Biostar iDEQ 200T: Great Performance & Brilliant Design
by Wesley Fink on September 29, 2003 10:24 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Biostar iDEQ 200T: Noise Level
Higher performance normally brings more heat, the need for more cooling, and more noise. To test the quietness of the Biostar iDEQ 200T, we measured sound levels on a desk. Sound Level was measured on all 4 sides, 4" from the chassis. Our Sound Level meter is capable of measuring as low as 35db, using either A or C weighting with Fast or Slow Dynamic Response. Since A weighting and Fast response are most like we actually hear, these settings were used for measuring Sound Level.The iDEQ 200Twas loaded as you might equip a top-level system. All sound level measurements were made on a 200T with a 3.0 P4, 1 Mb DDR400 memory, Liteon combo CD burner/DVD, a floppy drive, and a 120GB Maxtor Hard Drive. We removed the ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card for sound level measurements, since many will run the Biostar with on-board sound or a lesser video card without an added video card fan.
We measured noise from the middle of each one of the four sides, 4" from the chassis.
With the fan on its low setting, or Smart Fan, the Noise Level from the Biostar iDEQ 200T is certainly on par with the outstanding Shuttle SB65G2. This is not faint praise, because Smart Fan is the normal operation state for the Biostar. The Shuttle is one of the quietest systems ever tested, and Biostar has engineered their system to be as quiet as Shuttle in normal operation.
In high speed, with the Biostar fans as fast as they will run, the iDEQ 200T is quite a bit noisier than Shuttle on high speed. If not pushed to the point of high-speed kick-in, the Biostar will please you with its silence.
You may be hard-pressed to activate high-speed, since it never turned on even with the 3.0 Pentium 4, a loaded system, and overclocking.
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Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
A 30dB box is possible, if you're very careful. Use very low-noise fans, be extremely careful with airflow, put passive sinking on everything possible, and maybe put some Dynamat on the side case.Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
Great review. I havethe 200T and love it, SFF Tech has a dedicated biostar forum too if you own one of these boxeshttp://forums.sudhian.com/categories.cfm?catid=96&...
Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
I think the dimensions of the box is important for SFF reviews. I can always go find em myself but It'd be nice to reference them from the review. Maybe even a size comparion between the Biostar and the Shuttles. Just a thought :)Wesley Fink - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
#8 -You are correct, but the picture was to illustrate how the card slots are used on most SFF machines - not to point out a feature on the Biostar. I have changed the text to make it clear that the slot cage picture is a similar Shuttle SFF.
#10 -
I did test the SPDIF out with a Dolby Digital receiver and it works as it should. I did not check SPDIF in.
hirschma - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
Some commentary from an iDEQ 200N owner...* I'd like to see confirmation that the SPDIFs function as listed in the review - in input, one output. The same was claimed for the 200N, and it was simply not true, despite Biostar's and many reviewers assertions to the contrary. Biostar ended up pulling that spec when I bitched about it (and did nothing else). Biostar does not stand behind its product in that regard.
* The box is very quiet, so much so that I use it as an HTPC. I did not do any scientific measurement, but it is simply not audibile from more than 2 feet away.
* The build quality is excellent, best in an SFF that i've seen.
* The stability of the AMD version is flawless.
Biostar is, IMO, building better SFFs than Shuttle, but due to their reluctance to address the SPDIF issue that bit me, I won't be buying any more Biostar product.
jonathan
Netopia - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
The last photo on page 2 is in fact NOT a picture of an iDEQ box, but shows a picture of a the back of a Shuttle box and then describes (in words) the iDEC.Joe
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
Benchmarks are only relevant as comparisons. The measured noise level of the Biostar is about the same as a Shuttle, which is considered the standard for quiet in an SFF.Measuring 4" from the center of each side is a carryover from earlier SFF tests done at AnandTech. That is likely the result of using test instruments with a threshold of 50db. Our new instrumetn can measure to 35db.
We will add a sound level measurement to future reviews from the working position - about 0.62 meters or 2 feet from the front of the SFF to the ear.
Shalmanese - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
"We measured noise from the middle of each one of the four sides, 4" from the chassis."I assume most people are not in the habit of placing their computers 4" away from theirs ears. The biostar is about the same loudness as a shuttle which is pretty damn quiet.
Shalmanese - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
It would be a good idea to hook up a good 500W power supply to the SFF to test just HOW limited overclocking is hampered by the 200W PS.Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 - link
Furthermore, 50dba is 10x the noise level of 40dba, correct, but your hearing does not work on the same scale. i do not recall the exact numbers but i think its quite lower than 10x