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Audiophile PC - focus on cases - truly silent, low profile, rack mountable?

john61ct said:
HDPLEX is well known for good fanless PSUs

TIL they make cases!


HDPLEX H5 Fanless Chassis

www.tomshardware.com

HDPLEX H5 Fanless Computer Case Review

HDPLEX is widely known within the HTPC and audiophile communities for making premium, fanless computer cases. Can the second generation H5 build on the success of its predecessor?
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com
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I’m pretty happy with my HDPlex. Have had it for about five years. I read the review. Seems the main downside is the purchase price. Did you see other shortcomings?
 
Tom C said:
I’m pretty happy with my HDPlex. Have had it for about five years. I read the review. Seems the main downside is the purchase price. Did you see other shortcomings?
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Not so far, I may consider if I can fit in the H3.

At the big honkin' H5 height I'd be less likely to pay such a big premium unless a windfall came in.

Thanks for the data point!
 
JeffS7444 said:
Firewire: I guess, if you've got a legacy audio interface and the software works on a modern OS?
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Yes, and TBD, if necessary I'll roll back or even go Mac, yuck

...

> I've never used ECC RAM outside of server applications, unaware of any practical benefit here?

I make sure of ECC with all my mobos so any of them can get repurposed into the home lab, mostly for NAS and backup ZFS.

...

> GPU: Dunno that it would help with transcoding. For gaming, consider Steam OS and hardware rather than Windows.


not gaming, but for 10' HTPC use I likely would need to use a PCIe slot to keep the GPU inside the case, and yes also used for transcoding
 
I wonder if I can find a fanless CPU cooler

whether just leaving the mobo on the test bench as open air, helps or hurts compared to closing up the sides as a vertical "chimney"

with a single 180mm fan underneath, or worst case push-pull top and bottom?

I assume with temp sensors only spinning them up when needed, apparently "PWM" is needed to keep the spinning variable, thus low and slow
 
staticV3 said:
Noctua NH-P1

Also matching Noctua fans if you want the lowest noise floor
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So without any fans at all it's noisier?

Can the fans if I get them be controlled to only spin above a certain CPU temp?
 
As a HTPC owner: A semi-passive design is smart IMHO, if you are looking for silence and performance.
With fans that can idle at 0 rpm and starting automatically when the temperature rises above a given threshold.
Will be quiet enough for most, and prolong the service life of components.

My HTPC is passive (Streacom FC10 with heatpipes cooling), being essentially just a player / surfer / streamer, but if I needed transcoding etc., I would opt for semi-passive.
 
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Hopefully this question isn’t too far off topic. What level of video card is needed? Surely not the most powerful, if the aim doesn’t include gaming at the highest level. For movies, the main purpose would be for HDR tone mapping, right? I find the integrated graphics on my HTPC to be quite adequate for 1080P SDR. If you use a monitor that accepts and processes HDR, then you don’t even need a graphics card for that, right (I use a projector myself)? No card, or lower-end card is preferred in this instance, given the need to minimize power consumption and heat generation.
 
It depends - for "basic" tone mapping like HDR to SDR, my aged Ryzen 5 2400G APU does the job, even in UHD.
Linux (Mint 22.3), MPC-QT, or Windows 11 Pro, MPC-BE.
 
Tom C said:
Hopefully this question isn’t too far off topic. What level of video card is needed?
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Other than HTPC usage, absolute minimum.

APU/iGPU would be ideal to save PCIe slots, but apparently blocks ECC support.

Using Mini PCIe slot - x1 lane, usually a WiFi / BT card,

or M.2 NVMe to eGPU is also possible for x4 lanes.

Another possibility, going headless, temporary dGPU for setup / config / maintenance, but normal ops via SSH remote control software.

But for 10' HTPC usage, likely the x4 lanes eGPU path.

Absolutely nothing like in the gaming world.

This is far down on my priorities / project sequence, but yes IF implemented internally would look for low profile, sacrificing performance to get least heat production
 
Sorry to be a little bit late visiting here.
If you would be interested, you can find two of my completely silent (fan-less, spindle-less) audio (and sometimes audio-visual) dedicated Windows PC at the end portion of my lengthy post here #931.
Fig33_WS00007503.JPG


Fig23_WS00007513 (2).JPG
 
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dualazmak said:
Sorry to be a little bit late visiting here.
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No problem, welcome.

