CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[VideoGrabber]

WanMan suggested:
> With all this desire for a quiet HTPC why not a) move the unit to a closet or some other room, <

That's not a terrible idea. IR emitters (and RF-to-IR) can cope with the remote unit, and you can locate an optical drive close by, while running a USB cable up to 30' (using a powered extender).

> b) put it into a piece of furniture to muffle the could, <

If you meant "muffle the sound", then yes, but it would likely trap the heat, which would lead to premature death.

> or c) liquid cool it like you were 18 years old again? <

This always seems like a cool idea, but liquid-cooled systems can be fairly elaborate to set up, rather expensive, and once you're done the system itself is nearly silent... except for the external coolant pump and fan!

> I can't be the first person to consider putting a consumer electronics inside a 1-2 cubic foot refrigerator. <

You crazy guy, you. Besides, most refrigerators I'm aware of make a fair amount of noise when they're running, thus defeating the purpose. Do you really want a fridge in your HT, running while a movie is playing?

~~~

I had written:
> One thing I'm happy to see on some ATI spec pages now are heat dissipation stats (16-86 watts for the 5750). That's good info to have. I really wish they listed this important information for ALL their products, but sadly not. <

I decided to shoot an e-mail to their Support group, and asked about power requirements on their older 3400 and 2600 units, not available on their web site. The (quick) response I got back from AMD was rather unexpected...

"The power specifications for the earlier cards is information that is not available to end users at this time. If this policy changes the numbers would be posted online as they are for the newer chipsets."

WTF? We know, but we're not telling. ??? I had no idea it was a secret! I suspect it's available if I were to go digging at TomsHardware or Anandtech.

[Spanky Ham]

I have thought about buying some foambymail to deaden the sound. Some pieces on the sides of the computer should help a lot.

[VideoGrabber]

Spanky,

yes, absorption and diffusion surrounding an HTPC can be quite effective in controlling audibility of whatever noise is generated, as it can be for CRT PJs as well.

[WanMan]

On my original temp theater, I used an HTC solution whereby all of the equipment except the projector was in a closet and a wireless (RF) remote to IR base station provided connectivity. With an XG, though, I imagine it will out-noise most if not all of the equipment.

Besides, got woofer?