PC World's quiet computer

n-Track Studio Discussion Forum
1

Building your own

2

Good article on building your own machine - Your Ideal PC.

Of particular interest is their quiet specs but check out the other configurations too:

<!–QuoteBegin>

Quote
Quiet PC Shopping List

Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000-G motherboard: $95
Intel Pentium 4 2.6C CPU (OEM version): $150
Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu heatsink: $35
Kingston ValueRAM 512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (two): $220
SpinPoint P SP1614N 160GB hard drive: $105
Lite-On SOHW-812S DVD+/-RW drive: $90
Asus CRW-5232AS CD-RW drive: $35
Gainward Silent FX Powerpack Ultra/980XP graphics board: $180
Coolmax CF-400 silent power supply: $120
Antec P-160 case: $110
Windows XP Home (OEM edition): $87
Total: $1227


I’m using the Antec P-160 case for a client I’m working with right now.
3

Thanks for the link, Toker. Of course, you could drop the price on the Quiet PC quite a bit, depending on what you need, for example:
Single 512MB stick of PC3200: -$141
Drop the CD-RW drive (don’t know why they added this when they already list a DVD+/-RW drive): -$35
Older Radeon 9xxx video card with no fan (i.e., still quiet): -$130

Over $300 saved right there with no compromise in sound levels–money better spent on a good sound card (which they don’t mention–must be sticking with onboard audio) or other recording gear. And for a DAW PC I’m sure you could cut back even more on other parts. Serious 3D gamers will be disappointed, though.

Oh well, no shortage of toys to spend our money on in this world, that’s for sure :)

Tony

4

Sure - there’s lots of places to lower the price. That’s basically what the Basic Configuration DAW I offer is (except I use a Sonata case which brings the price even further down).

5

PS - I also learned from this article that the new Samsung SpinPoint drives are the quietest (see Silent PC Review).

6
PS - I also learned from this article that the new Samsung SpinPoint drives are the quietest
Good to know. I think there's a hair dryer somewhere in my PC--I gotta fix that someday... :)

Tony
7

It’s probably your CPU fan. You may be able to replace with someone quieter.

8

‘Someone’ !!!.. You mean there’s a human trapped inside that little box ?!..

:laugh: