Silent Mike's Blog

Eco PC Review will examine all the ways in which environmentalism applies to computing. EPCR will have a proactive, user-centric, and practical focus on the ways that the environmental impact of computer proliferation and usage can be minimized. EPCR aims to establish a leadership position in providing environmental information about computers relevant to both individuals and enterprises. We seek exceptional people to fill the following positions: Assistant Editor, Writers, and Hardware Reviewers. Click on read more for details.

It's not our typical news... but worthy of note as it's happening in SPCR's home city: This is the earliest big snowfall I've seen in 25 years of living in Vancouver. Started yesterday afternoon; 20-30cm predicted by the end of today. Disastrous for the homeless and traffic (street and air); great for kids and skiers. It sure makes things quiet. ;)

The residents of this nearby cemetery have a fresh new snowy view of Vancouver's north shore mountains.

Now, on Tuesday, we are apparently "into the deep freeze", have -15°C to -20°C with the wind chill, and another 10cm of snow is expected tomorrow night. Click on read more for more photos

Off-topic Forum discussion link.

Statistically, most small businesses don't make it to five years. I think it's at least partly due to drudgery. SPCR is kind of a small business, and I feel its age more and more. Tasks I used to look forward to with relish now feel like... tasks. One has a sense of soldiering on. But once in a while, a little lift comes along, like this email, with the header "good job!":

hi

i've been into computers most of my life, starting with early sinclairs and commodores (god, these were really silent!)

then PCs came along and made my world a noisy place

then i found your site

thanks to all your expertise, advice, articles, forums and so on and so forth, the noisiest component of my rig is now my... CRT screen! (a new LCD is on its way already)

anyway, i just would like to say that spcr is one mighty fine site, and i know of no other PC-related site that is managed so well, with such passion and devotion, that is so useful and rewarding to visit

your guys rule and kick bxxx and i wish you all the best in your quest to hush the world (isn't the world computers, after all?)

my best regards to you and your team!

patryk bartkiewicz

You're welcome... and thanks, Patryk.

The following discussion has been added as a section to the Power Supply Fundamentals & Recommendations article. It addresses the issue of modern, high efficiency power supplies that sometimes don't work with some modern motherboards.

* * *

Higher efficiency PSUs generally tend to need higher minimum power on the 12V line in order to simply run. Typically, we're talking about 1A or greater. Older, less efficient PSUs have much lower minumum current needs, under 0.5A and often ZERO. Click on Read More... to read more.

When Jeff Atwood built his first HTPC, he "had to turn the volume up to 11 just to drown out the noise." For the next few months, he "immersed [himself] in the world of silent PC enthusiasts [SPCR]."

Jeff says now every PC he builds is "optimized for performance and low noise from the very beginning. Building a high-powered rig that's so quiet your wife can't tell when it's turned on or off -- now that's an accomplishment! It's a bona-fide engineering challenge... In the process, I've learned quite a few things about building quiet PCs. I'd like to share them with you, so you can avoid making the mistakes I did." His short article is an excellent summary of SPCR-esque approaches and techniques. Discuss this article in the SPCR Forums.