server room cooling

king_of_inismac

Hey guys,

We're buying 12+ pcs at work and we've just one room to put them in. The room is quite small, and since the room doesn't have any windows, keeping the room cool is going to be a problem.

I'm sure this is a common problem for server rooms, so there must be solutions out there, but we're on a budget.

Can anyone recommend any good solutions (like inexpensive air conditioners?) that would solve our problem?

Thanks,
M

Stephen

I've no idea about makes or models or anything like that but definately a decent air conditioner is the way to go. We have ceiling-mounted mitsubishi ones in our computer room, plus under-floor stuff too. Any decent server room will have a raised floor for cooling and cable routing, but I'm guessing a room for 12 pcs and their users won't. But then, PCs won't be as hot as servers.

king_of_inismac

I wonder would something like this do: http://www.amcorgroupusa.com/aircon.html

remus808

king_of_inismac wrote: »

I wonder would something like this do: http://www.amcorgroupusa.com/aircon.html

Hmm I very much doubt it.. a small room with no windows and 12 computers is going to need a beefier AC system than just that methinks

Out of curiosity, what's the purpose of the room? Are 12 people going to be sitting at this machines?!

king_of_inismac

there's no people going to in there. just machines. The ceilings are quite high. I can't see the temperature being that high.

As mentioned about they're desktop pcs not servers

Stephen

What kind of PCs are they? Dell optiplex type yokes? If so they won't need any major cooling, assuming you're not stacking them all up together or something.

Khannie

king_of_inismac wrote: »

As mentioned about they're desktop pcs not servers

Stick them in. 12 desktops in a room with tall ceilings will be fine. Sure, the room will be hot, but it's unlikely to go above recommended operating temperatures. Just keep an eye on it for a few days.

To reduce heat output, consider underclocking the graphics cards. Definitely turn on all power saving features.

king_of_inismac

Yep, that's pretty much it. Just your standard dell desktop machine. I'm thinking one of those air conditioners would do the job, but I suppose I'm just looking for someone to confirm my suspicions!

watty

A PC with any 3D card is more power than a server if they both have same number of disks.

watty

Khannie wrote: »

Stick them in. 12 desktops in a room with tall ceilings will be fine. Sure, the room will be hot, but it's unlikely to go above recommended operating temperatures. Just keep an eye on it for a few days.

To reduce heat output, consider underclocking the graphics cards. Definitely turn on all power saving features.

Absolutely NEVER turn on ANY power saving if you want unattended reliability.

Even on my laptop the only reliable ones are screen and hard disk.

If the room is sealed then the ceiling height is nearly irrelevant.

Khannie

watty wrote: »

A PC with any 3D card is more power than a server if they both have same number of disks.

You could underclock a modern card to very low levels and still have it useful for the rare occasion when it's needed.

On power saving, ya, you're right of course. Suspend etc. would be a giant pain in the hole. I was actually thinking of the available features in the BIOS (it's my story and I'm sticking with it).

Surely a tall ceiling will affect the temperature low down though? My noodle does not compute how it would not. I understand that there would be some convection caused by the rising heat, but overall, I think it will provide a benefit v's a lower ceiling.

I still say stick them in and keep an eye on the temps. 12 computers is feck all. We have 8 in my tiny office. Sure...it's warm in the mornings if people have left them on, but it's not even approaching max operating temps.

watty

Depends on how well insulated the ceiling and walls is. It may just mean it overheats in 2days rather than 1/2 a day

Capt'n Midnight

Cheapest solution is a hole in the wall with a big fan on it, and another hole for the air to go out , you may need some duct to so the air flows through the room
costs a lot less to run than air con and a lot less stuff to fail

Not sure about PC's and tape drives but rack mount stuff normally is designed to run with 40C air, so you will never get air that hot from outside.

if you have a power meter you could work out the power of one of the pc's under normal load
and hence the 12 pc's together

then get a hairdryer or fan heater of similar power and leave it in the room to see how it gets on.

not sure on the regulations but does the room have false floors or ceilings to run ducts through ?