quietest desktop Dell

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I've been looking at the new Dimension, in particular the 5100c and 9100
Pentium D machines. (The 5100c is only offered with Pentium D at the small
business section.) I understand these machines use the new BTX cases. Has
anybody had any real-world experience with one of these? Are the noise
levels acceptable? If not I'll wait until next year for the new dual core
laptops or anything Apple offers after the switch to Intel. Any thoughts?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

> I understand these machines use the new BTX cases. Has anybody had any
> real-world experience with one of these? Are the noise levels
> acceptable?

Not real world experience, but the airflow is supposed to be more
efficient and therefore less noisy than current ATX arrangements

--
Please add "[newsgroup]" in the subject of any personal replies via email
--- My new email address has "ngspamtrap" & @btinternet.com in it ;-) ---

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Gabriel" <gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:vJ8Ae.189125$IO.122197@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
> I've been looking at the new Dimension, in particular the 5100c and 9100
> Pentium D machines. (The 5100c is only offered with Pentium D at the small
> business section.) I understand these machines use the new BTX cases. Has
> anybody had any real-world experience with one of these? Are the noise
> levels acceptable? If not I'll wait until next year for the new dual core
> laptops or anything Apple offers after the switch to Intel. Any thoughts?
>


Very quiet. Perhaps even more quiet than my Dimension 8300 which I find
unusually quiet - (can't tell it's on many times).

The BTX boxes have the (larger w/lower RPM) fans mounted mid-case rather
than mounted to the rear wall of the chassis.

Short of a bad fan, it's going to be quiet.


Stew

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Thanks Stew,

I got my 8200 in late 2001. The performance was (and still is) good, despite
the fact that it uses an ancient 1.8 GHz P4 with just 256K of L2 cache, but
the noise was horrible. Dell replaced the fan with their better MNB model
but the machine remained noisy. I've been stuck with this noisy thing for
almost four years but I promised myself that I would NEVER buy another
desktop system from Dell or anyone else unless it was reasonably quiet. If I
need to get a "desktop replacement" laptop next time I will. As much as I'd
love the smaller form factor of the 5100c, I'd still prefer a large tower if
it's quieter. If Apple can build large, quiet towers and sleek, small, quiet
desktop cases using sizzling hot PowerPC chips, then Dell should be able to
do the same. (On the iMac G5 you can adjust the processor speed to increase
or decrease fan speed. I believe the BTX cases allow the same thing.) And
since Apple is switching to Intel I'll be able to run Windows (and Nero) on
them (plus OS X). The Pentium D is drawing my attention *now* (since the P4
has been such a good processor and I have succesfully tamed XP) but by this
winter the dual core Pentium Ms will be here and those will result in
quieter systems because they require less power and will run cooler.
According to your helpful post you already own or use a PC in a BTX case
(unless you're just assuming that it's quieter than your 8300), so I might
go for it.

Thanks again.

"S.Lewis" <stew1960@mail.com> wrote in message
newsHjAe.69992$du.25590@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
>
> "Gabriel" <gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:vJ8Ae.189125$IO.122197@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>> I've been looking at the new Dimension, in particular the 5100c and 9100
>> Pentium D machines. (The 5100c is only offered with Pentium D at the
>> small business section.) I understand these machines use the new BTX
>> cases. Has anybody had any real-world experience with one of these? Are
>> the noise levels acceptable? If not I'll wait until next year for the new
>> dual core laptops or anything Apple offers after the switch to Intel. Any
>> thoughts?
>>
>
>
> Very quiet. Perhaps even more quiet than my Dimension 8300 which I find
> unusually quiet - (can't tell it's on many times).
>
> The BTX boxes have the (larger w/lower RPM) fans mounted mid-case rather
> than mounted to the rear wall of the chassis.
>
> Short of a bad fan, it's going to be quiet.
>
>
> Stew
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

This may help as alternative to a quieter machine. My older (500 MHz)
Tower is set up as a file server under my desk with 3 other towers (KVM
Switch-4) and a small fan keep them cool. It is still by far the noisiest
and I had sort of grown used to it. One day after reading post about noise,
I thought about it and came up with this solution. I snagged the acoustic
foam from a couple of old speaker boxes the kids had trashed and glued it to
the underside and inner sides of the desk. It insulates me from the noise
as long as I'm using the keyboard and I only notice the noise when I lean
back from the desk. It doesn't solve the problem per say, but it mask the
symptoms.

