Looking for a suitable case

[Draig]

Hi,

I'm looking for a PC for our living room, and so would like it to be small, quiet and have no flashing lights or large LEDs on the front. It will occasionally be used for gaming such that I don't think the integrated graphics card in your silent spec will be sufficient (though it doesn't need to be top-end by any means). Ideally I'd go for something like the Lian Li PC-Q09FB Mini-ITX case but it isn't clear whether this can hold a dedicated graphics card.

Can you suggest a suitable case and a spec that provides a good compromise between power and noise? I don't need a large amount of storage so I'm considering an SSD drive. The budget is £700-800.

Thanks,
Jon

 

[PCS]

Welcome to our forums

Here's a spec that's small and relatively quiet with no flashing lights:

Case
Thermaltake Element Q Mini-ITX Case + 200W PSU
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3-2120 Dual Core (3.30GHz, 3MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-I: Mini-ITX, LG1155, USB 3.0, SATA 3GBs
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6670 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11
Memory - 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 320 SERIES SSD, SATA 3 Gb/s (upto 270MB/sR | 130MB/sW)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 10 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £599.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-top-spec-mini-pc/

You could reduce the noice further by opting for a less powerful graphics card that uses a heatsink only (no fan) such as a GeForce 210. The case I have selected for you is as follows:

However, please see my thread here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?10437-Quiet-HTPC-amp-gaming-possible - this mini PC uses integrated Radeon graphics but from the video you can see it's absulutely fine for gaming and it's totally fanless. I actually have one of these in my living room, they're very nice!

It can be configured here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-silent-mini-pc/

 

[Draig]

Thanks for the response. I'll consider the silent option. Can you tell me if either of these cases have restrictions about placing things beside or on top of them without risking overheating? The Thermaltake case looks like it only has vents on the sides so something could be placed on top, while the PCS Hush case looks like it may need some space all around it?

 

[PCS]

All cases need ventilation so that the heat can be dissipated. The system inside the Hush case does not get too hot but I would strongly recommend leaving the case with good ventilation. The hotter components gets the more likely they will be to fail and/or cause system instability.

 

[Draig]

Thank you. And one more question: you mention that the GeForce 210 has no fan but it isn't clear when selecting a configuration which graphics card options are fanless and which are not. For example when looking elsewhere I have seen both fan-cooled and passive-cooled versions of the GT430. Do you offer a passive-cooled version of this or any other graphics cards?

 

[PCS]

The only cards we supply that are passively cooled are the Geforce 210 and Radeon HD 6450. The silent AMD Mini PC is well worth considering. This video is not one of our systems, but demonstrates how powerful the Zacate E350 processor is with the HD 6310 graphics:

[video=youtube;ABmWWJSSPWU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABmWWJSSPWU[/video]