Quiet Desktop Server

[kevin wilson]

Hi,
I want to buy a new quiet Desktop Xeon-based Server. It must be quiet, not louder
than an average desktop, because I want to use it at home, near my table near which I sit and work.
I saw for example, Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 70A4000HUX i3-4130 3.4GHz Server Desktop Computer
(According to the following link, it is "Whisper-Quiet", at 26 decibels)
My question is:
Does anyone has a real experience with it and can tell say how loud was it ?
Do anyone know of other quiet desktop servers (of HP, Dell, others, maybe other Lenovo servers) which are quiet and can
be considered as candidates for this allegedly quiet Lenovo Xeon based server ?

Followoing is the link:

Amazon.com: Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 70A4000HUX i3-4130 3.4GHz Server Desktop Computer: Computers & Accessories


Regards,
Kevin Wilson

 

[i386]

What's the purpose of this server?

Storage? Spinning drives vibrate and produce annoying noise, especially 7k hdds

 

[kevin wilson]

It is for research. It can be a Desktop Server with SSD, if there is such.
Kevin

 

[nk215]

The TS140 is about as quiet as you can get (all SSD) with all (2 case and 1 CPU) stock cooling fans.

My DIY is a E3-1270v2 is also very quiet however it uses a heat pipe tower cooler is also just as silent (Fusion-io PCIe SSD with a small 40mm fan on the heat sink).

My other Dell T110II (E3-1245) is also very quiet (PCIe SSD and S3710 SSD). This case only has 1 large cooling fan (beside from on on the power supply).

My vote is for a TS140 but you should swing for an E3 version for more core and vt-d.

If you can get an E5 type of server it's even better. Memory is much cheaper (RDIMM).

Edit:

Just looked at your link. That's expensive for a TS140. Mine is about half that with a better CPU (bought new from ebay years ago).

 

[Patrick]

I agree on the E3 version if it is possible. If you can use all SSDs it helps with noise quite a bit.

 

[Ninja1283]

As far as tower servers go, I like the Lenovo TS440 over the TS140. (Quieter, and better expansion options for adding HDDs.) IIRC, for some reason the TS140 had two somewhat noisier 40mm fans mounted in the 5.25" bays. The TS440 has two front-mounted 92mm fans, a rear exhaust 120mm fan, plus the 80mm CPU cooler. Either option will be about as quiet as you can get for a server-oriented system, but won't be silent. You can upgrade the fans to quieter versions (Noctua, etc), and swap in a tower CPU HSF. Only caveat is that the BIOS will throw a fan error that you will have to dismiss each time you boot.

In a somewhat related note, I have a basically new-in-box Xeon E3-1225 v3 TS440 available if you're interested.

 

[poutnik]

My wife has the TS140 serving as her workstation. With 2 spindisks,it can't be heard in her office over all the other ambient noises there.

 

[natelabo]

Just so you know the TS140 and TS440 are all discontinued... I wouldn't be buying any of these unless being economical is all you're trying to accomplish. The TS140 is being replaced by TS150... v3 vs v5 Xeons.

Why do you need an Xeon? What kind of software?

The Lenovo P310 can be ordered with an Xeon, Memory and Graphics... It also comes with Windows licensing. Unless you specifically need a server OS.

As far as tower servers go, I like the Lenovo TS440 over the TS140. (Quieter, and better expansion options for adding HDDs.) IIRC, for some reason the TS140 had two somewhat noisier 40mm fans mounted in the 5.25" bays. The TS440 has two front-mounted 92mm fans, a rear exhaust 120mm fan, plus the 80mm CPU cooler. Either option will be about as quiet as you can get for a server-oriented system, but won't be silent. You can upgrade the fans to quieter versions (Noctua, etc), and swap in a tower CPU HSF. Only caveat is that the BIOS will throw a fan error that you will have to dismiss each time you boot.

In a somewhat related note, I have a basically new-in-box Xeon E3-1225 v3 TS440 available if you're interested.

There is no way you could consider a TS440 quieter than the TS140. We stocked and sold both of these items... The TS440 used rackmount power supplies with small fans the TS140 has a cheap CPU cooler fan.

 

[DudeInMyrtleBeach]

I just built 3x - E3-1265L v3 based home servers for my kids and I. Running ATTO and Prime95 simultaneously, they are dead silent and peak at 85w. I used:

This Jetway motherboard (ebay), a noctua nh-l9i cooler, standard SO-DIMMS, this ebay case, a 150W pico psu (ebay), and DC-3500 SSD's (ebay) for storage. I got the motherboards for cheap (still have 3 of them, if anyone is interested).

The case comes with a standard 250w power supply. It's noisy as hell. You'll hate it. Case is nice though. Note that the above config will also fit in the smallest mini itx chassis you can find.

The server I kept for myself also has a dual port Intel 10GB nic, and 5 of the SSD's in a RAID0 (Does constant backups to a NAS)

Total cost without the SSD's was ~$300 each

 

[Nonetoo]

Welcome! (my first post, but, learned a lot from this forum)
The TS140 is a good quiet learning choice. Newegg market has some for i3 for $299. These max out at 32 gig ram. Good beginner server / will be fine for nas. You can get a cable on amazon and upgrade the powersupply if you want (for video card, more drives, etc.)
Some of the following suggestions depend on budget. NOTE - you say you are looking for a xeon, but, the link you have is for an i3, not a xeon, you could get a xeon and upgrade but that will cost more.

