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View Full Version : My new project. A small low noise pc



yester64
May 7th, 2010, 05:16 AM
Hi, right now i trying to get a list of parts i will buy soon.
The aim is to have a small as possible pc which is relativly also small in power consumption. At least compared to gaming rigs.

I assembled this list and like your input. Perhaps you build already a nice pc which is small or have tips what works, what not.

This is not a gaming pc and meant to be only for dvd playback and small gaming, mostly real old stuff since i play mostly on the console anyway.


Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108196

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121401

Video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500138

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115221

Memory
[/URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145276 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145252Harddrive)

CPU Cooler
[URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118056

Thanks for sharing. The quieter the pc is the better it is for me.

brian183
May 7th, 2010, 05:59 AM
Only thing I would suggest is to try and find a graphics card with a 256 bit memory width instead of 128. Everything else looks cool but are you really going to power all of that with a little 200w PSU? I suppose the miniITX boards can run that low but I'd be concerned about the graphics and the CPU eating up all those watts.

chappajar
May 7th, 2010, 06:57 AM
If noise is that important then perhaps intel may not be ideal?
Use an ARM CPU instead, and throw away the fan...

cascade9
May 7th, 2010, 07:13 AM
Only thing I would suggest is to try and find a graphics card with a 256 bit memory width instead of 128. Everything else looks cool but are you really going to power all of that with a little 200w PSU? I suppose the miniITX boards can run that low but I'd be concerned about the graphics and the CPU eating up all those watts.

Gt240 is 256bit. I dont think that it will fit in that tiny case though....you might be able to fit a half-height video card.

I diont think you will get that cooler into the case either....

I'd probably go for AMD as well, the iX CPUs run hotter than a lot of the AMDs.

*edit- smaller isnt always quieter. A ATX, or MicroATX case wont be any louder than a microITX case. Well, untill you go to put cooling fans in...80mm fans (or smaller), typically in ITX cases, are a lot louder than the 120mm fans you can get on ATX/MicroATX. With the ATX cases, you could also put in some sound deading material, etc, something you cant do as easily with ITX.

easyword
May 7th, 2010, 09:53 AM
Hi, right now i trying to get a list of parts i will buy soon.
The aim is

CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118056

Thanks for sharing. The quieter the pc is the better it is for me.


Will that fit in your box?

Are you planning to install separate CPU fan or not?

I have a similar desire, but with no fans.

yester64
May 7th, 2010, 11:01 PM
Yes, i want to archive to have no fan's or very limited.
There is no gaming on that pc, but i do like to play some old games (5 years old).
I have to check the case again for room. Sadly, i only can relay on users, since i can not see the case before i buy.
The video card should be passive cooled, no fan. Same with the cpu. Never had an AMD cpu so i don't even know if they are hotter or cooler and which is comparable to lets say i5.
Of course i could use still my cpu which is a DualCore2. But then again if i upgrade i might as well upgrade everything.
ITX came to my mind because you can get much smaller cases. MicroATX might indeed be an alternative. Have to look into that.

In some sense i would like to build a pc version of the Mac Mini. Small as possible and no noise, well at least very quiet.

cariboo
May 7th, 2010, 11:48 PM
I have one of these (http://www.in-win.us/products_pccase_series.php?cat_id=1&series_id=24), the noisiest fan is in the included power supply, it also has a case fan and the fan on the northbrige chip, but they are virtually silent.

CharlesA
May 8th, 2010, 12:04 AM
Perhaps a dual-core atom with ION graphics?

Passively cooled and you don't need a seperate video card.

Like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220031&cm_re=eee_box-_-83-220-031-_-Product

Queue29
May 8th, 2010, 12:08 AM
Perhaps a dual-core atom with ION graphics?

Passively cooled and you don't need a seperate video card.

Like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220031&cm_re=eee_box-_-83-220-031-_-Product

Was going to say the exact same thing.

Also, that cpu cooler won't fit in the case listed. Just look at the specs!

CharlesA
May 8th, 2010, 12:12 AM
I am still wondering why you'd need an i5 just to watch movies and play old games.

/offtopic.

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 12:28 AM
I am still wondering why you'd need an i5 just to watch movies and play old games.

/offtopic.

Not just watching. Encode/Decode movies also. So it has to have some power. Not sure about Atom cpu's. I hear they are a little to weak. Never owned one of these so i relay purely on experience from other users.

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 12:29 AM
I have one of these (http://www.in-win.us/products_pccase_series.php?cat_id=1&series_id=24), the noisiest fan is in the included power supply, it also has a case fan and the fan on the northbrige chip, but they are virtually silent.

And, are you happy with it? Maybe just switch the psu and put a different one in.
But the case looks nice. Like it.

