- Apr 4, 2013
- 4
- 0
- 10,510
Hello everyone, I'm new to the site and signed up because I couldn't find any other good source of information for my problem, so I figured I'd crowdsource the solution finding.
Anyways, I bought an old IBM eServer xSeries 336 1u rackmount server a few months ago with the intention of using it to run a Tekkit (Minecraft fork) game server. I'm not sure how old it is, I'm assuming '04 or '05, but it has dual 3.2Ghz Xeon processors, two 35gb HDD's, and 4gb's of DDR2 RAM (cant get more than that to work right for some reason...) I'm running a 64-bit slackware Linux distro my friend helped me set up.
The machine, despite it's occasional glitches, works like a dream. The problem is that it sounds like a NIGHTMARE. Obviously, its a rack server meant to be on all the time, and it has a LOT of tiny, loud, high RPM fans. This has prevented us from being able to use it becasue it's so loud that no one wants it in their house.
I've been looking for a solution, but haven't found any good resources with definitive answers. I had a few different solutions in mind, so I would appreciate it if anyone could help me by providing their experience, information, or suggestions.
First, I thought about just taking the components and putting them in a new case, either a bigger rackmount case than the current 1u, or a full ATX case that I would mod to fit the mobo, etc. However, I think the mobo, fans, and other components are a proprietary fit to the case, so I don't know if a new case is an option. Again, the current case is 1u, full width, and very deep at about 27", so overall 19"w X 27"d X 2-3"h, and the fans (about 10 I think) are located in the front and back of the case, with the mobo taaking up a lot of the interior space. I can provide pictures laater today when I get home, if needed.
The second solution I came up with is to build some sort of box around the case (or get a weather-proof deckbox). Inside I was planning to build a structure to hold the server, and then have a bending series of ducts or slats to redirect the air in and out flow to act as a "muffler" of sorts which would move air in and out of the box through some holes I would cut in the sides. Then I would insulate the rest of the box with foam or blankets and add filters and extra fans on the holes I've cut in the sides of the box which connect to the inner ducts.
Finally, my last solution was proposed to me by a fellow Micro Center patron, and while it's probably the quickest and cheapest option, it's something I'm not familliar with and not sure how good it would be for the server. The idea would be to get a plastic tub, fill it with mineral oil, and dunk the whole computer in it. I know that this is something that overclockers do to their rigs, but I don't know if I can safely do it to the server with no case mods. If I don't take the components out of the case, or remove the fans (since the server shuts down after 5mins if the fans are removed and not replaced), would it be safe to run the computer without effectively ruining it? What density oil should I use? Light, heavy, etc? Are there other liquids that I could use, such as deionized water?
I plan on having this computer runnning pretty much 24/7 to keep the gme server up, though I don't really plan on having it be used to its absolute max, since there are only a few of us using it. I do plan on being able access it to do software updates and such from time to time. I only paid about $90 for the server and RAM, so I don't want to pay too much if I don't have to.
Let me know what you guys think about my solutions or if you have any other ideas or suggestions. Feel free to ask me any questions or provide comments.
Thanks for your help guys, I'm looking forward to getting this solved.
*EDIT/UPDATE*
Heyguys, thanks for your replies. Again though, I'm not concerned about the cooling so much as I am about reducing the extreme noise (dB) level. Just for clarification, the HDD's are not the loud part, it's the fans that make the noise. Also, the HDD's are actually SCSI and not SATA, so I don't think I could easily find an SSD solution in my price range. As for the fans, ideally I would like to replace the tiny fans with serveral large fans, with some holes in the case if necessary. The fans currently are like 2" cubes, so very small, but very high RPM's. Also, due to the way the server is designed, the fans are hot-swapable, but the server shuts down if the fans are removed for more than 5 minutes. Therefore, I'm not sure how I can remove them with out the feedback failsafe kicking in, though I was thinking about getting creative and soldering some sort of feedback loop on each fan to trick the computer into thinking they're still plugged in. That is of course, if I decide to go with the case fan mod option.