Two precautions I can see are that you need to make sure you don't push
the case against the foam in such a way that if blocks the fan opening.
Also that you take note of the noise on occasion and note any change that
might warn you of a potential fan failure.

KC

"Gabriel" <gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fVyAe.190232$IO.116329@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
> Thanks Stew,
>
> I got my 8200 in late 2001. The performance was (and still is) good,
despite
> the fact that it uses an ancient 1.8 GHz P4 with just 256K of L2 cache,
but
> the noise was horrible. Dell replaced the fan with their better MNB model
> but the machine remained noisy. I've been stuck with this noisy thing for
> almost four years but I promised myself that I would NEVER buy another
> desktop system from Dell or anyone else unless it was reasonably quiet. If
I
> need to get a "desktop replacement" laptop next time I will. As much as
I'd
> love the smaller form factor of the 5100c, I'd still prefer a large tower
if
> it's quieter. If Apple can build large, quiet towers and sleek, small,
quiet
> desktop cases using sizzling hot PowerPC chips, then Dell should be able
to
> do the same. (On the iMac G5 you can adjust the processor speed to
increase
> or decrease fan speed. I believe the BTX cases allow the same thing.) And
> since Apple is switching to Intel I'll be able to run Windows (and Nero)
on
> them (plus OS X). The Pentium D is drawing my attention *now* (since the
P4
> has been such a good processor and I have succesfully tamed XP) but by
this
> winter the dual core Pentium Ms will be here and those will result in
> quieter systems because they require less power and will run cooler.
> According to your helpful post you already own or use a PC in a BTX case
> (unless you're just assuming that it's quieter than your 8300), so I might
> go for it.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> "S.Lewis" <stew1960@mail.com> wrote in message
> newsHjAe.69992$du.25590@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> >
> > "Gabriel" <gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> > news:vJ8Ae.189125$IO.122197@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
> >> I've been looking at the new Dimension, in particular the 5100c and
9100
> >> Pentium D machines. (The 5100c is only offered with Pentium D at the
> >> small business section.) I understand these machines use the new BTX
> >> cases. Has anybody had any real-world experience with one of these? Are
> >> the noise levels acceptable? If not I'll wait until next year for the
new
> >> dual core laptops or anything Apple offers after the switch to Intel.
Any
> >> thoughts?
> >>
> >
> >
> > Very quiet. Perhaps even more quiet than my Dimension 8300 which I find
> > unusually quiet - (can't tell it's on many times).
> >
> > The BTX boxes have the (larger w/lower RPM) fans mounted mid-case rather
> > than mounted to the rear wall of the chassis.
> >
> > Short of a bad fan, it's going to be quiet.
> >
> >
> > Stew
> >
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Gabriel" <gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fVyAe.190232$IO.116329@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
> Thanks Stew,
>
> I got my 8200 in late 2001. The performance was (and still is) good,
> despite the fact that it uses an ancient 1.8 GHz P4 with just 256K of L2
> cache, but the noise was horrible...

This doesn't sound right. I've worked with Dell Dimensions at my home and
office, and all of the models in recent years have been acceptably quiet.
Additionally, you can muffle them a bit more by positioning them farther
away under the desk, as long as they get good airflow. Between the new 9100
and 5100...as someone has pointed out, the BTX design supposedly allows for
more efficient airflow, which presumably is a good thing for quieter PCs. I
would expect the 5100 to be slightly quieter than the 9100, since it
generally draws less power and so has less heat to dissipate. Of course, if
your budget allows for it, you can go looking for a fanless PC. There are a
few; for example look at the Voodoo Eden.

http://www.voodoopc.com/showroomnext.aspx?lineid=9

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Talkin Horse" <davidrolfen0sp&m@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:dYEAe.6638$8f7.2938@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "Gabriel" <gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:fVyAe.190232$IO.116329@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>> Thanks Stew,
>>
>> I got my 8200 in late 2001. The performance was (and still is) good,
>> despite the fact that it uses an ancient 1.8 GHz P4 with just 256K of L2
>> cache, but the noise was horrible...
>
> This doesn't sound right. I've worked with Dell Dimensions at my home and
> office, and all of the models in recent years have been acceptably quiet.
> Additionally, you can muffle them a bit more by positioning them farther
> away under the desk, as long as they get good airflow. Between the new
> 9100 and 5100...as someone has pointed out, the BTX design supposedly
> allows for more efficient airflow, which presumably is a good thing for
> quieter PCs. I would expect the 5100 to be slightly quieter than the 9100,
> since it generally draws less power and so has less heat to dissipate. Of
> course, if your budget allows for it, you can go looking for a fanless PC.
> There are a few; for example look at the Voodoo Eden.
>
> http://www.voodoopc.com/showroomnext.aspx?lineid=9
>
>

