That's a pretty sweet gaming setup you are putting together :P For a pair of current midrange graphics cards in SLI, 2 pci-e x16 slots offer no real world benefits over 2 pci-e x8 slots. HardOCP's findings corroborates those of Tomshardware: 7% better performance on a high end SLI setup with everyth...

The colors are supposed to be pretty good out of the box, I haven't calibrated the monitor yet.
I brought down the blue levels a bit though, because the display seemed to have a slight blue tint.

Got one just a few weeks ago at a discount, I'll summarize: + picture quality is nice for a TN panel + low response time and input lag, good for gaming + very light and slim (LED backlight, external power brick) + no buzzing when you turn down the brightness + selection of VGA, DVI and HDMI input, n...

You could also try GPU-Z for that purpose.

Among many useful stats, it displays GPU load. Just check the 'sensors' tab. It also has the ability to write the sensor data to a logfile.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/16 ... 0.3.5.html

It looks like you have a very quiet setup that is not really very power hungry :). Have you considered a Nexus Value 430? It would remain effectively silent even when your cpu and gpu are loaded full tilt. I have one in an A05B case and I'm very pleased with it (also coming from a Modu82+ btw). It's...

This extension cable would solve your particular problem:

http://www.svc.com/cbl-extend-12v.html


What's the noise level/characteristic like on your Nexus PSU?

Mine already arrived today!

Many thanks!

I'll have one of those please , pm sent!

Very clean build!

How do you like that Smart Drive enclosure? Does it dampen drive vibrations well when it is hardmounted to the case?

Check out the postscript in the review, the new Enermax PSU's don't have a PWM voltage controller but a dual-voltage one

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article806-page6.html

The Accelero S1 rev2 will fit an HD4580, but said graphics card is not officially on Arctic Cooling's compatibility list, therefore you will run into a few snags. Firstly, the S1 will have a hard time cooling a HD4850 completely passively (speaking from experience), unless you have considerable airf...

I've had a Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 for a while in my main rig and it was an absolutely trouble-free board. Very basic in the output department (no DVI, HDMI, SPDIF), so definitely not HTPC material unless you pair it with a discrete graphics card and sound card. Solid bios and overclocking options (E21...

You can try to pinpoint the source of the wining noise by rolling up a sheet of paper into a funnel shape - like an antique record player :wink: Skim the surface of the motherboard & other components with the narrow end of the funnel, hold the wide end close to your ear. Pay close attention to thing...

I've had some bad luck with a Corsair VX450 (high pitched electrical noises) and a couple of Enermax Modu82+ 525W (annoying ticking fan... -> RMA'd -> replacement PSU came with... another ticking fan). So I decided to give one of these Super Flower Amazons a go and I have to agree with the Anandtech...

In my experience, the Disktwin does lower hard drive temps by a few degrees. It does not, however, completely eliminate the transmission of drive vibrations to the case. I removed the rubber mounting blocks from the Disktwin and suspended the hard drive with just the heatsinks on. picture 1 picture ...

I have a WD6400AAKS that exhibits a whining sound like you describe. I was able to get rid of the noise by putting sound absorbing mats in the case and around the drive bay.

Still, it's too bad that it whines in the first place. My previous 500GB and 320GB WD drives didn't...

The 4 pin fan in the new Enermax PSU's is not a PWM fan but some sort of exotic dual-voltage fan (check post-script of review link at the bottom). I would be wary of swapping it out.


http://www.silentpcreview.com/article806-page6.html

fijne build, Justchill

+1 on Modo's explanation. I've also mapped the media keys to the extra F keys with Sharpkeys. Works flawlessly. Sharpkeys modifies the Windows scancode map. Run it once, set it and forget it. No drivers or anything involved. You can export your scancode map settings to a .reg file with the Windows r...

Antec NSK4480B would also do the job, it comes with a decent 380W power supply that can handle the system you specced out.

Quiet keyboards with "scissor" laptop style keys and media buttons: Logitech UltraX http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/business/products/keyboards/devices/587&cl=gb,en Cherry eVolution Stream http://www.cherry.de/english/products/cable_keyboards_eVolution_STREAM_Corded_MultiMedia_Keyboard.htm Apple K...

Impressive build!


Thats looks like a vfd panel in the bottom, but it has power and reset buttons? Does it come standard with the case or is it aftermarket?

Samsung has released their new SpinPoint F1 HDD's. Source: X-bitlabs news post

* 1TB
* just 3 platters
* 334 GB capacity per platter
* 16 or 32 MB cache

Theses drives are showing up at European retailers at around €230 - €260 at the moment.

Psu cable routing was somewhat unfortunate on the NSK 3300.
Looks like Antec rerouted the psu cables on the NSK3400, allowing for a large tower heatsink to be mounted on the motherboard. Whip out your Ninjas!

Very smart little case!

Jamesbundy: My NEC (Optiarc) 18x is the one they just got in at NewEgg and sells for $31.99 (was $30.99 when I bought it). It is fairly quiet, even while burning or reading CDs. Definitely quieter than my LiteOn 52x DVDROM drive dated from 2002 and the Panasonic 2x DVDRW from 2003 that I had been p...

What's that new Optiarc drive like - noisewise?

Shuttle introduces new X100 SFF:

read about it @ reghardware

Afaik all WD3200 drives have FDB motors. Other WD models have been equipped with FDB models during the course of 2004-2005. It is reported that the newer FBD models have a black top panel, whereas the non-FDB ones have plain metallic ones. Don't take me up on this though. I have 2 WD3200JB's, which ...

Are you sure it isnt just coil whine coming from the motherboard? Try isolating the source of the sound by rolling up a sheet of paper into a funnel, put one end close to your ear and move the other end over electronic components such as coils, mosfets, capacitators, etc... on the motherboard and ot...

Its not a bug, its a feature ( ) of the 7200.7 and 7200.8's.

After a few minutes of idling, the drive will start a self diagnostic routine... hence the seek noise.