Noisy fan hikvision NVR solved with silent power bricks

[ihmix]

Hi All, I have just installed my Noctua fans and when I unplug the case fan it seems nice and quiet. The case can does seems to be the issue. I’m thinking of leaving this unplugged as I don’t use any of the POE ports as I have an external switch with POE for the cameras. I also have 1 5TB drive for three 4K cameras. Do you guys think I will have any issues with overheating in the case, I can’t believe this little fan Makes that much difference. Thanks.

 

[Tricky]

The case fan does produce noise mainly because of the case perforations coursing turbulence but i changed that one to a other brand and dont really find it too bad its the power supply fan that's the problems but after changing to a Noctua i dont find it a bothers me but my NVR is in a cabinet so maybe that's why however i wouldn't be inclined to just dump the case fans as not only does this provide cooling for the actual circuit board it also cools the HDDs.

 

[rosswill]

New user looking for some help. I also find the fan noise of my new DS-7608NI-I2/8P to be big a problem. Can anyone confirm which model fans they have replaced successfully that would fit this unit, and if this can be done without soldering or otherwise modifying the unit? I see Noctua mentioned and note they have 40x20 and 40x10 in both 5v and 12v. Which would I need and is this worth the expense? Thank you.

 

[Muzz]

Out of interest, are the NVR's that don't have the built-in POE as noisy as those that do?

 

[Phil]

It's almost impossible to source the NVRs without POE.
They are no cheaper.
So, nobody fetches/stocks them.
The Hikvision 7604(B) NVR is fanless/silent.

 

[fin]

I have a no POE 7708Ni-i4 and it’s still horrendously noises as it has all the fans

 

[rosswill]

In the absence of any firm advice I have exchanged both the PSU and case fans with Noctua ones. Whilst not silent, this has made a huge difference and has reduced levels to something that is acceptable to live with, and is now I would say comparable to other devices of a similar size. It was easy and quick to do using the included OmniJoin adapter set, although this does involve cutting the ends off the original fans as a conversion from 3 to 2-pin is required (unless you have a spare correctly sized 2-pin fan cables to use), so worth keeping in mind from the invalidating of the warrantee aspect. There are 12v and 5v versions of these fans, and costs varied a fair bit from supplier to supplier. 12v versions were required for my NVR (DS-7608NI-I2/8P).

 

[mozso]

This maybe helps for some of you. Different HikVision NVR (no PoE, no noisy PSU), different approach, but similar Noctua fans were used as the original DVR was really noisy with it's sole 40x40mm fan. Unfortunately it was also not silent enough, if I switched to Noctua 40x40mm fan. It was better though.

Decided to do a bit more custom setup to further decrease noise:

 

[Ryan427]

Hi Guys,

I have a DS-7608NI-E2/8P and it doesn't have a case fan, it is still noisy though so I was thinking of using a power brick to supply the 12v rails and disconnecting the POE entirely as I use a separate POE switch.

Do you think that would work, i.e. replace the power supply with a 12v brick and disconnect the power to the POE board, using a POE switch connected via Lan to connect and power the cameras ?

Many thanks

Ryan

 

[frav]

As dazulrich & Tricky are writing, it is the raster/perforation in the sheet metal case that makes most of the fan/airflow-noise. If you have the fan removed in the free air, it is much more quiet. Cut the perforation away, and it will be much better. Replace with a low noise fan & it will be even better. But just replacing with a low noise fan with out removing the casing perforation, doesn't do full effect in the attempt to lower the noise as much as possible.

 

[dazulrich]

Hi. I finally jumped and added the external power brinks to my 7608NI-I2-8P.
Using Noctua NF-A4x10 PWM (40mm) to replace the case fan and a Noctua NF-A8 ULN, (80mm) as a new addional fan to bring air in.
No fancy video, but similar to mozso using Dremel to cut hole into bottom and using a fan dust filter as cover.
Decided to use 80mm fan to keep space for second HDD if needed.
Had some leftover steel to make cover for the back (where psu was originally) and to hold the new switch and cable connctors)
Ordered wrong rocker switch for the back (doh), so while waiting for the new one to arrive, switching both power bricks at the mains socket.
The small case fan is still faily noisy. Using the low noise adaptor coming with the fan for now. but might end up cutting out proper hole in the case cover and put a small 40m dust filter in. the noise caused by the air passing through the openings is still not ok. (when done, i'll remove the low noise adaptor again to improve airflow)
Some pics below.

