I am thinking about building a new computer that I would use as a development workstation/small test server running Linux/Apache/MySQL. My main concerns are that it be inexpensive, small enough to sit on my desk, and ideally complete silent (fanless). I'd like to be able to use a 1680x1050 monitor if possible, and I'd like to have 1GB+ of RAM.
What would be a good set of components to build this system around, keeping cost at a minimum while meeting my goals?
EDIT: alternatively, a laptop that satisfies these goals would be acceptable.
TIA,
Weebs
Inexpensive, small, silent server/workstation
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Read section D here:
viewtopic.php?t=21152
Some of your desired features have best-case solutions that are at direct opposition to your other desired features. Read that last sentence as "It will be extremely difficult to do what you want to do with all of your requirements." For example:
Completely passive no-fan computer + small case.
(Going no-fans requires huge heatsinks in a large case for getting big convection currents.)
Inexpensive
(Large heatsinks + a large case to house them cost more money, rather than less.)
So my advice to you is to decide where you are willing to compromise. To me, the most obvious place to compromise on your list should be your desire to go fanless, as SPCR is literally filled with information on using large-ish fans running slower than full-blast, to provide good airflow with low noise. The second area you might compromise is low cost. You don't have to spend a fortune to buy components that give good results, but spending reasonable money for intelligently-chosen better-performing components might be just the thing to make you very happy in the long run with a computer that is quiet and close to your ideal goal of silent. Finally, the very smallest of cases are going to be the most difficult to fit good quieting components into. Small cases do not have room for a large, quiet CPU heatsink+fan, or for good airflow to cool large heatsinks.
Here are my recommendations for choosing components:
(1) Select a CPU carefully for low power. Research CPUs by how much power they use. That power gets burned off as heat. Select the CPU first, then select a motherboard to match your CPU socket. Consider using the lowest power CPUs in a particular class, like Athlon Mobile processors in desktop systems, the low-power CoreDuo Merom chips, etc.
(2) Select a motherboard with integrated graphics. These are very common in the microATX motherboard sizes. Look for a model with a passive heatsink on the motherboard chipset, rather than one with a tiny (noisy) fan. Your computing needs do not require the graphics horsepower that a gaming rig needs, so take advantage of that and go with integrated graphics, which should easily meet all of your needs. Keeping modern video cards quiet can be challenging, and many of the quietest solutions are also expensive. Therefore, integrated graphics is a great way to meet your goals of low cost and keeping things quiet.
(3) Look for a case large enough to use just one large case fan (typically 120mm) that can be run slowly. This gives you space in your case for a large CPU heatsink with good case airflow, which allows you to slow down the fans and remain quiet. You don't need to go HUGE with a case, something as small as an Antec NSK3300 will hold a microATX board and has a 120mm rear case fan. It's "small" by any standard, and mine fits nicely near the floor at the side of my desk, making it even quieter. Look to SPCRs recommendations. There are several cases by Antec that use a single 120mm case fan.
(4) Look for either a case that comes with a relatively quiet power supply, or spend money on a power supply that is designed for quiet computing. Look to SPCR reviews for good recommendations.
(5) Look for maximum bang-for-buck in a large, quiet CPU heatsink. If you take my advice in 1-4 above, then the largest noisemaker in your system will be your CPU cooler fan. Look at SPCR reviews to find the largest affordable heatsink that will fit your case and CPU, that uses a large, slow, quiet fan for cooling. Thermalright, Zalman, and Scythe offer models that are popular on SPCR, for all common CPUs. Look for motherboards that have case fan headers and BIOS support for actively controlling the CPU and case fan speeds. Read your motherboard manual to learn to configure these. I have several computers that went from very audible to very quiet by enabling active fan control on the motherboard BIOS.
So I think your best bet is going to require that you compromise. I think you will be satisfied by a relatively quiet system, achievable at moderate cost, by avoiding the smallest cases and choosing one that pays attention to airflow in its design, with room for a generously sized CPU heatsink, going with integrated graphics on a motherboard with a low-power CPU, and a quiet power supply.
SPCR reviews are your friend. Use them to help make buying decisions!
viewtopic.php?t=21152
Some of your desired features have best-case solutions that are at direct opposition to your other desired features. Read that last sentence as "It will be extremely difficult to do what you want to do with all of your requirements." For example:
Completely passive no-fan computer + small case.
(Going no-fans requires huge heatsinks in a large case for getting big convection currents.)
Inexpensive
(Large heatsinks + a large case to house them cost more money, rather than less.)
So my advice to you is to decide where you are willing to compromise. To me, the most obvious place to compromise on your list should be your desire to go fanless, as SPCR is literally filled with information on using large-ish fans running slower than full-blast, to provide good airflow with low noise. The second area you might compromise is low cost. You don't have to spend a fortune to buy components that give good results, but spending reasonable money for intelligently-chosen better-performing components might be just the thing to make you very happy in the long run with a computer that is quiet and close to your ideal goal of silent. Finally, the very smallest of cases are going to be the most difficult to fit good quieting components into. Small cases do not have room for a large, quiet CPU heatsink+fan, or for good airflow to cool large heatsinks.
Here are my recommendations for choosing components:
(1) Select a CPU carefully for low power. Research CPUs by how much power they use. That power gets burned off as heat. Select the CPU first, then select a motherboard to match your CPU socket. Consider using the lowest power CPUs in a particular class, like Athlon Mobile processors in desktop systems, the low-power CoreDuo Merom chips, etc.
