[mythtv-users] Quiet CPU Cooler Recommendations
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com
Fri Jan 26 18:42:18 UTC 2007
On Jan 26, 2007, at 1:01 PM, Kirk Bocek wrote:
> Brian Wood wrote:
>> On Jan 26, 2007, at 10:38 AM, Kirk Bocek wrote:
>>
>>> I need to build a new front-end only box for the bedroom that needs
>>> to be dead
>>> silent. I can figure out everything but the CPU/Cooler.
>>>
>>> Is there a CPU out there that's powerful enough to playback HD
>>> where the
>>> cooler is dead silent? It doesn't need to *record* HD or do
>>> transcoding --
>>> I'll do that elsewhere.
>>
>> Recording HD takes virtually no CPU, you're just moving an MPEG
>> stream to your drive. Transcoding can take some CPU, but if you're
>> not in a hurry it doesn't have to, unless you're trying to do it in
>> real time.
>>
>> Playing back HD can take a lot of CPU, unless you can get some help
>> from the GPU, and that's really just moving the load.
>>
>> De-Interlace can take some CPU as well.
>>
>> Have a look at:
>>
>> http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/silentcpu.html
>>
>> They have "quiet" (not necessarily "silent") coolers for just about
>> any CPU.
>>
>
> Yea, I've visited them before. I'm *hoping* for something totally
> silent. I've
> got a Zalman in the living room box and have gotten the wife used
> to the very
> small amount of noise there. I don't think that I will like even
> that small
> amount of noise in the bedroom.
>
> I'm trying to figure out a silent HD-playback solution for the
> bedroom.
Closest thing without being unreasonably expensive may well be a core
duo mac mini. They've definitely got enough cpu power for hdtv
playback (my wife's core duo imac barely breaks a sweat playing back
hdtv), just not sure about the Intel graphics (imac has radeon x1k-
series graphics). On the possibly unreasonably expensive side,
there's the HushPC... (http://hushpc.co.ku/, they also have US
resellers). Also seen good stuff about the noise levels of the
Shuttle Xen (or something like that). I'll also throw out http://
silentpcreview.com again as a resource... (specifically, http://
www.silentpcreview.com/section7.html which actually refers to
endpcnoise.com as well).
--jarod
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