VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Mandy Nelson]

I thought I'd throw it out here first. Sticking with Windows. Price is not an option (bwaaahaaa, I just wanted to type that out loud). Suggestions from those of you who keep up with this sort of thing? Thanks!
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[Bish]

I'm sure George will comment... but running Windows on a Mac Mini is a viable option that will give you top-notch, reliable (& quiet) hardware. Use Virtual Box or similar... but just check that whatever software you're running is happy running in a virtual box.

I only say this because certain ProTools versions won't even work with native Windows sometimes
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[Lee Gordon]

I have a couple of Dells (a desktop and a laptop) that are very quiet. But they are both older machines that date back to when Dell was known for service. I have no idea what their computers are like these days.
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[Diane Maggipinto]

you might look into having one built, depending on who is available in your area, or building one yourself. that way you can decide what you want without a lot of extras. it sounds like it will be solely for recording?

who am i kidding? i know very little ... but i had my computer built and the cost was comparable to an off-the-shelf unit, but with better performance and less fluff.
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[Ed Fisher]

[Eddie Eagle]

I think if you go with and Intel I7 quad or 6 core processor and 16gb of ram, a solid state HD you would have a decent start. You could then add any other hardware that you need or.....want heheheh.

I recently got a custom Rain system, an MSI (manufacturer) based system with an 3.2ghz AMD 4 core, HD Graphics, 16gb ram, solid state HD and Windows 8 64bit. It's pretty fast and reliable so far. I run Adobe Audition 3.0 on it and sometimes get a hang up where it won't respond. I think it's because 3.0 is old and 64bit doesn't like some of the older 32bit programs. Adobe said they don't recommend using older software on newer systems but, I think they just want to sell new stuff. Anyway I close the program down and it recovers flawlessly right where I left off within seconds of restarting the program...not the system. Yeah, restart is a biotch. The system boots up in about 15 seconds from turning it on. It ran about $1k but I think you can get something similar or better for around $800.

Now Dano has a kick booty system he could tell you about for much more $$. But he's also a gamer so graphics and speed are a big factor for some systems like his.

[Scott Pollak]

I see a Sony VAIO mentioned above, which is what I'm using and I'm quite happy with it. OCCASIONALLY the fan kicks in when it starts heating up, but that's so rare that I don't even worry about it.

I've had Dells in the past, too, and was happy with those, but if my VAIO ever craps out, I'll likely get another one.
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[Jacob Ekstroem]

[vkuehn]

[Eddie Eagle]

The topic of noisy PCs was covered before here. I cured my noisy fan issue with an Arctic Cooling unit. They are ultra quiet. There are other processor coolers out there too.

[bobsouer]

Mandy,

I warmly recommend the Dell Precision workstations. I've used a T-3400 in the past, which was very close to completely silent. I'm currently using a T-3500. While I have it outside my studio, I could easily run it inside the room, it's that quiet. Very well built, too.

I usually look on the Dell Outlet site for a workstation that's one generation older than the cutting edge, but has a 3 year warranty included. Great bang for the buck.
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Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[todd ellis]

i went the "build-it" route and spent about $600 for mac/PC in the same box. it DOES sound like a cessna 172 on take-off --- but it's in another room, so i don't care.
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[Ed Fisher]

It is absolutely true that it does NOT take a lot of computing power to do what we do. ON the other hand, I suppose if you are doing some serious processing (whether it be noise suppression, encoding or whatever) on an ENTIRE 30 hour novel...THEN the extra CPU's and RAM would come in handy.

As for "hang ups." Sounds like your computer is trying to go into "sleep" mode or put up a screen saver. Something that is causing a conflict with whatever software you might be using. Try disabling all of that. (including what might be in the bios at start u

Another alternate answer could be heat. IF you computer is working hard while you're away and it's frozen or hung up when you get back...perhaps it's overheating. They are regular "dust magnets" and need to be periodically opened and CAREFULLY blown or vacuumed out.

AND...last but not least...I had a Gateway once that would periodically reboot itself. Turned out to be loose RAM. When they are shipped it is hard on the poor RAM chips. Sometimes simply removing and replacing them (firmly) can solve many mysterious problems.

Just a suggestion.

And...now that I have drifted about 90 miles away from the original question about "quiet" computers...the defense rest.
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"I reserve the right to be completely wrong."

[Jacob Ekstroem]

[Ed Fisher]

"Fans are NOT Cool"
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