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Quiet NAS build using PC/Workstation


trek102

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The original post asked for PC/workstatations, not home made.

 

I rolled my own using the U-NAS case line (4 bay and 8 bay).  Handpicked fans and passive cooling on the NAS with a low power CPU.

 

Since fan control is problematic with DSM (BIOS only, or write your own driver/shim), picking the right fans will make a big difference.

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thanks for your tips. This makes sense. My plan is to use an existing used PC/Workstation (e.g. Dell T1600, T1700) and amend as needed. They come very cheaply with super fast Xeon and lots of Ram.

I was hoping that someone had experience with the noise levels... 

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Super fast Xeon and quiet are usually mutually exclusive.  Since there is a maximum performance level available to DSM (8 HT cores/16 threads using DS3617xs) there is usually no need for a superfast Xeon.  A 4-core CPU is more than adequate to handle a completely saturated 10Gbe interface.

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I had a T1600 (as a PC, not NAS).  The stock fans make this a pretty noisy box.  As Flyride said...  go with a passive cooling if possible for the cpu.  However those are usually pretty big and getting one that fits might be a challenge.  Then you could get a virtually silent PSU replacement with a bigger fan inside (shop around... there are several that I believe will fit).  You may have to stick with the noisy 80mm case fan unless you can find a way to rig a 120mm in that space.  You could just unplug it and see how hot things get... but I'm guessing you'll need some kind of airflow to keep the inside of the case at an acceptable temp for the drives, etc.

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22 hours ago, trek102 said:

The passive cooling seems like a good idea

usually not in case of storage units, beside psu and cpu you need cooling for hdd's

having temp. controlled psu fan and case fan (later one controlled from bios) is preferable over a passive psu

the cpu fan might be optional but it does not hurt that much to have a temp. controlled fan with decent (heat pipe?) heat sink and low noise fan (>80mm)

(example might be https://noctua.at/en/nh-l9x65/)

the case fan should be mounted opposite (to the psu) back end of the housing so you get it venting left an right back and air "in" needs to come from the area where the disks are, you may even need to plug/seal other openings made for venting to make sure air gets in covering the disk area

if there is low noise there is low airflow too and that makes it more important to look for the disks you dont want them to have >50°C

and dependig on the number of disks there will be noise from the disks anyway

 

as flyride already wrote, its most important to have a working temp. controlled fan control in bios as synology uses custom hard- and software for fan control and it does not work on normal hardware, you would need drivers for your specific board (compile them by yourself) and also write code to plugin into synology's own control software, way to complicated for normal use

often the temp. bios controlled fan support lacks in major brands like dell or hpe

this as example for what you might need to look for

https://www.gigabyte.com/mb/am4/cooling

"Enhanced BIOS Interface" like with temp. profile for % fan speed (but even silent normal, full speed settings might be enough)

 

Edited by IG-88
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I build a nas myself, lc power 1360mi case, Asrock H110M-ITX mobo, i7-6700 CPU, ID Cooing is40 CPU cooler, 6TB WD purple, 16GB DDR4 ram, Thermaltake HDD cooler, all coolers controls the mobo,  via temperature, so can keeps at low temp, cpu arond 40°C, HDD around 35°C, all very very quiet. But the nas can working anywhere, far away from your bed. Drop it to closet, upper shelf, and that's all. 

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8 hours ago, Rick4 said:

I build a nas myself, lc power 1360mi case, Asrock H110M-ITX mobo, i7-6700 CPU, ID Cooing is40 CPU cooler, 6TB WD purple, 16GB DDR4 ram, Thermaltake HDD cooler, all coolers controls the mobo,  via temperature, so can keeps at low temp, cpu arond 40°C, HDD around 35°C, all very very quiet. But the nas can working anywhere, far away from your bed. Drop it to closet, upper shelf, and that's all. 

thanks for sharing, yes can work anywhere but needs a fast LAN connection and thats only near the router

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On 7/12/2021 at 12:14 AM, trek102 said:

thanks for sharing, yes can work anywhere but needs a fast LAN connection and thats only near the router

Near router+ 50-80metres good cable. but i use a pair of xiaomi AX3600 routers in mesh, wireless conection between routers faster than Gbit LAN, so wired connections  are in the distant past, you can build a good, stable, and superfast wireless connection, without any wall drilling. 

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On 7/19/2021 at 9:07 PM, trek102 said:

Thanks. In mesh meaning you have 2 routers of the same type in different parts of the house? What WiFi standard do they operate to offer more than 1Gbit/s. Which tool have you measured the speed with? 

It's a pair of xiaomi ax 3600, i get same network everywhere in my house, plus i use it with only one  SSID in 2.4 and 5GHz, so i have only one network, and my phone and mesh networked routers can go the best speed, best frequency, etc etc. Over 1gbps speed is no measured speed, (but can be test it with iperf)  it's a connection speed, you can check it on you phone, under wifi connection settings. That routers uses mu- mimo 4x4 antennas, ofdma, bss coloring, wifi6 method for fastest wifi connection. I have two oneplus 8 pro phones, they can connect to routers with 1200 MBPs speed. So i have a Gbit coaxial network, and i can use total broadband through wifi on my phone, that's blazing fast.  

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