CharlesA
May 8th, 2010, 12:37 AM
Not just watching. Encode/Decode movies also. So it has to have some power. Not sure about Atom cpu's. I hear they are a little to weak. Never owned one of these so i relay purely on experience from other users.

What exactly are you going to encode/decode? Ripping dvds doesn't take that much CPU power. Recoding it does, however.

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 12:54 AM
Well, ripping :) Plus from my video cam. :(

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 12:55 AM
I have one of these (http://www.in-win.us/products_pccase_series.php?cat_id=1&series_id=24), the noisiest fan is in the included power supply, it also has a case fan and the fan on the northbrige chip, but they are virtually silent.

Btw.. what are your specs? Maybe it will fit my need.

CharlesA
May 8th, 2010, 01:29 AM
Well, ripping :) Plus from my video cam. :(

Might want something beefier then an Atom then.

Power vs noise is always the tradeoff.

Jose Catre-Vandis
May 8th, 2010, 01:55 AM
Well, ripping :) Plus from my video cam. :(

I've been running an Asus EB1012 for six months. It does everything you want to do, OK it might not do it as quickly as an i5 but it can rip and encode at real time speeds.

It's tiny ( I have it clamped onto the back of my monitor) and more or less silent - this was unnerving at first, but you get used to the peace :)

I am now looking at the Asus EB1501/U for my HTPC.

These are great little machines. Only downsides, no Firewire or SVideo Out.

CharlesA
May 8th, 2010, 02:57 AM
S-video doesn't really matter when you just use HDMI. :D

Thanks for the info on those EE-Box machines. I'm seriously thinking about getting one to replace the monster that is my current HTPC.

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 03:22 AM
This Asus pc looks nice. Very small. :)
That might be also an alternative.

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 03:25 AM
Ok, instead of the part i posted earlier, i assembled this instead.

This is then build on parts i actually have already.

The Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108225
(through input. thx. like the case)

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500035

All other parts i have so i just build them into this setup.
Btw. which harddrive is good for large size. I am looking for anything bigger then 1T.

Thanks.

cariboo
May 8th, 2010, 04:23 AM
And, are you happy with it? Maybe just switch the psu and put a different one in.
But the case looks nice. Like it.

The only time I really hear it is when the room is totally quiet. I have two other computers running at the same time, so the noise isn't an issue.

I run XBMC Live on it, so when playing a movie, the volume is usually cranked, that drowns out all the noise. :)

CharlesA
May 8th, 2010, 04:33 AM
I've been using Hitatchi 2TB drives in my file server. No complaints at all.

Link. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145276)

cascade9
May 8th, 2010, 01:03 PM
Not just watching. Encode/Decode movies also. So it has to have some power. Not sure about Atom cpu's. I hear they are a little to weak. Never owned one of these so i relay purely on experience from other users.

They are quite a bit lower powered than the main dsktop CPUs (core2duo/quad, iX, Athlon II, Phenom II).

If your going to encode video, then I'd get soemthign with more power.

BTW- is yout really set on ITX? They are small, but smaller cases mean you normally only have 60mm/80mm fans for airflow- much noiser than 120mm fans. Also, you cant run nice, big CPU coolers with 120mm fans, they help a lot to keep noise down (a 120mm fan @ 5volts is quiter, and moves a more air than a 80mm fan).

If you really want ITX, and you've got money, try Core2Duo mobile CPU + a socket P ITX board-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280+1070530946&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=280&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340759+1686143084&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=759&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

Mind you, that is $160 for the motherboard, and $220 for the CPU (minimum), not cheap.

Honestly, I'd go for a MicroATX case, fanless power supply, fanless GT220 (no need to go to GT240, they run hotter as well) and a low power AMD quad core-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104035

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103682

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500159

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129044

That AMD has the same TDP as the lowest power desktop Core2Duos. Quad core as well, so it will rip through encoding.

If you get a MicoATX case with a 120mm exhast fan (not uncommon) you could hook up the heatsink to the exhaust fan, and it will run cool, with very little noise. If your got a Noctua fan it would be pretty much silent-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090573+50012454&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=573&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 07:13 PM
They are quite a bit lower powered than the main dsktop CPUs (core2duo/quad, iX, Athlon II, Phenom II).

If your going to encode video, then I'd get soemthign with more power.

BTW- is yout really set on ITX? They are small, but smaller cases mean you normally only have 60mm/80mm fans for airflow- much noiser than 120mm fans. Also, you cant run nice, big CPU coolers with 120mm fans, they help a lot to keep noise down (a 120mm fan @ 5volts is quiter, and moves a more air than a 80mm fan).

If you really want ITX, and you've got money, try Core2Duo mobile CPU + a socket P ITX board-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280+1070530946&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=280&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340759+1686143084&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=759&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

Mind you, that is $160 for the motherboard, and $220 for the CPU (minimum), not cheap.

