Thanks for your input lodestar. Your argument regarding the cost of the 212X + fan vs the Noctua NH-U12S make a lot of sense. The local PC shops seem to be out of stock on the Noctua NH-U12S. I think I will wait till they come back in stock.

Abula wrote:I would suggest to invest a little more toward a Scythe Mugen 4 CPU Cooler: Scythe Strikes Back or if you are lucky have available the Scythe Kotetsu CPU Cooler: A Compact King

Unfortunately, neither the Scythe Mugen 4 nor the Scythe Kotetsu CPU Coolers are available in Australia.

CA_Steve wrote:I do have to ask: why do you need an i7 for office work? Seems like severe overkill unless by office work you mean 3D modeling, video encoding, or similar heavy duty tasks that will make use of hyperthreaded cores.

I plan on running VMs and figured the extra threads will help with performance.

Does anybody have any experience with these two coolers? I am looking for a CPU cooler for my next build. CPU will be the new Intel Core i7 4790. No overclocking. No gaming. General office use. As such, I don't want to spend a lot. Just enough to keep the CPU reasonably cool and quiet. I can get the...

A couple of reviews:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Bitfenix/Ghost/

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/bi ... iew,1.html

thegrommit, you might also want to consider the Lancool PC-K65:

http://www.lancoolpc.com/en/product/pro ... s_index=96

It looks quite similar to the PC-K9.

To me, it's looks like a variation of the Lian Li PC-6, with one extra fan (and grill) at the front and the steel frame:

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/pr ... =62&g=spec

I don't post often, but have learnt a lot from your articles and reviews. Mike, all the best and thanks for providing a first rate service that was much needed at the time. Fingers crossed that this site will live on without you.

Antec_Rep wrote:Hey fellow Spcr members,

I have been mentioning this to product development so hopefully we will have an upgrade to the two cases soon.

Antec_Rep, are you able to give us approximate dates? Have they actually made the decision to upgrade these cases or is it just an idea they're pondering.

I'm glad to see that the Solo is still the best choice in the world of quiet computing. I disagree with some opinions about future updates... - change the front fans to 120mm rather than 92mm. I disagree. Two quality 92mm fans are extremely quiet. I use two Nexus RealSilent fans at 6V each (wired i...

I certainly hope so to, why else would they bother to change the design? Maybe a bottom-mounted PSU would be a good idea as well, of course facing downwards with some ventilation. Maybe to: - add USB 3.0 and e-SATA ports. - fix up the faulty power switch that some people have reported on. - change ...

MikeC wrote:To me this case is the perfect mid-power mid-size case. It could be made better, a process that's happening now, afaik.

A successor to the Solo? Are you able to tell us anymore about this?

Are there any motherboards or motherboard/CPU/PSU/Graphics card combos that don't result in coil whine or PSU crackling noises?

It would seem just about every board out there has this problem.

If Lian Li / Lancool cases are available in Israel, you might want to consider the Lancool K7.

A case with the exterior of the Lancool K7 and the interior of the Lancool K62 would be nice. I am just not a big fan of those "gaming" cases with mesh front panels. Another quiet case to consider is the Coolermaster Sileo, which was reviewed by SPCR. However, if you're looking for something that lo...

Looks are somewhat subjective. I personally like these:

- Silverstone Fortress FT02
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... =FT02&area

- Lancool K7
http://www.lancoolpc.com/en/product/pro ... s_index=62

Is WD going to release a single platter 500GB Caviar Blue?

For those of you who have lubricated your Slipstream (somehow, they sounded kinda rude), have you had any problems since? Will the lubrication improve the longevity? Will it make it as reliable as the S-Flex or Nexus? Will the fan still become more noisy over time with Lubrication?

Given the quality issues with the Slipstream, the S-Flex seems like the way to go. How does it compare to the Nexus in terms of air movement and noise at around 800 rpm?

For the time being, I would be content if Antec was to release a luxury or Sonata/Solo-class version of the NSK3480 with the following modifications: 1. Replace the cheap looking plastic bezel with a brushed aluminium one (black). They should take a leaf out of Lian Li's books when it comes to beaut...

sorry i'm a little late to this discussion, but i've wished for a case with nsk-3480 design and lian-li build quality for a long, long time... since my first nsk-3300 build. perhaps somebody reading this has enough connections with lian li that they could get someone in the company to consider the ...

Doh! And I thought I had found my next HTPC case.

Another pic of the ISK 300:




It looks like it has two vents on the side, which suggests dual fans.

Is this a new HTPC case from Antec that slipped through my radar during CES? http://www.futurelooks.com/ces-2009-spotlight-checking-in-with-antec/ http://www.futurelooks.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ces09_antec-2.jpg Based on that one photo, it looks pretty good. And the cost is only $80!

Not sure if these cases will fit the HR-01 Plus, but they're the smallest Full ATX cases i can think of:

Antec NSK 4480 / 4480B
Antec NSK 4480 II / 4480B II
Lian Li PC-A05 / PC-A05B
Lian Li PC-A05N

How small? Mini-ITX? Micro-ATX? Nano-ITX?

For what purpose? HTPC? Nettop? Desktop?

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but for those looking for a small, but nice looking HTPC case, you might one to consider one of these: SD200 (Micro ATX): http://www.thermaltake.com/product_overview.aspx?PARENT_CID=C_00001368 SD100 Mini (Mini ITX): http://www.thermaltake.com/product_...

More pictures of the case can be found here: http://journal.mycom.co.jp/articles/2009/01/10/ces06/index.html http://www.intomod.com/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=10986 http://www.coolenjoy.net/bbs/zboard_news.php?id_view=qa&no=15299&page=1&kw= Is that a fanless PSU i can see? There's even mention of an ISK 400.

Is the Samsung your system drive? If so (and assuming your OS is XP) then it's unlikely ever to spin down since XP won't let it idle for long enough. Suspension will go a long way towards silencing it. If you go down that road and it still gets on your nerves you might also want to try some sort of...

Perhaps there's something I don't understand about hard drives, but is it normal for a drive, when idle, to be making a noise? I have a Samsung HD501LJ 500GB HDD. When i stop all fans in my PC, I can still hear some noise coming from the hard drive, eventhough there isn't much (if any) disk activity...