Keeping a small server cool... quietly

[Daftlander]

I am thinking of buying a small rack, 6-8U, to mount a server/nas maybe rackmount my next pc as a project. The problem is it would have to be in my bedroom for various reasons. 

 

Is there a way of keeping it quiet and cool?  I don't mind some fan noise. I sleep with fan on most nights anyway, but ideally I don't want to boil myself or drive myself crazy. 

 

Thanks for any help.

[jaslion]

Depends on how much heat the hardware can kick out and how much load you induce.

 

So we need specs and much more details on usecase

[Electronics Wizardy]

The amount of heat the server puts in the room is almost al caused by the amount of power it uses. 

 

Normally keeping with low power parts and turing on features to save power when idle will help keep your room cool

[Daftlander]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

So we need specs and much more details on usecase

Okay, as I say this is early days. I know I need a Freenas machine to replace my old synology one and if I can afford it I would like something I can kick my Blender renders to. But I'm not sure

 

I'll go away and spec something out and come back later. 

[AbydosOne]

2 minutes ago, Daftlander said:

Okay, as I say this is early days. I know I need a Freenas machine to replace my old synology one and if I can afford it I would like something I can kick my Blender renders to. But I'm not sure

I slept with my TrueNAS box under my bed for years, so making a NAS quiet is very easy (I didn't even try).

 

Keeping a render box cool will be a tougher challenge, but also not impossible.

[Zando_]

Just use a rackmount case that fits normal case fans, plenty can be had that are quieter than server fans (this is what Noctua's iPPC lineup is made for) or nigh inaudible (Noctua's normal PWM fans, BeQuiet! fans, lots of other brands too). Unless you're planning to use server GPUs/other beefy PCIe card, that depend on a shitload of airflow through the case as they have no fans themselves, should be fine. Noctua and I believe Thermalright regularly make standard-style tower air coolers that are meant to fit in rackmount cases (as standard server heatsinks also depend on airflow through the case, usually don't have their own fans). Basically, you can just build a normal computer in a rackmount box, no issue.