[mythtv-users] Advice on Building a Quiet MythTV Box?

[Nicolas Will]

<charles at reptile.ca> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> First, thanks to everyone to responded to my first e-mail:
> http://mythtv.org/pipermail/mythtv-users/2008-November/238792.html
>
> So given people's comments in there, I'm exploring building a MythTV
box myself.
>
> The first thing I'd like a MythTV box (that I would build) to be, is
> to be quiet.  Completely silent if possible.  Does anyone have any
> advice or experience in doing this?

Here is what I have:

http://www.youplala.net/linux/home-theater-pc


      * Thermaltake Mozart SX case - Does not resonate, but cramped. I
        would go with a case that accepts vertical PCI PCIe cards if I
        had to redo it. But now the TV stand has been custom-made around
        this case, so...
      * Seasonic S12II 380 W power supply - 120mm fan with automatic
        speed control, very nice, very quiet
      * Intel DG965WH motherboard - No fan on the chipset, controls case
        fans, controls CPU fan
      * Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 microprocessor - 64 bit, 4 MB cache, 2.66
        MHz, 1066 MHz FSB
      * Zalman CNPS8700 NT CPU cooler - Very nice, controlled by the
        motherboard. Noisier when it spins up, but only on HD content.
      * SilenX iXtrema Pro 80mm 14 dBA 32 CFM fans - No choice with this
        case, I had to go with that size. SilenX stuff is very quiet.
        They are controlled by th motherboard too
      * A-Data memory - 1 GB (2x 512 MB) PC6400 (800 MHz) DDR2
      * Thermaltake PCI-E and PCI riser extenter kit
      * Western Digital Caviar GP WD10EACS 1 TB, 16 MB cache, SATA-II
        hard drive - Very quiet
      * Sony DRU-500a DVD reader/writer - Old, noisy, but nearly never
        used. There is a trick to control its spin rate through
        software, but I never bothered
      * Matrix Orbital VK202-24-USB Intelligent VFD
      * Hauppauge WinTV NOVA-T-500 dual DVB-T tuners PCI Digital
        terresrial TV card
      * KWORLD DVB-S 100 DVB-S tuner PCI Digital satellite TV card
      * PNY nVidia GeForce 7100 GS - 128 MB - PCI Express 16x with
        DVI-HDMI adapter - This one has one of those tiny fans. I'm
        suprised that it did not start to be annoying after more than 1
        year of operations. Will be gone soon anyway

The NVIDIA card was supposed to be temporary until Intel sorted out the
DVI stuff and come up with HW accelleration for HD video decoding. It
looks like the replacement will be a fanless NVIDIA 8400.

The whole thing is very very quiet, nearly silent when it sits there or
when it is playing SD.

The machine is 3m away from my measuring position, the couch.

Fans only spin-up when playing HD, and in my case this is only when
watching a movie, so the volume is turned up and covers the noise from
the PC.

I am very happy about this setup as I cannot stand fan noise after
having spent way too much time in data center rooms.




I have a history of spending time trying to prevent PC noise:

http://www.youplala.net/v/nicolas/computer/newworkstation/shuttle_mod

The chipset 40mm fan was replaced by a massive passive cooler, and the
original system/cpu fan by a 120mm external fan (now a SilenX) that has
been under-volted.

I can only ear the HDD seeking :o)

I also regularly dismantle my laptops to refresh the thermal paste
between the CPU and heat-pipe as modern laptops are more often under
stress as they are under-cooled to keep noise and size down.

Nico