Digital World Tokyo | CEATEC: NEC to sell water-cooled PC with Blu-ray drive

CEATEC: NEC to sell water-cooled PC with Blu-ray drive

October 4th, 2006

Japanese users won’t have to worry about a noisy cooling fan disturbing them while they watch high-definition movies on NEC’s newest computer — the PC, equipped with a Blu-ray drive, uses water-cooling instead.

A prototype of the PC, called the Valuestar X VX780/GD, was on display this week at the Ceatec exhibition in Chiba, Japan.

As most Japanese live in small apartments, PCs often do double-duty as both a computer and an entertainment system. But the use of cooling fans means that PCs are not as quiet as standalone DVD players, often interrupting the movie-watching experience. The use of water-cooling means NEC’s Valuestar X runs quietly, making just 31 decibels of noise, or slightly more than a whisper.

Priced at ¥543,000 (US$4,612), the PC is clearly not intended for people on a budget. But for those willing to pay more for a high-end system, the Valuestar X, which is due to go on sale in December and runs Windows XP Home Edition, offers some impressive features.

In addition to the Blu-ray drive and water-cooling system, the PC offers a digital television tuner, a 3.4GHz Pentium D 945 processor, 1GB of RAM, and dual 250GB hard drives. It also includes a remote control and a 20in widescreen LCD with internal flat-panel NXT speakers that provide surround sound.

— Sumner Lemon