[rescue] silencing a sparcserver 1000

[Janet L. Campbell]

On Fri, 9 Jan 2004, Stephen Sukovich wrote:

> well im not going to silence my girlfriend, and
> we have managed to come to an understanding about 
> my semi-expensive and heavy hobby. Though she does
> have one rule... I cant buy anything that weighs more
> than she does or if I do I have to be here to carry it 
> up the stairs. Before anyone else cracks the comment :)
> she weights about 100 lbs right now plus or minus 5. 

Saying that you have to carry it up sounds very reasonable.

When you're sensitive to noise, louder equipment can really be obnoxious.  
If she doesn't want to be in earshot with the SS1k and array while they're
running, I can hardly blame her.  Way back when I got my VAX 11/750 I kept
it in the garage to promote family harmony.

> Ive thought about rigging something up and replacing 2 of
> the huge 20 cm fans with a few smaller size ones. I even
> thought about wiring in some peltier coolers to the processors 
> to keep them icy cold, but I cant honestly see spending more 
> money on it then I actually used to buy it :) I curse myself 

Thermoelectric coolers would only make the problem worse.  They move heat,
but they also contribute some of their own, and all of that heat has to be
removed from the case somehow.

Large fans usually move more air per dB than small fans.

Why not get an enclosed rack and keep all of your computer odds and ends
inside?  With solid side panels, bottom->top ventilation and baffling
around the intake and exhaust, you could get noise levels pretty low.  Of 
course this is overkill with just a SS1k and an array.

-Janet