Silent PC recommendation

C

clean

Young grasshopper
Sep 25, 2017
88
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Hi guys, I'm looking for a fanless PC to run a 4 camera blue iris setup on. Have any of you had success with certain makes/models? I find the biggest thing is most of them are too small to accommodate the 3.5" HD.....any insight? thanks.

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Fanless is really limiting your options. There's some really tiny mini PC's out there, can't you find a spot for it in a closet somewhere out of sight/sound? Could be easily mounted to the wall or ceiling.

Edit: Seen your 3.5" HDD comment. I don't think there's any mini-PC's that will fit a 3.5", at least not in the size i'm thinking of. The mini towers will allow a 3.5" but i'm almost certain none of them will be fanless from stock. Hopefully someone else has better info as i've never really seeked out fanless since, to me, it always means sacrificing performance.
 
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You couldn't use a NUC 10 with an external hard drive enclosure?
 
External drive, USB and NAS can't keep up with the constant data streams from video cameras.

I'd say the short answer is to look for a SFF machine and live with the PSU fan. They're not all that noisy.
 
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clean said:
Hi guys, I'm looking for a fanless PC to run a 4 camera blue iris setup on. Have any of you had success with certain makes/models? I find the biggest thing is most of them are too small to accommodate the 3.5" HD.....any insight? thanks.

"
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Hi @clean

I concur with @sebastiantombs newer business class SSF PCs are very quiet now .. I have more ambient noise around me than the PC ..
 
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clean said:
thanks , I could defiantly see that being the case. do you have any specific model recommendations that wont break the bank?
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FYI - search the forum for Blue Iris systems folks recommend ..

often a used HP or Dell SFF system works for many people.

I prefer i7-6th or better .. some of the new i5s are good too imho

Can often find them for a very good deal ..
 
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In my recent, brief research, a 10/11 gen i3 will outperform a 6th gen i7. I've seen 10th/11gen refurbs for about the same cost or not much more than a 6th gen i7 system. Better/newer components and possibly lower power usage too.
 
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definitely try to get the newest CPU generation at a deal if you can ..


FYI - this site gives some comparisons .. granted not exactly perfect for ip camera processing .. but at least it helps give you an idea..

 
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i bought a refurb optiplex last week, its an i5, 7th gen. its a small form factor case so pretty small.

What could generate noise?

multiple case fans - this has none - only on on the cpu
CPU fan - the one on the cpu is practically silent
GPU card - the video card is built into the motherboard - so fan to make any noise
spinning hard drive - I have an 8TB installed - it generates very little noise, practially undetectable

I would recommend a similar configuration. To be honest, i didn't think it would be this quiet.

very happy with it so far !!

as a sidebar - in the event you decide to build your own from scratch, Noctua fans are known to be super quiet. Also, where applicable, get larger size fans and run them slower versus getting a smaller one that will run like an airplane propeller - LOL
 
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