It makes sense to underclock CPU (to reduce noise, heat, consumption)

[asimov-solensan]

Hello,

I'm about to install my first FreeNAS. I have followed the hardware guide and the mainboard I choose is a supermicro X10SLL.

Since this a home server that will have just a couple of users simultaneously, I was wondering if it's worth to decrease the CPU clock to limit heat and therefor noise from fans, etc ...

I still don't know even if the board allows to specify a bus speed or a multiplier but I think in my case this make sense. What I don't know if such operation may render FreeNAS unreliable, or it will just be as robust but a bit slower.

Besides I expect this will allow me to set lower speed on fans if this can be controlled at OS level.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Jailer]

Don't bother. With the speed stepping and voltage control of the newer Intel chips they run very cool and use little electricity when idle.

 

[Ericloewe]

If there was a magical way to save power when idling, Intel would've already implemented it instead of leaving it on the table.

Much like the low-TDP discussion, what you're suggesting is a fool's errand.

 

[snaptec]

Your cpu use always as much electricity as needed.
It just uses more when it needs to.
So limiting the max performance won't gain anything when it's idling


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[asimov-solensan]

Sure, maybe you are not understanding my question.

I know that i cannot decrease consumption on idle. What want is to limit the clock for when cpu does a heavy task.

The point is avoid fans to go crazy when doing a more intensive job. Even if it takes longer to do whatever is doing.

Thanks for the comments anyway.

 

[wblock]

Bigger, slower fans would help avoid the problem, as would larger cases with better airflow. As would not allowing the motherboard to control them. Get ones with their own temperature sensors so they respond to actual usage rather than Supermicro's opinion of how a server should act.

The "L"-suffix CPUs are power limited to do just the kind of thing you are talking about, limit maximum power usage and heat generation. But going that way to avoid fan noise seems like a mistake.

 

[asimov-solensan]

That's more on the line of what I was thinking. In fact that's the philosophy I applied in my desktop PC.

In that case I even fixed the speed of case fans using 75XX transistors.

Still the CPU fan is smaller and ends up being the most annoying.

My point is that limiting the clock will make the CPU work cooler even under stress. I though that this was the main change on passive cooled computers (talking about x86 world), just using same processors but at lower clock rate. Am I wrong?

Still, and to avoid being tedious, the main question is. If I underclock or limit CPU clock, will this make FreeNAS less reliable? Is it dangerous in any way or I will just get worse performance?

If the answer is yes then case closed I won't even try.
On the other harm if there is no harm in trying I still would like to test at home.

 

[wblock]

There are likely to be few people who have tried that. The point of a NAS is data security, and anything run different from manufacturer specifications can endanger that. Underclocking is less likely to be a problem than overclocking, but it's still a risk.

Put big fans in the NAS and put it in another room. It only needs to connect to the network, so why have it somewhere you can hear it?

 

[pschatz100]

In my NAS at home, I have a Supermicro X9SCM mainboard with a Core i3 processor, stock Intel cpu fan, and one 120mm fan running at 600rpm in a mid-server case that has efficient airflow. From 1 meter away, I cannot hear it. If I put my ear against the case, I can barely hear it. Under load, I can hear the disks...

 

[asimov-solensan]

@wblock that's a clever way to put it.

Maybe I'm to worried because I'm used to work with older computers (my desktop is 10 years old), or high end servers.

I'm still waiting the RAM to start the installation of my server. I will try to keep everything default and see how it behaves.

Thanks all for your answers.

 

[pschatz100]

Don't forget that modern computer hardware is designed to be power efficient. There is no point in making things difficult in order to achieve a minuscule saving in cost or electricity.