Merging SILENCE Turnkey pc

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Any Pyramix users here with a Merging SILENCE Turnkey pc? i'm wondering how silent "silent" actually is?

I work in an extremely quiet mastering room, so no fans allowed. I'm currently using a 2018 Mac Mini, which is quiet most of the time but the fan still ramps up when running Album Publishing or a project with heavy plugins.

I'm looking for a sufficiently powerful pc that is 100% silent. It must live in the desk with me, I don't want to have the computer in the machine room, did that for years but its a pain for numerous reasons.

Any comments on the Merging turnkey systems or other recommendations welcome. Thanks!

- J.

[DJS]

Hello J,

While I didn't get exactly the Merging turnkey PC, I built one using similar hardware, Streacom FC10 case, ASRock mobo, and the 250W Streacom silent power supply.

It is completely silent, no fans, so it sits right at my mastering position and does not transform into a vacuum cleaner. I am not sure exactly what Merging use for the graphics card in their config but I just use the onboard integrated Intel 630 UHD. This is the only weakness of the system really.

I run Masscore and Native on it, and the graphics is fine most of the time. For very busy projects (more than 24 tracks) it can sometimes get a bit laggy on scrolling and zooming when SD editing in PMX.

Overall I Iove the Streacom cases and have built three now. I have an FC5 HTPC running 8 channel convolution for my LX521 speakers in the lounge and another as an office machine.

Regards

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Hi David, thanks so much, this is really valuable information.

If I may pick your brain a little further about your system:

- which ASRock motherboard are you using, and which cpu?
- are you using the onboard ethernet, or the Merging NET-MSC GBEX1?

Any other gotchas to be aware of when switching between Masscore and Native? I rely on Native and the MAD driver for my regular day to day mastering workflow. But I've always wondered what Masscore would bring to the table on the rare occasions that I have to track a guitar or vocal with low latency, or for the occasional higher plugin count stem master.

Best,

- J.

[DJS]

Hi J,

I used an ASRock Z370M Pro4 and an i7-8700 (not the K) as it is a low heat 65W TDP. I also use the Merging Masscore NIC and have run Native with the standard on-board nic without issues. Its a real shame that the expensive Masscore NIC cannot run Native.

I use the MAD driver at present and it seems stable.

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Thanks again David, I ordered parts and a Streacom case for a new build.

Best,

- J.

[DJS]

Hi J,

Just be careful with some motherboards. The Z370M is a bit old now, and you might be better going with one of the later models, like the Z390M. The Z490M looks like it might have some protruding heatsinks that would foul with the heatpipes coming off the cpu onto the side of the case. In this case the thermal riser option is essential. Streacom have a system build guide showing some dimensions, but even they have given up keeping their compatible motherboard list up to date.

Just don't open your motherboard until you know for sure, in case you have to return it.

David

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I've ordered the ASRock Z390M Pro4 and an i5-9400 for now. If I can make that work I may try a full blown system with a Z490M and an i9-10900 (with thermal riser).

Best,

- J.

[NikolaiGabriel]

I've ordered the ASRock Z390M Pro4 and an i5-9400 for now. If I can make that work I may try a full blown system with a Z490M and an i9-10900 (with thermal riser).

Best,

- J.

I can add that i've built 2 Masscore PCs after Mergings specs. One silent PC and one extremely quiet PC. The fanless PC is built around a Streacom FC10 cabinet with a thermal riser. The cpu is a i7 8700K 95W. Running both memory, graphics and cpu stress tests with a ambient temperature of 30C. I came up to 89C on the cpu if i remember correctly. In real life usage on heavy projects it can reach around 70-75C if the ambient temperature is uncomfortably high. But it's never been close to throttling. Although I don't think it would like anything higher then 95W TDP.

That being said with the higher TDP of newer CPU i don't think i'd go fanless again. The other quiet PC I built using 3 Be quiet cabinet fans and a Be quiet dark rock TF cpu cooler can't be heard unless you turn the fans up more then is needed and put your ear 30cm up to it. It's more powerful and works a lot cooler, which is good for your SSD storage and other components.
I would not have any problem using that in the same room where a quiet performance were taking place.
I can't quite remember which CPU it has right now, but I remember it is 125W, so the Be quiet dark rock TF cpu cooler which is rated for 230W has barely any work to do and can idle at low speeds even though the cpu is working hard. And the cabinet fans can also spin at the lowest speed all the time. And then it's close to impossible to hear the PC if you put your ear to it.

So when it's time to upgrade the fanless PC I'm building the new one with fans and a more powerful cpu. In real world application it's as silent.

Hope this is informative to anyone looking to build a new PC.

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Hi Nikolai, thanks so much for these details, its very helpful to see actual examples of working configurations.

I'll just add that my fanless i5 system as described above has been flawless for the past 6 months.

Best,

- J.