MicroServer Gen8 is noisy

[PAC_]

HP documentation and PR state that the MicroServer Gen8 emits only 21dBa, yet I am reading 50dBa (front) to 55dBa (back) at idle.

I have tried resetting the BIOS to factory defaults as well as adjusting the HP power profile to no avail.

This is too noisy for a quiet home or office environment, should we expect lower noise levels as per the official specifications ?

P.S. This thread has been moved from ProLiant Servers (ML,DL,SL) to ProLiant Servers - Netservers.
-HP Forum Moderator

[Jimmy Vance]

I have 4 of these sitting in my cube right now and one at the house. They are very quiet even with 4 disks in them.  What does iLO show as far as fan speed and sensor temperatures?

UPDATE: I guess my cubicle environment isn't quiet enough to really notice the fan noise. After further investigation, I have now seen (and heard) the fan speed difference between B120i and SATA AHCI modes. I've reported this back to the MicroServer hardware team.

[ibhpgb]

It may depend on which disk controller one is using. 

http://b3n.org/installed-xeon-e3-1230v2-in-gen8-hp-microserver/

ACHI reported as noisy.

I would buy one, but don't want noise.

[PAC_]

Yes I had read reports about the fan speed going up with the Smart Array disabled but I have tried enabling and disabling AHCI controller mode to no avail.

Let me get back to you with fan speed and temperature once I get back home.

[Jimmy Vance]

I'm run them both in RAID mode and AHCI mode with no difference in fan noise level. The link provided is for people putting in faster CPU's, I'd expect the fan to spin up a bit with a faster CPU in the case.

[ibhpgb]

Actually, I think Stefan did not change his cpu, and was the one that noticed fan speed changed (for him) with different controllers. 

Maybe HP needs some firmware updates?

[PAC_]

There is a new firmware dating from August 14th available but the release notes do not contain information about this specific issue.

I will be updating over the week-end and report back.

[PAC_]

The fan spins at a constant 39%, all temperatures are nominal.

I have read one other report stating that the fan will go up when disabling the Smart Array B120i. It should apparently run at 6% under normal conditions ?

[ibhpgb]

That is a similar fan speed others have reported.

HP  ,

Update your firmware! 

I wonder if a rheostat fan control would work to quiet down the fan noise.

[PAC_]

The issue still applies to firmware 2013.08.24.

Apparently the B120i Smart Array would need to be configured for the fan control to kick in properly. I will test it out tonight.