Fractal Define R6

[tolagarf]

I need a new case for my server, as my Primo is so terrible made it's vibrating from both the fans and harddrives. I had to pull off the frontcover which was the main issue, but it still persists. This one is bound for the garbage truck!

So my question regarding the Fractal Define R6: Has anyone tested the harddrive brackets in the case, if you mount heavy drives will they cause vibrations into the case? Can they be heard at all? My previous experience with the R5 was not a good experience in that regard.

 

[AlienALX]

All cases will vibrate if you have fast hard drives, IE 7200 RPM. It's not a fault of the case (well it sort of is, as they could use rubber mounts).

It's easily fixed a number of ways.

Get a sound proofed case (but put up with higher temps)
Put drives on something soft and rubber. Or suspend them on bungees

Sound proof your existing case.

 

[tolagarf]

All my drives are WD Reds 5900 RPM. Vibrating might have been too strong a word, the problem is I can hear them being... well noisy. I have 6 of them in total, and it's the case just isn't able to dampen the sound.

Still the frontcover does resonate due to vibrations coming from somewhere, it's just too flimsy build

Edit: In hindsight I should just use my Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Tempered Glass again. This case has been dampered with the stuff from Overclockers and is super quiet. Wanted to use it for my main PC, but... RIP the dream

 

[AlienALX]

You can change it so that when not in use the drives completely spin down. IIRC it's under advanced in power management.

If they are bolted straight to the structure of the case then everything they do will be transferred into the rest of the case. This is particularly bad in alu cases, which take a lot less to get moving. That is why Lian Li provide rubber things very similar to the ones Dell use.

The only time I ever hear my hard drives is when I have the side off, and the only one I hear is the Raptor (just accessing).

 

[tolagarf]

You can change it so that when not in use the drives completely spin down. IIRC it's under advanced in power management.

If they are bolted straight to the structure of the case then everything they do will be transferred into the rest of the case. This is particularly bad in alu cases, which take a lot less to get moving. That is why Lian Li provide rubber things very similar to the ones Dell use.

The only time I ever hear my hard drives is when I have the side off, and the only one I hear is the Raptor (just accessing).

My drives never power down from what I can tell, even though it's enabled. I think this is because of RAID and the fact Plex is constantly accessing the drives.

But no they aren't bolted, they're sitting in the plastic tray which sits in a metal cage. From my own experience vibrations don't really transfer that much with this kind of setup (Corsair uses similar trays). It's just the noise from those 4 TB WD Reds is kinda annoying, my guess would be it's from the motor when the platter spins around.

...And don't get my started on Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM drives, those trigger me lol

 

[AlienALX]

Yeah baras are loud. I had a few over the years as they came stock in Alienwares.

Not thought of building a server or NAS and shoving it somewhere? I have a basic NAS with two laptop drives in it literally threw together and I love it ! what's cool is my Android puter in the bedroom can stream from it. The only thing I am really missing is full on internet access. It's not worth it ATM because I have it hooked up on a cheap switch. But I will invest some time soon in a gigabit one with a gigabit switch, then sort out getting access to it from elsewhere. Would be well handy to have all my files on tap at my mother's house for example. Saves me copying it all over and fitting more drives into the rig I am taking there.

 

[tolagarf]

Yeah baras are loud. I had a few over the years as they came stock in Alienwares.

Not thought of building a server or NAS and shoving it somewhere? I have a basic NAS with two laptop drives in it literally threw together and I love it ! what's cool is my Android puter in the bedroom can stream from it. The only thing I am really missing is full on internet access. It's not worth it ATM because I have it hooked up on a cheap switch. But I will invest some time soon in a gigabit one with a gigabit switch, then sort out getting access to it from elsewhere. Would be well handy to have all my files on tap at my mother's house for example. Saves me copying it all over and fitting more drives into the rig I am taking there.

No I don't like NAS. Not optimal when you want your server to do a lot of stuff at the same time

 

[tinytomlogan]

Youll never totally silence a hard drive spinning up dude....

 

[tolagarf]

Lets get back on topic... Still looking for answers if anyone actually tested the R6 with several 3.5" hard drives installed in the case. How's the noise in your opinion and are you experiencing any problems with such a setup?

 

[AlienALX]

Do you care about how it looks?

 

[tolagarf]

Do you care about how it looks?

Not really, it's for my server

 

[NeverBackDown]

I'd imagine it would not be a big deal.

FD has used the same drive cages forever and people use them all the time for servers. Combined with the sound damping foam and it's more likely to be quiet than what you have now.

 

[tinytomlogan]

I use 10 WD Red's in my home server and its not that bad fella. I think you may be asking a bit -too- much from it

 

[tolagarf]

I'd imagine it would not be a big deal.

FD has used the same drive cages forever and people use them all the time for servers. Combined with the sound damping foam and it's more likely to be quiet than what you have now.

My R5 wasn't. It was a vibrating nightmare, and my Phanteks Primo is doing the same. But I've decided to use my Phanteks Luxe Tempered Glass case instead, which is already noise dampened. Case closed (pun intended!)