Suggestions for New House Design?

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tomcollins
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Suggestions for New House Design?

Post by tomcollins » Fri Jan 29, 2016 4:05 pm

I've reached the stage in my life where we're considering building a new house. Still not definite, but a possibility. So we're going over those things we've thought about over the years and trying to decide if they merit inclusion in the design.

One topic is how we can/should best incorporate computers. They're a profession and hobby for me so I'd love to make them a bit more powerful, but I do like them quiet.

I've played with quiet computing for about the last 15 years. My first effort (and arguably most effective) was simply sticking the computer in the other room and punching a hole in the wall to run (low voltage) cabling. For obvious reasons, I couldn't silence my office by putting the computer into the bathroom next door.

I'm seriously considering a server room.
Does anyone have suggestions on things to do to incorporate computers in a new house build?
And of course, to keep things quiet.

Google is not providing me with ideas. I guess when people build a new home, computer locations, wiring, etc are not too exciting.

CA_Steve
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Re: Suggestions for New House Design?

Post by CA_Steve » Fri Jan 29, 2016 9:03 pm

Run Cat 5/6 cable to every room. You might not use it, but it beats trying to run a cable later or trying to fill a hole in your wireless coverage...which leads to..think about the wireless networking coverage in your house. Will just a router cover it or will you need an access point or two? Might be nice to pre-wire for the AP(s).

If you rip a lot of media and stream it, then it could be useful to have a server closet to hide away the rotating disk sounds. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to build a quiet PC for the room you are in...unless it's got multiple gfx cards and the like. Then, it's a bit harder.

xan_user
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Re: Suggestions for New House Design?

Post by xan_user » Fri Jan 29, 2016 9:28 pm

A good plan is key, too many cooks spoil the pot.
here's what happens when multiple contractors do multiple remodels without planning ahead...
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washu
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Re: Suggestions for New House Design?

Post by washu » Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:22 am

Unless you intend to have a bunch of "real" servers with no thought to sound reduction there isn't going to be a need for a dedicated server room if you have another room they can be placed in. I currently have 6 servers in a rack along with one of my A/V setups in my storage/laundry room in the basement. I can't hear it through a single standard wood/drywall wall when the door is closed and that is important given my main music/video room is next to it. If I were to install some sound reduction in the wall it would be for the benefit of my neighbors. However all my servers are built with some quietness in mind. I would't want them on my desk, but they are much quieter than most servers meant for a datacenter.

I'd take CA_Steve's comment a step further and look at other cables you might want to run as they are far easier to install while the house is being built. Plan your media room(s) if you can. Even if it is just "brush plates" that can accept any type of cable it will make your life far easier. As I said above, all my A/V equipment for my main media setup is in the rack in the next room for noise reasons. HDMI, speaker and USB (for wireless control) cables run between rooms. My 2nd system has cables that run the length of the house as well. It was a pain in the ass to install (and I've done cable installs professionally) but well worth it in the end.

CA_Steve
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Re: Suggestions for New House Design?

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Jan 30, 2016 11:17 am

Also, if you plan to have a media room...or just want a quiet room, plan that in advance. The simplest thing to do is add fiberglass insulation batting on the interior walls. Taking it step further, you can run staggered studs to isolate one room from another. Just run a search for staggered studs, decoupling, media room, etc..

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