Ultra-low budget silent PC for multimedia

[Serban Andrei Dumitrescu]

Hi folks,

I need some help with my "ultra-low budget silent pc" project. When I
built my current PC, which I'm using for work and gaming in my "work
room", I was aiming for performance and that resulted in a pretty noisy
beast. Now I'd very much like to be able to watch DVD/DivX/Xvid movies in
my bedroom, as well as listen to the tons of music I've amassed on my hard
drive without that annoying whirring.

Pretty much all of the few dozen "Build your Silent PC" articles I've read
off the net where either targeted at the enthusiast with enough money to
spare, or simply detailed the usage of yet larger fans and bigger
heatsinks, which wasn't the information I was looking for either. So here
I am, asking you guys for suggestions

Since I'm starting out with a very low budget (some 200 Euros ~ 220 US$)
and the requirements are pretty undemanding (playback of DVDs, Xvid/Divx
AVI-files, mp3/mpc audio files, basic internet usage) I thought I'd use
some older-generation components that generate little heat so I'd be able
to rely on passive cooling only (maybe excepting the PSU since passively
cooled PSUs are rather pricey)

For a CPU, I believe the 1.2 GHz Duron will work fine with only a
(bigger?) heatsink mounted on it. Am I right there? Which Durons can do
that (and still provide the performance necessary for, say, Xvid
decoding)? I also read somewhere that the "Tualatin" Celerons can run with
only passive cooling, but there wasn't any exact data. Anyone know
something more about that?

The choice of the motherboard will be based on the CPU. In any case, I
thought an older board supporting DDR RAM @133 MHz, parallel ATA (that way
I'll be able to use a 40 GB ATA100 hdd I already have), USB 1.1 and AGP 4x
will do just fine.

However I haven't decided on the form factor yet. I'll have to buy a new
case anyway, so I might as well go for a smaller form factor, to better be
able to unobtrusively integrate the PC in my otherwise hi-fi dominated
bedroom. Would there be smaller form factor boards meeting my
requirements?

For a graphics card (remember, it only needs to play video files) I could
get a passively cooled older one like a GF MX440. On-board IGPs like those
on newer boards would probably do the job quite well too, but on older
boards you mostly get something like a GF2 or an nForce 2 or a Trident
Blade3D GPU. Anyone know if those are OK for fullscreen video/DVD
playback?

As for the hdd & DVD drives, I won't go for anything special there since I
probably couldn't afford it. My "old" Seagate 40GB is really very quiet
already. What about a low-end but not too loud DVD-ROM drive? Anyone know
of some that don't sound like a helicopter taking off and still don't cost
much?

Which leaves us only with the case and PSU to decide upon. I spent some
time looking for passively cooled PSUs on eBay and they seem to be out of
my price range. So are "fancy" cases like Shuttle and other mini-pc type
barebones. I'd go for a no-name case (be it ATX or mini-ATX) and put the
cheapest "silent" PSU I can get on eBay. Can anyone recommend some
specific PSUs which run quietly yet don't cost much?

Well then, thanks for reading so far I'd be very grateful for _any_
suggestions...

TIA,

Andrei

 

[jaster]

Hi folks,

I need some help with my "ultra-low budget silent pc" project. When I
built my current PC, which I'm using for work and gaming in my "work
room", I was aiming for performance and that resulted in a pretty noisy
beast. Now I'd very much like to be able to watch DVD/DivX/Xvid movies
in my bedroom, as well as listen to the tons of music I've amassed on my
hard drive without that annoying whirring.

Pretty much all of the few dozen "Build your Silent PC" articles I've
read off the net where either targeted at the enthusiast with enough
money to spare, or simply detailed the usage of yet larger fans and
bigger heatsinks, which wasn't the information I was looking for either.
So here I am, asking you guys for suggestions

Since I'm starting out with a very low budget (some 200 Euros ~ 220 US$)
and the requirements are pretty undemanding (playback of DVDs, Xvid/Divx
AVI-files, mp3/mpc audio files, basic internet usage) I thought I'd use
some older-generation components that generate little heat so I'd be
able to rely on passive cooling only (maybe excepting the PSU since
passively cooled PSUs are rather pricey)

Sounds like a plan but eBay for old parts w/o warranties might cost
as much as newer inexpensive components.

I''m thinking about building a media center pc with a PIII-933 with the
i810 or Soyo m/bs I have laying in the closet. But I want to be able to
capture and playback HDTV w/ 5.1 digital sound onto TV or monitor. Not
helpful info for you but just planting a thought.

Via makes the quietest and coolest cpus (no fans needed) but you won't be
able to purchase a Via C3 or C7.

For naysers:
http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/10/03/via_minibox_carpc

AMD is second with the "Quiet and Cool" technology. If you're looking to
buy cpu and motherboard I'd go with a QnC Sempron 3000 instead of the
Duron. I can get a Sempron 3000/3100 w/ motherboard for 90usd plus 20usd
for quiet cpu cooler. The motherboard comes with 10/100 lan and 5.1
onboard sound.

 

[Serban Andrei Dumitrescu]

Hi Jaster and thanks for your reply.

I''m thinking about building a media center pc with a PIII-933 with the
i810 or Soyo m/bs I have laying in the closet. But I want to be able to
capture and playback HDTV w/ 5.1 digital sound onto TV or monitor. Not
helpful info for you but just planting a thought.

I only need playback for which a PIII or Celeron would suffice. However
for your requirements the Sempron system you mention should be more
appropiate. However it exceeds my budget...

Via makes the quietest and coolest cpus (no fans needed) but you won't be
able to purchase a Via C3 or C7.

Well the older C3s sell rather cheaply on eBay, most of the times with
matching mobos. But not sure if I should go that way....

Bye + thanks,
Andrei

 

[David Maynard]

Hi Jaster and thanks for your reply.



I only need playback for which a PIII or Celeron would suffice. However
for your requirements the Sempron system you mention should be more
appropiate. However it exceeds my budget...



Well the older C3s sell rather cheaply on eBay, most of the times with
matching mobos. But not sure if I should go that way....

They're great when power is the over riding concern but they are not very
good performers compared to the alternatives.