Hey everyone, I came across some info saying Noctua fans are super quiet. So I'm wondering, why haven't I seen anyone using a Noctua fan for an ASIC miner from Bitmain?
I’ve got this Bitmain miner that I bought from a buddy, and honestly, the noise is driving me crazy. I feel like a Noctua fan could be a good fit for the Bitmain S19... right?
No.
But there are ways to fix your issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR9NQyfi2wk&t=5s
The blower above
And this controller below
https://altairtech.io/product/epic-umc-universal-mining-control-board/
Those 2 things will allow a quiet s19
Running a tad bit underclocked
This shows more.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5568422.0
The blower you need
https://www.zeusbtc.com/ASIC-Miner-Repair/Parts-Tools-Details.asp?ID=3889
As Phil said - no. The quiet fans from Noctua and other mfgrs can only move their rated airflow when there is very little back pressure eg through an uncrowded pc case.
Miners are densely packed and have a lot of internal airflow resistance meaning you need to apply fairly high pressure to move enough air through them. High pressure fans = high speed and noise.
OTH, blowers like Phil linked to deliver the needed pressure & airflow while being fairly quiet.
I have seen a video on YouTube about working Noctua to fit on a Bitmain L3+ or something, it's not a Bitcoin Asic miner but that modding worked out fine and silent but I doubt the same will work with s19 like Asic miner, although the guy complained that Noctua fans are all rated 4500 RPM to 5000RPM and the standard OEM with the L3+ was 6000RPM.
If this is already happening with L3+ it's going to a hell of experience with s19 and others, don't even try to make it work, rather follow what Phillipma1957 is telling you.
Even though the wind pressure is very strong it is quiet, that device is well made for Asic miners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=863huGIBbmk here is the video and yes The host concludes by expressing satisfaction with the upgrade but notes the need for further testing in warmer conditions during spring and summer.
The Noctua fans are shown to be significantly quieter, with a deeper, less whiny noise profile while maintaining similar cooling performance
I checked his channel, and it doesn't seem like he posted an update to this experiment. He uploaded another video with a similar goal a year later, though. Basically, replacing another fan with a Noctua fan (with lower RPM and so on). Not sure about the performance comparison either, since the data point is limited to noise dB levels.
I'd check out a review of noise boxes; they reduce noise levels to 44-50 decibels, making it comfortable to use an ASIC on a balcony. I'd even guess it would be cheaper for you if you bought a used one. At 6000 rpm it is difficult to make a quiet ASIC
the Noctua fans will not work on the s19 plain and simple you will over heat the unit.
the L3+ is 700 to 800 watts . I have used Noctua on s9's and on L3+
and you always needed to down clock the units with aftermarket firmware.
the s19 is 3200 watts
I have played with 25 to 40 different fans.
this fan below was okay for the L3+ and is worked with an s9 if you clocked
the s9 down to 10th with brains
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A460TK6?
but this fan will not work well with an s19
the s19 would need to be clocked down to about 1600 watts or 1/2 speed
and this fan might work if it fits as it is a funky size and double stacking may
be unacceptable.
an easy way to learn is buy this controller.
https://altairtech.io/product/epic-umc-universal-mining-control-board/
it gives full easy control over hash rate and fans.
replace the stock controller.
set the 90th s19 to 60th hash rate
set to fans to 4000 rpm
see what you think of the noise
play with the fans
drop to 3900 rpm
drop to 3800 rpm
somewhere in the 3000 to 3300 rpm speed the unit will over heat.
and you will need to go to say 3500 rpm
you will find it is a bit too loud but way way way better than stock.