Comments on: Looking for a small, silent Linux computer http://www.konstantin.shemyak.com/blog/2009/06/07/looking-for-a-small-silent-linux-computer/ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:05:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: konstantin http://www.konstantin.shemyak.com/blog/2009/06/07/looking-for-a-small-silent-linux-computer/comment-page-1/#comment-13148 konstantin Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:24:46 +0000 http://www.konstantin.shemyak.com/blog/?p=200#comment-13148 Thanks. I have realized that I can't demand 100% silence, as I need HDD and CDROM for normal desktop tasks (or, better say, <b>I</b> do not, but my family members with their large home directories and movie collections do :) ) So the search turns away from very nice, 5W-consuming nettops, to heavier boxes. Thanks for the hint about Kraftway Urban BTW! I might just buy it, if it had not had Windows Vista. <img src="http://www.aleutia.com/wp-content/Photos/2009/03/p1_top1.jpg"> <b>Aleutia D1</b> Now it seems that a comparable, but cheaper and in fact more powerful alternative has appeared: <a href="http://www.aleutia.com/products/d1" rel="nofollow">Aleutia D1</a> or even <a href="http://www.aleutia.com/products/ion-htpc" rel="nofollow">Aleutia Ion</a>. Just the HW collection I was looking for. And with Ubuntu 9.04!!! Now, this starts looking like marketing-scam post :) Thanks. I have realized that I can’t demand 100% silence, as I need HDD and CDROM for normal desktop tasks (or, better say, I do not, but my family members with their large home directories and movie collections do :) ) So the search turns away from very nice, 5W-consuming nettops, to heavier boxes. Thanks for the hint about Kraftway Urban BTW! I might just buy it, if it had not had Windows Vista.


Aleutia D1

Now it seems that a comparable, but cheaper and in fact more powerful alternative has appeared: Aleutia D1 or even Aleutia Ion. Just the HW collection I was looking for. And with Ubuntu 9.04!!! Now, this starts looking like marketing-scam post :)

]]> By: Kirill Evstigneev http://www.konstantin.shemyak.com/blog/2009/06/07/looking-for-a-small-silent-linux-computer/comment-page-1/#comment-13147 Kirill Evstigneev Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:13:49 +0000 http://www.konstantin.shemyak.com/blog/?p=200#comment-13147 If a laptop is not really silent for you you'll need a system without a spinning HDD. If you needn't a mobile system you won't pay extra bucks for a battery and those shrinked keyboard/LCD. So the sole answer is a <em>fanless</em> box with an <em>ITX-size motherboars</em> and a <em>solid-state disk</em> (up to several gig's though). Like, yes, eBox or Acer Aspire Revo. None of these systems has an CD/DVD-ROM. Fine - a nice, compact, inexpensive, silent box. But a tiny local file storage and a dangling external drive. The storage challenge could be solved with a network drive, such as WD MyBook, located somewhere out of your living/working space. There are powerful feature-rich compact systems (like Kraftway Urban) but they are not really silent. And rather expencive. A bunch of inexpensive compact "nettop" systems are offered by Asus and Acer, but they are not silent too. If none of the above options is an option, then you have to build it youself. A barebone ITX-size fanless system with an external drive bay + a slim optical drive + a large SSD. Note that these barebone systems have usually weak power supply. I use similar setups in my office - either CD-ROM or network works, but not both. If a laptop is not really silent for you you’ll need a system without a spinning HDD. If you needn’t a mobile system you won’t pay extra bucks for a battery and those shrinked keyboard/LCD. So the sole answer is a fanless box with an ITX-size motherboars and a solid-state disk (up to several gig’s though). Like, yes, eBox or Acer Aspire Revo. None of these systems has an CD/DVD-ROM. Fine – a nice, compact, inexpensive, silent box. But a tiny local file storage and a dangling external drive. The storage challenge could be solved with a network drive, such as WD MyBook, located somewhere out of your living/working space.
There are powerful feature-rich compact systems (like Kraftway Urban) but they are not really silent. And rather expencive. A bunch of inexpensive compact “nettop” systems are offered by Asus and Acer, but they are not silent too.
If none of the above options is an option, then you have to build it youself. A barebone ITX-size fanless system with an external drive bay + a slim optical drive + a large SSD. Note that these barebone systems have usually weak power supply. I use similar setups in my office – either CD-ROM or network works, but not both.

]]>