Renderfarm cooling/sound proofing

Archived
1

I'm about to build a renderfarm and need a rack enclosure to put the render nodes in. I need something that will keep the machines cool and also prevent noise leakage, as they are going to be kept in the corner of our small studio - we haven't got a spare room that we can put them in with air con.

There seem to be various options for people working in the States, but I'm in London, and the only thing that seems to fit the bill is the XtremeMac XrackPRO 12U Noise Reduction Enclosure. Has anyone got one of these? I need to know if I can put PC rackmount gear in it and just how much noise reduction they actually give, seeing as some of our old rendernodes/servers are really noisy. Any help would be most appreciated.

2

I've never used one of those racks but it shouldbe standard as far as mounting rack PCs in it.

As for aiding cooling and noise reduction hopefully you have AC or if not a window where you can put the rack nearby. You don't want the hot air settling inthe work space. Next if the rack is still noisey I would suggest building some movable walls with insulation that you can put in between it and yourself. This will definately take the drone out of it. You will also probably want to place the rack on some sort of thick pad so that it does not translate vibration from it to the floor.

3

Thanks for the info, most useful.