[rescue] quiet SPARCstation

[rescue at sunhelp.org]

> > Has anybody put any effort into reducing the noise level on their
> > SPARCstation?

Yes.  Step 1--Put it into colo or a dedicated machine room.
Oh, you wanted to keep it in the house--then build a rack in
your laundry room/basement and put it in there, then access it
over the network from a quieter system.

Oh, you wanted to keep it on the desktop--make it diskless.
Even then, it might still be too loud, but I agree with Kurt M.
when he says:

> My experience with the sun4c boxes is that USUALLY [1] it is 
> the hard drive that is making so much noise.  

Try unplugging power to the hard disk, putting the cover back
on, and booting the system.  See what you think of the noise
level then.

> Now, I don't know how you shop for quiet drives...  I've found the
> quieter ones by sheer luck.
Best way I've found to shop for quiet drives is to buy
a bunch of NEW (not refurbished/used/eBay) drives, test
them, and steal the quietest for your personal system...
I was amazed at the *major* drop in noise on my Ultra 1
from the combination of:
 - execute the FC to get the (heatsink+fan) replaced with a heatsink
 - Replace the ST15150WC with a Fujitsu 18.2GB 7200RPM drive

Haven't done proper DBm measurements, but the Ultra 1 went from the
loudest thing in my office to "fade into the background".

Another trick that we used to use at $Old_Work was to put the systems
underneath the Big Ugly Desks on the floor--anything that helps put
the high frequency noise generators a little further away and
direct the noise away from your ear will help somewhat.

Most of the "quiet PC" crap that I've seen can't really be applied
to SPARCs that you want to have running 24/7.  Unless you have a
*really* bad fan in the P/S, the hard disk is about the only thing
that's worth changing IMO...and for a 1+ you're not going to find
many internal quiet disks--or does that Cycle 5 upgrade board you
(apparently) have use SCA/Wide disks?  (You could always get a 611 unipack
external case with a 2 GB drive, though...those are relatively
quiet and would reduce the internal heat load in the 1+ a lot,
which might allow you to start playing with # of fans or voltage
supplied.)

  --Rip