some advice needed guys

[rexter]

firstly i need advice on cooling fans, what can you guys recommend?
i would love them to be quiet also at present they are a bit noisy even after i cleaned out all the dust etc. please recommend something good and if possible as to where i can get them.

second if this is the right forum ...
i have a small business operating and have 2 desktops and 1 laptop am looking to purchase another in due course... what i am interested is to get a server up and runing for all my file sharing for the business and later to have a web server...i need advice as to what type of server i need and specs if possible and please also as to where i can purchase it

hope yu can advise ,e

many thanks

 

[vampirotoothus]

'bout the cooling. I'd say get a decent large fan for the back of the PC and a smaller one in front. Front one sucking air in and the rear one blowing out. That should be sufficient My mobo regulates the fans' speed so its quite. The large fan makes almost no noise...the noisy one is the CPU fan Not that bad though.

Oh and 'bout the servers...sorry, can't help there. Can give you info on a Mail server for Linux or so...hehe

 

[rexter]

thanks vamp

is there any special make i should look out for?
also im really curious to see what temperature my fans are cooling at is there a way to see that?

thanks

 

[vampirotoothus]

Pleasure man!

Try the Thermaltake SilentWheel 13cm Fan for the back fro R127.68 and a smaller cheapy (can't find a cheap one now:Antec 92mm SmartCool fan for) for the front if your case has mountings?

Try: http://www.prophecy.co.za/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.browse&category_id=3

 

[Craig_NEMF]

well Antec make really nice fans. They normally have a 3 speed switch. So you can decide if you want the fan to blow faster (thus louder), or if you want it to be slower and cooler.

They're generally a bit more expensive though.

You can see what speed your fans are running with motherboard monitoring programs. And you can see what temperatures some of your components are running at, but you can't see what temperature each individual fan influences

 

[rexter]

well Antec make really nice fans. They normally have a 3 speed switch. So you can decide if you want the fan to blow faster (thus louder), or if you want it to be slower and cooler.

They're generally a bit more expensive though.

You can see what speed your fans are running with motherboard monitoring programs. And you can see what temperatures some of your components are running at, but you can't see what temperature each individual fan influences

that sound cool.. can you recommend some motherboard monitoring programs please

thanks

 

[vampirotoothus]

What motherboard do you have? ASUS has some really cool proggies. Cool 'n Quite for one. PC probe and so on.

 

[supersunbird]

On fileserver, just get a normal PC with enough hard drive space. Just use plain Windows XP Professional. XP Pro can handle up to 10 concurrent connections.

 

[flarkit]

First, check which fans your case can take.

If it only has the standard 80mm mountings, then no standard fan will be quiet. You would have to try these:

- cut out the case's fan grilles (a messy job) to allow the air to flow through unrestricted and reducing the whooshing sound considerably
- lower the voltage on the fans, slowing them down (a little risky for cheap power-supplies)

If you have unused larger fan mounts, the best bet would be to get 120mm fans, ensuring that you have 1 intake in front and an exhaust fan at the back. The larger fans spin slower and are quieter, whilst moving satisfactory air-volumes.

 

[rexter]

this seems a lot easier but

On fileserver, just get a normal PC with enough hard drive space. Just use plain Windows XP Professional. XP Pro can handle up to 10 concurrent connections.

would i need any kinda server software to install on this pc to run as a server or do i just use it as a normal network pc?

thanks

 

[Bona Botse]

would i need any kinda server software to install on this pc to run as a server or do i just use it as a normal network pc?

thanks

nope, windows comes with a server called IIS (internet information services) and it provides most services u'll need: ftp, http, smtp, etc... just go to start > control panel > add/remove programs > windows applications > and make sure IIS is enabled. just a warning tho, IIS and Skype dont get along so well...

 

[Craig_NEMF]

As far as recommendations for monitoring software, try Speenfan, Motherboard Monitor, or Everest Home Edition.

 

[bdt]

On fileserver, just get a normal PC with enough hard drive space. Just use plain Windows XP Professional. XP Pro can handle up to 10 concurrent connections.

You mistyped "XP Pro has been limited to 10 concurrent connections" but it can be got around ...just install BitComet and up the TCP/IP limit.

 

[bdt]

nope, windows comes with a server called IIS (internet information services)

..AND comes with one hefty stonking bill too! It's (an) overkill (expense) for an operation this low down the foodchain (not a dig rexter, just going by your stated requirements). Anyhow, two things come in a WHOLE lot further down the expense chain that bear consideration for this need: SME Server (one I've used a coupla times now) and ClarkConnect. Both are 'pre-rolled' Linux distros and need little more by way of installation than booting off CD then following the scripted questions to set 'em up, easy-peasy!

and it provides most services u'll need: ftp, http, smtp, etc... just go to start > control panel > add/remove programs > windows applications > and make sure IIS is enabled. just a warning tho, IIS and Skype dont get along so well...

Same here, in terms of services. Obviously the procedure is a li'l different, but it's still done through a GUI so it's not at all difficult to do. As to cost, I've got current releases of SME Server 7 and ClarkConnect 4 Community editions on CD; I'll be happy to spread the love around!

 

[bdt]

- lower the voltage on the fans, slowing them down (a little risky for cheap power-supplies)

Meh, nothing dodgy about it; you're talking about using LESS power with an item that barely draws meaningful power anyway! But yea, in the name of low noise, instead of running at 12V just clip the fan wires and feed the fan_black to PSU_red and fan_red to PSU_yellow, which very conveniently gives you a 7V differential; more than enough to keep 'em gently spinning ...and starting up each time (non-starting can happen when you take the voltage delta too low down)

 

[supersunbird]

would i need any kinda server software to install on this pc to run as a server or do i just use it as a normal network pc?

thanks

Yep. Just run Windows as normal and make the required shared folder/folders. If you go to folder options > views > and disable simple file sharing right at the bottom you can even password protect folder while sharing them...