You linked to a post without any content about this topic.

Maybe you meant for the whole thread?

Please ideally post links to the relevant cases PSUs etc

or at least link to specific posts, if they don't require wading through 20min worth of other topics.

I have to admit, parsing though the interfaces / DSP stuff in your massive threads has remained on my To-Do list for a long time because they are so daunting
 
john61ct said:
No problem, welcome.

You linked to a post without any content about this topic.

Maybe you meant for the whole thread?

Please ideally post links to the relevant cases PSUs etc

or at least link to specific posts, if they don't require wading through 20min worth of other topics.

I have to admit, parsing though the interfaces / DSP stuff in your massive threads has remained on my To-Do list for a long time because they are so daunting
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Was it not listed in the image at the bottom of the page??
 
john61ct said:
...
Maybe you meant for the whole thread?

Please ideally post links to the relevant cases PSUs etc
Click to expand...
Have you kindly looked two photos/images under the "Spoiler" cover in my above post #33?
If you would like to be done so, I will remove the "Spoiler" cover so that the two photos/images can be seen directly for your eyes. :)
 
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dualazmak said:
If you would like to be done so, I will remove the "Spoiler" cover so that the two photos/images can be seen directly for your eyes. :)
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That's OK, went back and took the time to find them.

Bookmarked for further study another time.
 
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john61ct said:
I am starting to collect the parts to assemble a new-to-me "open DSP" PC, also to sometimes maybe be used as a source - streamer transport / network player, and likely more often as HTPC to delay video if needed for lipsync issues.

Primary focus is applying DSP - per-speaker compensation EQ, bass management / crossovers (FR + phase), one day maybe room compensation EQ

Want to stick to modular not PC-monolithic, remain able to use analog sources and a preamp switcher, likely a Wiim Ultra as source, maybe WAU as power amp(s) but stretching the budget there.

Kids throwing WiFi casting or even BT from phones or to HPs will be a must (yuck)

My son is a gamer, but not going to let that dictate any major changes in my approach.

I will be using rack mount I/O interfaces with lots of channels, so I figure the case form factor should nicely fit on my "audio rack" even if sitting on a shelf rather than actually ear mounted. Google LacksRack for ideas...

Or maybe going into IKEA Kallax based shelving, so keeping under 13" width would be good. Height, lower the better but I may end up using multiple PCIe cards needing external access out the back. That also dictates mATX mobo rather than mini-ITX, so I guess counts out a 2U height .

Aesthetically, maybe looking like an AV unit would be nice, Siverstone used to sell Aluminum Lascala Series

LC19 being too limited (maybe) at just one PCIe riser, but just 9.2L and a slim height under 3"


I really love the built-in 7-inch touchscreen LCD of the SilverStone Lascala LC18, and full-size ATX, but what a behemoth! Not to mention pricey and unobtanium...

Silverstone LaScala LC18: Server Rack with Hi-Fi Allure

Silverstone's LC18 case proves that server enclosures don't have to be ugly. This 19 inch enclosure includes a built-in touch screen, which makes an external monitor unnecessary. This attractive item makes a good impression even in a living room.
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com

Anyway, I'm tired for now

but all suggestions welcome, outside the box whatever.

The mobo/CPU factors related to truly silent - does that mean NO fans? Mobile-on-Desktop?

I think deserves a separate thread

but meantime anyone au fait on this aspect fell free to chime in here, please

TIA

calling @Frank_W
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Reading this makes me really glad I turned my back on that time- and money-consuming madness a long time ago.
Back then, though, I really went overboard with cherry-picked and overclocked processors, whisper-quiet water cooling, and elaborate airflow-optimized cases featuring heat-pipe cooling systems.
I wouldn't put myself through that sort of thing these days.

You can get decent 7-inch HDMI IPS touchscreens for €35–40 now. I use them for things like my 3D printers—they’re really convenient.
 
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