The bedroom htpc (2 Viewers)

[madad]

Can anyone recommend some components for building a completely silent pc for the bedroom that I can use as an HTPC? I'm realy pleased with the way I can provide the same experience on all the machines in my house with mediaportal (unlike previous attempts with Vista+xbox360), and so now I'm thinking of building a silent pc for the bedroom. I'd appreciate people's suggestions for components. Size isn't really an issue, I can hide the box away easily enuf.. I just want it to be completely silent (fanless?) and hopefully not too expensive..

 

[funkstar]

I just built a small bedroom client with the following components:

• Silverstone LC19 case
• Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard
• AMD E-2450 (i think thats a model number)
• Akasa AK-392 AMD AM2 Low Profile cooler
• 2GB of Corsair memory
• A 60GB Hitachi 2.5" hard drive I already had

And thats about it.

The 70mm fan on the cooler does spin but only slowly and for short periods, you can't hear it. The PSU is a large laptop style power brick (actually about the size of a brick) so no fan there. The case comes with a 40mm fan but that isn't connected.

 

[thenek]

just building exactly that at the moment.
I am using a Antec NSK 2400 review: Antec NSK2400 / Fusion Media PC Case | silentpcreview.com
This was designed by the guys at silent PC.

Then go for any Matx motherboard with onboard graphic for an easy fanless graphics I chose oe with the g33 chipset. I had a spare e6750 which I have underclocked and undervolted. The pc is VERY quite and with more tweaking could be completely silent.

Its actually going in the bedroom in the next hour. It will be a big improvment over the xbox with xbmc currently there.

 

[Bagal]

My bedroom media center is actually in the loft (attic) and then I just have cables coming down to connect to the TV and for the remote. I also have a wireless keyboard and mouse for when the need arises.
Solves a number of issues such as noise and you don't need a nice case, just any old tower will do.

It also happens to double up as my fileserver and master TV server.

 

[kingnubian]

For a completely silent PC , with the budget in mind, I can recommend these components. The only constantly "Spinning" device will be the hard drive which won't be heard anyways.

Case: If you are going to hide it anyways then it really doesn't matter as long as it can fit a standard ATX PSU & has decent venting. Personally I prefer a good look so I'd look at a Silverstone model.
Power supply: Silverstone Nightjar Silent (Fanless) PSU
CPU: AMD BE-2350 45W
Heatsink: Scythe Ninja Mini (Fanless)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Memory: 2gig (2x1gig) Transcend, Patriot or other DDR2. (Great price, warranty & performance)
Hard Drive: Samsund Spinpoint F1 (There are others but for low sound vs performance the F1 Series delivers.)
Samsung's Spinpoint F1 hard drive - The Tech Report - Page 1

This isn't a be all & end all of components just my take on what I believe you are after. This will be an actual Silent System. I may even build one myself.

 

[robby3]

I do have an ASUS EN8600GT 512MB Silent grafic card as well as a 2.5" low noise 80GB disk and Silverstone LC19 case ready for the client I'm building.

What Motherboard and CPU / Heatsink do you recommend for a very silent bedroom client (low profile case) ?

Thanks
robby3

 

[Spragleknas]

According to SPCR forum users (I think) the WD GP series is the best choice for silent HDD, pretty much cause it variates RPM (5400-7200).


Also: Read this: Western Digital's Caviar GP hard drive - The Tech Report - Page 1

From what I've read there is NO 3,5" HDD that makes less sound than the WD GP

 

[kingnubian]

I do have an ASUS EN8600GT 512MB Silent grafic card as well as a 2.5" low noise 80GB disk and Silverstone LC19 case ready for the client I'm building.

What Motherboard and CPU / Heatsink do you recommend for a very silent bedroom client (low profile case) ?

Thanks
robby3

Wow! That is a very low profile case!

If already have the graphic card your motherboard & CPU choices are wide open since one of the main benefits of an AMD 780g based board are it's on board GPU and you already have this covered.

As for a heatsink, even some advertised "Low Profile" models may not fit that case. The Zalman CNPS 8000 model may fit & be very quiet when running the fan at it's lowest speed.

fihttp://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15210AC1027&vpn=CNPS8000&manufacture=ZALMAN%20TECH

 

[milhouse]

You guys are missing a good pre-built choice for a silent PC - I use a Mac Mini in the bedroom. The only catch is that you need to disconnect the power power LED, because that thing is BRIGHT.

 

[TommySharp]

What remote do you use with the mac mini and does it handle HDTV alright?