Smallest, quiestest, pc with desktop components

[Davegod75]

So I have an older shuttle (p4 1.8ghz) and I want to upgrade. I'm a big fan of elegance and simplicity. I LOVE the Imac but want to stick with a PC.

I am looking for a system <699 (or i'd just get the mac mini) that is small and quiet but has the following.

DVI built into the mobo ( I don't care about video so onboard is fine, just need dvi)
onboard audio
c2d or better cpu
would like a 3.5" HD for the speed and $$ savings
built in wireless would be nice
ethernet
e-sata would be nice
external usb



USES:
------------------------------------
storing/editing family photos
web browsing
programming
music

 

[gorobei]

are you talking about buying a pre-built or building a SFF yourself.
[mac minis are elegant, but underclocked to the point of being toothless.]
most of the features you list are built in to the Mboard(except for the wireless). So just find a uATX board you like/trust and stick it in a SFF case with a 3.5" drive.

as far as quiet goes:
-most mini tower/HTPC cases come with smaller(noisier) 80mm, 60mm, or even 40mm fans for cooling. So if you want to reduce noise you may have to buy some replacement fans.
-a couple of SFF cubes(ultra microfly, x-qpack) have a 120mm fan as well as a 80mm.
-assuming the main cooling fans are quiet(cpu, videocard, case) you'll still want to get a psu with a large, slow fan (120-135mm.)
-most of your uses are low power so you shouldn't get many power spikes that drive up fans speeds, but if you watch dvds or play cds find a ODD that isn't too noisy when it spins up.

 

[Zap]

"I'm a big fan of elegance and simplicity... that is small and quiet..."
Antec NSK3480 case w/PSU $75 shipped is good quality, really small, is designed to be quiet but with decent airflow, has a good quality power supply (EarthWatts EA380) and looks nice

"would like a 3.5" HD for the speed and $$ savings"
Seagate 7200.10 250GB hard drive $70 shipped is actually new but rebadged 7200.11 which is probably one of the best performers

random 2GB DDR2-800 around $75 shipped or find an even better deal after rebate

"DVI built into the mobo, onboard audio, ethernet, e-sata, usb"
Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H motherboard $125 shipped has onboard DVI, high definition audio, Firewire, USB, e-SATA, gigabit ethernet

"built in wireless would be nice"
random cheap wireless PCI card with external antenna $15 shipped

DVD burner $35 shipped

"c2d or better cpu"
random Core 2 Duo CPU with fan/heatsink $195 shipped

random operating system $90 shipped

"<699"
roughly $680 shipped

You can also go cheaper with the CPU and probably not notice any difference.

 

[SleepyB]

I just built a Shuttle SD11G5. Newegg is clearing them out for $150 + ship. It's not C2D, but uses Pentium-M. But the price is good. You can get CPU for $50-100 on eBay. It's probably the quietest PC I own. Only one 92mm fan for the ICE CPU cooler, which runs at about 800rpm. The PSU is a big external brick, so it's toally passive.

It fits standard desktop parts, 2x 3.5" HD/5.25" Optical. Has onboard DVI, but you're not gonna game with it. Has built in gigabit ethernet, 2x SATA ports, 1 IDE. Also has a Mini-PCI slot, which you can add in a wireless card, the kind laptops use. Has Creative SB Live 24-bit 7.1 sound, but I heard it's more of a software based solution, no hardware EAX.

It's not gonna set records for benchmarking, but it should do the tasks you listed just fine. I think it's great as it's probably the first computer I have that's almost silent. I can't hear it at all from 2+ ft away. I think the HD buzzing is louder than the fan.

The only other thing is the Shuttle SD02XC / SD02XD. I think they use standard 3.5" HD, but the optical is a notebook slim. Takes mobile C2D, but you're going to pay a price for going that small. Think it's about $400+ bare and plus CPU. Only thing is because it's small, it probably has a tiny fan that runs at high rpm, so it might be a little noisy/buzzy.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: SleepyB
I just built a Shuttle SD11G5. Newegg is clearing them out for $150 + ship. It's not C2D, but uses Pentium-M. But the price is good. You can get CPU for $50-100 on eBay.

That looks to be a sweet little system. I've seen many Celeron M chips sold on Ebay for under $10 (plus shipping). Those are barely any slower than Pentium M of the same MHz. A bigger difference is the lack of SpeedStep for power savings, but that matters more in a notebook, plus IIRC most desktop s479 boards don't support it anyways. Also, you can do a pin mod on the Celeron to run at 533MHz FSB and enjoy a quick overclock.

 

[SleepyB]

I got a Pentium-M 750 (1.86Ghz/533FSB) to go with it. It's pretty nice and peppy. I've undervolted it to 0.716V @ 800Mhz and 0.988V @ 1.86Ghz using RM Clock. 98% of the time, the system is at 800Mhz. It's probably sipping electricity at these levels, so I'm happy saving on my electricity bill.

I'm using it for HTPC and regular SD sized video files only use 30-40% CPU at 800Mhz. Even HD x264 files play back around 800Mhz (80% usage) with brief spikes up when extra decoding power is needed.

It might be even possible to run it passive at those voltages. I feel the air coming out the back exhaust and it's barely warm.

This barebone was retailing at like $400 when it first came out, which is way too expensive. But at today's price, it's a great buy. I just love how quiet it is.

 

[hmsrolst]

I also have an SD11G5 with a P-M 750, similarly undervolted using Notebook Hardware Control. I replaced the fan with a Nexus Real Silent and undervolted it. Unless I put my head very close to it, I can't hear it. I do, however, use a 2.5" laptop drive suspended in the 3.5" bay.

 

[capeconsultant]

I have a HP Pavilion Slimline. They come in various flavors. They are without a shadow of a doubt the smallest quietest desktop machine I have EVER come across. And I have been involved in small and quiet LONG before it was fashionable.

I have formally and forever given up even trying to build one on my own after I found this delight.

Worth a look. Dave

 

[gorobei]

i just got my parents a HP pav slimline s3100y. intel e2140, 1gb, 160Gb hd, lightscribe dvd burner, IGP, vista home premium.
its okay, but hardly quiet. the fan itself doesn't make much mechanical noise, but all the air moving around and exiting the vent holes is certainly audible from 6 feet away.

the mb crapped out after 2 weeks and techsupport had to come out and swap boards. Asus mb (model: ipipl? uatx ,945 chipset I think, dsub only) The only fan inside is a 60mm on the mini-tower cpu HS that routes directly out the back of the case with some help from a simple acrylic duct. PSU is passive and barely the size of a box of cigarettes.

i went with it because the price was $250 AR. Probably would have paid that for parts alone. Once it's well past warranty, I'll probably throw more ram, a dedicated video card, and a newer uatx mb in there and try overclocking it.

 

[Czar]

built the single most silent computer ever this week

AMD 5200+, get anything 65w or lower (though I think mine might be 90w)
MSI mobo, the small one with the hdmi output, built in graphics from ati
2gb ram, cheapest I could I find

Now on to the stuff that makes noise

HD, Samsung Spinpoint I think its called, most silent harddisk according to storagereview.com
Cooling, Scythe Ninja, its huuuugess! hardly gets warm now, comes with a 12cm fan which is very silent, added a fan speedo thing I owned to slow it even more down. It hardly gets warm, going to try soon to skip the fan all together.
Power Supply, Corsair 450w, only little over 20db according to the reviews I read.

This thing is by far more silent than any computer I have come close to. (work as a network/system admin, I see alot of computers)

The loudest component is the disk, only solid state can make it more silent, think about that