The Fanless, Completely Silent Hush PC

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=874' target='_blank'>http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=874</a><br /><br /></div><i>"There are two critical requirements for a Media PC that's going to reside in your living room, it has to look great and be quiet as a mouse. Unfortunately, these two requirements are poles apart when it comes to designing and engineering a computer. In order to make a PC look good it needs to resemble a consumer electronics device with slim dimensions like a modern DVD player, but the slimmer and more attractive you make a PC, the hotter it becomes inside and the more fans you have to use to cool it, resulting in greater noise pollution. Tackling the problem from the other side, you can use a large case with lots of air flow, along with large fans spinning at low speed and making very little noise, but the result is a big, ugly system that no one would want in their living room. However, German custom PC builder Hush Technologies has managed to create machines that fulfill both criteria with aplomb. Hush PCs, as the name suggests, are completely quiet in operation."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/hushpc.jpg" /><br /><br />If you're looking for a high-end, beautifully build Media Center Edition PC, this looks like the one to get, period. Opening up the platform to "second tier" manufacturers was the best thing Microsoft could have done, because it allowed companies like Hush to create products based on design excellence and flawless aesthetic value - not just mass-produced plastic like we've seen so far (though the new horizontal HP design looks nice).

[mcsouth]

Now that's what I'm talkin' about! :rock on dude!:

I really liked the Hush products since I first came across them, and would dearly love to have one.....but now that they have a MCE unit, I am getting the shakes - this is THE MCE unit that I want!

The only thing I didn't quite get was the the TV tuner connections for .... an antenna? I'm assuming that this may be a European thing? :? The comment about dual TV tuners kinda hit home too - now that MCE supports multiple tuners, it makes sense to have at least two. Okay, so I went and checked out the site, and the NA unit apparently supports up to three tuners - 2 analog and 1 digital (OTA only) tuner is apparently available. I wonder how they squeeze it all in?

I'll have to check out the Hush site to see what a NA unit would run - I know that it'll be a tease, because I probably won't be able to afford it, but it'll be nice to dream, though...Hooeeee....I just checked out the NA distributor for the Hush. Base price runs $2599, which sounds pretty good, except that is the base price - Celeron proc, single tuner, 200GB drive, etc. I spec'd the unit out to my "desired" spec, with P4 2.8 proc, dual tuner, X800 vid card, and 400GB drive - now it's $3650 8O .....man, I love this unit, but I know there's no way I can sell the wife on that!

[Felix Torres]

I'll have to check out the Hush site to see what a NA unit would run - I know that it'll be a tease, because I probably won't be able to afford it, but it'll be nice to dream, though...Hooeeee....

A California-based outfit, Niveus (www.niveusmedia.com) is using the same case for *their* Media Center PC.
Got a great review in the december MaximumPC.
just...gulp!...$3000.
Which is not outrageous considering what a high-end PC can cost, but still...

Would be a great match for the Shapr 42" 1080P LCDs, but you're essentially talking a $10,000 home theater system.
Today.
In two years it will (hopefully) be under $3000.

Patient, gotta be patient :)
(That and keep the credit card under lock-n-key...)