Dell Optiplex running Pentium 3 are very quiet. The local library has a room full of them hooked up to the internet and for basic computer training. I would bet today's Dell Optiplex are just as quiet. No matter what processor they're using.

So what are the cooling secrets of Dell? I don't believe they're using 7volted 80mm fans on their heatsinks? Do they use the Intel retail fans/heatsinks? And Dell always has smaller power supplies than you or I would use. And they're quiet. Dell got feedback and people/businesses want quiet computers. They are so cheap, why waste time and effort building a quiet computer from scratch?

My friend has a new Compaq work station and it's just as quiet, with a Pent 4 2.4Ghz. Only thing he hears are the SCSI drives.

Check out this deal. Sell off the LCD and the free printer and you get a quiet 2Gig Celeron Optiplex for ~$200. I would have to add memory and it would be very adequate for my purposes.
http://www.gotapex.com/deals.php

Dan

Why waste time? Because the performance of a dell computer sucks compared to any other computer.
My Dell optiplex G4 (P4 1.8gig) ran a LOT slower than my Athlon 1700+.

Dell optiplex computers may be quiet compared to other outlets/vendors that sell computers, but remember people here have computers that exceed Dells level of quietness. If you percieve Dell computers to be very quiet, some people here have 'silent' computers.

Dell PSU are far noisier than the best PSU here.
Dell fans make more noise than the undervolted Panaflo fans.
Dell HD makes more noise than the best quiet HD used by some SPCR members, decoupled, enclosed etc.

Although Dell computers are a good choice for people who want relatively quiet computers, anything self build, mods will exceed anything Dell can offer.

Hello:

All the Dell's I have seen are quiet -- they use (AFAICT) thermally controlled NMB fans and ducts. Their cases are quiet -- the low air drag grills are excellent; probably better than wire.

But, they are still Dell's, with all the problems as well as the advantages that that may bring. I have found that there are many things about Dell's that I don't like: they are highly proprietary, sometimes with "split" motherboards, non-standard ATX PS connectors, totally dumbed down BIOS's, and sometimes nearly zero ability to upgrade or add anything to the thing: no extra HD space, maybe one free PCI slot (woo, woo) and both DIMM slots filled. They come with a hidden partition on the HD where they stash Windows, so you will have a hard time installing Windows on a new HD (if that one fails), as well as losing the 4-5GB of space! So your 40GB HD (which is already over rated and may deliver 38-39GB) is knocked down to 32-33GB? Lovely.

There are other things that I don't like either: you are sorta' locked into their support: if they can help you, fine, but they can't always and they tend to fall back on "pat" answers. They don't sell any AMD -- and frankly, I don't like Mr. Dell's politics! So, for me, I'd rather know about my own computer, and not need to call anybody or at least not some poor soul in a phone bank in India...

I know that Dell has excellent ducting. They have a staff of engineers to study and improve airflow. Another staff of engineers to make their computers quiet. Where is your or my staff of engineers? They know how to make silent PCs cheaper. They are not using Zalman and ThermalRight heatsinks.

Thanks for the info on how they cool processors. You state many valid drawbacks to buying Dell. I don't own one, just have two homebuilt ones I want to make more quiet. Plus a silent HP Vectra castoff with 350MhzPent2 (passive, w/ heatsink no fan)/4mb video/192mb ram/Win XP Pro that's great for the internet believe it or not. Even the 4mb of video is OK at 1280x1024 on my LCD monitor.

Sum total is Dell is quiet. For the less demanding person who wants a quiet computer it fits the bill and that's what silent pc review is about.



Dan

dell are quiet
but they go a different way to us, we strive for every lil gain, they will stop when there profits start tobe hit
often there quiet due to cost cutting too
eg less fans etc

relevant Dell threads:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... light=dell
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... light=dell

Dell has some fine products, but I simply enjoy building the PC myself.

I have to agree with the rest- dell has pretty good tech support, they are very quiet, a pretty well designed case, and more. But, you can probably do quieter and faster and cheaper yourself, and, best of all, you get the fun of building the computer. But say, for example, a friend wants a computer, get them a Dell and let Dell handle the tech support. But no self-respecting hardware enthusiast should settle for a pre built computer

Yeah, I think it's purely a matter of choice and annoyance. If you like building computers, then build one. If you don't want to build one and want a pretty quiet computer, then by a Dell. This thread seems bizarrely confrontational to me, for which I can see no reason. Do you like to tinker? Then tinker. Do you want to buy a Dell? Then buy a Dell. There are compelling reasons for both, but calling one or the other dumb is purely a matter of perspective.

Once again I will say, not all dells are equally quiet. I have seen and worked on almost a dozen different dells and they are all different. Most of them have the green duct system, but some dont, and even the ones that do have the duct are sometimes loud and sometimes quiet. Maybe it depends on the processor.

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=airfl ... com&rnum=1
From usenet:
Date: 2002-03-16 09:48:27 PST

Last fall I tried to build a quiet PC, ordering fans and power supply
and stuff from various "quiet PC" vendors. It was not all that darned
quiet, so I was just getting ready to drill through a wall and put the
PC in the next room, when they delivered a new Dell at work - the
darned thing was so quiet I couldn't hear it from a foot away. I
pulled it open and found that they used a ducting system to keep the
airflow right on the hot spots and keep the air volume and noise
waaaaay low.

The Optiplex GX150 is a "managed" PC with a built-in network card,
sold under the Small Business category rather than the Home category.
They're available in the refurb category. The 1 Ghz is the one I've
heard, mine cost about $800, shipped, no monitor.

Dell schematics and specs:

http://support.jp.dell.com/docs/systems ... tm#1130925

http://support.jp.dell.com/docs/systems ... eplace.htm

http://support.jp.dell.com/docs/systems ... /index.htm

http://www.elhvb.com/mboards/intel/dell.html (some links no good)

http://support.ap.dell.com/docs/systems ... prcssr.htm

http://support.ap.dell.com/docs/systems ... prcssr.htm

http://support.ap.dell.com/docs/systems ... /index.htm

http://support.ap.dell.com/docs/systems ... /index.htm

http://support.ap.dell.com/docs/systems/opgx50/en_sma/

I advised my parents on buying a Dell a few years back, a Celeron 900 system. It was a good deal at the time. We now have the HDD sitting on foam in the bottom of the case, and a TT Volcano8 @7v (slim, OEM, Cu bottom inset). You can now hear yourself think in the same room. There was no room for a bigger/better HSF combo, and the stock HSF was a terrible screamer. I know there are better Dells out there, but this one wasn't. There's also only one 5¼" bay, so adding a cheap DVD in with their existing burner is out.

I admit that my advice has limited the expansion (should have got a bigger machine), and that we didn't try to figure out which Dell's were quieter and which were louder, so we got what we paid for.

That deal above sounds almost TGTBT. Are they stolen or something? I'd like to take delivery at that price. But I know I can build a no-corners-cut machine for very cheap, and (with the realatively stable and generic ATX form factor) upgrade and/or repair it later on, with no big hang-ups.

I'll stick with building thanks.

Dells are pretty quiet, but when you mainly just have a CPU and hard drive to cool that's not a whole lot. Since most of those systems use integrated sound/video/lan they have few components inside.

Cooling a system with the hottest CPU, graphics card, and multiple add on cards and hard drives is a little more demanding.