My 4550 sounds like a jet airliner, and that is with the new fan. It is very
frustrating.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
news:0xFAe.190413$IO.9424@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>
> My 4550 sounds like a jet airliner, and that is with the new fan. It is
> very frustrating.

Is that main case fan the source of the noise? There's also the fan in the
power supply, and some video cards have fans. In my experience, under normal
operation, all of these fans are reasonably quiet. You might try to figure
out if one particular fan, I guess other than the fan you replaced, is
causing the sound.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Talkin Horse" <davidrolfen0sp&m@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:9DLAe.4010$BK1.3870@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
> news:0xFAe.190413$IO.9424@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>>
>> My 4550 sounds like a jet airliner, and that is with the new fan. It is
>> very frustrating.
>
> Is that main case fan the source of the noise? There's also the fan in the
> power supply, and some video cards have fans. In my experience, under
> normal operation, all of these fans are reasonably quiet. You might try to
> figure out if one particular fan, I guess other than the fan you replaced,
> is causing the sound.
>
Main case fan. No question. Power supply fan is whisper quiet (although I
have a new power supply just in case). Vide card can replace with an Arctic
cooler. Very quiet.

Tried everything.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
news:VYLAe.190471$IO.106634@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>
> "Talkin Horse" <davidrolfen0sp&m@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:9DLAe.4010$BK1.3870@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
>> news:0xFAe.190413$IO.9424@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>>>
>>> My 4550 sounds like a jet airliner, and that is with the new fan. It is
>>> very frustrating.
>>
>> Is that main case fan the source of the noise? There's also the fan in
>> the power supply, and some video cards have fans. In my experience, under
>> normal operation, all of these fans are reasonably quiet. You might try
>> to figure out if one particular fan, I guess other than the fan you
>> replaced, is causing the sound.
>>
> Main case fan. No question. Power supply fan is whisper quiet (although
> I have a new power supply just in case). Vide card can replace with an
> Arctic cooler. Very quiet.
>
> Tried everything.
>
> Tom
>

Tom -

Not an ambient air temps/circulation problem? Good airflow from room air?
As you know, warm temps will cause the fan to run at high-end RPMs.....

Both our 4500 and 8300 (which has a different assy. part and spec) are
incredibly quiet, but are open to the room.


Stew

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"S.Lewis" <stew1960@mail.com> wrote in message
news:YwRAe.60545$Tt.48459@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
>
> Tom -
>
> Not an ambient air temps/circulation problem? Good airflow from room air?
> As you know, warm temps will cause the fan to run at high-end RPMs.....
>
> Both our 4500 and 8300 (which has a different assy. part and spec) are
> incredibly quiet, but are open to the room.

Yes, I think that's the experience of most people, that the Dells are quiet.
Tom is reporting that his case fan is running at max speed. You've
speculated that maybe the PC is sitting in a hot spot, thus activating the
fan. That's a possibility. On another line, I'm wondering how the fan senses
the temperature? Is this built into the fan itself, or is there a
temperature sensor elsewhere in the case? If the temperature sensor is
independent of the fan, could it be reporting a high temperature in error?
(If it's built into the fan, then it would have been replaced when Tom
replaced the fan, so that's not the problem -- unless he replaced a "smart"
fan with a "dumb" (always on) one.) Or are there any software settings that
affect how the fan reacts to temperature? As an independent question, do
Dell diagnostics (or any other utilities) report temperature readings?

 

[dennis]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I have a new 8400 and it's so quiet I have to check the monitor to see if
it's on. You should be quite satisfied with any of the new systems.

