[waja]

I am in the process of upgrading my HTPC and my number 1 goal is to make it quieter. Currently, only the Zalman CNPS6500A-Cu CPU HSF works in the quiet range. My short list for noiseless additions are:


Zalman ZM80-HP VGA Cooler ~$30US.

Nexus NX-3000 300W Power Supply ~$75US.

Seagate Barracuda IV 40G Hard drive ~$72US.


The only place I am having a problem is the DVD drive. I cannot find any specifications as to how loud a DVD drive will be when playing a DVD at normal speed. So for DVD drive choices, I can only go by the general postings that indicate the two leading drives are:


Toshiba SD-M1202 ~$92US.

Pioneer DVD-120 ~45US.


At the extreme end, I found

SilentMaxx PCS-350 (Fanless) 350W Power Supply ~$245US

Smart Drive 2002 Hard Disk Enclosure ~$85US


So back to the DVD-ROM drives, it would be nice to know how quiet, quiet is. How far from your HTPC do you need to stand before you cannot tell if it is on or off? The furthest point that I can get away from my system is 20 feet (line of sight), and I can still hear it loud and clear. I currently have a Toshiba SD-M1502. Can anyone not hear their HTPC 20 feet away?


Rick

 

[SIMJEDI]

Some people will tell you that they can hear it and some will tell you that they can't it all depends on the variables of what their HTPC is made up of.


But as to a quiet DVD drive I have a slot loader Pioneer-106 that I got from Digital Conection with the slowdown utility and I can barely hear it from 4ft away. The loudest it gets is when I insert a disc for about a half a second till the utility kicks in and slows down the spindle speed.



peace

 

[X]

I agree with SIMJEDI. I've had the same great results with the 106.

 

[waja]

Thanks for the replies. I will check out the DVD-106. I found the quiet mode utility on line and it doesn't indicate that it works with anything but A06, 106 and 116. Is the 106 too noisy without the utility? I have not found anything on whether the DVD-120 is supported by the utility or if it has a quiet mode.


My only other problem is that the Antec Retrofit that I have is for a tray drive. I don't know if I can locate the slot drive adapter. I've emailed Keith (A Beer) who did the Antec Retrofit. Anyone remember this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...threadid=33281

seems like a long time ago....


Rick

 

[JKohn]

Quote:

Thanks for the replies. I will check out the DVD-106. I found the quiet mode utility on line and it doesn't indicate that it works with anything but A06, 106 and 116. Is the 106 too noisy without the utility? I have not found anything on whether the DVD-120 is supported by the utility or if it has a quiet mode.

The Pioneer slow-down utility does NOT work with the latest Pioneer DVD models. Unless you can find a store with old stock of the 106 or you can find one on ebay or something, the 106 isn't really an option any more. And if you care at all about HTPC noise, I seriously doubt you will be happy with the Pioneer 120s. See my posts in this thread . Since you already have a case fitted for a tray drive, I would recommend the Toshiba 1712.

 

[waja]

Quote:

Originally posted by JKohn The Pioneer slow-down utility does NOT work with the latest Pioneer DVD models. Unless you can find a store with old stock of the 106 or you can find one on ebay or something, the 106 isn't really an option any more. And if you care at all about HTPC noise, I seriously doubt you will be happy with the Pioneer 120s. See my posts in this thread . Since you already have a case fitted for a tray drive, I would recommend the Toshiba 1712.

Decisions decisions. Thanks for the info. I have put the Toshiba 1712, Toshiba 1212 and Pioneer 106s (with quiet mode utility) onto my list of drives. The Pioneer got added because I was able to get the slot drive facia for my RetroAntec Case. I will see if I can get all three drives and do a direct comparison. (As long as I can find each drive for ~$50US or less.)


I also ended up buying a Seagate V 60G hard drive. I will get the VGA cooler and new power supply soon.


---------

Rick - http://pages.sbcglobal.net/waja