I was just thinking that it might be nice to have a page on this site where (say) registered users can post links to pages about their own systems. This would be different than the "Links" page, because registered users could post freely, and it would specifically focus on systems that users here have built.

Similar functionality is sort of implemented in (for example) the "webpage" or "signature" fields in the user profile, but I think having a centralized page to show which users have pages about their systems would encourage users to make such pages. Of course, users are also free to post a message in the forums saying "Come see my system", but again having a dedicated page seems more likely to attract visitors.

It might be difficult to get the forums user database to support a non-forum posting scheme. On the plus side, a user-maintained list of links shouldn't require much administration (or bandwidth) once implemented.

Anyway, the advantage of all this is that users interested in building quiet systems would have a central resource to see what other users have built. It would also help bolster the silent pc community by putting a "face" on the names of the users who post to the gallery.

I posted an idea like this a while ago, but no one replied! Maybe a good idea would be to have a 'sticky' thread at the top of Gen. Discussion? [H]ardforums use this idea. I love to put up pics of mine, but dont have a digi cam!

I going to build a new system shortly and since I have easy accesss to a digicam (my girlfriend has one ) it would be easy to document the whole process. I would gladly post that.

Very good idea, I'm all for it!

No digital camera though, I'll have to either buy one or figure out a different solution alltogether.

An excellent idea!

Although I suppose I'm a bit biased since I already have pictures of my system posted here!

lol rusty, u guys would see my system and go WTF? it's like a ghetto rigged box inside an Al case with a AX-7 and RTV silicon holding the panaflow down onto it, apart from that my system is not spectacular I'm cheap

Maybe we should have a "Who has the ghetto-est system" contest.

Hehe, you would have a hard time beating me in that contest

Makes you wonder... maybe I could 'stage' something extremely ghetto and then post it.

Nah! I'm too lazy.

Would be nice to see other people's contributions though!

Good idea, let's see how we can implement this.

How about a Projects Gallery forum where only projects are posted, no comments. General Discussion could have threads for discussing the various projects. Something along those lines might keep that particular forum cleaner.

I think being able to post comments right next to the pics would be simpler. Flipping back and forth between 2 forums would discourage feedback.

I think pjp's idea to just make a new forum heading is a good idea. I agree with Rusty's point that it would be nice to be able to make comments right there, but it does seem that there should be some mechanism in place to reduce "clutter". There's no use having a dedicated forum for showcasing completed projects if it's filled with off topic posts.

I'm not familiar with the forum system you guys use here, but here are the possibilities that strike me. Some of them are compatible with one another, while others aren't.

* Mods kill off topic posts.
* "New topic" posts require mod approval.
* Sticky thread (or text warning) at top of forum w/ subject "FOR POSTING LINKS TO / PICS OF COMPLETED PROJECTS ONLY" message.
* Self-regulation and good "netizenship".

Please add any other methods you can think of to this list.

Justin, to your ideas I say....


D: All of the Above

Folks --

I see two ways we can do this.

1. Create a new forum, let everyone post and reply there and trust people to keep things on topic.
2. Create a new forum, restrict posting to mods only. Then, for folks who want to post pictures for their rig, they can post in the test forum, PM a moderator and ask it to be moved into the Gallery forum.

Personally, I suggest we start with the first option and, if it proves to be a problem, move to the second model. However, I welcome your input as well.

Either way, I'd like your help in coming up with some posting guidelines. What belongs in this forum? I think we're all agreed that the forum should not contain support requests, off-topic posts, etc. However, can people post text descriptions only or does it need to include pictures? Should replies be allowed to posts? (this is going to be a yes unless there are strong, compelling arguments to the contrary -- IMO, trying to juggle posts and replies to posts between two different forums is darn near impossible.)

If someone wants to take a stab at some draft posting guidelines, we can review and refine them as a group and, once we're reasonably settled on a final version, I'll get the new forum set up.

--kurt

I'll take the 1st model mikeC one problem though is how big is the HDD on the server and will it handle the extra bandwidth

Slightly OT, but Kurt, when is the new server arriving?

<Crossing my fingers>This week</crossing my fingers>

Just to set your expectations, however, once it does get here, it's probably going to go through several weeks of building and (mostly) testing to work out all the bugs. We learned some lessons with the first server that we'd like to avoid learning again.

--kurt

what's the specs of the server kurtL ? this server will have heaps of cooling POWA won't it?

Once we get everything in, built and tested, I'll write up a short article about the new server.

--kurt

Here's what I had in mind for the Gallery without allowing posts. Another site I browse has articles written about various topics. A thread is created in the forums under Article Discussions. This forum allows users to ask questions, etc. The Gallery idea could work very similar, and not be difficult (assuming no phpbb limitations).

Lets say I post a neato-wiz-bang idea with pictures for my setup. I can describe what I did to accomplish this and whatever else might be appropriate. I then post a thread (in General?) about the project where people may followup with questions or comments. In the thread under Gallery, I include a link to the discussion topic.

