Replace fans in Supermicro SM-826TQ 2U case?

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AveryFreeman

consummate homelabber
Mar 17, 2017
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Hi,

I have a supermicro 2U case which I love, but it's in my office and it's a little loud for office work (can even be heard over my switch, which is also loud). My girlfriend has also been complaining about it recently.

I replaced (most) the fans in the switch with noctunas, which I had to rewire because the pinout was reversed, but it wasn't that big of a deal. It's definitely way better now.

That got me thinking: maybe I can replace the fans in the supermicro with some noctunas, too. I think they are PWM 120mm, but they are those snap-in fans

Has anyone found a way to put new fans in the snap-in fan housing so it just replaces the stock fans?

Any ideas definitely welcome! Thanks
 

i386

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2016
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I think they are PWM 120mm, but they are those snap-in fans
>826
>Height: 3.5" (89 mm
The 92+ mm fans won't fit

Be carefully with noctuas (or other consumer oriented brands) . The higher end models move a lot of air but don't produce as much static pressure (important for devices/cpus cooled with passive heatsinks) as the supermicro fans.

I would try the supermicro 80mm 5k rpm fans (suggested in multiple threads here about making supermicro chassis quieter)
 

AveryFreeman

consummate homelabber
Mar 17, 2017
413
54
28
42
Near Seattle
averyfreeman.com
Thanks, I appreciate the ideas

Re: static pressure, what about staggering tbe fans aimed in opposite directions, so air is just blowing both directions? I know they might be fighting each other a bit, but would it matter if the static pressure is so low?

I wish I could get a taller case (like 4u) for better heat dissipation, but my motherboard is UIO and the only 4u UIO cases I know of are those 48-bay monsters
 

K D

Well-Known Member
Dec 24, 2016
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As @i386 mentioned go with the lower rpm supermicro fans.

Noctuas are OK if you use an active CPU cooler and dont have the chassis filled with 3.5 drives.

I use supermicro FAN-104L4 fans in my 216 and 826 chassis + active coolers for the CPU.

You can also try the supermicro FAN-oo74L4 which is louder than the 104 but still way better than the other supermicro fans. The pitch of the noise from this fan is not as annoying as the others. This is the one I use for my storage 846 chassis.