I agree. Perhaps my tone was slightly too negative. I like the SilenT3, it's just disappointing that it uses a proprietary motherboard design. Something I think most people wil agree with me on is an extremely poor idea for a case that's essentially the same size as a NSK3480 or TJ08. It's excuseable to an extent for shuttles (even though in my opinion they should just use the mini-ITX standard) but there's just no reason to use a weirdo motherboard in a case this size.

On the plus side it's $100 cheaper than the Stealth 100, has a graphics card and a stealthed optical drive. As long as people don't care about proprietary mobo designs it's not a bad choice.

Moogles,

Actually, it is significantly smaller than a standard mATX case. It's slimmer, shorter, shallower. Definitely looks more stylish and smaller than either the Antec or Silverstone you mention. In practical terms, yes, it takes up a similar amount of space, but subjectively, it looks nicer.... to my eyes.

Ralf -- thanks for the sharp eyes.

Theirs no reason they couldn't remake this exact same case except to allow a standard mAtx motherboard. The motherboard they use is the exact same size as a mAtx board, except different mounting to make it incompatible with standard form factor.

Maybe, you've made your point, but that's a decision Asus made. Nothing to do with Anitec.

HD video is not too ambitious goal.
This box is low-middle end and is very far from fulfilling this promise unless you modify it a bit.

I think those are impressive noise numbers. I can not remember any other system down at the 15 dB mark.

Am I correct in that they don't use a case fan? How do they manage to get away with that?

It seems that the PS fan is not engaging at all at these low power draw numbers, so the only sound from the system is the 2.5" HD and the stock fan in the Shuriken. I hadn't realized the Shuriken was that quiet, as it doesn't get much mention on the forums. I believe Scythe lists it at 31 db - was it set to spin the fan slower than normal, since the noise didn't increase under CPU load?

I wonder why they didn't use a HD 4550 instead of a 9400GT? They are comparably priced, sized and both are passive. The HD 4550 draws 40% of the power of the 9400GT (http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1377&pageID=5530), while also outperforming it and offering better image quality?

Overall, a very appealing build from Anitec.

How practical would it to be to juice that system up a bit? e.g., an e8400 cpu, and an ati 4670 (or similar) graphics?

The e8400 is a 65w tdp part just like the e7300, so no problem with that. Our experience with ati4670 shows its thermal envelope is very modest, so this should work fine as well w/a fanless version.

Hi Mike:

I was thinking a similar thing. That SilenT3 looks perfect for me. Although I was thinking of asking them to put in an e5200 ($50 less) and then looking into a fanless 4670.

However, I see there are no fanless 4670's yet, just a fanless HIS 4650 iSilence. I was wondering, do any of these GPU coolers stay silent under low load (surfing the 'net, YouTube, Flash, documents etc...), and then just turn on the fan when loading (gaming)?

I wouldn't mind more noise the 1% of the time I might play a game, since the game is loud, but I really want absolute silence the rest of the time. I just build a system for my kids (Antec Sonata Designer 500 + G31 + e5200 + HIS 4670), and it was way too loud for my room, not what I would call a 'silent' computer by any means. So this build from Anitec appeals to me - I'm surprised it hasn't garnered more discussion here - $525 US (without OS) for a 15 dB C2D machine seems like a fantastic price. Maybe they needed to specify it with a GPU that is popular among the HTPC crowd?

Cheers,

Ian

Really? Was it designed using Intel's TDP numbers or a more realistic TDP for the E7300--the E7300 is no where near a 65W part. I don't think the E8400 is either, but the faster FSB and clockspeed do matter.

It's Intel TDP for both of these parts. My own experiments show they have very close power profiles. I'm running an e8500 on my main pc these days, and its power profile doesn't seem much different either. The Anitec PC will easily handle another 10~15W in there w/o any change in acoustics -- at least not at normal ambient room temps. If you're at the equator in high summer, it might be different.

That matches my experience overclocking an E3110 & E8400. Going from 3.0GHz to 3.6GHz adds only a few watts, if you maintain the Vcore. Bumping the voltage up a couple notches can easily add another 20W under load.

FYI, Anitec just posted a new "landing page" for this system, and the E8400 is listed as an upgrade option.

http://www.anitec.ca/pages/silent3/

I'm sure they're open to other changes, too. (Like if you wanted to turn it into a high performance machine, the surest way to do this would be a bare WD VR in place of the 5400rpm notebook drive.)

