Saturday, February 4, 2012

Virtually-Silent Workstations

Quiet PCs for professionals in noise-sensitive workspaces

A virtually-silent workstation is a whisper-quiet, highly-customizable system for users running Windows or Linux. With leading-edge and flexible configurations, these systems provide performance in environments where silence is key.

Our Silent Workstations are intended for use in acoustically sensitive locations such as quiet office environments, libraries, classrooms, and studios. VSX Series Workstations fit perfect in Recording Studios where computer equipment cannot interfere with the recording process.


VSX R4 310 Intel LGA1155 (Socket H2) with Intel® P67 Express Chipset	VSX R4 315 Intel LGA1155 (Socket H2) with Intel® Z68 Chipset	VSX R4 510 Intel LGA2011 (Socket R) with Intel® X79 Chipset	VSX R4 700 Dual Intel LGA1366 (Socket B) with Intel® 5500 Chipset
Well configured at around: $1328.00	Well configured at around: $1603.00	Well configured at around: $1972.00	Well configured at around: $2643.00

Processors Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i3 Series 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i5 Series 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i7 Series Intel® Xeon® E3-1200 Series	Processors Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i3 Series 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i5 Series 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i7 Series Intel® Xeon® E3-1200 Series	Processors 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i7 Series 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme	Processors Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® 5600 Series Six-Core Intel® Xeon® 5600 Series Low-Voltage Options
Memory Up to 32GB DDR3 Unbuffered Non-ECC Dual Channel Memory	Memory Up to 32GB DDR3 Unbuffered Non-ECC Dual Channel Memory	Memory Up to 64GB DDR3 Unbuffered Non-ECC Dual Channel Memory	Memory Up to 48GB DDR3 ECC Registered Triple Channel Memory
Drives Up to four Hard Disk or Solid State Drives with optional Hardware RAID	Drives / SSD Caching Up to four Hard Disk or Solid State Drives with optional Hardware RAID Native SSD Caching Support with Intel® Smart Response Technology	Drives Up to four Hard Disk or Solid State Drives with optional Hardware RAID	Drives Up to four Hard Disk or Solid State Drives with optional Hardware RAID
Graphics Dual ATI or NVIDIA Video Cards nVidia SLI and ATI CrossFireX	Graphics Dual ATI or NVIDIA Video Cards nVidia SLI and ATI CrossFireX	Graphics Dual ATI or NVIDIA Video Cards nVidia SLI and ATI CrossFireX	Graphics Single ATI or NVIDIA Video Card Up to 12 cores / 24 threads
Configure and Buy >	Configure and Buy >	Configure and Buy >	Configure and Buy >

What makes a VSX Workstation Silent?

Our VSX Workstations strike a careful balance by offering cutting-edge operation and still maintaining low-noise operation. Special considerations are made to create whisper-quiet workstations by using specially-designed heatsinks, low-noise chassis and fan designs, and ultra-quiet power supplies. Here in our new fourth generation silent design, we have taken noiseless workstations to a new level.

Dual-Chamber Chassis

The VSX Series incorporates an expertly-engineered dual-chamber chassis which reduces heat and noise by increasing airflow efficiency and isolating the power supply from the rest of the system components. The chassis walls are constructed to maximize sound-absorption through a three-layer construction with soundproofing insulation mounted on the side-walls delivering a system so quiet you will forget it is ever on.

Ultra Quiet Power Supplies

Our whisper-quiet VSX Series power supply options offer flat, low-profile modular cables that allow for easy cable routing and increased airflow. The high-efficiency design reduces electricity usage and minimizes heat generation. An intelligent fan speed system regulates the ultra-quiet 120mm double ball bearing fan.

Award-Winning Heatsinks

Based on a signature heatsink design, our award winning CPU coolers are fitted with ultra-low noise cooling fans and an outstanding reliability thermal compound. This cooler forms a complete premium quality package that provides outstanding quiet cooling performance.

Hard Disk Drive Options

We start our virtually-silent workstations with Solid State Drives because they have no moving platters like their hard disk counterparts. Without moving parts, SSDs do not vibrate and do not require extra cooling.

The spinning platters on the hard disk drives generate vibrations in the chassis which cause increase overall system noise. Ultra-high performance drives of 10,000RPM or more are prone to generating heavy vibrations. By capping our hard drive offerings to 7,200RPM the sound level can be regulated while still providing optimal performance.

Intel® Smart Response Technology

With the advent of SSD caching and Intel® Smart Response Technology you can now increase your workstations speed and power at no cost to the system’s silent rating. Intel’s Smart Response Technology works by recognizing your most-frequently accessed files and storing them on a solid-state drive for instant storage and retrieval. This process requires no additional fans or spinning platters keeping your system’s sound level to a minimum. Click here to learn more about Intel® SRT.

Fanless Video Card Options

We offer next-generation video cards from ATI and NVIDIA that offer innovative 0dB thermal solutions which satisfy the silent environment demand of studios, home theaters, and offices. Certain configurations support dual ATI Radeon HD video cards with ATI CrossFireX technology or dual NVIDIA GeForce video cards with NVIDIA SLI Technology.

For those in need of Multi-Monitor display arrangements, we offer fanless ATI FirePro Multi-View and NVIDIA Quadro NVS graphics processors which offer up to four monitors per card.

Silent Quiet Fans

Our strategically placed chassis fans strike a careful balance of moving the maximum amount of air over the hottest components while minimizing the system’s noise. With advanced features like highly optimized blade geometry, time-tested bearings, and variable fan speed settings, these premium quality fans offer full flexibility in ultra-quiet case cooling.

Instant Noise Level Estimate

Found on our System Configurator for all VSX Series Workstations, the Instant Noise Level Estimate makes a best-guess calculation on the noise of your custom workstation based on your selections. Many higher-end and higher-speed components require additional cooling and will negatively affect the acoustics of your workstation. Keep an eye on the Noise Level Estimate as you change video cards, hard drives, power supply, and other component options to keep the noise to a minimum. It is important to note that these estimates are not guarantees and that environmental factors like higher ambient temperatures will require higher fan speeds and cause more noise.

Need Even More Power?

With 64-core systems our HPX Series Workstations offer unstoppable processing power challenge your most demanding computing applications.