 

[stevei]

I posted in this thread to try to help people obtain the correct connectors, but 3 weeks later it's still awaiting moderator approval, so I'll try again:

Re the connectors in the DS-7608NI-I2-8P, I used the following.

For the 2mm pitch connector inside the PSU you need Micro JST PH 2.0mm 2 Pin.

For the 2.5mm pitch connector on the main board for the case side fan you need JST-XH 2 Pin 2.5mm.

The above allowed me to use the Noctua OmniJoin connectors without damaging any of the original parts.

Note that the polarity needs to be reversed with the above connectors, connect black wires to red wires with the OmniJoin connectors.

As noted already, there is still a huge increase in noise when you put the top of the case back on, but I think the Noctua fans have possibly got it down to a tolerable level for where I'll have the NVR.

I provided links to a source for these connectors in my previous post, but I'm guessing it's not permitted to post those links and that is why the post hasn't been approved. So unfortunately, all I can provide is the descriptions above and I can't guarantee they will work, or that the wires will need connecting like I said, if they are obtained from a different source. Hopefully those descriptions are standard and connectors of that description from any source will work. It took me many hours of research to identify them.

 

[dazulrich]

thanks stevei..
The worry about damaging original parts went out the window while cutting the cables off the psu
You a right on the noise, without the low noise adaptor the nocuta was still outside (my) tolerable noise level for where it is installed.
But those considering less invasive changes might as well look at the mentioned connectors.

 

[kmb786]

thanks stevei..
The worry about damaging original parts went out the window while cutting the cables off the psu
You a right on the noise, without the low noise adaptor the nocuta was still outside (my) tolerable noise level for where it is installed.
But those considering less invasive changes might as well look at the mentioned connectors.

Hi

I have the DS-7608NI-I2 /8P installed in my living room and the noisy fan issue.

I have gone and ordered the Noctua NF-A4x20 FLX fan to try and reduce the noise.

However, without cutting wires, soldering etc, I saw on YouTube video that you can buy a 3 pin to 2 pin adapter cable to fit this fan in the NVR which I think is not supplied with the fan.

Therefore, can anyone please provide links as to where I can purchase the 3 pin to 2 pin fan adapter.

Thanks

 

[careykf]

Like many other threads on here, I found my new DS-7608NI-K2-8P unbearably loud. It has a channel well technologies PSU (KSA-180S2) with a 12v 5A rail, a 52v 2.5A rail and a really noisy 40mm fan, and then a second not-quite-as-noisy 40mm fan on the case.

Everyone has a different sensitivity to this sort of a noise so I've seen some people say it's fine, and that's great for them. But mine was shut in a thick walled cupboard with a heavy tight-fitting door, and it would still be loud enough to irritate me enough if sat in the same room, to have to change room. These sort of fan noises have a quality factor as well as a loudness factor, and the NVR PSU was definitely on the nasty noise side a metallic, slightly varying and grating on the mind noise.

Anyhow, I've seen a variety of people on forums replace the fans to slight to good improvements, but if I was going to cut into the box around I wanted a full solution to make it (virtually) silent. I've also seen a number of people suggest replacing the power supply with external bricks, though not actually do the work. So that's what I've done.

