[MPlayer-users] MPlayer computer case

[D Richard Felker III]

On Mon, Aug 19, 2002 at 09:14:06PM +0200, Clemens Wächter wrote:
> Yes, I have heard of them too. But I read in the german Linux Magazin
> that those Shuttle barebone systems are loud as a planes engine.
> Well not really but definitely surprisingly loud, so that is not much
> of use for a real nice video-evening. For me, nothin is as disturbing
> as loud fans while I am watching videos.

Cut the cables to the fans. Very simple. If the PSU dies like that get
a new one that's built for fanless operation. There are at least
several places online that sell such PSU's.

> If I were you, I would try to get a old notebook with TV-out and 
> then disassemble it. This may be expensive but 
> a) You won't get it quieter if you stick to i86 components
> b) It needs much less power (about the half or less)

Depends on the components. I would recommend a K6-2/550 or a K6-3/450
for this job, since it should be able to run without a fan as long as
ventilation is good and the environment is controlled (i.e. AC kept
fairly cool, etc.). That C3 thing might also be an option. The power
consumption with such a setup will be much closer to notebook level.
Keep in mind an old notebook will not run mplayer well at all,
especially since its video scaler and tvout device are likely not
supported. Also, notebooks tend to have horrible cd/dvd drives that
sound like buzzsaws and spin up and down and up and down constantly
while playing movies.

Rich