RE: Silent HA PC

["Kenneth Watt" <kwatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> However I insist on running the UnitedDevices anti-cancer client,
which
> effectively means the processor is 100% loaded ALL the time. This
makes
> the
> fan spin at max speed which, while not loud, isn't silent. I replaced
the
> standard fan with a Panflo fan (off eBay) and set the BIOS to run the
fan
> at
> max speed all the time.

This is the problem with what is trying to be achieved here the way I see
it.

I have an Intel P4 2Ghz (512Mb RAM) running HA stuff and a few other little
chores, including CCTV, HV, TTS etc and I would have expected the machine
t=
o
have coped with all that and more. It doesn't!

You would expect that a machine (okay it runs SETI as well) of this power
should easily cope with the load but the more it runs the slower it becomes
eventually needing to be rebooted every few days. I'm still trying to track
down the cause of it which I have a gut feeling is a software issue, not
hardware and I think that the SLIMP3 server software may have been the
cause, of the consistent slowdown.

The other thing to remember when building a "silent" PC is that
just becaus=
e
you dissipate the heat from the CPU and GPU you have still to deal with the
PSU and HDDs and both can give considerable heat. For example in the Cube
case, because the PSU was mounted under the drives it caused some of the
drives to overheat and lock up, dead PC, reboot time. Then, using the likes
of the Zalman case fans or PAPST you have the issue of reduced airflow,
therefore reduced cooling as they do run slower, hence quieter. Which is
fine, until you want performance, which in turn produces heat.

Apart from all that silent PC bits ain't cheap by any stretch a PSU, CPU
cooler and a couple of fans will set you back well over =A3100 to start,
th=
en
you really need an aluminium case etc. the list just goes on.

Intel chips do run cooler that Athlons but initial reports on the new core
is that they run very hot as well, which again means more cooling and more
noise.=20

Water cooling is an option, but that brings a whole other set of issues
lik=
e
space, pump noise and installation hassles. The new Zalman water tower
thin=
g
looks interesting but on test with the new Intel chips it appears to be
merely adequate but on the upside it is virtually silent.

The law I follow is simple;

Performance =3D heat which will increase noise

So the answer is simple, the less you ask it to do the quieter it will, or
can be run. But, as soon as you start asking the machine to perform the
little law above kicks in and you get noisier the more you ask of the
machine.

Oh and don't forget the environment you put the PC in as well, stick in an
enclosed cupboard or room and watch the room temp soar, again leads to heat
issues. This is why I have deliberately avoided the notion of a "Node
0" as
it just puts all the heat in one small space.

But just reading the list of things that the machine discussed was required
to do I couldn't help but think, "good luck with that as it will be
fun". ;=
)

K.