(2012-07-27, 14:03)DigiAl Wrote: Also worth considering is using SSD rather than normal hard drives as they produce lot less heat and therefore require less or no fan.
Yep, that's the plan, two SSDs in RAID 0.
(2012-07-27, 17:00)Dougie Fresh Wrote: Noise is so subjective, it's hard to say without some experimenting. A lot depends on the distance you sit from the HTPC, your environment (cabinet, rugs, room, etc.) even the content you watch (quiet music vs. exploding bass).
I think I'll usually sit like half a meter away, wooden floor. But since I'm going to use it as a regular computer as well, it might play no sound at all for most of the time.
(2012-07-27, 17:03)twelvebore Wrote: Your questions don't really have hard-and-fast answers, and at the end of the day there's no substitute for personal experiementation.
Experimantation would sure help, but I can't really buy 10 fans and return the 9 I don't like, can I ?
Quote:-When a fan is sold as, let's say, 25db, is it a minimum or maximum level ?
First rule of buying fans: all manufacturers noise specs are nonsense. Ignore them.
Those scoundrels !
So based on what should I pick something to buy then ? Is it just the lowest RPM as Mallet21 said ? Are at least the air flow specs legit ?
(2012-07-27, 17:22)SSDD Wrote: Check out the recordings that SPCR does for the different fans to get a better idea.
I didn't know someone recorded fan sounds, cool !
(2012-07-27, 22:01)teaguecl Wrote: (2012-07-27, 17:03)twelvebore Wrote: Quote:-How do the noise levels accumulate ? Are, for example, three 20db fans as noisy as one 60db ?
Two 20dB fans would be 23dB.
This is true, but remember that 23dB is twice as loud as 20dB! So yes, the fan noise is cumulative and 3 20dB fans are three times as loud as a single one (26dB total). Decibels are not linear - a double in loudness is a increase of 3dB. Half the noise is 3dB lower.
Wow, I had no idea it's not linear, you probably saved me from a shitty purchase
I'm 28, I don't hear that bad I hope, except of after a gig
As for motherboard, I am deciding between
ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813131806
and
MSI Z77MA-G45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...0Z77MA-G45
They both have what I want - can they control fan speeds without an additional hardware ?
CPU should be i3-2120T or i5-2390t or i5-2500t - But I can't find the last two anywhere. A 35W CPU should be fine with just passive cooling, right ?