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General discussion

Quiet Desktop Computer, Mac Mini?

May 7, 2014 3:00AM PDT

My 7-year old Dell Dimension E521 w/ Windows Vista OS is showing its age. I have done many upgrades through the years to keep it up. I am now planning to get my next home desktop computer.

One of the key requirements is that this computer has to be quiet. The fan noises really annoy me. So the Apple computers are attractive to me in this regard.

I have been a long term Windows user, but I have used Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro at work recently. I like them as well.

I don't play computer games. I use it mainly for Web browsing, MS Word and PPT, as well as a music server for my Logitech players. This music server can run on Apple computers as well.

Please comment on my new choice of Mac Mini as the replacement for my home desktop computer. Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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The iMac is quiet too.
May 7, 2014 3:04AM PDT
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Interesting design
May 7, 2014 3:31AM PDT

Apple is good in the overall system design. I don't see any mass market Windows PC manufacturers put effort like that in their products.

Another option for me is to go with a custom made PC for quiet operations. Do you know anyone that makes quiet PCs that are reliable?

Thanks.

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iMac has a terrible monitor
May 7, 2014 3:37AM PDT

I was thinking to get an iMac because it has more powerful CPU and GPU. However, I don't like its monitor/screen for two reasons:

1. It is reflective. I like matted screen like Dell or Samsung monitors.
2. It seems to optimize for graphics. The text looks blurry to my eyes.

With a Mac Mini, I can use better monitors. Should I be concerned with its CPU and integrated graphic? I can configure a Mac Mini with Intel quad-core i7-3720QM at 2.6GHz. If I don't play video games, will this be sufficient for a few years?

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Given the i7
May 7, 2014 3:41AM PDT

I don't think it will be silent since that's some number of watts. It won't be as noisy as some things but you can hide it under the table.
Bob

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PS. I've seen far worse.
May 7, 2014 3:44AM PDT

Not to debate that but having seen worse...

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Look for a lower power CPU
May 9, 2014 1:13PM PDT

in the box. Also use a PSU that has a thermal controlled fan in it. I use an Antec 80+ type for that and the fan rarely even comes on due to my low demand AMD Sempron 145 CPU. It uses 45W at 100% and idles near 20W if not less. I have no case fan installed, I took it out for something else since the sys fan header on the motherboard never needed to run it. My CPU has a fan, that is thermally controlled by mobo and my PSU has a thermal control fan, and that's it. Here's a video showing what even a low power CPU can do. If you want to run action games though, that's a whole different matter.

If you can, set video to HD or 720p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpMfT_zgVyI

No sound at first, just watch. Also while this was made, a program "recordmydesktop" was recording a 720p copy of it all, so that's 3 video streams running at 720p. For this the CPU fan did come on and the CPU ran up into the 60's C. Not bad however for a single core Sempron.

If not a gamer and want quiet, look for a low power multicore CPU, a dual may be more than enough if all you do is internet and documents most the time.

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That's Cool !
May 9, 2014 1:46PM PDT

But the average everyday consumer doesn't wanna mess around with that .....
They want to by something that works, right out of the box....
I mean Plug it in and it works. No Nonsense!

We , on these forums tend to forget that everyone else isn't retired... Wink

Digger

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Edit
May 9, 2014 1:51PM PDT

by should be buy

Digger

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I ran a search on Ebay
May 10, 2014 4:11AM PDT

There's a lot of system builders there with good prices and still putting windows 7 on the computer. I used the settings offered to exclude all but those with what I'd want in it, had set to NEW only, and still had quite a few choices at good prices in great standard ATX type cases. Many OEM's use BTX (backwards) cases and special OEM motherboards which makes it difficult to upgrade them, especially if motherboard needs replacing.

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quiet and powerful... that is the question
May 10, 2014 1:44PM PDT

Guess I am looking for a computer that is fast/powerful and quiet. I sometimes need to do video conferencing, desktop sharing, Office apps, Skype IM, etc. at the same time. My current 7 year old PC has a AMD Athlon Dual Core 4600+ running at 2.4GHz, which is much more powerful than a AMD Sempron 145. I would like to get a new computer more powerful than that so that it can last a few years.

The Mac Mini can have a quad-core Intel i7 3720QM which is much much much more powerful than my AMD Athlon. I would like to have a new computer that is at least at this CPU level. My question is if there are other computers I should consider that are as fast and quiet as this Mac Mini.

Thanks.

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If you like the Mac Mini that much
May 10, 2014 5:44PM PDT

you should probably get it. Powerful and quiet don't usually go together that much. Heat must be exhausted somehow from the case and those 100-130w processors certainly put out a lot more than low wattage single and dual cores. I have a second computer that is AMD Phenom X4 runs at 95w and I just crank it up when I need something more powerful, otherwise I leave my Linux low power on all the time for internet and email and document uses. It is NOT quiet. For things like Skype, sometimes people think they need a stronger computer when what they actually need is faster broadband. Intel's i7 processors are top of the line for desktop usage now, so you can't go wrong with the hardware.

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My only reservation on Mac Mini is its integrated video
May 12, 2014 8:04AM PDT

It also has no way for expanding the video/graphic capabilities. But guess that is why it is so quiet with limited power inside the box.

Has anyone tried "quiet" PC from companies like AVA Direct or others? Thanks.