Computer help: solid-state computers
solid-state computers
by user470 - 7/10/09 3:29 AMCan anyone tell me who makes/sells solid-state computers (in which I would not hear fan or motor noise) Thank you. user470
Re: solid state computers
by Kees Bakker
- 7/10/09 3:35 AM
In reply to: solid-state computers by user470
The easy answer: quite a few netbooks are still sold with solid state hard disk (8 GB or so). But you might mean a somewhat bigger one?
Then maybe better find your local custom-build computer shop and ask them to make one for you. After all, it's just a question of replacing the one hard disk case with another.
But your graphic card and PSU might still need a fan. In fact, most of the heat that fans carry outside doesn't come from the hard disk but from other sources. And CD/DVD, of course, has a motor that you will hear.
Kees
Kees
Not in the retail chain.
by R. Proffitt - 7/10/09 6:30 AM
In reply to: solid-state computers by user470
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=silent+laptops
While we can cut some noise with SSD (hard drives) most people will put up with laptops and a little noise compared to your average desktop.
If it must be silent you also must know that as the fans go out other noises begin to bother the owner such as keyboards, the CD/DVD drive or even the power supply.
Back to desktop models, there are people who build their own to be silent. The PASSIVE HEAT SINKS are going to be large and visible.
Example at http://thehottestgadgets.com/2008/05/25-computer-case-mods-00432 (thank you Willy for finding that.) Not all there are silent but a few are and give you an idea of what mass you are looking at.
Bob
They stopped making those
by Jimmy Greystone - 7/10/09 6:57 AM In reply to: solid-state computers by user470They stopped making those decades ago, when processors got to be fast enough they needed active cooling. Which was right around the time they hit 100MHz.
There are ways you can greatly reduce noise. Get rid of any optical drives, get a SSD hard drive, or pay extra for a low acoustic drive. You can look into water cooling solutions, where instead of a fan you might have a small pump that keeps the coolant moving. Not silent, but likely quieter than a fan.
I will say that Apple laptops tend to be some of the most silent systems I've ever heard. I don't really know how the new Intel based ones stack up, but I know it was a rare thing to hear the fan start on my old iBook G4. The first time it turned on loud enough for me to hear it, I remember looking all over the place trying to figure out what that sound was, because I had had the laptop for a couple months at that point and it always ran silent except for an unusually loud DVD drive (which is pretty typical of laptops).
You could also try building a desktop using laptop components to reduce the amount of cooling you'd need. You'd give up some performance in doing so, but it's doable.
The long and short of it is, you'll have to be prepared to pay a hefty premium for silent, or near silent, parts. That, or accept some ugly tradeoffs like that giant heatsink Bob posted.
I'm using one now.
by MarkFlax - 7/11/09 2:27 AM
In reply to: solid-state computers by user470
But it is a Desktop with a SSD, Solid State Drive. I assume that is what you mean by Solid State Computers.
Mine is a customized Alienware Area-51 X-58 http://www.alienware.com/products/desktop-computers.aspx
It has liquid cooling, and acoustic dampening. But that does not make it completely noise-free; there are still fans cooling other components.
I feel I am going out on a limb with the SSD, (256GB Raid 0), as they are still not common place and not entirely proven in the market place, and so as back up I also have 2 normal SATA hard drives.
It is a beast, and is not for the faint-hearted. It scares the life out of me! 
It is not cheap.
Mark
Shop TigerDirect
by santuccie - 7/11/09 2:36 AM In reply to: solid-state computers by user470All computers have fans, but SSDs themselves are of course silent. There are still some netbooks with SSDs, but not very many, and the SSDs are not very high in capacity. You'll find a laptop here and there on TigerDirect that uses SSD, but they're more expensive than comparable systems with HDDs.
SSDs are also sold a la carte. If and when I purchase my first SSD, it will probably be an Intel. I'm not quite ready to make the switch, though, as I've read a lot about cells dying off rapidly, and whole drives shipping as lemons or failing within days. I'm waiting for further improvement on wear leveling technologies.
