I want to stick a desktop PC into a cabinet that is about 7″ high, 13″ wide, and 24″ deep. I want the computer to be capable of AVCHD video editing and also of driving a standard 30″ LCD monitor with 2560×1600 pixel resolution. After the last big PC discussion, I guess it might be nice to build the thing from a solid state drive.
Dell doesn’t seem to offer anything that is simultaneously cheap, compact, and powerful. HP has the s5580t which a shopping review says is “dead quiet”, does not run hot despite being confined in a cabinet, and is happy living on its side (sadly another customer says it is noisy and hot). It is about $1000 when loaded up with four CPU cores (Intel i7-960), a 1 GB Nvidia GT 220 graphics card, 8 GB of RAM, DVD writer, and a 1 TB hard drive. Plus I can feel good knowing that I am helping HP save up to give their next CEO a $35 million goodbye present after he is caught falsifying expense reports (gawker).
Other ideas?
Building compact PCs yourself is a pain because of the cramped cases. Have a look at the HP Z200, although it will be more expensive. Shuttle’s models are more cubic, but usually quite good and quiet, sadly also quite expensive.
First law of computer shopping:
1. Powerful
2. Compact
3. Cheap
Pick any 2.
Sounds like you are trying to have all three.
If you don’t have the monitor yet and are willing to settle for a 27.5″ of (almost) the same resolution, the computer you are looking for is an iMac. (Your choice of Windows of Mac OS X) Of course, that doesn’t break any laws and is only compact and powerful, not cheap. No need to try and keep it cool locked in a cabinet.
Is a Mac Mini powerful enough?
I just assembled a Shuttle system. It’s about the same specs as you list, except no graphics card and 2TB disk. The Shuttle systems are roughly shoebox shaped, so it would be in normal orientation for you specified shape. It’s pretty quiet. I use it as storage, random little things, and media center.
This replaces a 7-yr old shoebox system that wore out.
For compact PCs, i love Shuttle (http://us.shuttle.com/)…you can buy them as preconfigured systems or you can buy ‘barebones’ — the case, powersupply, motherboard. They have a wide range of configurations available, and specialise in doing silent, cool systems.
Short of getting something like a Mac Mini and running Windows 7 on there (which we do for meeting room computers at work), this is the best solution i can think of.
Hope this helps.
Not sure if a solution exists for what you want, easily, even to build yourself. Cool and quiet tend to be mutually exclusive in most store-bought configurations, since cooling requires fans. This isn’t true in dedicated low-power setups, but for the hardware you’re talking about, you’re above that level. Intel Atom, or Core i3 with built-in crappy graphics, maybe. i7 and a 220, probably not.
The CPU you’re talking about is probably around 75 watts, the graphics card another 100-150, 15 or 20 for the RAM, some more for the motherboard (no idea what motherboards consume these days, with so much functionality put on the CPU die), plus 20% for the inefficiency of most computer power supplies. All that as heat that must be dissipated inside the case somehow.
If you don’t mind a bit of DIY, you can go the water cooling route. Modern water cooling systems are sealed, and don’t require adding coolant over time. You can have the radiators outside the case, say out the back of your cabinet, and then a small fan there.
Janm: Mac Mini? I looked at the tech specs and it can drive 2560×1600 via DisplayPort, but not DVI (they claim that you run HDMI to DVI if you want to drive an old monitor like my 30″ Dell, but their HDMI output is only 1920×1200). It has only two CPU cores (Core2 Duo) so it would be dog-slow for video editing compared to an i7 four-core, no? When you buy it with 8 GB of RAM and a slightly faster CPU and bigger hard drive (though still feeble and tiny compared to the HP), it costs $1500.
Bas: I like the iMac packaging and think that most home PCs should be packaged this way. The 27″ iMac with 8 GB of RAM and the quad-core i7 is $2400. Given that I already own a 30″ display that I’m planning to idle, it seems like a poor value. Finally there is the problem of being perceived as pretentious. The kitchen already has a Viking range and stainless steel-covered Bosch dishwasher (both purchased by previous owner and neither very functional); do I need another brand-name item in a public area that screams “I am an aging yuppie asshole?” Should I get an SUV to park in the driveway to complete the picture?
Shuttle fans: it looks like none of these have anywhere near the zorch of the HP. I guess that is the price you pay for having no fan. It looks as though their J3 model is the only one that comes close to the HP in performance and it looks as though it would cost twice as much. It might well be quieter, but I’m not sure how much noise will come out once the cabinet door is closed.
Multifaceted considerations
Does this cabinet have only front ventilation? Or does it have an open back for ventilation, which can be fairly critical depending on the performance you’re looking for which seems pretty high.
Typical small units (excluding some industrial, custom/expensive home or auto PCs that use conductive cooling to the entire case ) use small fans, that create considerable noise when they have to run up the RPMs to deal with increased component heat .
