7 Posts
0
1123
January 22nd, 2023 20:00
New R450 - Fans Too Fast
The fans don't go below 48% of max PWM on a brand new R450 with the CPU steady at 3%. The server has a lightweight config: 1 CPU, 2 x 8 GB RAM, Windows Server 2022 doing nothing for now. Only 3 disk bays are populated with 10K HDDs. 5 fans. All Dell parts, nothing third party.
Ambient temp is 73F (23C). I cracked a window open and left the room temperature slowly drop to 65F (18C), but the fans only went down to 37%. Still way too fast for the server just sitting doing nothing.
I have the Thermal Profile Optimization set to Minimum Power, Fan Speed Offset is Off and Min. Fan Speed in PWM is at the lowest it lets me set it: 46%. Any other cooling settings cause the fans to go even faster. All firmware is up to date (BIOS, iDRAC, etc). I downgraded iDRAC from the latest 6.10.00 to 6.00.30 but it behaved the same.
Any advice appreciated as the noise level is prohibitive for the office. (I have other servers with significant more load in the same rack and the fans barely spin loudly enough to bother).
mikolsul
7 Posts
0
February 1st, 2023 19:00
Spent a morning with Dell support on the line but we couldn't get the fans to quiet down. Was sent an exchange. Same story. Ended up returning the server. Despite what Dell says these are surely not for an office-level noise environment.
DELL-Erman O
Moderator
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2.8K Posts
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January 23rd, 2023 04:00
Hi, As far as I can see, you have implemented many troubleshooting steps, including ambient temperature. iDRAC and BIOS firmware updates fixed similar issues on the 14G. But you also checked the FW relationship, including the downgrade. I was going to suggest you look at the Fan Offset settings, you did that too. There may be another problem here. Considering it's a new server, I suggest you call your local support team and sign up and follow up. Maybe a hardware problem is causing this.