[aclug-L] Re: January Aclug Meeting?

[Thomas Wallis <wallis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

        I was going to suggest the VIA EPIA boards.  Several of them are
fanless.

        There is a project called LINUX Terminal Server Project (LTSP).
LINUX has Xwindows, which (briefly) is a distributed method of doing
graphics over the network.  Manufacturers used to sell Xterminals to
connect to bigger servers.  For example, an NCD HMX21 was a very small,
fanless computer that had a boot rom, keyboard, mouse, monitor, and
was programmed for networking to a larger host that would give any
Xterminal a login prompt.  In the old days, we had rooms full of these
things.  The servers could sit in a machine room and make all the noise
they wanted (hard drives, fans, etc.) and the Xterminals would be very
quiet.

        LTSP has the capability of turning an old machine (we use Compaq
Deskpro 2000 computers with no HD, no CDROM, no floppy) into Xterminals
(assuming they have fairly decent video cards). Most any LINUX distro has
the capability of serving these Xterminals.  The neat thing is that the
user normally cannot tell the difference between using the Xterminal or
using the server's own keyboard/video/mouse.  The exception to this is
gaming or multimedia.  A home user could set up some fast machine as a
server and put it in the basement or garage where you don't care about
noise, and put an LTSP terminal as your main machine (assuming a good
network between the two).

        As far as low-noise machines, you are on the right track with the
various silent PC sites on the web.  I have used PC Power and Cooling
power supplies (very quiet).  Zalman Flower heatsink/fan combos are also
very quiet.  The hard drives are often noisy as well as the case fans.  I
haven't been able to build a really silent PC yet.  I avoid motherboards
and video cards with those tiny fans.  The little fans usually go bad and
make lots of noise.

                                Hope this helps,

                                Tom W.




On Sun, 9 Jan 2005, Nate Bargmann wrote:

> * michael holmes <aerospaced@xxxxxxx> [2005 Jan 09 00:26 -0600]:
> > Liquid??
>
> Honestly, I've not looked at any of the liquid cooling systems
> available.  But, a couple of things come to mind, either the cooling
> system needs a sufficiently large volume with an adequate heat
> exchanger or we're back to a fan (I doubt my desktop will be doing 70
> MPH anytime soon ;-).  Next item concerns moving the coolant.  Do these
> systems rely on convection?  Somehow I doubt it, so a pump will be
> required.
>
> While such a system may reduce the noise level, it doesn't seem to gain
> much in terms of simplicity.  This is the trade-off I guess--a simpler
> computer is a less capable computer.  Since I'm not a gamer almost any
> mid to low end hardware supported by Linux is fine by me.  I hardly
> compile anything anymore so most of my computer time is web surfing,
> reading email, and doing a bit of office type work in OOo (What a
> pathetic existance!).
>
> Last fall we installed some Dell PCs that are whisper quiet, so turn
> key solutions are out there.  But, I don't care to do business with
> Dell, so I hope some whitebox maker will become more prominent in the
> quiet PC area.  I'm still doing some research via Google, but most of
> the stuff I see are the one-off projects with a VIA mini-ITX board
> stuffed in various enclosures.
>
> I'm going to keep my eyes open and in the mean time I may be able to
> apply to ideas to my current desktop that I've found at Silent PC
> Review.
>
> - Nate >>
>
> --
>  Wireless | Amateur Radio Station N0NB          |  Successfully Microsoft
>   Amateur radio exams; ham radio; Linux info @  | free since January 1998.
>              http://www.qsl.net/n0nb/           |  "Debian, the choice of
>              My Kawasaki KZ-650 SR @            |     a GNU generation!"
>         http://www.networksplus.net/n0nb/       |   http://www.debian.org
>
> -- This is the discussion@xxxxxxxxx list.  To unsubscribe,
> visit http://www.complete.org/cgi-bin/listargate-aclug.cgi
>


Disclaimer: All opinions expressed here are my own and not those of WSU.

EMAIL address:  wallis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx




-- This is the discussion@xxxxxxxxx list.  To unsubscribe,
visit http://www.complete.org/cgi-bin/listargate-aclug.cgi