System Review – PC-Club Silencer

Heat Output

For the heat test, we use a laser thermometer to record the temperatures of various key components. It is important to note that these are surface temperatures only and not a reliable means of determining core temperatures. Most system BIOSes report temperatures for the CPU, but in the past, we have found that differences in BIOS programming can cause a difference of 10 C or more. What is really important with any pre-configured system (SFF or otherwise) is that the system functions as advertised. Slightly higher system temperatures are often accompanied by lower noise levels, which we feel is a fair compromise. For the Silencer, we actually don't expect much in the way of high temperatures due to the lower heat output of the Pentium M processor. The CPU heat sink remained, at most, lukewarm to the touch during testing.

We did not experience any issues during testing, even with the Raptor and 200GB HDDs installed. The PSU intake fan located just behind the hard drives appears to provide sufficient cooling. We would even go so far as to question whether the rear case fan is necessary at all. Using two ultra-low RPM case fans on the rear of the case would be another option that might be interesting to pursue, as two <1000 RPM fans should still provide enough airflow to be safe while adding little in the way of noise.

In terms of heat, we can immediately see the benefits of the Pentium M platform. Even with lower noise levels and fewer fans, the Silencer system is substantially cooler than the SN25P in most areas. The only area where the SN25P wins out is in the HDD temperature, which isn't too surprising, given the arrangement of the HDDs in the Shuttle P chassis. The higher HDD temperature does give us pause, however. If you have an air conditioned home, you should be fine. If you lack such amenities and live in an area where indoor temperatures can break 90 F, we would recommend that you shut your system off during the day if at all possible. (This is good advice in general - losing a hard drive is never fun.)