(2) Select a motherboard with integrated graphics. These are very common in the microATX motherboard sizes. Look for a model with a passive heatsink on the motherboard chipset, rather than one with a tiny (noisy) fan. Your computing needs do not require the graphics horsepower that a gaming rig needs, so take advantage of that and go with integrated graphics, which should easily meet all of your needs. Keeping modern video cards quiet can be challenging, and many of the quietest solutions are also expensive. Therefore, integrated graphics is a great way to meet your goals of low cost and keeping things quiet.
(3) Look for a case large enough to use just one large case fan (typically 120mm) that can be run slowly. This gives you space in your case for a large CPU heatsink with good case airflow, which allows you to slow down the fans and remain quiet. You don't need to go HUGE with a case, something as small as an Antec NSK3300 will hold a microATX board and has a 120mm rear case fan. It's "small" by any standard, and mine fits nicely near the floor at the side of my desk, making it even quieter. Look to SPCRs recommendations. There are several cases by Antec that use a single 120mm case fan.
(4) Look for either a case that comes with a relatively quiet power supply, or spend money on a power supply that is designed for quiet computing. Look to SPCR reviews for good recommendations.
(5) Look for maximum bang-for-buck in a large, quiet CPU heatsink. If you take my advice in 1-4 above, then the largest noisemaker in your system will be your CPU cooler fan. Look at SPCR reviews to find the largest affordable heatsink that will fit your case and CPU, that uses a large, slow, quiet fan for cooling. Thermalright, Zalman, and Scythe offer models that are popular on SPCR, for all common CPUs. Look for motherboards that have case fan headers and BIOS support for actively controlling the CPU and case fan speeds. Read your motherboard manual to learn to configure these. I have several computers that went from very audible to very quiet by enabling active fan control on the motherboard BIOS.
So I think your best bet is going to require that you compromise. I think you will be satisfied by a relatively quiet system, achievable at moderate cost, by avoiding the smallest cases and choosing one that pays attention to airflow in its design, with room for a generously sized CPU heatsink, going with integrated graphics on a motherboard with a low-power CPU, and a quiet power supply.
SPCR reviews are your friend. Use them to help make buying decisions!
Re: Inexpensive, small, silent server/workstation
right..
-what do you consider 'small enough to sit on ur desk'? (mini tower? [ie as Antec NSK3300], smaller MATX? [see the link in my sig] or shuttle style? ['breadbin' style])
-what do u consider inexpensive?
-how much power do u want for this thing? (u use the phrase 'workstation which implies pretty powerfull, yet u want to use the minimum $ which tends the other way) eg. is dual core essential (or more), or will any modern cpu do?
u will not get completely fanless without extensive effort, cost or downgrading of performance.. but u can get fans which u won't hear from ~20cm away much more easily.
-what do you consider 'small enough to sit on ur desk'? (mini tower? [ie as Antec NSK3300], smaller MATX? [see the link in my sig] or shuttle style? ['breadbin' style])
-what do u consider inexpensive?
-how much power do u want for this thing? (u use the phrase 'workstation which implies pretty powerfull, yet u want to use the minimum $ which tends the other way) eg. is dual core essential (or more), or will any modern cpu do?
u will not get completely fanless without extensive effort, cost or downgrading of performance.. but u can get fans which u won't hear from ~20cm away much more easily.
Is this small enough for your desktop? I have a PVR based on a fanless mini-ITX mobo (EN12000E) and this case. It consists of a dual tuner TV card (Hauppauge PVR 500), 7200rpm 3.5" disk and no optical drive. I replaced the noisy dual 40mm case fans with a horizontally & internally mounted 80mm case fan running at very low RPM (controlled by FanMate). It's very quiet. The loudest noise coming from it is the 7200rpm disk drive. Performance wise, it's more than adequate for simultaneous recording of 5 TV programs (including HDTV). It's power consumption is around 37W idle, 41W under full load. It's been running for over a year and it's the most stable system I have at home.
I don't use it for viewing DVDs or videos. SPCR did a review of the mobo and found the video playing performance to be respectable.
I use the 80mm fan to cool the disk and the TV card. If you don't need the TV card, and are using a 2.5" notebook drive, I would think you can even run it completely passively.
[EDIT: fixed link]
I don't use it for viewing DVDs or videos. SPCR did a review of the mobo and found the video playing performance to be respectable.
I use the 80mm fan to cool the disk and the TV card. If you don't need the TV card, and are using a 2.5" notebook drive, I would think you can even run it completely passively.
[EDIT: fixed link]
A common mistake for new folks here is to assume that fans = noise. All fans they have ever seen create lots of noise, so naturally they want to remove them from the system and go fanless. In reality this does not work well execpt in rare instances of extremely low power equipment, or incredibly creative and experience people.
You CAN build a system with fans that you can either never hear, or you will never knowtice over other noises in your room. Fanless systems are best left to people who don't need any speed at all, or have a lot of time and patience on their hands.
Check out the forums, read the articles, and come up with a system you think would suit your needs. Then post it here and we can help you better.
You CAN build a system with fans that you can either never hear, or you will never knowtice over other noises in your room. Fanless systems are best left to people who don't need any speed at all, or have a lot of time and patience on their hands.
Check out the forums, read the articles, and come up with a system you think would suit your needs. Then post it here and we can help you better.