[BoxFreak]

I´m also looking for alternative for XS35GT which just isn´t working. I can also build myself. Going to use Live or Openelec, so bossanova´s example-build may be a bit overkill. The enclosure seems interesting, but what mobo etc to use with Live/OE?

[lrusak]

On my A6-PACK I don't hear it at all..... come on over take a listen. Even I am confused if I turned it on or not I have to take a look at the on light on it.

Same here, I have my CPU Fan and My GPU fan. the loudest noise my PC makes is the sound of the relays in the power supply when clicking it on.

It's just not really possible without a fan. Convection beats conduction ten fold. Just having a slight breeze over the heatsinks makes all the difference.

I don't care how good your hearing is there is just no way you can hear a low rpm fan in a silent case from your normal seating position. To each their own I guess

[teaguecl]

I don't care how good your hearing is there is just no way you can hear a low rpm fan in a silent case from your normal seating position. To each their own I guess

I disagree with this statement wholeheartedly - but I don't really think we need to waste any time debating it. Not enough users have an ambient noise meter,and without dB readings any of our subjective statements about noise are pointless.

[waver123]

hmm I might be more tolerant about noise than the other person, but the a6-pack with a shurkein is pretty much dead silence to me unless I get to like <6 inches of the box. I do have a sound meter though I'll post what it says in my computer room

[artrafael]

Although this on-going discussion over the merits of having a fan or not is interesting, it's tangential to what the OP is seeking help with; namely, a system with the stated criteria -- one of them being that it should be fanless. It's his preference.

[bluray]

if price is not an issue, check this site: http://atechfabrication.com/index.htm

OP said he don't mind the price, these sleek and powerful fanless HTPC's should be fine for him then- "HeatSync 1200 Ultra-Slim Case" and "Intel Core i7-3517UE 64 bit dual core 1.7 GHz 17W TDP".......and I like both of them too!

[bluray]

Since you guys concern about HTPC noises in this thread, I decided to retested my theater room with sound meter. I placed a sound meter at the center of seating area (two positions- 9ft and 12ft away from HDTV screen), and here are my tests result (meter don't lie).....

1. Room (with AC running and all home theater components off): 28dBA
2. HTPC on: 28dBA
3. HTPC+AVR+HDTV on: 28dBA
4. HTPC+AVR+HDTV+XBMC+7.2 surround sound+Thor (DTS-HD audio): 75dBA of goodies (1/3 volume).......

I'm using AMD CPU cooler and one 120mm silent case fan, and I selected "Cool N Quiet" option and set fan level to 3 in AsRock bios. As you can see in #3, there is no noise from home theater components at seating area........

[poofyhairguy]

Here is my take on DTS-HD/TrueHD- since most modern AVR's supports DTS-HD/TrueHD, it make sense to match it with bitstreaming HTPC.......

My take:

XBMC can decode Dolby TrueHD into multichannel PCM which means just as good of sound as bitstreaming, and blind tests have shown that the vast majority of people can't tell the difference between the huge core DTS track in DTS-HD and full DTS-HD. Therefore to jump through hoops or to limit your options to get a light to shine on your receiver (with no other direct benefit) is a questionable concept.

---

And to go one step further- if you MUST have DTS-HD quality for your Blu Ray rips then you can decode the DTS-HD to multi-channel PCM when you rip the disk. Lossless audio is lossless audio- you can't do any better no matter the format.

[bluray]

Here is my take on DTS-HD/TrueHD- since most modern AVR's supports DTS-HD/TrueHD, it make sense to match it with bitstreaming HTPC.......

My take:

XBMC can decode Dolby TrueHD into multichannel PCM which means just as good of sound as bitstreaming, and blind tests have shown that the vast majority of people can't tell the difference between the huge core DTS track in DTS-HD and full DTS-HD. Therefore to jump through hoops or to limit your options to get a light to shine on your receiver (with no other direct benefit) is a questionable concept.

---

And to go one step further- if you MUST have DTS-HD quality for your Blu Ray rips then you can decode the DTS-HD to multi-channel PCM when you rip the disk. Lossless audio is lossless audio- you can't do any better no matter the format.

There is no wrong answer on this.....if everything decode the way it designed to do, there shouldn't be any different in AQ. I personally want the more expensive AVR to do this job instead of HTPC......

I think that XBMC is going to the right direction with bitstreaming.....it's available with their XBMC nightly build now........

