I don't think bigger fans means more noise at all. We have a Dell Precision 8core Xeon box here, and although I'm not a huge Dell fan, it is super quiet. It uses one massive cooling fan and clever internal layout, and because the fan spins at low RPM you never get that penetrating higher-pitched sou...

Mike, that's extremely helpful. The Raven was already on the list, but I'm going to check out the Antec P183. The Raven is very big and may not fit in the studio. My system builder feels strongly that the Coolermaster ATCS 840 is the safest bet, primarily because the system will have two W5580 Quadc...

That's extremely helpful. I'm going to take a look at the V2110 and V1110 and perhaps the PC-A20 today, and see if I can get a spec nailed. I have used Lian-li cases in the past and found the aluminium very thin and not so gooud at keeping noise in, but it sounds like they've really improved build q...

Many thanks Lodehacker. I've added that and a couple of other LIan-Li case to a short list from research around the web. The cases that seem to be possibilities are the Lian-li V2110 and V1110, Silverstone TJ10 and Raven, and the Lian-li PC-A20B, although a couple of those are also on the large side...

Hi - I wondered if I could beg some help. I was wondering what the current thinking was on the best (quietest) E-ATX case. I'm spec'ing a new dual Xeon machine for our music studio, and the case which is being recommended, although it looks great is a little large for the space available: http://www...

Many thanks Smilingcrow and Nyteowl. I'll look into Matrox cards and have now discovered the "recommended" lists on the main SPCR website - extremely helpful. I'm also tending towards just 2 WD Caviar 500GB drives for starters, and backing other data up elsewhere, which should simplify the drive noi...

PS. Does anyone have any views on case CHoice? I notice the Antec P180 is popular around here - would that or another case perhaps be a better choice than the Akasa Eclipse. Thanks again.

Guys, thanks so much for all your help. Graphics - I will look at an alternate card with a 7600GS chip and perhaps add a quiet cooler. This system is audio only - no games or graphics work - so all I need is up to 1900x1200, clear 2D and low noise. I'm wondering if even the 7600GS may be overkill - ...

Hi - new around here, so please be gentle I wondered if I could beg some advice on a new system build, for recording studio use, which therefore needs to be as close to silent as possible. The basic spec would be: -Tyan Tiger K8WE (S2877ANRF) Motherboard -Two Opteron 285 Dual-Core CPUs -4G of Corsai...