Loud PSU Fans

Question

I have a PowerEdge T630 with 2 E5-2699 v4's, no PCIe devices, peak power draw around 500W, normal power draw is from 100-150W, and yet my 2 1600W (PN: D1600E-S0) power supplies are constantly running with the fans at like a solid i'd guess 30% fan speed, theyre set to power redundant with PFC turned on but hot spare is disabled, for some reason there seems to be no user control over those fan speeds like there is for system fan speeds through ipmi too, there is no dust, theyre freshly taken out of an almost sterile environment, now what the hell can i do to make them shut up? the iDRAC version is 2.86.86.86 and the BIOS version is 2.19.0

DELL-Charles R · Answer

Hello,

Could you Post picture of label PSU showing the Dell part number: DP/N number

There may be a firmware update you can apply to the PSUs

Do you have all shrouds and baffles installed?

Confirm you have the cover installed so that the intrusion switch will not activate. If it is activated or broken the fans will run at high speed.

There are just a very few settings you can make but the iDRAC settings utility enables you to select and customize the thermal control settings for your system

Changing the thermal settings

Page 65

https://dl.dell.com/content/manual24558434-dell-poweredge-t630-owner-s-manual.pdf?language=en-us

You may look at how to identify and troubleshoot some common causes of fan noise

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000227912/poweredge-how-to-identify-and-troubleshoot-some-common-causes-of-fan-noise

user_442d4f · Answer

The image doesnt upload for some reason but i found the DP/N number: 095HR5

All shrouds and baffles are installed besides the extra fan pack, which i do have and can be installed if necessary but taking it out didnt change anything about the fans so i dont think putting it back in would change anything either

The intrusion switch is working as intended as when i open the side panel it complains (just tested) and currently the side panel is closed and iDRAC shows no intrusion

The thermal settings are set to performance per watt optimized and the minimum fan speed is set to the minimum it lets me which is 10%

user_442d4f · Answer

I put in a gpu, raising the power draw by 30-100W, the PSU fans are at like 70% fan speed judging by the noise relative to their full speed, at like 200-230W power draw

DELL-Young E · Answer

Hello, just to confirm, 'constantly running with the fans at like a solid i'd guess 30% fan speed' > this is normal Also 'I put in a gpu, raising the power draw by 30-100W, the PSU fans are at like 70% fan speed' >this is expected as well.

user_442d4f · Answer

Shouldnt the fans ramp up when more cooling is needed? I see no reason for the fans to go that fast, using more power, being more noisy and using up their lifetime faster when theres no need for such cooling, the exhaust air is completely ambient so theres clearly no need for such aggressive cooling, especially with such tiny power draw

Dell-Martin S · Answer

Hi,1. Update Firmware (Critical First Step) iDRAC: Update to latest version (current is 2.83.83.83 for T630 as of 2023).BIOS: Update from 2.19.0 to latest (2.20.0+).PSU Firmware: Check for PSU-specific updates via Dell Repository.Note: Newer firmware may improve fan algorithms.2. Adjust Power Profile in iDRAC Access iDRAC → Power Settings → Thermal Profile → Set to 'Minimum Power' or 'Acoustic' if available.Disable 'Extended Idle Power Savings' (may conflict with fan control).

Power & Cooling

Loud PSU Fans

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