Noise Control Stealth Tower

Ben writes: "I have just reviewed a really innovative case. Noise dampening kits have been available for some time, but I think this is the first solution where the manufacturer has done something to combat the noise coming out of the BACK of the case! With its whisper box, the Noise Control Stealth Tower finally solves this problem" Update: 06/06 21:02 GMT by T : Ben points to this mirror, too.

Alternatives

[delta407]

The alternative to using said "stealth case" is to run a quieter power supply with a cool-running CPU. Such systems are easy to obtain; you could either use an early 486 or unplug your Athlon. Of course, you don't get much processing power either way, but it sure is quiet. You could even use a mirror in full sun; it processes at the speed of light!

Incidentally, I have a Gateway 486 DX2 that has had all of the parts replaced except the case and power supply. It's completely silent; the soft hum from my printer's wall wart is louder. (Makes a great firewall, I might add.)

Noisey Machines

[PMadavi]

Frankly, I take a certain amount of pride that the 3 fans in my box make. I don't know that I would want a noise dampener. I mean, it would be like building a Harley and then putting some kind of ridiculous muffler on it.

Re:Been there...

[dpbsmith]

Yes, Apple finally got it right on the third try. Too bad there were other issues with the Cube.

The original Apple ][, ][+, ][e were convection-cooled and silent. I was used to PDP-11's and such and when I saw my first Apple, I said, "Wow, they must have brilliant thermal engineering." Turned out they had NO thermal engineering. If you put expansion cards in it, it would overheat.

The original 1984 Macintosh was silent, and I loved it. There were no expansion cards, so no expansion card issues. I'm not sure whether the issues related to overheating or not, but there were a LOT of issues relating to the power supply on those early Macs and I'm inclined to think thermal design MAY have been part of the problem.

It's too bad other issues with the Cube (pricing, mostly) may have discredited it. I bought a standard-style G4 instead of a Cube at the time, figuring that, as with laptops, a design with lots of components crammed into a tiny space might be less dependable and more defect-prone than the spacious G4 tower.

But I really miss the silent (not just low-noise) operation of the 1984 Mac and Mac Plus. (All the Apple ]['s I ever worked with had aftermarket fans on them...)