Answering a few of the questions so far: 1) Aftermarket GPU coolers: We try to avoid using them, but we have in the past. Many require heatsinks to be attached to the video RAM with thermal epoxy. A warranty nightmare. Overall we are very pleased with the Asus DirectCU line! 2) Fan control: The fans...

That computer needs a way better video card. What's the challenge in using a passively cooled low mid-end card? And with that kind of hardware, a 5750 feels out of place. You are right, they should use hd 5770 passive from Gigabyte. Agreed! I wasn't aware that the Gigabyte 5770 actually hit US dist...

We didn't document those things because we want the freedom to change and adapt the specifics of implementation as we learn and go, but at the moment, this is the answer to your questions: The parts with the biggest variation, and thus the focus of our attention, in order of importance are: Hard dri...

I'm sure readers here will be anxious to hear your thoughts once yours arrives

Actually, this was a simple communication issue, the deeper I look into it. The specs of the second system we sent in differed in a number of minor ways (amount of memory, size of SSD, wattage of power supply, size of secondary hard drive, and type of optical drive). It wasn't intended -- it stemmed...

Isn't the power supply a bit over-specced? For the same cost, you could go with a Seasonic X-Series model with lower max output and better efficiency. I can address this question! Yep, the Antec CP-1000 is certainly more than is needed for this build. We wanted to certify something that could scale...

How many gamers are here at SPCR? Puget Systems is giving away 25 games each day until Sept. 30th, 2010! Each winner will get their choice of one of three hot game titles. To enter, one must simply follow @PugetSystems on twitter, and tweet "Follow @PugetSystems and retweet for a chance to win 1 of ...

Understood on the self-fulfilling prophecy. It isn't something we take lightly. Before the days of Conroe, we were probably 80% AMD. I'm specifically talking about larger HSF, both stock mount and bolt through. What we see with AMD systems is that during a particularly large bump during shipping, th...

Nice Puget build, as always. I have to say I didn't bother to take a look at the customization options avaiable from Puget, but I suspect there is no decent gaming offering. I would say : throw in an HD5850 with a TR heatsink and an undervolted Nexus fan, and you've got yourself a splendid silent r...

I'm happy to comment! First, on pricing -- we definitely don't compete with building it yourself, and we don't try to. If you have the knowledge to pick the right components, the ability to put it together, the tools to test for thermals, balance the fans, ensure you're running at safe temps, and th...

Hi guys, I'm actually the creator of the aquarium computer at Puget Systems (details at http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php). Great discussion here! Vaseline is a really interesting idea! What do you think of the implementation from a silencing perspective? Too over-the-top? Or is over-the-top...

Thanks for the mention!

We actually buy these fans for use in our computer builds, and apparently they give us better pricing due to that fact. Unfortunately, we have been contacted by Noctua and have been asked to no longer sell the fans individually. Sorry guys, they'll be coming down today!

Sure, if you wanted to run off DC, it seems a PicoPSU would be able to handle it! Or do they make AC versions as well? I found it pretty diffictult to find hard numbers on SODIMM vs desktop memory power draw, but it would certainly make sense that SODIMMs would be lower, since they are designed for ...