Silent PC

Nearly every desktop & laptop I have played with over the years for school, work, fun gaming, editing videos, watching videos, listening to music, or others things like writing this blog; they all have one thing in common: cooling fans that make noise, especially when they spool up to high speeds to deal with waste heat from the CPU, GPU, HD, SSD & other mainboard components.

I episodically play Counter Strike GO via Steam across 6 different computers 3 Macs, two Windows PC's and one custom Linux Box. The oldest weakest gaming machine I operate is a early 08 iMac 24inch with the absolute minimum required specs to run CS:GO with a usable frame-rate on the lowest graphics settings. I have SMC Fan Control running to keep the old iMac cool during CS:GO session or media heavy browsing. All my MAC computers have SMC Fan Control installed for enhanced cooling during burst of gaming!

Contemplating VR PC builds

I have been toying with VR pc build ideas for a while now : but the high cost $400+ of Oculus Rift even at its discounted price along with the requisite $1000 gaming computer means that VR gaming starts at $1400 and can easily go well north of this cost with the cost of games & more powerful hardware to give better frame rates & smoother performance (which reduces motion sickness) : I have absolutely no desire to dump that kind of money into a VR setup, especially now that Facebook announced a stand alone VR headset for 2018 that will launch at $199 with better performance than Galaxy VR using a newer Samsung Smartphone as the media accelerator screen core.

Low TDP Mobile Fanless Devices

Smartphones & most tablet computers are all solid state (no spinning HD) using NAND FLASH SSD like mass storage technology integrated into small motherboards with SOC chipsets that fuse memory, the CPU & GPU into a single package : like the logic in my iPhone SE : the aluminum case acting as a heat spreader to pull heat away from the logics warm chipset. The TDP or thermal dissipation of a Smartphone limits the performance in two huge ways : 1 the battery in the phone usually has less than 12 watt hours of capacity : 2 the chip set is passively cooled low leakage parts optimized for low power use to maximize battery life run time per charge since people value good runtime in a cell phone.

Cheap 15 watt Business Laptop Gaming

I have a 2014 Acer laptop with Intel 4200U i5 & 8GB of DDR3 that runs CS:GO at sub 720P windowed screens at low graphics settings at 50+ FPS : while a tiny fan + heatsink pulls the 15 watts of TDP out the left side edge cooling vent. This is a cheaper business notebook that can play older game titles while whirling its cooling fan at a modestly noisy clip ^^ actually quite surprising how well it games given the low TDP.

Silent PC Principles

The key to a nearly silent desktop build comes down to using five 120mm low noise fans at 500RPM along with a beefy metal heavy CPU cooler & a 3 fan large heatsink graphics card where the fans can spin at low speeds. There are low noise power supplies that also aid in noise reduction. Likewise a good aluminum heat spreader on ram modules helps to keep them cool with low quite airflow from slow spinning fans.

Applications Where Quite Cooling Fans Improves the Environment

Audio recording studios
Laboratories with sensitive equipment
Reading & writing rooms where the sound of a snowflake hitting a window can be heard
Surgery theaters when a mechanic write watch clicking along can distract the surgeon
Areas where people are sleeping or enjoying peaceful time
Retreat centers : hospice care or anywhere that noise pollution makes things worse
At home where loud fans are annoying

Explaining Why Cooling Fan Noises Exists

The problem with computer cooling fan systems is that the heat is produced in small concentrated spots where the integrated circuits are packed tight with fast switching transistors all connected together in interesting architectures that affect the data processing in many ways. Its the architecture of how all the switches are connected that makes the big difference, and the same can be said of people! We need heat sinks with fan assisted cooling to suck the waste heat away from the chips. Without these fan assisted heat sinks the ICs would literally cook and burn!

PC Build Ideologies

Low Cost with Older Parts : Reusing Keyboards & Cases
Newer low wattage Intel CPU's i5 class mid range discounted parts
Low Noise Fans & Larger CPU + Ram Heatsinks for DDR4
Good Performance from 3 fan mid end gaming GPU card of NVidia 1070
Durable SSD to eliminate HD noises
Intelligent cable routing to maximize air flow when fans are at max speeds
Low Noise Power supply that can turn its fan off under low loads

Philosophical Extension

"Thinking about improving everything, not silent computer designs, also high quality people, less wasteful computers, less noise * light pollution. If everyone was trying harder to make everything better, the world would become nicer & more enjoyable for everyone. Even if only half the people in the world tried harder to focus on self improvement, everything would still improve for everyone."

Existential Dilemma Continues

"Life is an STD that kills everyone" "Entropy" I had the pleasure of meeting an older female hospice nurse who shared this idea with me! Since then I have become unlocked. I am not sure why the idea resonates so strongly with me, but I look around horrified at how mankind hurts itself while simultaneously amazed at the progress we have made with science & technology. I am not sure what to make of it anymore, other than to understand that we are on the edge of infinity, about to unlock endless energy with solar + energy storage & fusion power : finally ending the age of scarcity and unleashing the age of abundance for all people!