[denz13]

Hi guys,
Just looking for some advice, I currently have a standard tower PC connected to my HDTv running Win7 and XBMC. It works well but the fans on the PC are pretty loud and it doesn't look to great sat next to my tv unit. I don't have enough cash at the moment to get a quieter and smaller PC was wondering what alternatives there are.

Initially I thought maybe I could stick the PC in another room and share the stored media and access through my iPad 3, running xbmc. I'm guessing getting a 10-20m hdmi cable won't produce very good results plus it'll be rather costly.

Any suggestions must be low cost.

[artrafael]

This would probably get more/better responses in the Hardware for XBMC forum.

You can try adding some fan speed controls to reduce the RPMs for your system fans and thus the noise level; however, you need to monitor your system temperatures carefully to be sure you don't slow them down too much and cause the system to overheat. You can replace some/all of the fans with quieter units, but the cost of these may add up to more than you'd want to spend (and more than some of the options below).

Remedial methods to reduce noise are less effective, and may end up being more costly, than having an efficient, low-power system that does not need to utilize massing cooling to begin with. Review the Hardware for XBMC forum for recommendations on low-cost, low-power mini-ITX motherboards/CPUs (some are even fanless). You can install a mini-ITX board in your tower unit and use it there until you've saved up more money to replace the tower with a more compact and attractive case.

Or, you can just put up with the noisy/ugly tower for a bit longer and wait until XBMC for Android goes mainstream and get an inexpensive device such as the Pivos. Totally noiseless and so compact you can easily hide it. If you currently have local media stored on your tower's hard drive, you can redeploy the drive to an external USB HDD case and plug it into the Android device. Pick a fanless HDD case so the only sound you'll hear is the whirring of the disk when it's in use. Just use the Search function to locate the various threads in these forums regarding Android.

[swatbat2142]

Also going to jump in, a couple of things, if you want to go really cheap, then attack the fans (and hopefully yours are 120mm fans). I have these in my system and I forget that my computer is on. This has no LED's, but if you want LED's then just look for them at the same place. They are very quiet and move a lot of air; and pretty cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6835103061

If you want to get a new case so it looks better by your t.v., depends on your current motherboard and tastes. Is it ATX, micro-ATX, etc. There are other cases to look at, just depends on your taste. Example, if you want it seen, do you want it to look like something part of your audio/visual system? Or do you want to fool people like this one I have

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811204039

To me this was pretty cheap, and yes; it is made out of wood, one issue is that you have to buy the LED screen separate (another $40.00). Or do you not care and want a case that can fit upright? Start with letting us know your motherboard type

Then if you just want to just replace it all and get all new, just like artrafael said, great mini's out there. Let us know how much you want to spend, that would help too.

[MassIV]

Hide your computer in some tv furniture?



Use noise isolation?

[jack76]

My set up is my tower is upstairs then a 20 meter Hdmi cable and usb cable with hub that goes under floor boards and comes out down stairs pluged in to a HD tv with wireless keyboard and mouse but most of the time controll it with my phone

[Pivos_BigC]

20M? I have found artifact-free 1080p/60 performance, even on 22ga (very large) shielded HDMI cables to be difficult to achieve at 15M. Are you running some sort of amplifier?

[jack76]

nope soz my mistake 10 meters works great never had a prob with set up

[Diggs]

I haven't tried these myself, but these devices use Cat 5 or Cat 6 to extend HDMI output. I read a few things about them in the hardware forum here and they get very positive reviews.


http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdep...id=1011012

Hope that helps.

[artrafael]

I think that before we spend any more effort coming up with suggestions, we need to hear back from the OP regarding how he defines "low cost". Low-cost for one person may be high-cost for another -- we need a monetary cap on how much he's willing to spend.

[Digital Vortex]

No cost option.. unplug the fans - and if heat becomes an issue.. take a side panel off.

Look in the bios for fan settings.. probably set to Standard, see if there's an option for silent which will slow them down.

[Jetster]

How about something like this. You have a old receiver laying around?

http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1.html