[vdr] Re: recommended ATX/MATX case??

[Sven Karlsson <svenka@it.kth.se>]

Hi all,

Jan Ekholm wrote:
> > Some Via-CPU's need no fan at all (as does with my P2-450 here also), for the
> > Via-Nehemiah (wich is just as fast) exist also some home-made fanless coolers.
>
> An Epia-800 can also run fanless. By default I think they come with fans,
> but at least mine has been solid as a rock for a year with just a
> heatsink.
I've been tinkering with different kinds of "Silent" products over the 
last three years and I've too come to the conclusion that the only 
really "silent" computer is one without any moving part whatsoever, 
i.e., no fans and no hard drive. Even without moving parts a modern PC 
is not sound-less as the switch reagulator circuits used in the PSUs 
(even the fanless ones) can make a rather irritating squeel as their 
switching frequency can be rather low.

I suggest using Via Nehemiah or C3 processors or other CPUs dissipating 
a maximum of 12W. It is rather straightforward to cool theses passively.

I further suggest to boot these using network-boot from a centralized 
server which, of course, is not silent but can be made rather quiet. An 
alternative is to use a combination of compact flashes and network 
filesystems. Keep in mind, however, that the flash cards are rather 
expensive. More noisy alternatives are laptop disks and Seagate 
Barracuda V's. A Barracuda enclosed in a SilentDrive is a good solution 
for a desktop machine which do not need to be dead quiet.

Finally, I would choose a case which is sturdy, and roomy. Avoid plastic 
cases. I haven't tried aluminium cases although some claim these to be 
better than ordinary cases. Be prepared to drill a lot of airholes and 
plan the layout of the case carefully as to not blocking hot air to move 
out of the case. I haven't tried this but I recon that a desktop case 
with lots of air holes drilles in the top lid a la hi-fi amplifier would 
be a good candidate for a silent VDR box.

While we are at the topic: Do anyone know if someone in europe sells the 
PW60/70(-A) cheaper than EPIA-Power (http://www.epia-power.ch/)?

Best regards
 Sven



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