Any reason why no one has mentioned IBM? If you're not going to do it right (built it yourself), I would recommend an IBM. They're not silent, but every bit as quiet as the Dells I've encountered (we've got about 150 Dells here at work, and we stopped using Dell and are now using IBM -- we just got a couple dozen IBMs).

I have a friend that does his homework, and the SFF Optiplex GX260 is the quietest case/cooling design that Dell sells. I know that on the CPU, Dell has gotten rid of the axial fan in favor of a centrifugal blower, built by NMB. The blower sit on top of an Alpha-like heatsink and pulls air out, rather than a configuration like the Noise Control Silverado where the blowers blow down onto the heatsink. Having seen the inside of a Slim Desktop, I know that its power supply also integrates a centrifugal blower. I am not sure whether or not the SFF power supply's fan is centrifugal also. I also know the new SFF Dimensions have a larger blower on the processor (for cooling that big 3.06 GHz CPU). No word, though, on how the SFF dimensions (which are engineered for the home environment) compare noise-wise to the SFF OptiPlexes (which are designed for an office environment where noise is a concern).

That's great. Most of the folks I hung out with never did their homework But what I really wanted to respond to was....

...by referencing MikeC in this thread: Quiet pc as compared to dell...


Hope this isn't too close to cross-posting, but wanted to make sure Dell was accurately represented. And I'm not sure that their SFF case is even the quietest they sell.

How did you figure out it wasn't "all that hot"?

The ongoing saga of Dell experimenting...

The Dell Optiplex GX260 SD (small desktop) and the SMT (small mini tower) have their fans ramp way up when the system is foldin.....er, "stress-tested." I've been playing with a few of these in the IT workroom this week. It is not the annoying fan whine of a Delta screamer, but you can definitely hear the system is running from several meters away. It is a noticable whoosh. The SMT is louder than the SD. It wouldn't bother some folks (then again, Delta's don't bother some folks), but I think it is outside of the target noise range for SPCR.

The GX260 SD that is in my office is generally very quiet--even when I am working in the late evening in an otherwise quiet office area--as long as I am only surfing, emailing, running remote control, or word processing (not CPU-intensive tasks).

maybe i should start a business selling silentpcs and cool gear

well u obviuously need to type faster

Just received my Dimension 8300 P42.6, GF4MX: definitely quiet in most cases:

92 mm JMC-Datech fan 9232-12HBTL-2 fan (as listed on the fans recommended page) in duct as with Optiplex article.

It is almost silent at first boot. For normal desktop stuff like surfing, office stuff, very quiet... at work it's inaudible compared to the background noise. At home, it's whisper quiet until the room heats up (no AC ) past 84F.

Tested with ATI Radeon 9700 Pro and definitely notice its fan versus the JMC.

Fan really ramps up (though not like a Delta or Tornado fan) when case temps approach 40C (experience with Athlon 2500) and does so with the P4 as well. But turn SETI off and it quiets down nicely once the CPU cools off.

I don't know about the rest of you but if you don't mind spending a little extra and don't mind the limited upgrade path (motherboard/PS are a tag team designed for this case), this is about the safest compromise between heat and noise I've seen.

the limited upgrade path would drive me mad :\

Thanks for all your reactions to my original question. In the end, based also on all your feedback, I decided against the Optiplex. The thought of paying a premium for a completely proprietary system that might *still* be too loud for my taste was too much to bear.

Instead, I picked the Asus Pundit SFF system, put together by a local shop/integrator. This is only partly proprietary, and I got much better bang for the buck. Ironically, I find this box still too loud, due to its 1700 rpm minimum fan speed, even at low temp. So now I'm shopping for (a) a suitable Asus Pundit mod or config adjustment and (b) maybe an Optiplex SD after all, because I need two new systems...

Drats! Anyway, thanks for all the help so far...

-zopeka

[quote="zopeka"]Thanks for all your reactions to my original question. In the end, based also on all your feedback, I decided against the Optiplex. The thought of paying a premium for a completely proprietary system that might *still* be too loud for my taste was too much to bear.

Instead, I picked the Asus Pundit SFF system, put together by a local shop/integrator. This is only partly proprietary, and I got much better bang for the buck. Ironically, I find this box still too loud, due to its 1700 rpm minimum fan speed, even at low temp. So now I'm shopping for (a) a suitable Asus Pundit mod or config adjustment and (b) maybe an Optiplex SD after all, because I need two new systems...

Drats! Anyway, thanks for all the help so far...

-zopeka[/quote]

We have all three form factors of that model (GX260) side by side, along with a Dimension 450 and a couple Gateways. The Small Desktop and the Small Form Factor are quieter than the Small Mini Tower, mainly due to the size of the fan on the Small Mini Tower. Though, all three are near dead silent. We had to unplug an LCD projector which has a fan running all the time, just to hear them. They were noticeably quieter than the Gateway E-4000 small form factor cases.

I think you would be hard pressed to build a quieter system then a Dell, without going with drive isolators, fan less heat sinks, etc. Arguments about proprietary components and upgradeability aside.


Good luck,
CRT_Leech