I wouldn't
by Jimmy Greystone - 7/11/09 6:15 AM In reply to: Shop TigerDirect by santuccieI wouldn't buy anything from TigerDirect. Their parent company has been known to get up to some rather fishy things that border on fraud. Like just recently, Dell and TigerDirect were in a bit of a spat because TigerDirect was selling refurb Dell systems and made it seem like Dell was offering a warranty and support contract on them, when it was in fact a third party providing the support. They were also using Dell's trademarked logo without permission in advertisements.
That's all above and beyond them being hugely overpriced compared to almost any other online vendor. The people who are in charge of TigerDirect might well be good people who are just stuck doing what their bosses tell them, or they might be taking the initiative on their own, I don't really know which it is. Either way, it's not a company I would recommend doing business with unless it's the only place that has whatever it is you're looking for.
TigerDirect more expensive?
by santuccie - 7/11/09 1:08 PM In reply to: I wouldn't by Jimmy GreystoneThat's the first I've heard of it, unless you're talking about Ebay or something second-hand. What stores do you shop? If I've been missing out, I'd like to know about it. Thanks.
TigerDirect is OKAY
by winstonh5 - 7/11/09 1:27 PM In reply to: I wouldn't by Jimmy GreystoneContrary to your post, I have been buying from TigerDirect.com for over 5 years without problems. First, I bought all the components that I used to build an awesome tower (desktop) computer for just over $600 which would have run over $1,000 out of the box anywhere else. I have since bought printers, cooling fans, hard drives, flash drives, cables, hubs, etc. as I now live 18 miles from two of their retail stores (Raleigh & Durham, NC). Their prices are very competative. I just returned a new printer that my wife did not want (I already have 2 printers) without questions. However, I would caution against using their repair services as their techs and not expertly trained and there is high turnover at the tech support desks.
Winston H.
Cary, NC
Lucky
by santuccie - 7/11/09 4:11 PM In reply to: TigerDirect is OKAY by winstonh5I wish I lived near a TigerDirect outlet!
A possibility
by 3rdalbum - 7/11/09 3:41 AM In reply to: solid-state computers by user470Okay; here's what you can do.
SSD or flash drive as primary storage
Mini-ITX motherboard with passive-cooled Intel Atom CPU, or VIA Pico-ITX motherboard and take out the fan (it can run passive-cooled).
Get a "pico" PSU, they tend to be powerful enough to run those sorts of low-power systems without needing their own fan.
That combination won't be powerful, but it should be able to run noiselessly. I'm not entirely sure about how well the CPUs will be able to handle running without any airflow whatsoever in a small case; if the CPU or northbridge gets too warm you could consider installing a Noctua fan at the back of the case. Use the included ultra-low-speed adapter and you'll get a little bit of airflow, with virtually no sound at all.
The overall performance of the computer will not be impressive, and the price/performance ratio will be way off. But that's the tradeoff you get for complete silence.
Most heat is caused by solid state ......
by Dango517 - 7/12/09 6:28 AM In reply to: solid-state computers by user470components like the the CPU and GPU.
There are two fans in most systems. The case fan that cools the entire contents of the PC tower/case and the CPU cooler. In some systems that come with modern graphics cards these have coolers as well. Hard drives as a general rule are not cooled directly but can be. RAM replaces real time storage for information in most computers, so more RAM means less heat regarding by hard drive(s)and yes, RAM is also a solid state component(s).
Any system that deals with CPU noise will be a quieter system. CPUs are the primary system component now and will be well into the future that generate heat and noise. Reduce CPU noise first then GPU noise while improving system cooling. It will be some time (five-seven years) before SSDs are major factors in PC over heating and noise problems. In fact heat levels may drop then gradually rise as SSD drives gain in power and capacity. If SSD drives replace RAM as I suspect they will (In five to ten years) then there maybe considerable initial drops in PC heat.
solid state computers
by winstonh5 - 7/12/09 12:35 PM In reply to: solid-state computers by user470Many of the netbooks have solid state memory storage instead of drives with rotating disks. The same is true for MP3 players and Ipods. However, the solid state units don't have the storage capacity of the rotating disks. Most of the netbooks also do not have CD drives having rotating disks also. Talk to a netbook retailer.
Winston H.
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