Quieter cooling solution for Dell PowerEdge C6100 Server

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I have a Dell PowerEdge C6100, I’ve stripped out 3 of the nodes and I’m down to only using one. I’ve taken out 3 of the fans to reduce noise and left one fan for the single remaining node.

I would like to reduce the noise even further, I've been searching the internet and haven't found a very reliable source of information for this specific model.

This is a 2U server with dual power supplies, it currently has two 3.5" HDDs in it, and one node (with two quad core xeon CPUs and four sticks of 2GB DDR2 RAM that I’ve spaced out over the 8 memory slots to aid in cooling).

Any suggestions for reducing the noise level?

user3546757

Posted 2015-09-14T20:00:51.957

Reputation: 23

1No real suggestions, but rack-mounted servers like this are not meant to be quiet. They are servers intended for server rooms that are often air conditioned and sound-proof. Nobody likes to work in a server room. So if there are any ideas on how to cool it off while reducing noise, it would be interesting to hear. Because the flat form-factor boxes like this are just noisy, period. – JakeGould – 2015-09-14T20:06:12.663

Which model Xeon CPUs are you using? – StackAbstraction – 2015-09-14T21:49:35.677

I'm using two L5420 CPUs. – user3546757 – 2015-09-15T16:51:32.417

Answers

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Yes it does take a fair amount of work to quiet the Dell C6100 Servers but has been done by many. Part of the challenge is the stock fans used by Dell are 13,500RPM PWM fans @ 72dba each and dell uses non-standard wiring.

  • L55xx L56xx Series Xeon CPUs use less power and make less heat you need to cool. Important when using slower quiet Fans (very inexpensive to buy Xeon L56xx CPUs on ebay)
  • Substitute San Ace or Supermicro fans, rewire non-standard fan headers to plug into the C6100
  • User RimBlock in that thread may still be selling drop in fan replacements

This website forum discusses using these servers for homelabs, here is one of many detailed threads on Taming the C6100 to be quiet.

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If you limit to one horizontal row of 1 or 2 nodes, you can also use much larger CPU heatsinks ~2U which makes it much easier to cool. Currently they use smaller than 1U heatsinks.

StackAbstraction

Posted 2015-09-14T20:00:51.957

Reputation: 782

Thanks for the info. If I am only using 1 or 2 nodes on the bottom row, could I take the top cover off and use 140mm ultra low noise fans mounted vertically above the nodes? As long as there is enough airflow, would that work or is there a reason not to have fans above the hardware blowing vertically? The total cf/m output would be greater that the fan I currently have running on the single node. ~120 cf/m vs 107 cf/m. If needs be, I could also replace the existing 80mm fan with an 80mm ultra low noise fan to add extra ~30 cf/m of airflow. – user3546757 – 2015-09-15T17:02:47.223

removing the top cover kills the channelling of airflow, it may decrease the cooling. Keep in mind the static pressure of the fans is also important. – StackAbstraction – 2015-09-28T06:56:18.963

Asked: 2015-09-14T20:00:51.957

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Active: 2017-03-07T08:33:50.530