So what is the consensus right now for the smallest-quietest-fastest PC to buy/build right now?

That breadbox PC looked pretty cool. I've also seen those Shuttle cases.

Is it possible to have a small/silent PC?
Is it possible to go ATX instead of mini-ITX?

Thoughts, suggestions?

Yes, it is possible to go small and silent. Just look at the Via Eden boards for what you can accomplish there.

If you're building it yourself ATX or mini/micro-ATX is easier and usually cheaper than mini-ITX. There are just more options in ATX boards. If you want cheap and silent look at putting a C3 into a Socket370 board. But if you have the cash and want power go for a full size ATX board with either a P4 or an XP and spend some dough on a quality heatsink to cool it quietly.

But if I were to build my idea of the state-of-the-art small/fast/quiet system today it would go something like this:

Shuttle SN41G2 barebone system. NForce2 chipset (the fastest socket A chipset yet) Dual channel DDR, onboard LAN/Dolby surround/Geforce4MX graphics/Firewire/UBS2.0/ etc, etc.....

Pop into that an XP 2700+ or 2800+...

Half a gig or so of latency 2.0 RAM....

Add an ATI 9700Pro (with a Zalman heatpipe replacing the whiny fan, of course).....

A 60Gig Barracuda V.....

I'd replace the fans with something alittle quieter, although its pretty quiet as is.


And there you'd have a fairly small, relatively quiet, yet blazingly fast system.


Of course you could make an even quieter system if you were willing to do some more modding. (Just check out Bladerunner's site for an idea of what's possible) But this system is with all stock off the shelf components with intact warranties. And you could probably built it for under $2000.

Is the shuttle with the Nforce2 chip out yet? If so what is their cooling solution for the nforce chipset?

If you were going to add a graphics card, why bother getting the shuttle with the nforce2, the SK41G has a cooler chipset, the nforce chipset will cost more as well.

rusty gave you a pretty good idea.

bottomline is (as you already know), something fast (for majority of online community) won't be cheap, something cheap won't be fast and usually not silent.

give us your price range. then we should be able to help you lot better.

just going by my scale, your best bet is eden boards or c3 boards. that way, you can build the whole system for under 200 bucks EASILY and you'll have one very usable computer @ ~1ghz.

just be more specific.... there are many tastes in the forum and i'm sure yours is among us as well....

Thanks for the fast replies all. Here's more specifically what I'm looking for. How close can I come?

black/dark grey case. max 8" high and 13" wide

system is going to be in a listening room so absolute silence is the biggest priority. since i assume i am going to be forced into a slow processor i'd rather not invest a lot of money because i envision upgrading every 12 months.

would like to be able to add a high quality audio card with SPDIF output if not already on the motherboard.

thanks

You're right, adding a high end graphics card to an Norce2 board is a bit of overkill, but it would boost 3D gaming performance.

The chipset cooling on the NForce2 boards looks like it'll be passive, just like on the riginal NForce boards.

And no, the NForce2 system isn't out quite yet. Should be within a month or 2.

that's much better.

this is what i suggest:
eden board
sound blaster platinum card (any version from live --> audigy 2 depending on your budget)
maybe a 15" lcd.

good luck to you.