I just ordered an HP Proliant ML30 gen 9, from ebay, new open box, $400 shipped. Should be similar quiet to the TS140, has xeon, can do 64 gig ram. And. Wanting to learn about servers, the ML30 has HP ILO, which is a more standard remote provisioning than the intel amt in the TS140. So that's my choice this week for a quieter desktop type server, seemed like a lot more for my money, and was less than $100 more than an i3 TS140 at least this week.

Some other thoughts ....
Icy Dock enclosure, 6 notebook drives hotswap in one 5.25" bays, useful to get lots of drives in one computer.
ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB996SP-6SB Full Metal 6 x 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD/HDD Hot Swap | eBay

Deal posted on the forums here, for a 300gb used dell server grade SSD $80 ask, some here offered and got some at $65.
$80 FS: DELL INTEL DC S3500 300GB 2.5'' SSD SSDSC2BB300G4T

Good luck! Let us know what you end up with!

 

[acquacow]

I have an HP Z420 workstation that is very silent and accepts xeon CPUs and ECC memory. I have an E5-1620 in there now with 32GB of ECC, as I'm going to sell it, but it used to be my ESX server with a 2670 in it and 64GB of DRAM.

 

[kevin wilson]

Hi,
Thanks for the info! This is interesting, I am seriously considering now this option; Moreover, learning about ILO is also an advantage. If there are other readers who have worked with HP Proliant ML30 gen 9, and can
comment about the noise level and whether it is good to place in a living room (from the noise level perspective) I would appreciate that.

>I just ordered an HP Proliant ML30 gen 9, from ebay, new open box, $400 shipped. Should be similar quiet >to the TS140, has xeon, can do 64 gig ram.

How do you know what is the noise level of this server ? From what I understand, you did not get it yet. For the Lenovo ThinkServer TS140, I saw some official document which says that it is 26 Db (26 Decibels, which is lower than a whisper). I would appreciate if, when receiving it, you will be able to tell more about the noise level.

Thanks again!

Regards,
Kevin

 

[kevin wilson]

Thanks, Patrick,

>I agree on the E3 version if it is possible. If you can use all SSDs it helps with noise quite a bit

First a real storage newbie question: this servers comes with a hardware RAID controller. Does this controller support SSD drives and works with them the same as it works with SATA Hard Disks?

Second: I have a desktop which has both SSD and a SATA Hard disk. It is very silent when working with both. When I disconnect the SATA Hard disk, the noise is bit lower, but not significantly. I assume that with this Lenov TS140 ThinkServer , there should be something parallel (as the SATA Hard Disks seem to be very similar to what I have in my desktop, which is a WD Caviar Blue 7200 RPM 500GB disk).

Isn't the major cause of noise in servers/desktops is the various fans , which is significantly higher than that of a hard disk ?

Regards,
Kevin

 

[TLN]

I just built 3x - E3-1265L v3 based home servers for my kids and I. Running ATTO and Prime95 simultaneously, they are dead silent and peak at 85w.

Total cost without the SSD's was ~$300 each

Why don't builn and AIO server for $1000, pass-through videocards and share performance? For $1000 you're looking at top-tier CPUs and it will be easier to manage. Maaay be will be easier on power too.

 

[DudeInMyrtleBeach]

Why don't builn and AIO server for $1000, pass-through videocards and share performance? For $1000 you're looking at top-tier CPUs and it will be easier to manage. Maaay be will be easier on power too.

My kids are in different states. We're all connected via VPN, and I auto-synch our media libraries. As soon as I get gigabit fiber at home, I'm probably going to go the Plex route.

 

[kevin wilson]

Hi,

>I just ordered an HP Proliant ML30 gen 9, from ebay, new open box, $400 shipped. Should be similar quiet >to the TS140, has xeon, can do 64 gig ram.

I made further research and I see this info about acoustic noise of this server, in the official HP site for
"HPE ProLiant ML30 Generation9 (Gen9)" in the "Technical Specification" section:
Product documentation
(red color is mine).

My question is, maybe someone can advise: How this data about acoustics is translated to real life terms ? is it a noise louder than an average desktop ? or maybe the same or less ? Is anyone who are familiar with Bels and dBA (or even better, with this server itself) and can advise?
following here is the data:

Acoustic Noise

Listed are the declared A-Weighted sound power levels (LWAd) and declared average bystander position A-Weighted sound pressure levels (LpAm) when the product is operating in a 23°C ambient environment. Noise emissions were measured in accordance with ISO 7779 (ECMA 74) and declared in accordance with ISO 9296 (ECMA 109).

Idle

L WAd
4.2 Bels (1P LFF Base)
3.7 Bels (1P LFF Performance)

L pAm
27 dBA (1P LFF Base)
23 dBA (1P LFF Performance)


Operating
L WAd
4.2 Bels (1P LFF Base)
3.8 Bels (1P LFF Performance)

L pAm
27 dBA (1P LFF Base)
23 dBA (1P LFF Performance)


NOTE: Configurations tested for 1P LFF Base models include one (1) 1TB LFF SATA Midline HDD and Windows 2012 Enterprise 64-bit.
NOTE: Configurations tested for 1P LFF Performance models include one (1) 1TB LFF SATA Midline HDD and Windows 2012 Enterprise 64-bit.
NOTE: The Listed sound levels apply to standard shipping configurations. Additional options may result in increased sound levels.
NOTE: Levels presented do not account for non-Hewlett Packard Enterprise installed hardware.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[DudeInMyrtleBeach]

Most of these entry level current generation servers are whisper quiet (HP ML30, Dell T30, etc) -- as quiet a any current mini tower PC. The loudest component in them are the hard drives.