Honestly, I'd go for a MicroATX case, fanless power supply, fanless GT220 (no need to go to GT240, they run hotter as well) and a low power AMD quad core-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104035

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103682

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500159

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129044

That AMD has the same TDP as the lowest power desktop Core2Duos. Quad core as well, so it will rip through encoding.

If you get a MicoATX case with a 120mm exhast fan (not uncommon) you could hook up the heatsink to the exhaust fan, and it will run cool, with very little noise. If your got a Noctua fan it would be pretty much silent-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090573+50012454&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=573&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

Not bad.
But i realized that i actually maybe want to stay with my cpu. So what i perhaps looking for is,

a) quiet case
b) silent psu
c) small size (itx or miniatx)
d) mostly passive cooling

Now i understand that there is a tradeoff. I like the itx for its size. But i realize that there are not many psu's which are silent or powerfull enough.
So i might have to take a miniatx.
How are the videocard that are on board?
Keep in mind that i don't plan to do heavy gaming, perhaps some older titles like cs:s or something like that.

My current system contains a
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036)
HIPER HPU-4R580-MS 580W ATX12V v2.2 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817128004)
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098)

Plus 3 harddrive and a evga 8800GT with 1GB.

My hiper psu burned once and got rma'd and its a different one. But same company with 600W now.

Since i don't do gaming i really like to get rid of the video card since it take a lot of power and i don't need it anyway.

Thanks for the advise with AMD. Not bad either... had i known before i bought my intel cpu. :)

yester64
May 8th, 2010, 09:54 PM
Ok, i think i settled for this configuration.

What you think?

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=12903125

Just hope that the fan fits.. have to check that.

cariboo
May 8th, 2010, 10:41 PM
I have tried encoding video on an atom cpu, it takes forever. I tried the same project on my atom powered system and my desktop system powered by an AMD X2 3800+. The desktop system took just over an hour, while the atom system was still chugging along after 5 hours. :)

cascade9
May 10th, 2010, 02:54 PM
Not bad.
But i realized that i actually maybe want to stay with my cpu. So what i perhaps looking for is,

a) quiet case
b) silent psu
c) small size (itx or miniatx)
d) mostly passive cooling


Finding a fanless ITX power supply can be..tricky. Also, ITX tends to have not much room for oversized heat sinks....really, you've got to decide if you want mostly fanless (quite possible with microATX) or smaller size (ITX).



Now i understand that there is a tradeoff. I like the itx for its size. But i realize that there are not many psu's which are silent or powerfull enough.


If you look around there are ITX cases that take some ATX power supplies (the one with this case is actually fanless)-

http://www.silentpcreview.com/fractal-array

BTW, people tend to worry too much about power supply wattage. If you arent running a gaming card, or overclocked (in particular Intel iX/AMD Phenom II X4) in a lot of cases, even 300watts is more than is needed.



How are the videocard that are on board?
Keep in mind that i don't plan to do heavy gaming, perhaps some older titles like cs:s or something like that.


On board video works. Just like video cards, some are slow, some are faster, some have awful support. I try to avoid onboard video myself, but I've got my reasons ;)

*edit- I dotn know about anybody else, but I cant see that wishlist on newegg. It needs a newegg ID and password.

cguy
May 10th, 2010, 04:33 PM
Why don't you buy some beefier components and make your own silent case? ;)

yester64
May 11th, 2010, 09:19 PM
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12903125

This is the list... not sure why it did not display. I made it public.

cascade9
May 12th, 2010, 09:08 AM
Things like that (not being able to see newegg wishlists) happens.

As for the parts- there isn't enough clearance between the motherboard and PSU to get that heatsink in.

530watts? o.O way more than you will need on a computer with onboard ideo, and fairly low wattage CPU. You could get away with 250watts with that system, easy. See here-

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cases/display/system-wattage_6.html

Slightly faster version of the CPU you have, + a HD4850 video card, absloute max draw- 189watts.

markp1989
May 12th, 2010, 11:23 AM
id recomend that you loook at the zotac mini itx boards, i have the Zotac GeForce 9300 motherboard in my silent pc, paired with a e5200, it is silent,

the onboard gpu can play 1080p videos easily.

you will need at least one fan blowing through the case, even if there isnt one on the heat sink directly just to expel any hot that will eventualy build up

you can see more info abount my build here, i have used quite a tall case as i needted to fit multiple hdds insdide it.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=504719

since making that post ^ i have replaced the fans at the back with a 120mm fan

I was planning on going atom+ion for this build, but i decided to go with c2d so i could have abit more power when its needed such as encoding videos etc

yester64
May 14th, 2010, 06:28 AM
Hey, just seen that Zareason offers a very similar desktop pc with the spec i was looking for.
http://zareason.com/shop/product.php?productid=16220&cat=249&page=1

Nice little box. :)