A PC Case with External Power Supply?

aralin asks: "I am building a new home server (web server, email, source code repository, ...) and don't really need that much performance, but would like to make it ultra quiet. I have found some quiet, one platter harddrives and can get a lower-end graphics card without a fan. I underclock the CPU so it never really needs cooling, besides the load on the computer will be quite low, most of the time. What I cannot get around easily is the power supply. They are quite noisy and the quiet ones are really expensive. I'm just not going to put half of my budget on a power supply. Do you know any company that manufactures PC cases with external power supply or do you know any other cheap solution to a quiet PC?"

"So, I recently looked at the Mac Mini and it got me thinking, why couldn't PCs have an external power supply, like the Mac Mini or notebooks. Would it be so hard to make a case like that? It could be even smaller than the typical Mini-ITX cases, and with all the bricks from routers and external harddrives and other devices, I wouldn't mind one more lying around in exchange for the bliss of absolutely quiet PC in my bedroom."

The ZM300B-APS is NOT loud or expensive

[NeMon'ess]

$60 is quite reasonable and it's very quiet. Considering how little you'll be loading it, the fan will probably never reach past 20dB. That's basically silent from 4 feet away sitting on the floor next to a desk.

Your idea would require a LOT of wire running from the PS on the floor for the different voltages, and the PS would still have to be well ventilated and thus off the carpet. There isn't much of a market for your idea at a $40 price. The near-silent Zalmans and the fan-less supplies already have the higher price points covered.

Finally, some people do put their systems in a closet or adjacent room and drill holes for the cables. Not much point in only separating the PS if the hard drive will still make a miniscule amount of noise. People who care that much just move the whole system instead.

Then why not the Mac Mini?

[dorkygeek]

So, I recently looked at the Mac Mini and it got me thinking, why couldn't PCs have an external power supply, like the Mac Mini or notebooks.

Then why not buy the Mac Mini? You can do all you want to do with it, and if you have absolutely the need for it, you can always install GNU/Linux on it.

Re:Then why not the Mac Mini?

[dorkygeek]

Nice try, troll!

But simply google for 'linux mac mini'. First hit is Installing Debian GNU/Linux on the Mac Mini [sowerbutts.com], an easy to follow guide on how to set up Debian.

Oh, and BTW, a driver for the Broadcom chipset used by Airport Extreme is indeed available now!

Re:The ZM300B-APS is NOT loud or expensive

[jbert]

Personally, I wouldn't actually purchase the X pieces a month, instead just put the money away. Component prices are still on a general downwards trend, so buying everything at the last moment will generall get you a better deal.

This is assuming that you can't make use of the new components in some other way before you have them all.

On the quietness front, I bought an Antec Sonata case (has a big, variable speed case fan, nice rubber mountings for the hard drives and generally good build quality) and was pleased with the low noise of the case fan. Now...if only I had spent money on a quieter CPU cooler.