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Dell PowerEdge VRTX Acoustics and Thermals

PowerEdge T620

PowerEdge VRTX with Standard

M620

PowerEdge VRTX with “Enhanced

Acoustics” M620 and/or all M520s

Acoustical reference points and output comparisons Table 2.

Configuration and utilization guidance

Certain configurations and utilizations are quieter than others. If your environment is acoustically sensitive,

Dell can help you choose the right configuration.

• Cooling needs: Airflow is the chief driver of noise for the PowerEdge VRTX, and the chassis has been

designed to reduce impedance to airflow. Airflow reflects the heat power dissipation needs such that

components meet their thermal specifications. Because some components’ power may be relatively

low compared to others but also have more stringent thermal requirements, you may not find the

connection between airflow, acoustics and components to be intuitive. Table 3 is intended to help

provide guidance. A few general statements can be made for minimization of acoustical output, for

example, using all M520 server nodes or lowest power (or no) PCI cards.

• Utilization distribution: As workloads increase, component utilization and heat output increase. These

require airflow, which, as mentioned in the earlier paragraph, result in greater acoustical output. The

acoustical difference between idle and operating modes for a variety of configurations is shown in

Table 3, Because utilization impacts acoustics, the distribution of the utilization can help in noise

management. For example, if it is feasible in an application to distribute the work load over time, then

the work load at any given time is lower and hence the airmover noise is lower. Another approach

might be to plan the timing of greater work loads when fewer personnel are present; for example,

overnight.

Value measured at

your ears

Equivalent familiar noise experience

LpA, dBA,

re 20 µPa

Loudness,

sones

90 80 Loud concert

75 39

Data center, vacuum cleaner, voice

must be elevated to be heard

60 10 Conversation levels

45 4

Whispering, open office layout,

normal living room

35 2 Quiet office

30 1 Quiet library

20 0 Recording studio