Modifying 1U server and air flow question

[gdlgiii]

I recently aquired a "SuperMicro Computer" Model 6015W server and want to modify this server for home use as a Plex Server. I have been thinking of different ways to do this and want to reach out to others for advice. My thought is to follow this guide and build a cabinet for it and have it in a media room. It has to look like part of the room decor (aka wife approved) and also be quiet. Here is the link to this guide. http://tombuildsstuff.blogspot.com/2014/02/diy-rack-server-plans.html

I thought about removing the 4 VERY loud CPU fans and replacing them with bigger ones and mounting them on the existing CPUs. The motherboard has 6 4-pin fan connectors.. The CPUs are Xeon class 5200 Dual Core series 3Ghz processor that currently have 2 flat passive coolers on them. If I can find 2 CPU coolers for LGA 771 Socket chips that can direct the air up and away from the cpu's then I can leave the top cover off and just mount this server sideways on a set of rails. Then thinking of placing 2 120MM fans in front and 2 120MM fans in the back. The box enclosure itself would be approx 20 inches in width, 36 inches in depth and 30 inches in height. As I stated earlier, I would like to mount this server inside the enclosure sideways and provide adequite airflow for this box since it will be running 24x7.

Thank you for taking time to read this and look forward to any other suggestions or if I am on the right path of thinking how to cool and quiet this thing.

 

[Nijinski]

Sounds a lot like hard work.

I banished my dual opteron Dell SC1435 rack server to the loft. All the house network wiring terminates at a patch panel up there with a gigabit switch so it made sense to do it that way. With the ceiling insulation between living space and loft it's pretty quiet.

 

[Saberus]

For changing the heatsinks it might be as simple as getting a pair of LGA 775 heatsinks that bolt down. The LGA 771 is a modified 775 socket with a couple of pins swapped out (mostly).

But for the rest of the system it relies on the airflow from those 15000RPM 40mm fans to cool the memory and chipset. TO modify it to be quiet but also not burn itself up is going to be a lot more work and cost than it's worth.

Your better bet is to set up the 19 inch four post rack inside a 23 inch rack, and add fans in two places, one near the bottom with a bank of large fans pushing air in that's routed through a baffle in the front, and one in the top back that's sucking the hot air from the back. With the baffling, the server's fans can do their job without being heard too much.