An Alluminium Brief Case PC...

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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murmur2k
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm

Post by murmur2k » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

Hello,
<br>Glad to find a cool site like this.
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<br>Basically I want to build a new PC (top of the range) in an alluminium brief case design in the future. However I want it silent and cooled effectively which I KNOW will be a very hard task to achieve due to the little space (about 18.6 X 13.6" X 5.25"), an atx mobo can be a max 12"x9.6" so there is room for that ok. AGP/PCI cards have a max height of about 11cms so that fits just about. I want an external PSU, to reduce noise and heat (preferably a silent external). I would like a fanless PC so a water cooled or active cooling system is vital. Liquid Nitrogen?? <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">
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<br>Is this actually possible - I thought it would be a cool project.
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<br>oh - pleased to meet you all by the way <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif">
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MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

Welcom to SPCR!
<br>
<br>>>aluminium brief case design?
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<br>Do you mean a real aluminum briefcase?
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<br>It is definitely possible to make it silent -- use heat conduction. Transfer the heat from the CPU & other heat makers via conduction to the outside of the al. case, letting convection take the heat away. One or two quiet 80mm fans strategically placed might also be necessary, but should be essentially inaudible.
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murmur2k
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm

Post by murmur2k » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

Hi thanks for the welcome,
<br>yes i do mean a real suitcase heheh - it is just a fun idea, kinda like a James Bond gadget, I would ofcourse modify the case for connectors, mounting of DVD drive and PCI/aGP card connector access. Inside of this case I would have the mobo, CPU, HD, DVD drive, sound and gfx card so it would be a squeeze to say the least.
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<br>I was thinking of an active cooling system such as water or refrigeration - are they quiet?
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<br>The trouble is that I would want the newest hardware in there which = hot
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<br>cheers
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MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

If you're willing to "waste" a bit of CPU power, underclocking and undervolting can do wonders to cool CPUs down. Each 0.1 volt drop gives you ~1-2C reduction. I have a 1G T-bird (completely unclocked with pencil trick) I run at 665 MHz (133 x 5) at 1.2V. The CPU temp drop is ~10C. Look at the way the <!-- BBCode Start --><A HREF="http://www.calmpc.com/english/product-3calm-e.htm" TARGET="_blank">CALM</A><!-- BBCode End --> systems work -- they're basically using water cooling without a pump. You can do similar using water blocks for both condensopr & evaporators, with some kind of refriegerant liquid (low boiling point). P4s, BTW, are easier to cool because there is larger contact area between CPU core & HS, and there's no danger of heat destruction.
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<br>Just a few ideas.
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murmur2k
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Post by murmur2k » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

I normally stick with ATI due to price and performance.
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<br>In a case of the size i mention, can you see it as possible to make a modern PC work in that environment as fast as it can?
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<br>I do not want to sacrifice any speed for silence. But i want it silent <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">
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<br>And silent I will succeed <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">
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<br>Can you get external PSU's by the way??
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TheTick
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Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm

Post by TheTick » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

>>
<br>>>Can you get external PSU's by the way??
<br>>>
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<br>You can purchase extensions cables and make it external.
<br><!-- BBCode Start --><A HREF="http://www.quietpcusa.com/acb/showdetl. ... 12&CATID=4" TARGET="_blank">ATX Extension</A><!-- BBCode End -->
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<br>And than purchase standard y-splitters for the drives, to act as extension cables. Though they would be very easy to hack and extend with some ?12guage? wire.
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