Very much this. One interesting thing about going the rack route is that most of the hardware optimizes for considerations a data center/large corporation migh

Very much this. One interesting thing about going the rack route is that most of the hardware optimizes for considerations a data center/large corporation might have. That can be nice in a lot of ways (hardware is fairly robust, layouts are usually friendly for quick access/maintenance, overall density of machines is pretty good). But it means almost no one is paying attention to how much noise these things make, because for most of the target audience that's WAY down the list of things they care about. I have a couple of - not elderly but not new - 1u and 2u machines, and they are LOUD AS FUCK. I used to run my server farm in my office when it was just spare personal computers (under the table I use for hobby projects), but I quickly ended up moving it down the basement when running the rack machines. They're just too loud for comfort on a semi-regular basis.