project: put pc in the closet
Mar 31, 2006 at 10:12 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 20

uzziah

Headphoneus Supremus
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ok, just wanted to field some suggestions on this subject. my pc specs are pretty modest: socketA fanless mobo, seasonic 300w psu, athlonxp 3000 + masscoolwhisperock II, 120mm exhaust fan: antec, 1gb ram, seagate 160gb hdd, and soon a 6600gt vid card

anyway, i thought i might put her in the closet. i have a closet (strangely) in the middle of my living room, about six feet from my desk. any cables would have to be 10 feet or around there. as far as i can figure it the only cables i'll need are:

usb hub
monitor (i've got good long vga cables so that's covered)
optical cable for av710 output to dac
external enclosure and cable for cdrw/dvd drive (don't want to go back and forth for that)

and, my kbm is wireless, and looks like it will reach signal through the closet no problem.

so............any thoughts????

thanks

right now i've got my two fans cranked down to 5v with zalman fanmates. putting the pc in the closet will certainly mean i'll need to raise those to 7v or 10v to get adequate cooling, but i think it should be ok.
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 10:23 AM Post #2 of 20
I keep my PC in a closet close by my desk.

If you use a USB hub with its own power supply and a USB extension cable, you can hook up most USB mice and keyboard combinations as well as most USB peripherals. I place the wireless dongle and charger for the Logitech G7 mouse on my desk, and it is connected to a USB hub that is in turn connected to the PC's usb port by a long USB extension cable.

The external DVD/CD drives can also be connected to the USB powered hub, or with their own USB or FireWire cables to the PC case's ports. One optical drive is sufficient, since most burning and copying should be done with copies to the hard drive first anyway.

Also, if possible try using a DVI cable instead of VGA; picture quality might be better.
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 11:16 AM Post #3 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by Elephas
I keep my PC in a closet close by my desk.


I do as well, well it's more like an open closet that is made for a pc, but the PC being on the floor (to avoid rambling of wood or the like). I don't hear it at all, it's wonderful. But when you do want to put it in a completely closed closet you might want to worry about cooling, especially if you use aircooling. Harddrives are essential here. They need to be kept cool in order to work the longest they can. (That's why I'm using an internal smartdrive enclosure)
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 12:07 PM Post #4 of 20
My server is in my closet. It just won't come out of the closet.
tongue.gif



Another alternative is a "muffling enclosure" made out of MDF with ducted/channeled fan ports.

-Ed
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 12:11 PM Post #5 of 20
certainly heat is a concern, but i doubt it will be much of an issue. i'll keep the fans at a good speed and keep my temps monitored with speedfan. i have extra 80mm fans that i can use in the case if need be as intake or whatever. i generally keep my appartment pretty cool, though that's probably not a big deal. i'll try running the pc in the closet for a couple days and monitor temps to make sure it's all safe before i do any big setups. i think the closet is perfect as: i don't use it much, the door faces away from me, there is plenty of air room under the door, etc.

anyway, shouldn't be too much of a hassle. i'm learned enough on pc usage that i won't be doing any ridiculously stupid things such as sticking the fan openings right against a wall
smily_headphones1.gif


i'll figure it out; i just tested with my logitech cordless express from inside the closet
rolleyes.gif
and it works like a charm. this should be easier than i thought. oh, and i use an old big, sony trinitron monitor so no dvi for me
smily_headphones1.gif
plus i have a bundle of nice svga cables that need using
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 12:12 PM Post #6 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood
Another alternative is a "muffling enclosure" made out of MDF with ducted/channeled fan ports.
-Ed



twas my original thought, but i just don't want to build it
smily_headphones1.gif


edit: another question: where can one find a good quality, cheap, glass toslink cable? perhaps ebay? looks like i'd want 15ft or so
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 12:46 PM Post #7 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah
twas my original thought, but i just don't want to build it
smily_headphones1.gif


edit: another question: where can one find a good quality, cheap, glass toslink cable? perhaps ebay? looks like i'd want 15ft or so



I got a 0.5m hq oehlbach from eBay, and another nice glass toslink from audiogon.
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 1:38 PM Post #11 of 20
I see you're using an E-MU 0404 as source. Does it have AES/EBU output?

If it does, you can add an external DAC and use AES/EBU instead of toslink optical. Just something to consider in the future.
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 2:21 PM Post #12 of 20
Quote:

closed closet you might want to worry about cooling, especially if you use aircooling


I fried my computer last year not realising the late afternoon sun hit it just right through the curtains which led to heat which in turn led to disaster !
Totally fried the power supply,toast,burnt toast (smelled like it too dammit)

Heat is the computer killer and why they have such noisy fans to begin with so make sure you vent it well at least and at best,get some more forced air cooling on it since a remote location means fan noise is not important
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 8:42 PM Post #13 of 20
I've been wanting to do the remote PC thing for a while. The only reason I haven't gone through with it is because of the silly little power button. If I shutdown my computer for any reason, there isn't a way to turn it back on. Does anyone know of a way to have a remote power button?
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 10:49 PM Post #14 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by Elephas
I see you're using an E-MU 0404 as source. Does it have AES/EBU output?

If it does, you can add an external DAC and use AES/EBU instead of toslink optical. Just something to consider in the future.



well, two things:

1. i'm going to get an av710 and see if i can notice a difference as transports. i really can't afford the emu card + dac (zhaolu). i'll mod my 0404 analog as i've done before, use it until i can pick up a zhaolu dac2 and then sell the modded card to a happy headfi'er
smily_headphones1.gif


2. the dac i want to use has only toslink or coax input
 
Mar 31, 2006 at 10:51 PM Post #15 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42
I fried my computer last year not realising the late afternoon sun hit it just right through the curtains which led to heat which in turn led to disaster !
Totally fried the power supply,toast,burnt toast (smelled like it too dammit)

Heat is the computer killer and why they have such noisy fans to begin with so make sure you vent it well at least and at best,get some more forced air cooling on it since a remote location means fan noise is not important



it's close enough to me that i have to be concerned with noise. however, your point is well taken. it's not in a spot to recieve direct sunlight, but i'll constantly monitor temps
 

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