Comments on: Reasonably quiet PCs: Advice?

By: walt

walt — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:42:56 +0000

Thanks. I’ve been reading up (SPCR and elsewhere), and Dell’s heavy use of proprietary parts (including power supplies) is unnerving. In any case, since I’m not a tinkerer (where PC hardware is concerned), I’ll probably just do some ear-to-the-case shopping, and look for a somewhat less powerful, but much less power-consuming, CPU; trying for a Q6600 quad-core was clearly a bad move on my part. (If I’m willing to wait long enough, apparently the next-gen quad-cores, 45nm construction, will be much lower-power, thus not requiring so much fan support.)

As for Linux…well, if/when I determine that I do need a “travel PC,” it’s still very likely to be Linux-based and extremely quiet, mostly because that goes with “very light, very durable, very cheap”–the ASUS eee or whatever competitors come along.

By: Jonathon

Jonathon — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:15:05 +0000

The two Dells my officemate and I have (an Optiplex Gx280 and a Dimension 8400) are mostly quite quiet—but the Dimension’s had issues with its fans, and the powersupply had to be swapped out a few weeks ago. It still rattles occasionally, but generally runs at merely a dull hum now.

Steve Jobs may be an ass, but I’d still rather have his comments than Microsoft’s software. I’ve been running a MacBookPro at home for about a year now, and doubt I’ll go back. If I had time, I’d be looking at getting back into Linux, but it doesn’t sound like you do, either. . . .

By: walt

walt — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:58:55 +0000

I looked at Dell’s site. I don’t see dB ratings there, unfortunately. I also ran into silentpcreview yesterday, but not the forums; I’ll have to take a look. My experience (and that of my wife) from workplace PCs was in the other direction (the Dells were noisier than some others), but that was a while back.

Yeah, I’m beginning to think that my desire for a quad-core is one problem–that they’re automatically going to be noisier. And since I really don’t need that kind of power…

Thanks. I’ll look at the SPCR forums.

By: Seth Finkelstein

Seth Finkelstein — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:03:45 +0000

I’ll third the Dell recommendation. Some of their models are definitely engineered quiet. But it’s important to check which one. Generally the top of the line (now quad-core) is going to be noisy because it dissipates a lot of heat.

You might find some good information in the forums on this site:

http://www.silentpcreview.com

It’s oriented towards hobbyists, but there’s discussion of name-brands too.

By: walt

walt — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:40:38 +0000

Thanks, both. I might look at Dell as a possibility…and I’d thought about media center options as well, although “pay more” does come into play (and this PC will be nowhere near our TV set!). I’m not going to do anything for a week or two, but this is helpful.

By: GeekChic

GeekChic — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:15:35 +0000

I’d second the recommendation for the Dell Optiplex line. My current employer uses two different Optiplex form factors (you’d likely want the tower) and both are quite quiet. Also, buying from Dell’s small business line means that you avoid the occasionally flaky consumer-level support (should you need it). A colleague just purchased one of Dell’s new Vostro desktops (another business-class computer) and calls it similarly quiet.

The only other generalizations I can make are that some manufacturers’ media-center PCs are designed to be quiet as are higher-end gaming PCs. However, you will pay more for the privilege of using both types of computers (a lot more, in some cases).

By: Adam Farkas

Adam Farkas — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:14:20 +0000

Noisy computers drive me insane too. Short of building it yourself, the best thing you can do is buy a Dell.

I say this because:

1) Dell has gotten serious about designing quiet PCs, you can see this when you open them up. Their Optiplex business line is known to be rather quiet and

2) Dell is one of the few manufacturers who lists their noise ratings (in dB) on the product spec sheets, so you can compare before you buy.