January 9, 2007

I’m not interested in writing reviews, of movies, at least. So, for now, I’m going to post links to movie reviews that I feel reflect my opinion. Why re-invent the wheel?

As you may have noticed in the “My Computers” Post, I have a hardware firewall running IPCop.

I’d like to eventually turn that box into more of an “appliance” than a traditional Micro-ATX mini tower computer. The goal is to eventually have a fanless CPU, power supply, and CF (Compact Flash) hard drive, which result in less noise. Having 2-5 computers running at once, in my bedroom, creates lots of white noise.

Step 1: Replace IDE HDD (noisy, moving parts) with CF “hard drive”, which is simply an IDE->CF adapter (just a board) and a CF card.

I ordered a Kingston 512MB Elite Pro Compact Flash Card on 01-09-2007 ($18 with shipping, pricegrabber is handy) and already have a IDE->CF adapter that I briefly tested (it works), which I picked up from Fry’s about a month ago. My research has determined that a CF card can last for years when used as a HDD, and that the bigger the card, the longer it will last. At least 256 MB is recommended, so I went with a 512 for insurance.

Status: Complete! IPCop has been running fine so far, using a CF card as a HDD. Oh, the IDE->CF adapter has 3 LEDs, so it’s also a win for Project Neo Tokyo.

Step 2: Research the temperature range of that CPU (K6-2/350) and see if I can get away with simply unplugging the CPU fan by simply monitoring the temperature after it’s unplugged. It’s a small fan, so considering it runs at high RPMs, it’s very noisey. Thus, this is more important than the power supply. Alternatively, I may be able to find a passive (fanless) CPU cooler.

Step 3: Find a quiet power supply around the house, or buy a passive power supply. This one may even be quiet enough – need to test. Or, get a low wattage power supply and remove/unplug the fan (but safety concerns me there).