Want to build a low heat desktop

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ports394

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Jul 20, 2010
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I currently had a Prescott 3.0 ghz (socket 478) with 1gb of ram being used at a business computer. The pc is just used to record camera feeds from 2 cameras, and place online web site orders.... nothing heavy at all. Dust has been an issue in the office area and has caused several fans to fail.

I'd like to build a new computer with a low heat processor that could handle similar loads as the prescott, but have it be fanless. And I don't want to do water cooling either.

Can you all help me out with picking parts, and ideas.

Thank you.

ports
 
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a fanless pc is not really possible, there must be something there to suck out hot air, in teh case of most quiet pcs the psu fan does this, you will need a 45watt or lower cpu

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-Efficient-Triple-Core-Processor/dp/B002PA7U88/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1279672275&sr=8-8

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-Efficient-Triple-Core-Processor/dp/B002PA7U8I/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1279672388&sr=1-16

a good sized cooler

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RR-910-HTX3-G1-130-Watt-Hyper/dp/B0028Y4S9K/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1279672612&sr=1-4

you can remove the fan on the cooler btw

a nice cheap ddr3 board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%2050001312%20600007943%20600041408&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

this is the foundation, someone else should be along to fill in the blanks
 
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I'm not opposed to having a fan on the cooler for the cpu. I figured that might be necessary. And a case exhaust fan should be fine...

It's the intake fans that bring in the dust and garbage... it's a restaurant environment.. think the case would stay cool enough if there was no intake fan? And just air leaks?
 
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i never use intake fans, i read on a tech site, that intake fans can increase the pressure inside the case and actually make stuff run hotter, i use exhaust fans only, because once hot air gets sucked out, new air must replace it, the way you said fanless, i was using the impression as little fans as possible, well, you can save like 20 bucks and get the plain x2 240 65w and just use the stock cooler
 
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What kind of case do you all suggest?

It's not the noise I'm worried about.. just the build up of dust in the case... I've had to pull out small animal sized chunks of dust that end up in the fan.
 
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The atom dual core 330 (onboard processor and GPU) is powerful enough to match your old CPU. The best part is: It's fanless! If it's only used for some cameras and online delivery orders, this little devil is more than enough.

Another option would be an AMD Sempron 140 (45W TDP) paired with a low powered 740G chipset motherboard. It's still using CPU fan though, but since the heat is very low, an exhaust fan is not required.

Just to make it safe, use a 2 GB RAM. Theoretically, bigger RAM means faster data process. Faster data process means less stress on the CPU. Less stress equals to less heat.

Hope this helps
 
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damasvara, you bring up an interesting idea. I was thinking about just buying an Atom netbook, and screwing it onto the bottom of the desk, and using an external monitor/keyboard/mouse with it. But that'd eventually clog up with dust also... but that could be potentially kept in the cabinet under the desk.
 
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I was actually talking about the desktop version. Or if you prefer, the nettop (a complete package of Atom system with the monitor, keyboard and mouse).

In your case, a DIY Atom setup would be more appropriate. Since it would be more flexible. You can choose the case size, monitor type, pheripherals, and so on.

About the dust, you mentioned about exhaust fans. That would be a good idea. Just put exhaust fans on every air duct available on the case. That would keep the dust away from the case's inside parts. Clean as a whistle
 
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Cool. I looked up the cpu benchmarks, and I can't believe that the ATOM 330 actually has a higher benchmark than my Prescott 3.0E ghz... just amazing.

What kind of case do you recommend for this?

I'd like to have the cameras displayed on a 22" lcd. (Already own this)

thanks

ports
 
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Well, the Zotac mini PC is probably your best bet. But if you're in fact a DIY-kinda-guy, using the dual core atom or the more powerful ION with 2GB RAM and a mini case (all air ducts installed with exhaust fans) is the one to go then.

There are also some specially built Atom case out there with PSU of only 150W (talk about low power!), you'll probably find some info about it over the internet.

Personally, I go for the low powered setup with reasonable performance. That's why I use AMD Athlon as my weapon of choice...lol

It runs quiet and cool, just the way I want it...nice
 
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+1 ^
I think there's a 25watt Athlon, it runs better than Atoms but runs around the same power usage
Click to expand...
I believe the 25 watt setup you're talking about is an undervolted i5 which was reviewed here at Tom's. The lowest power consumer on AMD CPU lineup I think is the Sempron 140 2,7GHz with 45W TDP. On a working minimum setup with undervolting, the power consumption would be around 40W (idle) and 90W (full load), roughly estimating and without the monitor.

The work load description is fairly light. For cameras and internet, an Atom 330 is more than capable of handling them. It's power consumption is lower even when compared with the Sempron. I use Athlon II X2 240, that's why I'm saying this.
 
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If he needs a pc just for monitoring some camera's, than the miniITX seems like the best choice to me. These systems are available is such small cases you can easily hide it behind the monitor.
 
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I think the OP prefers a DIY setup. Either way is a good choice, since both options involves the same platform.
 
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