There's also the Cooler Master Elite 341, which is a lot cheaper but the quality also feels very cheap. But it's should be good enough, and there's room for two 120 mm side fans. You could add a fan here to cool the GPU. There's also the old Antec P180 Mini.

That "clone" looks really similar to the Cooler Master Elite 341.

Well, when you mount a hard drive in a regular fashion, the vibration coming from the hard drive carries over to the rest of the case. The vibration for, say, the side panels, creates some noticeable noise. A suspension system is basically some elastic cords that makes sure that the vibration from t...

Isn't the Seasonic X 400 modular?

HD: What will you be using? An since you live in Denmark, you can but an aftermarket suspension system very cheaply (150 DKK (sending included)) if you order it from Germany. I've done it and it works marvelously. CPU cooler: Remember, it's only a 77 W CPU. You can save a lot of money by buying a Sc...

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is way overkill, IMO. You only need to cool a very efficient dual core that doesn't dissipate much heat. And since you don't require complete silence, that means the fan can be run at higher speeds than say, 300-500 rpm. So why not consider the Arctic Cooling Alpine 1...

By the way, in another build, I had a bottom intake fan (Papst) and a Noctua HS and fan. I removed the exhaust fan experimentally and its removal had little or no effect on operating temps. Wonders of positive pressure. That was a minimalist office build, though. Testing the different fan setups fo...

The Core 3770 only has a TDP of 77 W, so you could suffice with a Scythe Mugen 3. It will save you some money compared to the Thermalright HR-02 Macho since you won't need to buy another fan (the stock fan is great and can be run as low as 300 rpm). The CPU should also suffice with only a CPU heatsi...

Does anyone know whether the fan will only turn on when a certain power consumptions is reached, like some of the Seasonic X PSU's?

The Arctic Cooling Alpine 64, as Pappnass has also mentioned, would be a great choice for your brother. It's very cheap, it doesn't block any RAM slots, and unless he will torture test the CPU constantly, the CPU will be cooled very quietly. When I play Diablo 3, my Athlon ii X3 425 only reaches tem...

Diablo won't cause too many problems, but FPS. And that resolution. That's quite serious.

Well, I'd simply go for a WD Green with as many GB/$ as possible.

In my opinion, SSD caching is less desirable than having things in the SSD. If youre building a new system, and all your programs + OS can fit in the SSD, then go for the SSD. With a Z77 you also have the opportunity for SSD caching if you want to try that some time in the future, but my advice woul...

Well, as usually, that depends. Which games are you playing? Resolution? graphics quality?

I also think that an add-on sound card is unnecessary. The integrated sound card from motherboards is good enough for the majority of users. I just want something that I know will work with this mobo. I don't think there's such a thing as compatibility between sound cards and speakers. So just choos...

I own the Creative GigaWorks T20 II which has received very good reviews on the web. It's a "2,0", meaning no central subwoofer but two speakers. So it's quite compact. It might be overkill for the non-audiophile user who doesn't need to fill an entire house with quality sound. So you should also co...

What about the low capacity drives? I don't think they have so many platters in them.

Das_Saunamies wrote:

kuzzia wrote:How much would it cost to have one fan in the round-up? I don't remember where I can find that piece of information.

The FAQ. viewtopic.php?f=32&t=58424. Right at the top of the subforum.

Thanks.

In general, WD Greens are also very quiet, practically as quiet as the recently reviewed WD Reds (the hardware is also the same, more or less.) For example, take a look at this review: http://www.silentpcreview.com/New_3TB_WD_Caviar_Green_Hard_Drive For ultimate silence, perhaps you could consider a...

Olaf van der Spek wrote:

kuzzia wrote:I really appreciate the way manufacturers are in contact with computer hardware websites like SPCR.

What do you mean?

I apologize for my Danish idiom. I'm glad to see that manufacturers such as SilverStone are present in computer hardware websites such as SPCR.

I really appreciate the way manufacturers are in contact with computer hardware websites like SPCR.

How much would it cost to have one fan in the round-up? I don't remember where I can find that piece of information.

Do all the Slipstreams start reliably at 5V? If so, does that mean that I could run even a 500RPM unit at 5V just to get some minimal airflow at that placement so as to accomplish my goal? The 500 rpm version doesn't, but the 800 rpm version does start at 5V according to both the SPCR review and pe...

If you're not going to use a video card, then two fans will be more than enough. If you intend to OC then one or two fans should be enough for your needs, but if not, then one case fan should do. I don't even think the CPU cooler would need help in that case, but the best way to find out is to exper...

Are you going to replace the stock fans or are you adding Slipstreams on top of the stock fans?

Otherwise, nice picks.

I wouldn't worry too much about compatibility between Win7 and the external optical drive. I have experienced no issues with my external optical drive (also from LG)

Since you're using a mini-ITX board, why not go for a mini-ITX cases with room for your three harddrives? Lian Li PC-Q08 Lian LI PC-Q18 Fractal Design Node 304 Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced Bitfenix Prodigy (though this case is a bit big for a mini-ITX cases.) If you don't want an ITX case but pr...

The Scythe Katana 3 runs very quietly with good PWM controlling. It has a 92 mm fan, is reasonably priced, and is 775-compatible. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is a bit more expensive, has a 120 mm fan, has better thermal performance, but the fan has bad acoustics. So for this option you'd need to...

Another article of interest, this one regarding return rates: http://www.behardware.com/articles/862-7/components-returns-rates-6.html In no particular order, for best reliability: Samsung 830 Series, Intel 330/520 Series, Crucial M4, SanDisk Extreme. I simply wouldn't bother with anything else. I ...

Personally I'd choose the ASUS because of the FanXpert 2. Have you read the review of the ASUS board with FanXpert 2 here at SPCR?

But if you don't intend to use the motherboard fan controller then I'd assume both boards are equally good. Then it boils down to personal preferences I guess.

Well, if you can afford a 256 GB SSD than definitely go for it