In my home office, I have a Dell PowerEdge T320 which I use for local file storage. The machine works fine but the fan noise, while not loud is slightly annoying.
I decided to replace the 120mm system cooling fan with a Noctua NF-F12 to see if I could reduce the ambient noise level of the machine.
The results were much better than I expected, even at boot time the machine was barely audible. During normal operation it is silent except for the occasional clicks from the hard drives.
I used an app called Decibel X to on my iPhone 15 Pro max to measure and record the noise level before and after the fan upgrade.
Although my main interest was reducing the sound when the machine was fully booted, I also recorded the sounds and statistics from a cold boot.
The main system fan is at the rear of the machine and it is very easy to remove:
The stock fan is a Delta Electronics NJGNP-A00:
Removing the fan is easy, you just pull the blue tab down and unplug it from the mainboard and it comes out easily. Removing the fan from the bracket is slightly more difficult and getting the new fan into the bracket is fiddly, but easy. The whole thing took me about 10 minutes.
Results
So after the fan swap, the machine is basically silent. Apart from the sound of the hard drives whirring the fan noise is completely gone. Below are the statistics for both fans when booting from cold.
| Stock Fan | Noctua | |
| Average | 61.3 dB | 45.9 dB |
| Minimum | 35.5 dB | 30.6 |
| Max | 65.9 dB | 61.1 dB |
| Peak | 72.2 dB | 67.7 dB |
When I recorded both machines at idle, the stock fan averaged 53.5 dB and the Noctua was 43 dB. Basically, 10 times queiter!
If you are interested, here are the recordings of the system booting taken with my iPhone 15 Promax and Decibel X.
Stock Fan
Noctua
Conclusion
This is a really worthwhile upgrade, but only if you spend a lot of time in close proximity with the machine. It is not super loud to start with, but for me, the difference has been huge, I like to work in a quiet space.
The Noctua NF-F12 PWN fan is inexpensive and works really well.
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