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We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components.
Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
Noise was measured from a meter away.
The RS212 is generally relatively quiet, with the three small fans spinning very slowly. Placing a heavy data load on the two drives raises the ambient temperature of the chassis and the fans spin up to compensate. The noise emissions peak at 34.5dBa which might be a little loud for a bedroom environment. The RS212 is designed however for use in a small business, which would assuredly have a dedicated IT room.
We measured power from the socket with 2 x 500gb Samsung hard drives installed.
When idle, the power consumption hovers around the 12 watt mark, rising to 23 watts when both drives are active writing data. RackStation devices generally tend to consume a little more power than the DiskStation products, especially when idle.
Good results, although a few degrees higher than some of the DiskStation products we have tested in recent months, due to the confined shape of the chassis and use of small fans.
