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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 half a meter away.
The system registered the lowest DbA reading we have encountered with a Synology NAS system (identical to the DS211j) and is right at the limit of our testing equipment. This is an extremely quiet NAS system and ideal for a bedroom environment as it would be basically inaudible.
We measured power from the socket with 2 x 500gb Samsung hard drives installed.
When the drives are idle, the system consumes around 6 watts of power. When loaded, this moves between 14 watts and 17.3 watts. We never recorded anything higher than 17.3 watts although this would depend a little on the hard drives used. This product is slightly more efficient than the DS211j which is worth noting.
Much the same as before, although there are various fan settings that can be selected from the admin user interface.
