[mythtv-users] EPIA fan noise ?

[Darryl Okahata]

Stephen Tait <tait at digitallaw.co.uk> wrote:

> There's a quite a few fans that have thermal control diodes built in; if 
> you can find a case that's sympathetic to it, it's relatively simple to 
> chuck and 80mm fan into a case and run it at a permanently low voltage. 
> Zalman make a "fan mate" which is a variable resistor type thing, you can 
> buy "stealth fans" that run at low rpm, or you can rewire one of your molex 
> connectors to run the fan at 7V instead of 12.

     I've never liked the thermal control fans.  If you put the sensors
in a nice warm area, the fan always runs at full speed.  ;-) ;-) ;-)
Good for cooling, but not good for noise.  I like more control.

     Your Zalman and voltage regulator solutions are much better.

     After using an M10000 as a mythtv box (it's still my master
backend), I've come to the conclusion that it was a mistake.

     For me, low power was the biggest consideration, with noise a close
second.  I've since built another box using a 2200+ Athlon XP-M (mobile)
processor, and I think that approach gives a much better trade-off
(assuming that you use a motherboard that'll "happen to work" with an
XP-M, as the XP-M isn't supposed to work with desktop motherboards).
All of these systems are similarly configured (*without* monitor,
measured using a wattmeter and not an ammeter):

        M10000:                                         60-70W
        XP-M:                                           70-90W
        Power-sucking plain old 1.3 GHz Athlon:         ~130W

For only an extra 10-20W, I get a *lot* more CPU power, more PCI slots,
and none of the issues surrounding the M10000.  Also, I can probably
underclock the XP-M and save even more power.

-- 
        Darryl Okahata
        darrylo at soco.agilent.com

DISCLAIMER: this message is the author's personal opinion and does not
constitute the support, opinion, or policy of Agilent Technologies, or
of the little green men that have been following him all day.