Your mini-ITX sounds sweet though. Shame about the limit to 2Gb RAM though.

I had upped to 4GB later (well, to 3+ cause I am still on WinXP). Worked just find with two memory modules, it’s single 4GB module that motherboard seems to mind.

Thanks for the detailed response Rarst. I was planning on just making some simple steps to my current system that would reduce overheating (if any at all) so I guess passive cooling isn’t the way to go just yet or may be worth exploring this when I start a new build.

Your mini-ITX sounds sweet though. Shame about the limit to 2Gb RAM though. I’m not happy with my 4Gb but I’m thinking RAM probably isn’t the issue in my case. Heh.

Is passive cooling a potential resolution to this issue?

Well, it’s not exactly win-win. :) The more air is sucked into computer the more dust and fur goes in with it. Passive cooling moves drastically less air, but it is also more complex, requires more casing space and comes with overheating risks of its own.

It also mostly needs to be built from scratch or takes replacing multiple components… While active cooling dust-sucking potential can be often reduced with couple of simple filters.

My current PC is self-built mini-ITX and there is simply no space for passive cooling inside of such.

So I’d say the best time to try passive cooling is if you are planning to put together new PC (or a massive upgrade) and you are willing to burn extra money on it for silence and less air movement.

I often find that cat fur and a worryingly extensive amount of dust in my fans keeps causing my system to overheat and power off. Is passive cooling a potential resolution to this issue? It’s something I’m guessing I would need to seriously look into if that’s the case.

I like Aspire Revo nettop a lot, but thought of Atom stops me from buying one. It won’t be enough to replace current desktop and I objectively don’t need one more computer. :)

I still like the trend with SFF, but not that it will take quite a few years to penetrate market properly.

Linux simply didn’t resonate with the buying public. ( Asus says
they have no plans for further Linux machines. And ~they~ are the
ones who originally popularized netbooks, and those were Linux
netbooks ! ) Beyond the hardcore zealots of the open source clique,
typical users just aren’t interested in a Linux operating system !

Most of the other major OEM’s of netbook and small form factor
computers are (again) following Asus’ lead on this.

[ Thinking about it, Asus is sort of the Opera of computer OEM's. ]

Last that I’ve heard: Linux has a 1.7% penetration of the consumer
desktop market. ( Which is probably the sum total of the world’s
open source zealots ! ) It hasn’t been able to break into the
mainstream. Maybe because of Microsoft Office. Perhaps because
people are put off by Linux fanboy fanatical bigotry. Hard to tell.

Every time I start to consider building a Linux machine just to try
it out, I read some article which makes Linux sound as esoteric and
unintuitive as MS-DOS. I ~don’t~ want to go back to the days when
I spent more time getting my computer functional than I spent actually
doing something on my computer ! No thank you.

Then there’s Linux Politics. Really, more like Cold War Politics.
Or, more accurate still: medieval religion !

Being a Linux user seems too much like joining a religious cult.

The DataRat

.

> I have been interested in silent PC’s for years. I built a top spec one but it cost a fortune and took ages to get the bits.

You tell me. :) Hunting for those optimal silent parts cooosts.

I am brooding over notebook for a long time but never bought one. At home I still want dual-monitor setup and good keyboard. At work I have my work PC. I have no huge need for mobility so why pay extra for it?

Maybe if those netbooks fall to around $250-300 I’ll buy one just because it’s cheap. :)

Thanks for visiting and commenting by the way, Jim. :)

@Talk Binary

Yep, VM nowadays are so easy to set up. I have post on VirtualBox queued.

@MK

>Well, because it is cheap? But it won’t be an issue anymore if you already acquired a legal copy of Windows.. Mine’s pirated. I thought of ditching Windows for Linux because it’s free.

Yep, price is factor. But I always consider prices together with time of use. Like I use mobile phone daily and often – makes sense to buy a good one. For Windows it costs but it is used all the time for long years.

Well, because it is cheap? But it won’t be an issue anymore if you already acquired a legal copy of Windows.. Mine’s pirated. I thought of ditching Windows for Linux because it’s free.

But then I changed my mind. Because, like you, I will write a lot about Windows later on.

Talk Binary, as a programmer, does Linux makes you more productive? I’m a beginner programmer.

At school Linux is all I use. So so far, I’ve been using both. =)