This is a 60W 12v 5A power brick from Channel Well Tech I used for the first rail. The three yellow wires on the existing CWT PSU pigtail are all positive 12v, the black wires ground
https://amzn.to/2RxxRzf

This is the 52V 2.7A power brick from DSLRKIT specifically for PoE which is why the second rail needs the greater power, which I used for the second rail. Unfortunately Amazon has stopped carrying it since I purchased it. No idea if that is a good or a bad sign, but you'll find the same model elsewhere, or I'm sure other PoE power supplies would work. The old pigtail is 52v positive red, and black ground (at least consistent - but do check on yours!)
DSLRKIT AC 100-240V to DC 52V 2.7A 140Watt Power Supply: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

These both come without kettle leads, you'll need two (I had some old ones kicking around)
https://amzn.to/2S3BmlU

I used a Nexus 92mm fan. Nexus make (made?) superb fans and I use in my silent PCs this one I had spare. Unfortunately their website is either down or they aren't trading any more. Basically just get a high quality fan of as large a diameter as you think will fit in the case. Silent PC review will give almost all the info on fans. One of the things they are good at is dealing with the subjectivity of fan noise, not only will these fans be REALLY quiet, they also give off a very neutral/softer (to my ear) much less obtrusive steady white noise. Basically though any high quality 80/92/120/bigger fan from Scythe or whomever, is going to be enormously better than the original 40mms and move plenty of air.
Fan Roundup #6: Scythe, Noiseblocker, Antec, Nexus, Thermalright | silentpcreview.com

So putting it together then.

The most likely thing to get wrong here is connecting the new power bricks to the pigtail in the wrong way and frying the board. So use a voltmeter and measure twice, cut once.

In general if you aren't comfortable with working with electricity, a voltmeter and a soldering iron stop. Or if think your boss will object to what you're doing with the kit, or the PAT tester might next time they visit the office also stop!

Steps
Carefully checked all the positive and negative voltages on the existing setup and the new bricks and labelled positive really carefully.
Removed the old power supply
Cut the pigtail off the old power supply, chopped the plugs off the end of the power bricks, and used chocolate block connectors to connect a to b
I wired the fan into the same 12v power rail and hot glued it to the bottom of the case where the holes are.
And then reassembled and plugged it in. Works fine (pictures enclosed)

Sound level.
Now acceptably quiet, quieter than most of the laptops in the house, I'd have to concentrate to hear it over this laptop with the cupboard door shut, with the cupboard door closed it's basically unnoticeable. The noise in the cupboard if you put your head is now a much more tolerable shhhhhhhhh noise, rather than the shrieky and grindy old one. But the 92mm fan at 12v still makes an appreciable amount of noise, and there is a lot of nasty aluminium undamped, un-braced surfaces in the box, so it definitely could be a lot quiter.

So there would be a lot of things that could be done to improve this from my PC silencing experience, and I would have liked to have done with more time and energy, but I was in a hurry to shut the thing up. But if you're doing something similar, you might want to consider...

Things which you might want to do which I didn't ....

Connectors and back plate
Adding nice connectors to be able to plug and unplug the two power supplies, and closing off the old hole where the power connector is. Mine is basically wired into a cupboard so I'm not too fussed. But you can have some grasping cable entry grommits and there are screw holes around the hole to fit a plate. That would definitely be a good thing to do.

On connectors.
Originally I'd planned to get sockets for the PSU plugs so you could plug and unplug the two power supply units in, rather than having the bricks permanently attached. I didn't because the two power supplies have a similar enough plug you could very easily plug the 52V into the 12v and fry everything. It would however of been much nicer, so if I were going to do this, I'd look to replace the 52V plug with an oversize plug and socket to make it impossible to plug into the wrong one.

Hole
Cutting a hole for the fan (especially if you had a second hard drive so couldn't use the existing vents) might be good. There is lots of room when the power supply comes out to do this in either the lid or the base. There are enough holes in the base for this to work fine without if you don't need the second drive, but a nicer hole, a fan gasket and some fan mesh would be better. Cutting neat holes in aluminium isn't straight forward at home, so a fit from the outside fan mesh which covers your work is a nice thing.

Rubber Feet
The NVR has small stand-up metal feet to get the base somewhat off the surface below. So the fan does actually work fine like this, but some nice rubber feet for the NVR will improve airflow a lot and reduce noise further. I couldn't find any feet in the bit box, but will probably locate some. If you were fitting new fan meshes you'd definitely want the additional clearance.

