Fan or Fanless

[StephenJK]

I find it interesting - particularly with the new design project for the CAPS 4 - that so many people have a visceral reaction to a simple and basic device as a cooling fan.

 

OK, there's a lot of cheap and nasty fans out there, much the same as any other device. But when I look at those clumsy heat pipe contraptions that could so easily be replaced with something that just moves a bit of air I have to wonder if we've discounted that as a viable option.

 

Complicated milled aluminum cases and separators and risers - all in place of a stamped sheet metal case with a couple of quality whisper fans that provide forced cooling? It just doesn't make sense.

 

If you want to "think outside the box", and you're worried about electrical noise from that cheap and nasty fan, then let's look at a CAPS server that's force ventilated from a separate fan/filter assembly - much like a turntable vacuum pump.

 

Come on, people. Let's put on our thinking caps (!) and help make this happen.

 

Edit: This probably should have been posted over in Music Servers, but I have the comfort of knowing that it really doesn't matter.

[tranz]

Why bother if a couple of cheap copper pipes does it all?

[gstanley75]

Might consider Peltier junction cooling. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling

[sandyk]

Might consider Peltier junction cooling. Thermoelectric cooling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

You would need something like an 8Amp Peltier device. That's around another 100W of heat that has to be removed from the Peltier device's hot side.How are you going to do that without a fan ?

[fmak]

Might consider Peltier junction cooling. Thermoelectric cooling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Far too current hungry and still needs heat sink anyway

[Elberoth]

I had a 140mm / 600rpm fan on my last server build. It was completely inaudible in my dedicated, soundproofed listening room. You could barely hear it from 1", but only when you get behind the server case (it was firing back). The fan was making much less noise than most CD players.

 

The key here is a very large fan that runs at a very low RPM.

[sandyk]

The key here is a very large fan that runs at a very low RPM.

Don't power it directly by PWM from the motherboard though.

[Elberoth]

Don't power it directly by PWM from the motherboard though.

 

I used the SOtM fan filter. May experiment with a linear regulator in my next build though.

[sandyk]

I used the SOtM fan filter. May experiment with a linear regulator in my next build though.

 

The SOtM Fan Filter, although not as advanced as the new design by John Swenson should do a reasonable job with the Processor's fan. Some aftermarket fans were also able to be powered directly from +12V using a supplied thermistor.

This could be a cheap alternative for other case fans , and perhaps even the Processor's fan if the thermistor was taped to it's heatsink?