"> business section.) I understand these machines use the new BTX cases. Has
> anybody had any real-world experience with one of these? Are the noise
> levels acceptable? If not I'll wait until next year for the new dual core

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Talkin Horse" <davidrolfen0sp&m@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:vNVAe.4179$BK1.2651@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "S.Lewis" <stew1960@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:YwRAe.60545$Tt.48459@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
>>
>> Tom -
>>
>> Not an ambient air temps/circulation problem? Good airflow from room
>> air? As you know, warm temps will cause the fan to run at high-end
>> RPMs.....
>>
>> Both our 4500 and 8300 (which has a different assy. part and spec) are
>> incredibly quiet, but are open to the room.
>
> Yes, I think that's the experience of most people, that the Dells are
> quiet. Tom is reporting that his case fan is running at max speed. You've
> speculated that maybe the PC is sitting in a hot spot, thus activating the
> fan. That's a possibility. On another line, I'm wondering how the fan
> senses the temperature? Is this built into the fan itself, or is there a
> temperature sensor elsewhere in the case? If the temperature sensor is
> independent of the fan, could it be reporting a high temperature in error?
> (If it's built into the fan, then it would have been replaced when Tom
> replaced the fan, so that's not the problem -- unless he replaced a
> "smart" fan with a "dumb" (always on) one.) Or are there any software
> settings that affect how the fan reacts to temperature? As an independent
> question, do Dell diagnostics (or any other utilities) report temperature
> readings?
>

Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem is
temp and I am going to experiment with location.


Notan: Can you tell me the model of extender you bought and from where?

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
news:61YAe.229446$w15.167331@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>
>
> Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem
> is temp and I am going to experiment with location.

I assume the fan is tightly mounted in place? Obviously a loosely mounted
fan can rattle around.

I dunno. Seems that most of us who have systems that are supposedly similar
aren't having the problem you are. Why should that be, I wonder?

 

[nick]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 12:43:07 GMT, in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell, "Gabriel"
<gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I've been looking at the new Dimension, in particular the 5100c and 9100
>Pentium D machines. (The 5100c is only offered with Pentium D at the small
>business section.) I understand these machines use the new BTX cases. Has
>anybody had any real-world experience with one of these? Are the noise
>levels acceptable? If not I'll wait until next year for the new dual core
>laptops or anything Apple offers after the switch to Intel. Any thoughts?
>

New Dimension XPS 5 here: very quiet. Much quieter than the four year old
Dim. 8100 it replaced, even when running for extended periods with the
temperature in the mid and upper eighties due to broken air conditioning
last week.

--
Nick <mailto:tanstaafl@pobox.com>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Talkin Horse, it depends on the location. Obviously a PC in an office
setting, with other PCs, printers, buzzing cheap fluorescent lights,
staffers typing, etc. will not sound as noisy as one at home. I mentioned
Apple because they do seem to take extra care in making sure their
machines are quiet, with liquid cooling on the PowerMacs and voltage
regulation on the iMac G5, although some Macusers bitch about the noise
from the iMac. If they only knew what I've had to go through. But Dell is
responding with the BTX cases and that's definitely a good thing. I read
somewhere that they are planning on introducing a 'premium' line of PCs
that will be built with quieter components and smaller form factors.
Thanks for your comment above about the 5100c being quieter simply because
it draws less power...that's something I hadn't considered. There is an
"acoustic burden" imposed on the smaller 6.9 liter design, according to
the documents on the Intel BTX site, but that should be counteracted by
low power components like the slim, single optical drive, smaller, slower
hard disks, fanless video cards (which I would prefer even on the tower),
etc. On the other hand, the 12.9 liter design would allow a humungous CPU
heat sink. I'll probably buy, but I think I'll wait for the Pentium D to
go into wider circulation, probably this fall. Take care.

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/p4/btx/



On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 19:11:51 -0400, Talkin Horse
<davidrolfen0sp&m@earthlink.net> wrote:

> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
> news:61YAe.229446$w15.167331@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>>
>>
>> Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem
>> is temp and I am going to experiment with location.
>
> I assume the fan is tightly mounted in place? Obviously a loosely mounted
> fan can rattle around.
>
> I dunno. Seems that most of us who have systems that are supposedly
> similar
> aren't having the problem you are. Why should that be, I wonder?
>
>



--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Talkin Horse" <davidrolfen0sp&m@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:X6YAe.7252$8f7.179@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
> news:61YAe.229446$w15.167331@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>>
>>
>> Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem
>> is temp and I am going to experiment with location.
>
> I assume the fan is tightly mounted in place? Obviously a loosely mounted
> fan can rattle around.
>
> I dunno. Seems that most of us who have systems that are supposedly
> similar aren't having the problem you are. Why should that be, I wonder?
>

It may be what I use it for. It is not only my primary desktop, used
heavily all day every day, but a Media center machine hosting considerable
storage. I suspect some of the problem is air flow and will try moving it.
I suspect a BIG part of it is 3 hard drives. May have to move one or two
out.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Tom Scales wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem is
> temp and I am going to experiment with location.
>
> Notan: Can you tell me the model of extender you bought and from where?

http://avocent.com/web/en.nsf/Content/DDC2050 from http://www.42u.com/

It's *not* inexpensive, but it's *exactly* what I need!

