Help me make a near silent Q6600 machine

[zeek987]

Hey, thanks for at least reading my question, ha.
I am wanting to build a PC for mainly editing HDV video, video encoding, etc, as well as casual gaming (just enough to get by on, no need for top of the line = 8800GTX is just too much money!) However, I travel to another residence about once month for a few days, and I would like to be able to take the PC with me if I choose to. So I was looking at trying to build a shuttle PC, but I have no idea where to begin there (any links, recommended products would help). Finally, the PC will reside in my bedroom, thus I would prefer it to be as quiet as possible.

Basically...
I'm would like to build a new computer with an Intel Q6600 quad core cpu, but I need it to be fairly quiet, mobile, and even relatively cheap! This will be a challenge.

So I figure I'd try to obtain a G0 stepping Q6600 (i figure it runs cooler, thus allowing slower fans, and less noise).
I would love suggestions for quiet, good-value cpu coolers/fans/etc.
----a mobo with a good feature set around $120 (gigabyte boards seem solid)
----the best (or close to it) passively cooled (silent) Gfx card (ex: 8600 of some kind)
----solid, reliable OS and programs drive + a 500GB reliable video and source drive.
----a fast, quick reading SATA DVD burner
----HDTV/TV/FM tuner wouldn't be bad
----if the mobo doesn't have Firewire (its a must), i'll need an add-on card -- would be nice if it had lots of ports (firewire 400 at least, fw 800, even Esata, sata, and EIDE would be nice)

I will be using a Dell 24 inch monitor for the video editing. However, I know that its 1920x1200 rez COULD make gaming require a very high-end gfx card, but as long as I got around 30 FPS in "Age of empires 2" and Duke Nukem 3D, I'll be happy. Kidding, I suppose I will get into pc gaming again, so I could use an old Dell Ultra Sharp 17 inch that I have (sort of a Dual-monitor setup).

I know I'm asking a lot of my future PC, and of you in terms of recommendations, But any help would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully, my question will help someone else out as well.

I look forward to reading and responding to your replies. Thanks!

 

[aevm]

How about this combination:

GA-P35-DS3R, $130
eVGA 8600 GT, it's $99.99 at newegg today, silent, great for HD.
XP Media Center or Vista Home Premium.
Seagate or WD 500 GB SATA drive
Asus DRW-1814BLT burner (it's quiet)
Hauppauge tuner. Don't know their HDTV products, but the PVR-150 does a great job for me on regular cable.

FireWire card, $10 (or more)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&DEPA=0&Description=firewire+card+pci&x=0&y=0
Take your pick. I can't help you with this one, sorry.

 

[Solariscs]

You wont really be able to fine any small mobile cases that support atx boards and all of the P35 boards I believe. You might have to settle for a mid-tower. If you want quiet, the Sonata III would be great, its a little expensive though.

If you have any questions msg me on aim or yahoo, Maximus9102

 

[rwpritchett]

I suggest you check out www.quietpc.com and www.silentpcreview.com.

Just to make some suggestions, do some homework on HTPC's. The components that are popular for HTPC's will always be be most quiet. Here are some popular HTPC brands:

PSU: Seasonic - or any PSU made by Seasonic such as Corsair
HDD: Samsung - they concentrate more on silence that performance
VGA: Any passively cooled (fanless) 8600GT will do, I'm a fan of the Gigabyte models.
Mobo: Look for one that doesn't have a fan on the NB chip. Those fans are among the noisiest in a system. Again, check out Mobo's that are popular with the HDTV crowd. This motherboard has firewire, 2x eSATA, PATA, supports Q6600 etc. and is mATX so you can put it in a SFF case.
HSF: Zalman makes some very quiet setups, but you might be able to get by with a stock HSF with Speedstep/CoolNQuiet enabled.
Case: I've read many people unhappy with Shuttles because of the proprietary components. This SFF case will allow you mobility so you can carry it around, or you can select another case keeping in mind that larger fans are more quiet (120mm) than smaller ones and push more air.
Tuner: Go for a tuner with both ATSC and NTSC inputs. Examples include Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600 & HVR-1800, and the AverMedia M780. I personally have the HVR-1600 and it works great. This site will tell you all you need to know about tuners: http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/ To make the most of any tuner, get either Windows Vista Premium or Windows MCE as both have built in Media Centers for viewing TV content that far surpasses the bundled tuner software.

Well, I hope this helps you in your silent PC quest.