[nodata]

I was looking at small silent HTPCs and had almost decided on a Shuttle XS35. I'd read it is fanless and supports 1080p in XBMC - perfect!

Unfortunately it has no optical audio out, and I don't want to route audio over hdmi through my tv and then to a stereo. It also has no gigabit ethernet! A deal breaker.

What's a good alternative to the XS35?

If fanless isn't possible, how quiet is the quietest fan at its loudest?

[eskro]

a good alternative to the XS35 is a custom build,,,

[jompan87]

ASRock ION 330HT-BD


http://www.asrock.com/nettop/overview.as...20330HT-BD 26db with optical audio

[DaGround]

Zbox hd-id11,
its totally silent out of the box! i've build 3 zbox id11 so far and every single one was noiseless! just if you put your ear directly above the case you'll notice something, but like 1m away, nothing!

pros: optical out, looks good, possibilty to customize if you get the barebone, fast enough for xbmc, even aeonskin with linux(as some say in forum)
cons: no "n" wlan

[Herak]

I'm about to get an Asus eee box eb1501p, which has a 1.8GHz Atom and next gen Ion.

[nodata]

Zbox hd-id11 it is! Thanks!