As for one reviewer saying cool and quiet vs another saying hot and noisy, PCs have become fairly optimized at idle and doing light work, vs performance. Gaming and video editing PCs under load typically see a 40C change in CPU temperatures from idle to max load, so you can see how a casual user might be satisfied with a computer’s thermal and noise profiles, while a power user, trying to play games is experiencing a hot to the touch, buzzing PC that is trying to dissipate the 200 watts of waste heat it is generating.
Building a small form factor PC can be a hassle as dimensional form factors between CPU coolers, Power supplies, optical drives, and cases can conflict, plus the joy of doing your own cable management. (personal experience)
I built an early SFF PC back in 2002 (Shuttle SV24), as a portable flight simulator rig. It used a small 90 watt power supply that gave up the magic smoke after about 22 hours of use. The PSU was specific to the case, and replacements were not readily available due to demand (everyone elses PSUs were dying)
I guess my recommendation for more information is to go over to http://www.newegg.com and look at the HTPC (home theatre PC) cases, they have dimensions and user reviews, often with their configurations referenced.
Frederick: Thanks. That makes sense. If the machine can keep quiet and cool except when I’m rendering a video (in which case I can open the cabinet door; there is no ventilation at all in the cabinet), that would be fine. I guess it would be nice to have the whole thing built on a SSD, but at the same time having 1or 2 TB of scratchpad for video is kind of nice (those tiny cases can’t hold two drives, I don’t think; the HP specs page doesn’t mention anything about room for a second drive).
Separately, my friend Jin wrote me to say “You should just give up on not appearing pretentious. Apple products won’t be the straw that broke the camel’s back for you.” He’s known me for 15 years, so I guess this falls into the “truth hurts” category.
I am on the same problem, needing to replace my desktop.
Some people are telling that I should wait for a couple of month to get a machine with USB 3.0, which will be a big difference.
I like the iMac package, but I am still not sold that it is worth the price; and that there is the issue of future hardware upgrades.
Edsel: There seem to be plenty of motherboards at newegg.com that support USB 3.0, but somehow HP, Dell, et al. are still selling USB 2.0. The iMac tech specs say that it also offers the obsolete USB 2.0.
To get 2560×1600 on the Mac Mini with a non-DisplayPort monitor, you need a mini DisplayPort to dual-link DVI adaptor:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571Z/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY
No need to go via HDMI.
On video editing, it sounds like the answer to my question about whether a Core 2 Duo is fast enough might be “no”. Another approach is the 27 inch iMac with an i7, as one of the other comments suggested. Nothing in the cabinet, and you have a spare 30 inch monitor you can use somewhere else.
If low noise is an important consideration then you might want to look over some of the recommendations from Silent PC Review, which is apparently where the serious silence-heads gather. (I recently bought an Antec Sonata Solo case and an Antec Earthwatts E430 power supply on the recommendation of SPCR and they are indeed impressively quiet by the standards of fan-cooled systems, certainly when the Solo’s case fan is on the low setting. That’s a full-ATX case and PSU, however, so those specific choices won’t suit you.)
I always go to my local “white box” store. Every city seems to have three or four of them. They have a list of standard systems but they build everything to order. I pick one of the standard systems and then customize it. It’s important for me to get a case with good air filters because my environment is dusty. I get two disks in a RAID 1 configuration so I don’t have to worry about a disk crash (not that either of my 2 disks have crashed in the five years I’ve been using them). I have them build the machine but I load and configure the operating system myself.
The store I go to takes pride in knowing and using the highest-quality name-brand components. Other stores specialize in inexpensive components by little-known names (Acer was once one of those little-known names). Both kinds of stores can special-order just about any brand name you want.
I think what you want is impossible unless you are willing to get an all in one like an iMac. I don’t think any computer will last very long with no ventilation in a cabinet. I kill one computer by accidentally leaving the cabinet door closed over night. The computer was idle and there some ventilation from a small hole.
You can get a small htpc case that is cool and quiet but that designed to be cool with slow parts. If you throw a i7 and a graphics card in there and start doing video editing, the little fans will not be able to keep up. It will be loud and hot.
Your best bet is to try to find a case like the Mini P180 but a bit smaller.
I am facing a similar conundrum: small, grunty and silent. BTW, iMacs still have fans, and tiny ones by the look of it. They also have hard-drives at your eye/ear level. They do look great though. But why does the computer have to be in the same room as the user? They should be treated as utilities. One doesn’t stick the water heater in the middle of the living space. You can now run fairly long HDMI and DVI cables. 10-15 meters is not out of the question.
Skip the case! I helped a friend to turn a similar space (it was a long but very short shelf area that we enclosed). Just deep enough for a compact MotherBoard. We mounted everything to the insides of the space, made a hinged front for the shelf with cutouts for ports, made 2 holes in the back and mounted a fan in one, plenty of airflow now. Fun project!