I didn't see anyone mention this as an upgrade option, but maybe offer one of the new Raptors sans the "Icepak" or whatever, since the system already uses a 2.5" drive?

After reading the SPCR review of this drive I had to have it.

After stripping off the Icepak and suspending it in my P182 I have been very impressed with its speed and silence.

Of course, the voiding of the warranty by removing the Icepak could be a deterrent for OEM system building.

Just a suggestion.

There is a VR available that comes without the Icepack. WD says it's for enterprise applications. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=494#jump55

Good call.

This should avoid any warranty-voiding.

And what are good options for improved graphics?

Like many casual gamers, i'd like to stay near my current 9600gt performance.

That card would exceed the current system thermal profile enough that the same acoustic performance could not be assured. I feel reasonably confident that a Radeon 4670 could be used with no change in acoustics, but anything higher profile may require another fan to keep cool, so the noise level is likely to go up. If you're willing to accept that, then I'm sure Anitec would be happy to sell you a 4830, which bests the 9600gt. The SilenT3 starts at such a low baseline that the added noise would probably still keep the overall noise very low.

Mike:

Could you comment on the case/design thermals? How do they manage to vent hot air out of there, when the only fan blowing out appears to be pointing downwards over the power supply? How does that manage to move enough hot air out of the case, including CPU air?

Also, is there a specific fanned 4670 model that you believe would not change the overall acoustics (keeping it at 15 dB with cool ambient temps)? So far, I have not found a 4670 that spins down when under low load.

Thanks,

Ian

The heat from the CPU is pushed out via the PSU, which hardly ever ramps up as the amount of heat through it never exceeds 80~90W. The VGA card's heat moves out the holes on the back of the case via convection. Regarding the 4670, I've only ever heard the ATI sample we reviewed, and its fan spun very slowly at idle, and up to 2500rpm under full load testing. We measured only 13 dBA at idle and 16 dBA at full load, from the whole system in the anechoic chamber. It doesn't sound as good as it should have because the fan had some bearing chatter at low speed, and it did sound damaged. So my experience with the one ATI-sourced model does not jibe with yours.

This sounds like a great design for silent computing. Does the Asus T3 have something unique it its design that allows for this? Or are there other cases out there designed around using the ps exhaust to remove all hit air? Or other cases where you believe it would work well? Perhaps I missed it somewhere else, has there been much discussion on this design on the forums?

Thanks again Mike.

I love this silenT3 system by Anitec. It has great performance, small size, and it's very reasonably priced. I'd buy it today if they sold to US customers.

Anitec offers a 4GB memory upgrade, but I've downloaded and read the Asus manual on the barebones system and it says the motherboard accepts 2GB max. Has anybody tried to get 4GB to work in this system?

Does anyone know what make the video card is in the Anitec Stealth? What connectivity/outputs does it offer?

Thanks.

wonder if this thread is checked by mike or someone else from spcr now and then, doesn't seem to be.

i wonder if the t3 system from anitec can accomodate a passive 4670.

Well, Anitec won't/can't customize it with a passive HD4760 or a Quad Core.

Anyway you, MikeC can convince them the addition of a passive (assuming it fits) HiS/Sapphire HD4670 would work?

There's good reason for them not to. Those items are beyond the power envelope of the system, both cooling and noise would suffer.

I'm going to try the Sapphire DDR4 HD4670 (the one with the large supposedly quiet fan) http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products ... =279&grp=3 and see if that works. Didn't you say the thermals would remain consistant a few posts up?

sorry -- got numbers confused -- you typed 4760, and I read it as 4870.

thanks for clarifying. unfortunately, the picture in the spcr review isn't a bird's eye view to see the layout more clearly--is there room for a passive card whose cooler would take the next slot such as the passive His/Sapphire or the Sapphire DDR4 HD4670 with the largish fan?

i'm about to buy the silenT3 but am waiting on your recommendation on which video card to upgrade it with since there seem to be no other reviews of it on the net and you are the only person on the forums who has physically reviewed one.

3 options:
sapphire ddr4: http://www.sapphiretech.com/ca/products ... =279&grp=3
sapphire ultimate: http://www.sapphiretech.com/ca/products ... =280&grp=3
his islience: http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-412.shtml