Thanks for all the tips. I have looked around a lot now, and really can't find too many good alternatives to the Corsair AX 850, so I just ordered that (even though it is expensive). The only good alternative for sale where I live (Norway) seems to be the FSP Aurum series, but it's almost as expensi...

Hello, I recently sold my computer. Originally I wanted to keep the great Seasonic PSU (a 700W M12 unit), but the buyer was so impressed by my silent system that he paid extra for a better PSU. So now it's gone. I'm going to assemble a new PC and have been looking at both the Seasonic X series and t...

How silent is the drive when compared to the Sansung EcoGreen F2 500GB?


T

It's the 502HI you should be looking for.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Silent_Sa ... en_HD502HI

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My goal is to run passively, but I like to take a pragmatic approach.

So if I can run a CPU fan at low RPM - and it really IS inaudible, well then that's fine


Thorstein

I ordered all the components a couple of days ago, made a few changes: - CPU: AMD Sempron X1 140 (I am planning to unlock the second core, and undervolt the CPU) - CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja (hopefully this is good enough for passive cooling) - 4GB DDR3 RAM: 2 sticks of 1.5V DDR3 1333MhZ, will try to ...

Thanks for the input, interesting threads.

I'm changing my mind on the case, btw.
Going for a Lian Li PC-V351 now.
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=17293


Now I just need a nice undervolting mobo and RAM.

And a media center remote for Windows 7...


Thorstein

It's not going into a rack with other A/V components, so no extra hot air from those


T

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I should have been a bit more specific about the use of the PC. I mainly want to play music and watch movies (in 1080P). A bit of surfing around on the net as well. So I guess integrated graphics might be the way to go. That would leave me with only one serious hea...

Your're right about the direction the PSU fan blows, obviously. My mistake. Anyway, I was thinking I'd replace the Nexus with a PicoPSU: http://cgi.ebay.com/PicoPSU-150-XT-150W-12Volt-DC-DC-ATX-Mini-Power-Supply_W0QQitemZ130326462972QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_UPS?hash=item1e581001fc&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14...

Hello, Is it possible to build a very very silent HTPC with decent performance? I want my HTPC to be inaudible, let's see if that is possible. So I'm planning to have only two moving parts, the hard drive and the PSU. CPU and GPU will be passively cooled. Everything will be undervolted as much as po...

Hello, I've been looking at a new HTPC lately, these are the parts: CPU: Athlon II 240e (when it becomes available) Mobo: Don't know yet RAM: Don't know yet Case: Silverstone SG02 Hard drive: Samsung EcoGreen F2 500GB PSU: Nexus Value 430 CPU Cooler: Scythe Big Shuriken I'd like to undervolt the RAM...

Thanks for all the help, nutball. I guess a system based on the Silverstone GD02 or SG04 with fans replaced by more silent Nexus fans, an AMD 780G plus (hybrid SLI) HD3450 graphics, a silent Samsung EcoGreen hard drive and a 45nm Athlon II 250 CPU with a silent/passive cooler is a good HTPC solution...

Aren't those temperatures pretty acceptable?
Well within CPU specs?

How silent is your system?


T

Hmmm, read a couple of more reviews now. Looks like the Athlon II X2 250 only uses a TDP of 65 watts. So that will be the CPU of choice. Also, the Asus M4A78-EM mobo (780G chipset) looks good. Maybe I could just buy a Radeon 3450 card for hybrid Crossfire. Cheap, low-power and good enough for the oc...

Thanks for the imput. Btw, I've been looking at AMD CPUs again, for some reason thought AM3 was horribly expensive but it seems the ASUS M4N78-VM board (Nvidia GeForce 8200 chipset) coupled with a 45nm AMD Phenom II 550 Black Edition might be a good choice. Quite a bit cheaper and possibly cooler th...

Hello, I'm planning to assemble a HTPC in a Silverstone SG04 case. However the case needs to be lying down on the side to fit in a rack I have in my living room. That might bring trouble for the blu-ray reader, an LG GGC-H20L. Does anyone know whether you can mount bluray/DVD/CD discs in these reade...

Well certainly looking forward to that, thanks nutball. Thanks for a lot of other helpful replies as well - this seems to be a really nice forum :-) Anyway when it comes to the cases, I really think I might go for the SG04 minitower because of the improved airflow. Does nyone know if it is possible ...

Well, I was planning to use an Intel E7400 CPU. I thought this was among the coolest CPUs out there? Which AMD CPU would dissipate less heat? The only 45nm AMD CPUs are quite expensive... Like you Nutball, I plan to replace the two 80mm case fans (would a 120mm fan fit in there btw?). Silent Nexus f...

I plan to use the Silverstone NT01 or NT06 as a CPU cooler. I thought both would work well in a small case, given their size and design: http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripherals/review/2005/02/05/SilverStone-NT01-CPU-Cooler/p1 http://www.sysopt.com/features/coolquiet/article.php/3604246 Or maybe I'...

I've been looking around for case alternatives now, and it seems the Silverstone GD02 and Silverstone SG-04 could be used. (the latter is a minitower and it would have to be lying on the side - might be a problem when mounting blu-rays or DVDs vertically). Links GD02: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/...

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm planning to get a GD-02 as a HTPC case as well.

Any more recommendations on CPU coolers?

Is the Silverstone NT01 or the Thermalright XP-120 the better choice?

What about the Scythe Ninja Mini or the Scythe Shuriken / Big Shuriken?



Regards,

Thorstein

The SG04 looks great to me, I've been looking for a small case with a shallow depth for a long time (36cm or less).

Would it still work well lying down on its side?

Btw I see Silverstone also offers the GD02. Very small as well!

T

I guess I will have to scale down the graphics card.

As a replacement, I've been looking at the HIS Radeon 4670 iSilence.
It has no fan and has gotten decent reviews.
http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1483

Any comments about the rest of the setup?

I guess I still have to find another case.



T

Hello, I'm looking to assemble a powerful but quiet HTPC. I want to use it mainly as a media center, for playing movies, music and blu-ray discs. Would also like to play the occasional game. I want an Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 as a CPU. It's 45nm, powerful and runs quite cool. A good cooler could be th...

Hmmm, seems to me these two power supplies look similar, but there is a lack of evidence pointing to them being the same.

Would love a half price Nexus 430 though!


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The Samsung 1.5TB is looking good, but I'm still unsure of the noise - would it be much worse than the 500GB edition?



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How important are the numbers of platters by the way?

I'm looking at a Samsung 1.5TB drive, but it has 3 platters as opposed to the single-platter version reviewed on SPCR.

Would noise improve a lot?


T