Fan gasket
I hot glue gunned the fan down, which provides for an air tight fit over the holes, but means it's tightly coupled to the case, and the case is nasty flappy unbraced aluminium which normally contributes to a bad noise. If you can afford a nice silicon fan gasket it'll reduce the noise substantially again. They always seem very pricey to me for what they are.

Fan speed reducer.
I couldn't find my old Zalman Fanmate-2, but if I could I've had used it, just connecting it in line to the flan. A 92 mm fan at 12v moves a lot of air, way more than needed having taken the power supply out of the box. This would let you reduce the fan to 7v or 5v (or where-ever you wanted really) Big fans at 5v really are very very very quiet and still move a decent amount of air.

Case damping or noise adsorption material
I used a little (just what I had lying about spare) on the case above the hard drive. This stuff is always over-hyped, it's not going to make a big difference on it's own. But I do find it helps in improving the overall quality of the noise, even if the total volume is about the same. If you were going for a thorough solution I'd cover the whole of the case roof and any exposed large surfaces of the floor.

Harddrive mounting.
The harddrive is now a noticeable part of the noise from the box. The bottom in screw mounting is very difficult to damp and still make transportable. Some side mount damped connections fixed securely to the base, and then with damping material running underneath would be better and still fit under the lid.

I too really enjoyed your post - better than never right

Wanted to ask if the Inductor coil was already on your yellow and black wires or if you added it? and if so why?

Also a general question... and not necessarily specially for you. If i disconnect the poe jack from the board... Do i even need a fan.. - bit of a rhetorical question - but maybe some thoughts. I have run it without a fan and seems to heat to the same temp as if I have fan. - tis open on the table top so there ist still quite some airflow going on as well.

 

[TRL]

My DS-7600NI-E2/8P/A has the same CWT 180-S2 power supply too, but I care not much about the noise because is located in the attic. I've actually added a 2'nd small fan on the right side due to the 37-40C in the attic during the summer.

After almost 5 years of continuous operation (> 40000 hours!) I decided to open up the PSU today for a small visual inspection, so I checked how the internal capacitors are looking like. I thought I will need to swap few caps with new ones due to aging (bulging, swollen), but I was wrong: caps are in perfect condition. I will probably check them again next year, but I must say that this PSU exceeds my expectations.

It also seems to have a good design too: I can see an EMI/RFI filter inside, surge protection with MOVs, isolation transformers, CE and FCC certifications etc.

 

[MRK7]

I've [replaced] the power supply with external bricks.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but by removing the OEM power supply the chassis is now not earthed.

 

[frav]

If you move the High Voltage AC PS outside of the chassis, then you only have the Low Voltage DC from the external PS inside the chassis, and then there is no need of earth from the AC mains power supply.

 

[MRK7]

If you move the High Voltage AC PS outside of the chassis, then you only have the Low Voltage DC from the external PS inside the chassis, and then there is no need of earth from the AC mains power supply.

Whoops, of course. Thank you.

 

[milleniumaire]

Thought I would update this post as I've just purchased the DS-7608NI-I2-8P NVR.

I really wish I had seen this post first as it might have persuaded me to buy something else, but I don't know what. I'm really surprised at just how loud the fans are in the NVR. Originally, I had planned to install it the lounge, so I could use a HDMI cable to the TV, but there is no way I will be doing that now I've heard how loud it is. It actually makes me wonder if there's a fault with mine!!!!!

When installing the hard drive I noticed it had two fans; a standalone at one side of the case and the PSU fan at the other side. They both seem to be making the same amount of noise and Googling suggests earlier versions of this unit only had the PSU fan, so maybe an additional fan has been added to aid with cooling and resulting in twice the noise level!

I'm surprised Hikvision haven't done something about this issue as it is very bad and I'm now planning to site the box in a storage area in the loft in the hope it won't be heard from there.

Anyone considering purchasing the DS-7600 series NVR, be aware!