan flat.

With 8 slots populated, your energy bill would be nasty. 56w - 80w just to power the RAM. Ouch. Total server draw will be over 300w. At $0.11/kwh, your monthly power bill (for 24/7) just for this server will be $24. Thats why these servers will only see backup duty, several hours per week.
Edited by tr0910 - 9/5/12 at 9:02pm

nope, just check the structure of sleeve bearing, the bearing will not last long due.
you can read for fun on http://www.digikey.com/Web%20Export/Supplier%20Content/ComairRotron_25/PDF/Comair_Noise_CoolingFan.pdf?redirected=1

sleeve bearing using thin layer to minimize friction, the thin layer will dry up due on friction, heat, leak and aging
fluid dynamic bearing is a breakthrough of sleeve bearing, where there are other mechanical parts are added , this is why sleeve bearing is cheap and fluid bearing is more than sleeve.
you can read some testing on fluid bearing -> http://www.usdidactic.com/images/produktbilder/04028000/Datenblatt/04028000%202.pdf

on my experience,
sleeve bearing fan will crap out with-in 2 years .... I always avoid sleeve bearing for 24/7 machine.

if you fully utilize the RAM 24/7 for a month.. your assumption would be true..:P

this depends on the workload,
it is nasty during peak time (high memory utilization)
FB-DIMM take less power during idle condition where the processor(micro) on each module takes lowest power consumption.
as I remember, those specification are explained on vendor's FB-DIMM RAM Spec..

how do we balance those "power hunger" condition:
1) use "fast" xeon processor to speed up any memory hunger process/task
2) used Low power xeon processor to assume that not many memory hunger process/tasks are running for a long time.

honestly, I3/E3 is good performance for not many VMs running.
dual Xeon 5XXX is better performance for many VMs running.

nothing perfect, just suit yourself what you need

we should consider, DDR2 takes more power than DDR3
if you need to compare: try to compare DDR2 RDIMM with DDR2 FB-DIMM in overall

general side note:
I think, Intel had a good decision when abandoning FB-DIMM and moved to RDIMM, where AMD had to stop bashing Intel that xeon (with FB-DIMM) take more power consumption at that time . heheheh

well, if we talk about software RAID running 24/7 that use alot of memory process. I would pick intel i3/E3 with ECC UDIMM or amd buldozer with ECC UDIMM.
Edited by bima - 9/6/12 at 5:56am

Anybody interested in some of the parts from these servers?

I've got a full original 4U 199 server from the first sale, a xeon board as it came, an amd board as it came, and the 6 SATA cards.

I've moved into the supermicro 4U with a dual 2011 Xeon setup so no need for all the rest of the stuff.

if anyone need LSI HBA card, you can get dell H200 for $75 free S/H on ebay ( make an offer to get $75), since IBM M1015 is overpriced as know
seach with keywords "Dell Perc H200 47MCV Module Controller with Cables" on ebay.

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=1045376 <- how to flash to IR or IT with dell Firmware..

I bought additional H200 to complete my setup .

Any redundant-and-efficient server PSU you can recommend to replace the 2U server PSUs?

Does anyone have a picture of how the power/LED cable is supposed to be connected to the motherboard? It doesn't have the proper number of pins and I'm assuming it wasn't connected properly at the time of shipment because the power button does not function.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread. These servers are great and you have all helped in making the noise very manageable!

that will be expensive :P... for example, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817338089

since no one answer, :P

I assume on 4U supermicro:
you just plug the connector to supermicro motherboard. done!, only one connector.

Just got my AIC server today, boy is it loud! (going to be in the garage, so not too concerned about that). Apparently the screws for the HDD trays are special. Someone mentioned these: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-MCP45ON but they look like they are for the supermicro chassis, not the AIC. Will they work regardless?

sure!!!

Finally got my 2U up and running yesterday. I have to say it was much easier than I had expected. I now have a fully functional server for 500-600 bucks (including 2 3TB hard drives), which really is the deal of the century. I have 8 bays left, but I won't need to populate them for quite a while.

I've replaced the 80mm fans, but left the power supply. The PSU does feel like a power hungery beast though. I don't have a watt meter, but judging by the heat and noise it produces it doesn't seem very efficient. I will most likely replace it at some point in the future, but that is a very minor flaw for the price.

Most of the posters here have a 4U. Any 2U users have any idea what kind of power it draws while idle? Mine has a Core 2 Duo E8400 and 4 gigs of RAM.
Edited by cshaw88 - 9/12/12 at 7:34am

How did you manage to replace the 80mm fans in the fan wall? I can get the fan enclosures out of the fan wall fine, but I can't figure out how to remove the power plug from the clip without breaking it. Help?

It did require a lot of force to get the plastic clip off. I applied most of the pressure from the top with a tiny flat head screwdriver. To be honest two of them flew out of my hands I had to press so hard. Luckily for me they didn't break though. They could always be glued back together if you do break one or two, I don't think it would be a big deal.

Damn.. Think i'll just skip using the silly clip and just plug them directly into the mobo. What fans did you end up going with?

I just went with the same 80mm artic cooling fans listed in the OP. Compared to the PSU they are virtually silent. My 2U sits in a storage area in my basement so a little noise isn't a big deal.

my on-going project: "minimizing noise"

Not enough drive bays.

What do plan on using to sound dampen this? It looks like a 4 post open rack. I have two 24u racks that I am trying to get creative with. I may just look at creating a complete room around them. Enclose them both inside drywall and then vent it.

The less work the better though.

hahah, :P....

I got an inspiration when saw netshelter

actually, it is not a lot of work for me,

sound dampen is the last list on my to do list.

this is not a post open rack, very old telecom rack, luckly aluminum welded frames , not heavy), it should has all panels on side/front/back. I only got the frame/rack only.. no complain... since free.


I bought put rails $38 for 2 pairs, 14U length with some nuts/bolts ($4 for rail, $2 for holding rails to frames), and some misc items from my garage treasures :P

on going list:
1) a back-wall with 4 200mm fans including diverted barrier to minimize noise
2) side panels
3) front door with air intake-filter
4) sound dampening.. around $75-$100, if needed . last option when I need to silent more noises

all wall and panel material is not decided, I am sill looking cheapest material
I estimate my total will be minimal than buying commercial product


enclosing to drywall is not on my list. I would like make a "beauty" case that would not sore eyes...

when everything is done, I would apply fake-wood laminate
Edited by bima - 9/14/12 at 6:04pm

Does anybody know if these server deals are still going on?