George, I am surprised to see you here. As a silentpc enthusiast, I appreciate your attention the matter and willingness to do something different. I have tried the Corsair 550D and here are my opinions on the areas where the case was lacking (I think the case is a bit compromised) 1) Restricted fro...

dan wrote: is ultimate worth getting over home basic?

I am assuming you meant Home Premium. If you are asking, the answer is probably No.

The only thing you will be missing are:
1) Bit-locker
2) Remote Desktop Connection
3) Support for 17GB+ RAM

pc tools? Whoa.... Throwback... I remember using it a lot, but don't remember why.... that predated OS/2, Win 95 though. OS/2 shares most in common with Windows NT. Remember of course that it wasn't until Windows 2000 that Windows NT was really ready for the everyday user. That was OS/2's biggest p...

My preference is Win 7 in a desktop setup.

does start 8 make it exactly like win 7? will it work for 8.1? Start8 Makes it almost exactly like win 7. You will have the exact same start Menu back. You can click one button to shutdown, you can disable metro start menu / hot corners. What Start8 doesn't do is recreate UI that doesn't exist in w...

1) Yes it boots faster, but only because it uses a hybrid boot. Essentially the internal Windows processes use hibernate all the time, but the drivers start up like they would on a cold boot. hiberfil.sys is by default 75% of physical RAM, so on an average PC that's 6GB of HDD/SSD space used up, al...

Windows 8's biggest complain can be fixed by purchasing start 8, but then, it's still an odd bag. Assuming, you purchase start 8, which addresses the UI concerns, my opinion remain mixed, and the pros and cons are Pros 1) Fast boot-up. This is especially true if you are a power user with multiple pe...

2. Is there any other way of mounting the 3.5" HDDs in suspensions that does not require 5.25" slots? For example I know some enclosures have mounting strips that you attach to the HDD and then slide it into the slot. See e.g.: http://www.pcper.com/image/view/22475?return=node%2F56969 If you do not...

Getting a bit off topic eh? I think the discussion is getting a bit theoretical. Whether the demand exist or not, the bottom line is that there is not many ITX cases with 2x 5.25 drive slots. ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you are interested enough and willing to...

Aquacomputer is a German based company, so (since you are in Sweden) it's probably more cost effective for you. I had to pay Germany -> US shipping.

There are 2 other options.

1) Aquacomputer Aquero 5 LT uses voltage control (I am using this kit. It takes some time to setup, but works very well).
2) Koolance TMS-205 has one channel of voltage control (if memory serves me right), and a dozen more PWM channels.

If aesthetics is not of utmost concern, I will recommend the PS07 over TJ08.

The PS07 (also cheaper) could be more quiet than the TJ08 if you fit it with quiet fans. Personally, I am not impressed by any of the 180mm fans out there.

What a strange case....

*Only Silverstone has two modular PSUs 140mm deep, but they aren't spcr reviewed an no other review goes into any detail concerning noise level so no recommendation here (550W model is electrically good). They even have *gasp* a short cable set. I couldn't get an extra cable for my Seasonic at any ...

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-heat-sink-haswell,review-32733-22.html Personally I found it laughable that none of the testing was done with a noted room temperature and the degrees Celsius above room temp the CPU got to under XXX CPU cooler He did specific the temp as Celsius above room temp T...

Is Passive CPU Cooling Best for Silent Computing? 2. Does the CPU HS fan only cool the CPU? The fan on a CPU heatsink has the task of cooling not only the CPU but also important components on the motherboard such as the NorthBridge chip and the Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) which powers the CPU an...

CA_Steve wrote:
If you want to have fun with capacitor lifetime calculations, here's a calculator @ Vishay for tantalums.

Whoa... Thanks. Very helpful information.

No, not even with a Y cable. Standard USB ports do not supply the 12V needed to power a standard desktop drive. A Y cable will allow for higher amperage, but still at 5 V. There is, technically a USB-PD (power delivery specification), but I am not aware of that implemented in any desktop computers o...

Maybe not what you are looking for, but something you can consider.

That case is much easier to work with if you use a SFX power supply. This one is quite quiet, but falls behind larger PSU in terms of acoustics.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151089

Maybe a picoPSU + external power brick will better suit your needs? 160-190W models can be found here in the US.

Not sure if this is something you might consider. I found most HTPC, including the 12inch deep silverstone ones too deep, and went with an ASRock Vision HT barebone. The price seems to be within your range. It has a fan, but due to using a mobile chip couple with a rather deep blower fan, the system...

Hi there, I believe that many of us have had good relations with newegg. I also think that a good retailer is only tested when a problem arises and how they respond to that. On that metric, I do agree that newegg has slipped as they grew. Around the problem with [h]ardocp. It's hard for us to gauge ...

I think I found the culprit to my vibration after a long journey of hard drive suspension, new side panel, cutting rubber strips to secure the side panel further, and adding weight to the mid dividing panel, which all turned out ineffective. The culprit were the PCI slot covers.... They are causing ...

I recommend the silverstone FT03-mini. It uses a bottom mounted 180mm fan for cooling. It won't be the most quiet case you've ever seen. But hard to beat for the combination of size, style, and acoustics.

Wow, surprised by this review. A lot of German websites had given Be Quiet quite stellar reviews, and I was tempted to test them out and order them from over the Atlantic.

Are the fans the same as the famed silent wings 2?

I will try to comment on the build quality of the Fractal Design case in more details after my final attempts at fixing some of my issues. Otherwise, I think my judgment will be clouded.

Been in touch with Fractal Design's Support. So, this could be side panel related after all. I was asked to bench the side panel and try to make things better. Well, it's working, kinda. Except it's very hard to get it just right. Surprisingly how much you can bend those bitumen panels with ease. Th...

On a side note. Realized that I can reduce (almost eliminate, but not quite) the beating sound by adding pressure on the bottom PSU side of the case (requires so much pressure that I have to hold the case with another hand or else the case moves first). So the problem might be side panel related aft...

Thanks for all the input. Mounting it may add pressure to the case so that the structure or the thin top starts to amplify vibrations coming from the drive cage. As said, loosen the screws a little if they are tight. Another thing that could possibly change the noise is changing the position of the ...

Is there any other way?

The Define XL has side panels lined with bitumen, so it is quite heavy as is. I can't see any visible warping of the panel or gaps at the sides, either.

Another day passed without a response from Fractal Design. Very disappointed at their customer service...