The Hush PC

Hush Technologies has released what they would like to be a Home Theater PC (HTPC). Some of the most interesting features of this machine are that it is virtually quiet, the case is like that of piece of audio equipment, and its motherboard is a MiniITX form factor. What is MiniITX? The form factor was originally proposed by VIA to be an ultra small form factor, smaller than the FlexATX and MicroATX form factors that were the smallest at the time. The original MiniITX boards were feature rich boards with a CPU soldered onto the board. This was cheap to produce as there was no discrete packaging cost for the integrated processor. The case is designed to fit right in with existing media equipment. The review of this product shows the many different colors the case comes in. It is of a sturdy design that allows for optimal passive cooling of its contents. Cooling of the Hush PC is done strictly by the case. There are no fans in this setup. Now normally on the Via EPIA M-9000 the CPU is cooled by a small heatsink with an 40mm fan. Hush have taken this off and thrown it away as it’s far too noisy. To replace the original cooling the heatsink has been replaced by a solid aluminium heatsink with a heatpipe that is then attached to the side of the case. This means any heat is transferred to the case and is then cooled by the use of the fins on the outside of the case. The overall configuration works well for the Hush PC. My concerns would be in the areas of personal customization. The components have been carefully picked for this machine with careful attention heat specifications and noise output. Can you add a second hard drive or replace the existing one with a different brand? I don’t know. How about expansion cards? The motherboard looks unable to accept expansion cards. To me, this Hush PC is a nice start at a media PC but there is room for improvement. I will keep an eye on this company to see what they turn up for their next cut. Read the review, here.

Hush Technologies Silent Mini-ITX PC


Black or Silver Hush Mini-ITX PC Enclosure

VIA EPIA Mini-ITX Form Factor motherboard (EPIA M9000)
933Mhz VIA C3 CPU, VIA CLE266 Chipset
Passive cooling solution utilising heatsink linked to finned chassis
128MB PC2100 DDR RAM (configurable up to 512MB)
40Gb Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive (configurable up to 120Gb)
TEAC Slimline CD (or TEAC Slimline DVD/CDRW Drive)
6-Channel Audio and SP/DIF
VGA and TV-Out (RCA and S-Video)
10/100 Base-T Ethernet Port
4 x USB 2.0 Ports
2 x IEEE 1394 Firewire Ports
Serial, Parallel, Mouse, Keyboard Ports
32MB Integrated VIA “Castlerock” Graphics with MPEG2 Decoder
Full-length PCI Slot for PCI Expansion
External Universal 110V - 240V Power Supply
Supplied without Operating System (or with Windows XP Pre-installed)
Case dimensions: 370mm x 340mm x 59mm (W X D x H)



Price: $667.25