Otherwise, Gallery threads that I've seen on other sites (without post restrictions) end up being extremely cumbersome. [H] is one example.

I was thinking that one the one hand, some people might prefer to just post a link to their own site with a description of their system. Others might prefer to post a description directly in the forum.

If a poster does choose to post an offsite link, they should include at least a few sentences describing the project.

Whether posting in the forum or elsewhere, I think a "good" description would include the following:
* Full list of components, including:
- Motherboard
- CPU
- Heatsink / Fan
- Memory
- Case
- PSU
- Case Fans
- Hard Drive
- Optical Drives
- Video Card (including HSF, if applicable)
- Any other Expansion Cards
- Any custom modifications or special hardware used in any of the above
* Impressions or measurements of overall system noise
* Measurements of CPU and Case temp from the demo version of SiSoft Sandra, or cpuburn, or other freely available program
* Any special BIOS settings or software used
* What alternative hardware was considered
* General sense of satisfaction with finished system, from performance, noise, and "ease of use/manufacture" standpoints
* Advice to someone thinking of building a similar system
* Pictures! (note that you have to host pictures offsite somewhere)

Things that shouldn't be posted:
* Incomplete systems (ie, if you're waiting to get a Barracuda IV and a Zalman heatpipe for your GeForce, wait until you get it before you post)
* Systems that aren't functional/don't work right (ie, your crazy duct work is ultra quiet, but the CPU temps get so high you can't load your OS)
* If you're a vendor, information/links to systems you sell (if an end user has bought a pre-built system through normal retail channels, maybe they can post, but no commericals!)
* Systems that have nothing to do with quiet / silent computing

Things that definitely should be posted:
* Systems using a novel, custom-made quieting solution
* Systems designed for special purposes that were difficult to perfect (home theater PC, quiet home server, silent office/web browsing system)
* Systems that are cheap, quiet, and powerful

I suppose these guidelines are rather long, but I guess it's better to have them and let people choose to ignore them than not have them and provide no suggestions to well-meaning posters.

As far as allowing replies, I can't see how it would hurt, as even if the replies get off topic, they don't distract from the prominence of the main gallery post. A user that just wants to see what's in the gallery could just use the forum index to navigate from topic to topic ignoring all the replies. Even if there was a runaway thread with a big flamewar or something, the topic view pagination would prevent the replies from being distracting.

Hopefully, us users here at SPCR will be mindful enough not to post junk in that forum, and involved moderation won't be necessary. Maybe there should be an explicit policy that if you post an off topic post on the main gallery page, the moderators are free to either delete your topic or move it to general discussion, as they prefer.

But you still post your pics and description in the Gallery thread yeah? Thats the idea i was thinking of. One thread which is just pics and description (and a link to the discussion thread for each computer) and other threads for discussion of each paricular computer.

This way the Gallery thread acts as a kind of index where you can browse all the projects and then click the link to the discussion thread if you are interested in a particular computer.

Regarding the "Gallery Thread" idea, if I'm understanding this correctly, it would be one thread that contains all sorts of projects in it, each of which has a link off to a separate discussion thread in another forum.

Why not just create an entire forum dedicated to projects? Each new post in the forum would be a new project, and discussions about that project would be posted as replies to the particular thread. To me, this just seems neater and cleaner than trying to manage posts across two different forums.

Also, if someone has seen another site that does something similar to what we're trying to do here, and does it well, please post a link so we can all check it out.

--kurt

Yeah, thats sounds good too. But i thought the original idea was to have one thread so people could just click it and see loads of peoples quiet computers? But i think maybe Kurt's idea would look nice n clean like he said

Yeah, having just thought about it, I think Kurts idea would be pretty good. All the projects together and easily accessible and no problems with anything going OT. This one gets my vote

Kurt's idea also gets my vote.

I'll second that (or is that third?)

Sounds like a plan Kurt

Anantech.com has a pretty elaborate "my system" setup where users can store information on a number of "rigs". I didn't see photos, and I feel that having a "Gallery" or "Showroom" forum would probably better serve what we're after.

The cool thing about the anandtech setup is that they can effectively report statistically what their community is using, hardware wise. I'd imagine that sort of info certainly helps when pitching to sponsors...

Queue

That was my intention.

Except here, I was still advocating a 'discussion' thread seperately.

bit-tech has a Project Logs forum.

Also note, their Article Discussion forum, which is for discussing articles from the main site. This was the premise behind my idea for 'gallery' forum with link to 'discussion thread'. Keeps the projects area clean, but still has an area for the discussion.

my favourite PC database implementation would be the OCAU ones http://pcdb.overclockers.com.au/ this one runs on a dedicated server as well u're going to put a lot of load on the new server if u guy's implement something like this as the dBase grows though