Any recommendation where to buy quiet rackmountable chassis ?

[Patrik Dufresne]

Hello,

I'm looking for affordable rack mountable server chassis with SAS backplane with at least 6 disk or more. Quiet. And if possible with dual PSU.

So far, I had a look at Supermicro CSE-826 from "The server Store". at 199$ USD + shipping it's a good option but I'm not sure the fan in the middle are quiet.

That why I'm looking for a Supermicro Workstation chassis like SC743TQ-1200B-SQ again at "The Server Store". at 799$ + shipping it a bit expensive considering I will replace the motherboard and CPU by something else.

Anything I should consider before buying ? Since I'm located in Canada, Possibly from Canada ?

 

[bitbckt]

You'll have more success achieving "quiet" (whatever that might mean to you) in 4U than you will in 2U: there's only so much to be done with 80mm fans needing to move a certain volume of air in 2U of space.

There are threads here on STH about the CSE-846, for example.

 

[nabsltd]

That why I'm looking for a Supermicro Workstation chassis like SC743TQ-1200B-SQ again at "The Server Store". at 799$ + shipping it a bit expensive considering I will replace the motherboard and CPU by something else.

Note that no CPU is included by default...only the motherboard.

That said, the $799 price pretty much makes the motherboard free. Bare chassis of the same model sell for over $700.

 

[Sean Ho]

Chassis do not make noise; fans do. Chassis design impacts airflow, and certainly 4U means you can fit bigger 120mm or even 140mm fans, which can pump the same CFM at slower RPMs and hence lower noise. But a low-power system in an 825/826 with quiet PSU and 3x Arctic P8 on the fan wall (with standard SM fan curve) is quite fine for an office environment, just a low whoosh. I use a low-profile active CPU cooler with quiet fan in mine; it keeps temps reasonable without needing to boost the chassis fans. Noise tolerance is highly subjective, though.

 

[i386]

but I'm not sure the fan in the middle are quiet

it depends on the specific version of the 826 sku. Older versions used 5k rpm fans, newer use (i think it was) 7.3k rpm fans.
I bought the 5k fans in an attempt to "tame" a 836 chassis just to find out that they are quieter (the whoosh sound @Sean Ho made ), but have an annoying whine to them. The 7.3k rpm fans make a louder "whoosh" but don't have that annoying whine to them so they are the fans that I use in the 836.

 

[Patrik Dufresne]

If I plan to go with the 2U server CSE-826. Would you have any recommendation to replace the fan with quiet version of them ?

Otherwise, I understand it's better to go with the 4U server.

 

[Sean Ho]

Arctic F8 or (preferably) P8: ARCTIC F8 PWM PST (Black) 5 Pack 80 mm PWM PST Case Fan quiet motor Computer PC 840033401388 | eBay

 

[bitbckt]

I was curious (and admittedly a bit bored), and did the math to find out what the P8 is giving up against the Nidec V80E A5 I use in my 2U SM machines to achieve the infamous "whoosh". Here's the summary:

Nidec V80E A5 (SM part FAN-0126L4)	Artic P8 PWM
7000 RPM	3000 RPM
53.5 dBA	0.3 Sone (~ 10 dBA)
72.5 CFM	23.4 CFM
0.6A	0.09A
1.33 inwg (33.378 mm H₂O)	1.9 mm H₂O (0.0748 inwg)