(From what I could find, 42U had *the* best price.)

Notan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Notan wrote:
>
> Tom Scales wrote:
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem is
> > temp and I am going to experiment with location.
> >
> > Notan: Can you tell me the model of extender you bought and from where?
>
> http://avocent.com/web/en.nsf/Content/DDC2050 from http://www.42u.com/
>
> It's *not* inexpensive, but it's *exactly* what I need!
>
> (From what I could find, 42U had *the* best price.)

I forgot... Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Mrs. Scales!

Notan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
news:z2%Ae.192190$IO.129447@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>
> "Talkin Horse" <davidrolfen0sp&m@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:X6YAe.7252$8f7.179@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
>> news:61YAe.229446$w15.167331@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>>>
>>>
>>> Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem
>>> is temp and I am going to experiment with location.
>>
>> I assume the fan is tightly mounted in place? Obviously a loosely mounted
>> fan can rattle around.
>>
>> I dunno. Seems that most of us who have systems that are supposedly
>> similar aren't having the problem you are. Why should that be, I wonder?
>>
>
> It may be what I use it for. It is not only my primary desktop, used
> heavily all day every day, but a Media center machine hosting considerable
> storage. I suspect some of the problem is air flow and will try moving
> it. I suspect a BIG part of it is 3 hard drives. May have to move one or
> two out.
>


Tom,

My 4550 now sits on my work bench replaced by an Optiplex GX280, but when it
was in use here beside my desk in the family room, it had 4 hard drives and
was used for a myriad of things from photo editing and TV watching to
running MS's Virtual Server (I sometimes had 2 or 3 virtual systems going at
the same time.) The system ran very quiet considering the work it was
doing. It's location on the floor gave plenty of ventilation both in front
and behind, however, with two dogs in the house it was a dust collector so
I'd completely clean it out every couple of months or so.

My 4550 is a 2.GHz P4 with 1gig of RAM. It had 4 80+ IDE drives along with
a WinTV card, Modem, and ATA133 IDE controller card in it. My GX280 has a
3.GHz P4 and similar setup as above. Both are very quiet.

Neither have a vid card with a fan. If you have one this very well may be
the source of the noise.
--

Rob

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:QfednYxOiOIZl0jfRVn-rg@giganews.com...

> Neither have a vid card with a fan. If you have one this very well may be
> the source of the noise.
> --
>
> Rob
>
>
OK, it's time to try moving it and see what happens. No fan on the video
card. The room is generally too hot though.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
news:9i8Be.153811$VH2.55443@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
>
> "Robert R Kircher, Jr." <rrkircher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:QfednYxOiOIZl0jfRVn-rg@giganews.com...
>
>> Neither have a vid card with a fan. If you have one this very well may
>> be the source of the noise.
>> --
>>
>> Rob
>>
>>
> OK, it's time to try moving it and see what happens. No fan on the video
> card. The room is generally too hot though.
>


Tom,

I'm also running (2 x 80gb) Seagates in my Dim8300 with a (fanned) Radeon
9700 Pro.

If we all accept the fact that these (hinged) cases don't really breathe
well enough (aside from the 8400 where ventilation was added), then room air
might indeed solve it - or at least help it considerably.

I've actually seen this work on a Dim3000 where the case fan remained at
high RPM simply because of external ambients...


Stew

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Notan" <notan@ddress.com> wrote in message
news:42D51BA2.422F838@ddress.com...
> Tom Scales wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem
>> is
>> temp and I am going to experiment with location.
>>
>> Notan: Can you tell me the model of extender you bought and from where?
>
> http://avocent.com/web/en.nsf/Content/DDC2050 from http://www.42u.com/
>
> It's *not* inexpensive, but it's *exactly* what I need!
>
> (From what I could find, 42U had *the* best price.)
>
> Notan

For that much, I could buy an inexpensive quiet PC and use Remote Desktop!!

