Hush debuts fanless Pentium 4-based PC

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Who says Pentium 4-based PCs require noisy cooling fans?

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Hush Technologies Deutschland GmbH, in Stuttgart, Germany, has developed a sleek-looking PC, the Hush ATX, that is based on Intel Corp.'s Pentium 4 processor and doesn't require a cooling fan. The PC made its debut Tuesday at the Computex exhibition here, which runs through Sept. 26.

Good looks and near-silent operation don't come cheap, though. The Hush ATX, which will be available at the end of October, is priced starting from €1,049 ($1,204) and doesn't include a monitor or a keyboard, according to Stuart Brown, marketing director of Hush's U.K. company Hush Technologies Ltd. and one of several founders.

Measuring 440 millimeters by 380 millimeters by 100 millimeters, the Hush ATX's aluminum case is available in either silver or black and more closely resembles a high-end stereo component than it does a computer.

While the inside of the Hush ATX sample on display at Computex was not open for inspection, the PC is kept cool by three heat pipes: one for the CPU; one for the Northbridge chip, which is one of two chips that comprise the PC chip set; and one heat pipe for the graphics chip, Brown said. In addition, the PC's power supply does not use a fan, he said.

In the basic configuration, the computer comes equipped with a 1.7GHz Intel Celeron processor, a 40GB hard-disk drive, a CD-ROM drive and an S3 ProSavage 8 graphics chip, Brown said.

The Hush ATX will also be available with an Intel Pentium 4 processor at speeds up to 2.8GHz, an Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) Athlon XP chip, or an Athlon 64 chip, Brown said. Users can also upgrade the graphics chip to an ATI Technologies Inc. Radeon 9200, Radeon 9600, or Radeon 9800 chip, he said.

The Hush ATX is Hush's second PC model. The company also offers a PC with a similar design that is based on Via Technologies Inc.'s C3 processor. That model, the Hush Mini-ITX, is currently available and is priced starting from €666, according to Hush's Web site.