Hi all! I'm looking for a pretty silent and cheap computer. I can't build my own and the very few companies that specialise in making silent computers here in Sweden are charging an arm and a leg. $100 or more for putting the computer together, then $150 or more just for the box about $250-300 and that's just for the box without anything in it!

I heard Dell makes pretty silent computers and I think they're pretty competive pricing even for Sweden.

I'm considering buying the Dell Dimension 2400. Can anyone tell me their experience with it? Is it pretty silent? With silent I don't expect it to be completely silent, but let's say I would have it in my bedroom and want's to sleep would it keep me awake? Would i be annoyed by it while surfing the web? Would it make that kind of noise that people would hear it over the phone while we're talking?

Not sure how to rank "silence" on a scale, but let's say a normal computer is 5-6 on a scale from 1-10 (1 being completely silent) how would you rank Dell Dimension 2400?

I'm thinking of buying it with either Celeron 2400 or pay another $150 and replace it with Intel p4 2400 (not sure if it's worth it)
40 or 80GB harddrive. Inbuilt 4MB Intel 3D AGP.

Thanks for any help on this. I've tried searching for any info on Dell 2400 but haven't found any.

Dell Dimension 2400 priced in Sweden:
Celeron 2400, 256mb ram, 40gb hd, win xp home, free delivery, free gift (creative muvo or a920 all-in-on printer or logitech pocket digital camera) ms works 7.0 = $470

or

same as above but P4 2400mhz, 80gb hd + 48x/24x/48x CD-RW
= $735

I'll probably need a cd-rw, I MIGHT need a bigger HD, not sure about the switch from Celeron 2400 to p4 2400 though (I'll use the PC mostly for business, surfing etc. no gaming)

According to Dell Products Environmental Data Sheets the Dimension 2400 is not very quiet -- 33 dBA at operator position at idle is poor, IMO. The 2400C, on the other hand is much better, just 21.6 dBA at operator position in idle, and 28 dBA with HDD accessing. Pretty good, in fact. No idea what differences are between 2400 and 2400C...

These Environmental Data Sheets are buried strangely far away from actual product pages. You have to follow this path to actually find it one Dell's site: under the "ABOUT DELL" link, then to COMMITMENT >> ENVIRONMENT >> DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENT. Very illogical, IMO. Almost like they don't want anyone to find this info.

The above comments apply to the Dell US site, but I am guessing a similar structure in their other country sites.

Hi Mike, thanks for the info! I would never have found it without you.

According to the sheets:

Dimension 2400 is: Celeron 2.2GHz, 128MB memory, 30GB harddrive, floppy drive and CDRW
idle 32.8db - harddrive 33.5db

Dimension 2400C is: Celeron 2.4GHz, 1MB memory (must be typo, 1GB memory?), 120GB harddrive, modem and a CD-ROM
idle 21.6 - harddrive 28.3

Now I don't know much about building computers, can any of you guys analyze why 2400c is so much more silent than 2400 ? 10db difference is a lot. What in that construction might be different that silence it so much more? Is there a difference between 2.2 and 2.4 Celeron that made them choose another way to build it or what?

I'm clueless here.

And when I check the Dell Dimension 4600, according to the sheet
3,0 GHz p4 processor, 1GB memory, 200gb hd, video card
the stats is:

idle 40.5 db !!! harddrive 40.6 db !!!

now that's not silent by any means so if people claim dell are silents and get one of those systems, they'll be fooled bigtime.

The case is different. Dells are all built different. Ive noticed that the celerons are loud, maybe because they use cheaper cases (and maybe cheaper fans too). My moms 2.4 256mbram, integrated video and audio, 4500series is very quiet. Also they put in whatever harddrives they currently have in stock. Sometimes they are samsung, sometimes they are western digital.

thanks for the info gaminggod. yeah it's not easy to get info from dell. when i asked about their dell dimension systems they told me to get a optiplex instead - it would be more quiet, only it costs 2 times as much (includes extended warranty i dont want, monitor i dont want, shipping not included etc)

hey lightforce, im also thinking about buying a silent computer and i´ve been looking around alittle, i live in stockholm and i only found one shop that specialises in silent computers, thats pyrotech (http://www.pyrotech.se) they have alot of different systems, im thinking about going for the Pyro Office (with some modifications on it), i don´t really know that much about this shop, i´ve been checking prices on their hardware, compared to http://www.datorbutiken.com and they are like 20-25% expensier than them.

maybe this shop is something for you. they give you a 2 year guarentee also.

hmm, if you happen to find a better shop here in sweden maybe you could send me a pm or just answer on this thread, would be appriciated.

from what i´ve heard from here some Dell computers seem to be fairly quiet, but the reason i don´t want to buy from Dell is because they are totally incompetent when it comes support

oj vad långt det blev, hehe

I did a google search in the newsgroups for
Exact phrase "Dell 2400"
Any of these words "noise noisy loud"
Sort option "sort by date"

I got 92 hits. You can read them here

We have had two Dells in the family, both Dimension XPS, both were loud. When I got ready to buy this time, I did a search like I just did for you; I read a post by a guy that had bought the same machine that I was ready to buy, returned three of them because of a loud CPU fan. After 3 he had had enough; he build his own computer. That post got me to thinking and eventually I found this site. Now, I am in the process of building my first computer.

That said, I have a friend that has a Dell 2400, and he is happy with it. He said it is quieter than his old machine.

Hope this helps,
Lilla