Actually, I doubt if any of these products will work, since I have a dual
monitor setup.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Tom Scales wrote:
>
> "Notan" <notan@ddress.com> wrote in message
> news:42D51BA2.422F838@ddress.com...
> > Tom Scales wrote:
> >>
> >> <snip>
> >>
> >> Sadly, it is incredibly loud even not at max speed. Part of the problem
> >> is
> >> temp and I am going to experiment with location.
> >>
> >> Notan: Can you tell me the model of extender you bought and from where?
> >
> > http://avocent.com/web/en.nsf/Content/DDC2050 from http://www.42u.com/
> >
> > It's *not* inexpensive, but it's *exactly* what I need!
> >
> > (From what I could find, 42U had *the* best price.)
> >
> > Notan
>
> For that much, I could buy an inexpensive quiet PC and use Remote Desktop!!
>
> Actually, I doubt if any of these products will work, since I have a dual
> monitor setup.

An inexpensive quiet PC? How about 2 inexpensive quiet PCs!!! <g>

As I said, not only does the unit get rid of the noise, there's *no* heat
coming from it... And on these warm, summer days, that's quite a benefit.

While I'm not trying to sell you one, it *does* have 2 DVI outputs...

See ya!

Notan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Just got a new 9100 with the Pentium D 830 (3.0GHz) Dual Core processor two
days ago. This machine replaced an 8400 with the 650 P4 (3.4GHz) which was
a great performer. The 8400 was very quiet, but the variable fan speeds
with processor load was noticeable, but far from objectionable. My machine
sits on top of the desk at ear level so I'm hyper-aware of the noise levels.
The 9100 is whisper quiet with that massive center mounted fan behind the
front panel. I have put the 9100 through it's paces with some
processor-intensive applications and I cannot detect audible changes in fan
speed with the increased processor load. Both machines use the Radeon
X300SE cards which are fanless. My past experiences have been that the
video cards contribute a great deal to case noise levels. I also think the
new metal case designs that Dell is using more often now contribute to noise
through increased resonance levels.

Have to say I think the 9100 is a marvel of engineering and the BTX form
factor finally adds some organization and sanity to the innards of the
beast. Cables are neatly routed and there are lots of wide open spaces for
unobstructed airflow. Also like the new white-silver-black color
scheme...matches my 700m perfectly ;-) The only criticism I have is the
lack of CD media for restoring the software, OS and drivers. I typically
wipe the hard drives immediately and do a clean install of the OS on my new
machines, mostly to remove the stuff that Dell loads that I don't use or I
just have other software I prefer using instead. I can't fully wipe this
hard drive because I'd remove the restore partition. There is an option to
burn the OS only to a CD, and just once, but they do not make that
application easy to find (it is not listed in the All Programs menu or
marked by a shortcut of any kind. Also not mentioned in the users manual).
I found it by poking around in some of the Dell installed folders on the
hard drive, after doing some Googling and searching on the Dell Community
boards. This application does indeed burn a copy of Windows XP and that's
all (it's not a "restore"-type CD with all applications, etc.) which I
prefer...kind of a purist, I guess. I am going to see if Dell will send me
the CDs anyway since it will just make me feel better. Rather than not
supplying these CDs as a blanket policy, I know that I for one would be
willing to pay a little bit extra to be able to order them with my system if
that were presented as an option.

-Tmax60

"Nick" <tanstaafl@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:eql8d1lln8frhllirmatlas9g7ccpfjdqb@4ax.com...
>
> On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 12:43:07 GMT, in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell, "Gabriel"
> <gabriel@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>I've been looking at the new Dimension, in particular the 5100c and 9100
>>Pentium D machines. (The 5100c is only offered with Pentium D at the small
>>business section.) I understand these machines use the new BTX cases. Has
>>anybody had any real-world experience with one of these? Are the noise
>>levels acceptable? If not I'll wait until next year for the new dual core
>>laptops or anything Apple offers after the switch to Intel. Any thoughts?
>>
>
> New Dimension XPS 5 here: very quiet. Much quieter than the four year old
> Dim. 8100 it replaced, even when running for extended periods with the
> temperature in the mid and upper eighties due to broken air conditioning
> last week.
>
> --
> Nick <mailto:tanstaafl@pobox.com>