KVM Extenders - put noise where you can't hear it

[Falceron]

I've thought about this idea a few times before: why not stuff your PC in a room where you can't hear it? It could be much louder and have all the benefits of those higher performance fans and hard disks without the loss of hearing, sleep, or peace of mind. This is all well and good, but how does one control a system like this remotely? The answer is a KVM extender. KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) extenders make it possible to have those devices seperated by possibly hundreds of feet from the PC itself. These things are typically used for business applications. This brings up concerns for using an extender for higher end or gaming purposes. First, it's not KVMS. There is typically no sound extension included. Second, resolution and refresh rate are limited by bandwidth and the distance between the units. The major issue here is that manufactuers rarely provide detailed specs. When they do, the data is likely not accurate, anyway. The final concern, as always, is price. Extenders range from the low $200 area to well over $1000. There are a bunch of units around $250 that look like possibilities, however there are no reviews and few useful specs available from the manufacturers. If anyone is interested and has additional information or resources, I'm sure there are quite a overclockers that would benefit from your knowledge.

[William]

you could try a bunch of extender cables. One problem would be loading a cdrom.....

[train22]

I give taht Idea 2 thumbs down, I mean where in the world would I put my feet on???

[Naeleros]

How would you look at all the pretty windows/lights in your case if you did that? Even a watercooler is best appreciated when viewed :)

James

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Seems like a big inconvenience to me. :p

[Über~PhLuBB]

Wouldn't it be easier to just make a wooden cube, line the inside with egg crate foam, and paint the box a neat color? You could even go so far as to cut a 80MM hole in the front, and one in the back, then place tubes between the outside of the box and the fans on their respective sides.

Hmm... That IS a good idea. I'm gonna go get to work on it!

[Falceron]

First of all, you can only use extender cables for very short distances. You probably wouldn't get the PC far enough away from you by the time the video signal started to degrade. For CD-ROM use I have an idea that works very well. I'm not aware of the legality of this software, but there is a program that creates virtual cd-rom drives and mounts images to these drives. You read the cd to an image on your hard disk and basically run off of that as if it was a CD in a drive. As an added bonus, it's much faster than a real CD, of course. I'll look into the program and see if it would be ok to post it here. Regardless, I'm sure if you do some searching you may be able to find it.

[Monaco]

That's a really interesting idea. How long is the longest extension? Even 5 feet would be worth it to me.

Do you mean Norton Virtual Drive? Came with my motherboard. Perfectly legal, if the CD you use with it is paid for, I assume. Mine are. Couldn't find it on the Symantec site or I'd post a link.

If you can find it, get it! Games that have 5+ CDs aren't so annoying when you don't have to disc swap. It's a lot fster than a real CD-ROM drive too.

[Falceron]

Is this what you are looking for?

http://www.pricewatch.com/1/213/2155-1.htm

I'm not sure what the max possible length is, but I see 15 foot extension cables on one site.

[Monaco]

Whoa, that was fast:) I'll check that link, thanks.

[Falceron]

Heh no problem.. I would guess that the shorter you keep it, the lesser the quality loss. I'd recommend the shortest length you can use just to be safe. Actually they're so cheap you might as well get both :).

[woodenman80]

LOL i like your idea but i live in a real old house with wooden floors no joke i can hear my pc upstairs 3 storys above me in the loft whilst im in the kitchen at other end of house.. lol...
Still maybe if i soundproofed the pc it would be better.


Woodenman

WHEN PENGUINS FREEZE I JUST SAY MORE COOLING.

750 Duron @ 933 7x133
ASUS A7V 133A beta bios
512mb PC133 Crucial CAs2
40.9gb HD
Geforce 256 ddr 120 core 300 ram@145 core 330 mem
SBlive 5.1
4 80mm sunon fans 2 intake 2 out take
120mm fan on case side.

5000 db lol

[!-=sky=-!]

one idea is to put those soundproof foam they use in recording studios around the computer itself....it might work

[cjtune]

Originally posted by -=sky=-
one idea is to put those soundproof foam they use in recording studios around the computer itself....it might work

This is one idea that's been bouncing around my head for some time. It originally started when I wanted to paste a sheet of sponge on the wall facing the back of my PC to dampen the (then) stacked PSU fans. But I'm not sure if you can soundproof it well enough without totally surrounding it with soundproof foam -you still need openings for fan air intake and exhaust. Unless, maybe, it is a box inside a box where the air openings of both boxes are not lined up so that it is sorta like a baffle to break up the sound waves. Maybe you can dump sponge balls in the recess between the two boxes to further soak up noise.

[Paul -The Mad Hatter]

Welcome to the forums Falceron

I knew someone that had a "cubbard" where he put his pc in, you couldn't here it from 2 feet away, for those with tons of fans putting sound damping material inside would help.