[poofyhairguy]

There is no wrong answer on this.....if everything decode the way it designed to do, there shouldn't be any different in AQ. I personally want the more expensive AVR to do this job instead of HTPC......

I think that XBMC is going to the right direction with bitstreaming.....it's available with their XBMC nightly build now........

I can see your AVR point. If I had a $2000 AVR I would want it doing the job too as it will add in some special sauce. I don't think it matters for AVRs under the $1k price point though.

And don't get me wrong- I am glad that XBMC can now bitstream HD audio as that is one less checkbox inferior competitors can cling to. I just don't think it is the big deal most people make it out to be, and if I was OP and I really wanted a fanless unit I wouldn't let the lack of bitstreaming hold me back on something like a Shuttle.

[bluray]

And don't get me wrong- I am glad that XBMC can now bitstream HD audio as that is one less checkbox inferior competitors can cling to. I just don't think it is the big deal most people make it out to be, and if I was OP and I really wanted a fanless unit I wouldn't let the lack of bitstreaming hold me back on something like a Shuttle.

I cannot blame him either, because he is willing to pay for the latest and up to date HTPC.....!

[bossanova808]

Although this on-going discussion over the merits of having a fan or not is interesting, it's tangential to what the OP is seeking help with; namely, a system with the stated criteria -- one of them being that it should be fanless. It's his preference.

Agreed - on that note - this is a useful site for following fanless systems development:
http://www.fanlesstech.com/

....clearly even if it's an imaginable bother, it's bothersome enough that there's a growing market for, and interest in, fanless machines.

But bluray - all your test shows is there's no noise above your noise floor, which with AC ON as you state, is probably higher than normal to start. I wouldn't want AC on all the time for my watching either, for the same reason I don't want the fan in the PC. And I repeat - even these fancy fans get worse over time with respect to noise - with dust it's inevitable. My Shuttle, however, is as perfectly silent as the day I bought it several years ago, as is my new silent build. And both of them will, guaranteed, NEVER make an audible noise, no matter what. And they use slightly less power to boot. So - there's really no disadvantage to the silent build other than (only slightly) higher cost. The complete lack of moving parts in the system will probably if anything increase the longevity, as is generally the case with solid state electronics.

Hell, with the A6, in normal use the thing barely gets warm, certainly way less so that the massive hulk of a (also fanless) Denon amp sitting underneath it. And you gotta admit, it looks good, Streacom are doing some really nice work at not very high prices...

[bossanova808]

[
It's just not really possible without a fan. Convection beats conduction ten fold. Just having a slight breeze over the heatsinks makes all the difference.

I don't care how good your hearing is there is just no way you can hear a low rpm fan in a silent case from your normal seating position. To each their own I guess

What's not possible without a fan? These days, quite a bit is possible without a fan. While they don't officially talk about it, Streacom have commented that 95W TDP A8s work well in their cases....even the A6 is already very powerful for XBMC, Aeon Nox is very smooth with it for example, and the new trinity chips like the A10 at 65W or if you want to live on the edge the 95W version, will absolutely fly with XBMC I'm sure. And trinity + 1 is reputedly less than a year out, which will also have 65/95W version of course, so it's really hard to see from an XBMC perspective what you can't do with a machine with passive cooling these days.

I'm not, BTW, claiming to have super ears, it's just that my house at night, with kids in bed, is completely silent - we live in the 'burbs next to a park basically, and you can't hear a thing usually - it's pin drop silence. I sit @ 3 metres (= 9ft I guess) from a 50 inch screen. No AC, no nothing. I often watch with subs so I won't disturb my wife (currently recovering from brain surgery), or my young kids. And in this environment, I have tried with fans, but there's still a hum. It's not wildly offensive, or high pitched or anything, but it's there. And I personally wanted it not to be there....so I made it so.

As you say, to each their own. One nitpcik - you mean heat transfer by convection. Convection itself is really just molecular movement. Pet peeve, although yours is definitely the popular usage.

[bluray]

I wouldn't want AC on all the time for my watching either, for the same reason I don't want the fan in the PC.

You'll not enjoy your movie withou AC out here, because you'll sweat to death..............it's 110 degrees and it'll be 115 degrees in a couple weeks......

[bossanova808]

Yeah it's winter here so it's easy for me In summer I have to admit, when it's reached up to 118 (47.8 C) here - the AC was definitely cranking. But you know, green and all that, we try and avoid it where we can.