I always put my computer under the desk. I don't want lights flashing in my face and fan noise right next to my head all the time. Not to mention how much room a full tower takes up on top of a desk.
I like minimalist not-being-there style. I like my desk as clean as possible. Preferably, I want another place for my audio interface and my external USB drive as well. And get rid of my monitor stand.
Fans agreed, but not an issue. I built a very very silent pc. Power supply fan is always up until 80% load, GPU fan is off until gaming. CPU fan is only 800rpm (Nocta NH-D15, so are the two noctua 120/140mm case fans.
I HATE pc noise. I want to hear nothing but my own breathing and the clickclack or thock of mah boards.
I'm also a fan of minimalism and quiet builds. I use a Fractal R2 without a window so there are no external lights other than the power indicator. All six case/radiator fans are 140mm Noctua fans and GPU fans are off unless gaming. I still like the PC under the desk so what little noise does come through doesn't interfere when I'm using open-back headphones.
I thought about doing an ITX build because they look so cool but tiny fans + reference GPU cooler = Boeing 747 in the living room.
Yeah exactly. I I were to do an ITX build (I was thing about one with the Fractal Core case), I'd probably go for an underpowered system and try to cool it almost passively. Seasonic has 400W fanless PSU's. a 750Ti should also exist without fan. Then you're only left with CPU cooler. So if you stick a i5 or i3 in there and the Noctua NH-D15 should fit in that confined space. Then I guess you have a near silent PC still in a small form factor and yet upgradeable.
Small boxes exists, passively cooled. But again, as with Apple products (mac mini comes to mind), everything is custom and soldered. That's exactly the kind of products I'm nowadays trying to stay away from.
