Technical Guide

Category 3: General Use Space
When Dell determines that a specific Enterprise product is to be predominantly used in a general use space, then the acoustical
specification of the table below applies. These products could be found in laboratories, schools, restaurants, open office space
layouts, small ventilated closets, etc., though not in close proximity to any particular person nor in quantities greater than a few
in any location. People within proximity of a few of these products should not experience any impact to speech intelligibility or
annoyance from the noise of the product. A rack product sitting on a table in a common area is an example.
Table 31. Dell Enterprise Category 3, “General Use” acoustical specification category
Measurement
Position re
AC0158
Metric, re
AC0159
Test Modes, re AC0159 (note must be in steady state, see AC0159, except where
noted below)
Standby in
23±2° C
Ambient
Idle in 23±2° C
Ambient
Operating in
23±2° C
Ambient – if
not otherwise
specified in
the program’s
configuration
document,
then processor
and hard drive
operating
modes are
required
Simulate (that is, set air mover
speeds representative) for Idle
at 28° C & 35° C Ambient
and for 100% loading and
maximum configuration, at 35°
C Ambient
Sound Power LWA,m, B ≤ 5.2 ≤ 5.5 ≤ 5.8 Report
Sound Quality
(both positions
must meet
limits): Front
Binaural HEAD
and Rear
Microphone
Tones, Hz, dB No prominent tones per criteria D.10.6 and D.10.8 of
ECMA-74
Report tones
Tonality, tu ≤ 0.35 ≤ 0.35 ≤ 0.35 Report
Dell Modulation,
%
≤ 40 ≤ 40 ≤ 40 Report
Loudness, sones Report Report Report Report
LpA-single
point, dBA
Report Report Report Report
Front Binaural
HEAD
Transients
● Oscillation (see AC0159), if observed, during 20-
minute steady-state observation, must adhere to
the following two criteria:
○ Max. {ΔLpA} < 3.0 dB
○ Event count < 3 for “1.5 dB < ΔLpA < 3.0 dB”
● Report Acoustical Jump (see AC0159) during air
mover speed transition from Idle to Operating
Mode.
● Startup behavior
○ Report Startup behavior re. AC0159
○ Startup must proceed smoothly, that is, no
sudden or large jumps, and air mover speed
during startup must not exceed 50% of its
maximum
● Transient inputs: Report time-history sound
pressure levels re AC0159 “Train of Step
Functions on Processor”
N/A
Any Other
No rattles, squeaks, or unexpected noises
Sound should be “even” around the EUT (one side should not be dramatically louder than
another)
Unless otherwise specified, the “default” thermal-related settings shall be selected for
BIOS and iDRAC.
Specific operating conditions will be defined in “Configurations & Configuration
Dependencies” for each platform.
42 Power, thermal, and acoustics