Anyways, I bought an old IBM eServer xSeries 336 1u rackmount server a few months ago with the intention of using it to run a Tekkit (Minecraft fork) game server. I'm not sure how old it is, I'm assuming '04 or '05, but it has dual 3.2Ghz Xeon processors, two 35gb HDD's, and 4gb's of DDR2 RAM (cant get more than that to work right for some reason...) I'm running a 64-bit slackware Linux distro my friend helped me set up.
The machine, despite it's occasional glitches, works like a dream. The problem is that it sounds like a NIGHTMARE. Obviously, its a rack server meant to be on all the time, and it has a LOT of tiny, loud, high RPM fans. This has prevented us from being able to use it becasue it's so loud that no one wants it in their house.
I've been looking for a solution, but haven't found any good resources with definitive answers. I had a few different solutions in mind, so I would appreciate it if anyone could help me by providing their experience, information, or suggestions.
First, I thought about just taking the components and putting them in a new case, either a bigger rackmount case than the current 1u, or a full ATX case that I would mod to fit the mobo, etc. However, I think the mobo, fans, and other components are a proprietary fit to the case, so I don't know if a new case is an option. Again, the current case is 1u, full width, and very deep at about 27", so overall 19"w X 27"d X 2-3"h, and the fans (about 10 I think) are located in the front and back of the case, with the mobo taaking up a lot of the interior space. I can provide pictures laater today when I get home, if needed.
The second solution I came up with is to build some sort of box around the case (or get a weather-proof deckbox). Inside I was planning to build a structure to hold the server, and then have a bending series of ducts or slats to redirect the air in and out flow to act as a "muffler" of sorts which would move air in and out of the box through some holes I would cut in the sides. Then I would insulate the rest of the box with foam or blankets and add filters and extra fans on the holes I've cut in the sides of the box which connect to the inner ducts.
Finally, my last solution was proposed to me by a fellow Micro Center patron, and while it's probably the quickest and cheapest option, it's something I'm not familliar with and not sure how good it would be for the server. The idea would be to get a plastic tub, fill it with mineral oil, and dunk the whole computer in it. I know that this is something that overclockers do to their rigs, but I don't know if I can safely do it to the server with no case mods. If I don't take the components out of the case, or remove the fans (since the server shuts down after 5mins if the fans are removed and not replaced), would it be safe to run the computer without effectively ruining it? What density oil should I use? Light, heavy, etc? Are there other liquids that I could use, such as deionized water?
I plan on having this computer runnning pretty much 24/7 to keep the gme server up, though I don't really plan on having it be used to its absolute max, since there are only a few of us using it. I do plan on being able access it to do software updates and such from time to time. I only paid about $90 for the server and RAM, so I don't want to pay too much if I don't have to.
Let me know what you guys think about my solutions or if you have any other ideas or suggestions. Feel free to ask me any questions or provide comments.
Thanks for your help guys, I'm looking forward to getting this solved.
*EDIT/UPDATE*
Heyguys, thanks for your replies. Again though, I'm not concerned about the cooling so much as I am about reducing the extreme noise (dB) level. Just for clarification, the HDD's are not the loud part, it's the fans that make the noise. Also, the HDD's are actually SCSI and not SATA, so I don't think I could easily find an SSD solution in my price range. As for the fans, ideally I would like to replace the tiny fans with serveral large fans, with some holes in the case if necessary. The fans currently are like 2" cubes, so very small, but very high RPM's. Also, due to the way the server is designed, the fans are hot-swapable, but the server shuts down if the fans are removed for more than 5 minutes. Therefore, I'm not sure how I can remove them with out the feedback failsafe kicking in, though I was thinking about getting creative and soldering some sort of feedback loop on each fan to trick the computer into thinking they're still plugged in. That is of course, if I decide to go with the case fan mod option.
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