The power draw on most of those systems is ridiculous. I agree with most of the author's conclusion though. Loved it, but its hard to justify the markup even if the build is phenomenal. Its basically catered for a very niche crowd. One that has top $$$ to spend and no clue as to how to do it them s...

This news is all over the Mac boards as well. Apparently, most of those chips were destined for Mac machines:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1088682

Let's hope the Intel 510 SSDs have a better launch debut than the X25-M G2s did. That was painful. Are you referring to the TRIM firmware update failure? I know that was rough for the early adopters but since I wasn't directly affected I remember the X25-M G2 as the most reliable SSD ever. Feel fre...

gb115b wrote:how about some S and T series reviews?

I'd also be interested in reviews about the lower powered 'S' series.

Let's hope the Intel 510 SSDs have a better launch debut than the X25-M G2s did. That was painful.

Use zip ties to put it where you want : remove the HD trays you're not using and zip tie it behind the HD bays. I would leave at least 2 cm between the HD bays and the fan if you can, using some kind of spacer. If that doesn't work with your case, forget about a front fan and zip tie the fan direct...

It probably doesn't need much airflow, yet only a front-fan might not be enough: When we look at temperatures the GT 430 performs well in a case with good airflow. It should be noted however that the card does require good ventilation and air moving past it as when this is removed we see temperatur...

I'm looking for a new mid tower case for a build that will be based on an uATX board with a quad core 2 duo (65w) and the passive Zotec GT 430 Zone Edition card. One of the cases I'm looking at is this Lian Li: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/hadza/PC-8FU-i.jpg There would be one SSD and one ...

So, if I'm reading the ideas in this thread correctly, any impedence to air flow creates more noise? While I was going through this thread, I thought of many cases that have front intake fans, with either a mesh front or some sort of partial grill. 1. Mesh http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f309/hadz...

Antec mini P180 in black steel back in stock at Newegg.ca:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductLis ... +mini+p180

Not sure why it's so much more expensive than the white (but costs less to ship...lol)

Awesome SPL specs! Puget seems like a very dedicated and quiet-friendly computer company.

Just curious, what happens to those Puget SPCR certified test rigs? Are they for sale?

On Cats : Our cats currently love my P182 as it houses a Core2 Quad and an 8800GTS G92, gets rather warm and has a blowhole vent on top. They will often take naps on top of it, especially while I'm playing games. Beyond being larger than I can fit into the space, this makes cases like the Fortress ...

I was curious about those indestructable drives, so I emailed IoSafe and they said: *They use Seagate and Hitatchi HDDs *They only have 2.5" HDDs right now *They use Intel SSDs *They don't sell the enclosures by themselves (which is what I really wanted). If they ever sell just the enclosures, I wou...

And still in stock at Newegg.ca (Canada) at least the white ones

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811129044

The new Thermaltake Level 10 GT just unveiled at CES 2011.
http://www.legitreviews.com/news/9800/
http://level10gt.thermaltake.com/

It's a bit smaller and slightly less freakish looking than the orginal level 10.

Thanks Lawrence. I tend to like the Asus board more, based on your review, as it has more display and video I/O ports. I think it would make a great HTPC mobo paired with an i3 chip, even with fewer fan control options. It's a shame the idle power draw wasn't a bit lower though.

Whispercat: I must correct you on the bitumen matter - we still use bitumen on both the R3 and the Mini. The only change that's been made since the R2 is that there's a textile cover over the bitumen, making it a nicer look. The sound proofing characteristics are the same. The concern that we had f...

http://www.nexustek.nl/NXS-silentcases.htm (the Edge has a door, and the Prominent 5 is quite large) http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=FT02 (The FT02 is quite large and deep) http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=54 http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=pr...

Have you looked into any of the Silverstone HTPC cases? Many of them have a clean simple look.

Just received an email back from Fractal. They don't use bitumen any more for soundproofing, just the regular foam material. Also, the mini (along with the R3) does not have any more than 2 external bays. Which rules it out for me. Still, it's a nice looking, updated and comparable version to the An...

It really disappoints me that you can’t over-clock at all with the H67 boards. It seems idiotic although they are addressing that with another chipset that is a hybrid of the P67 & H67 but it won’t be released for months. I thought only the i3 chipsets were locked? Oh, I see, you mean OC'ing the gr...

sub wrote:i'am afraid they only made small changes

...such as?

Fantastic review so far, Lawrence. Looking forward to the next installments.

The baseline i3 chips used to be 73w (TDP) I believe, so if they've gone down to 65w, that's great news.

Question: What is the max display resolution of that uATX H67 board graphics ? (I didn't see any res specs).

This case came out over a year ago, but I just came across it on youtube. Also, EndPCnoise is now using it in their high end elite system. Ok, it's weird and extreme, and big and clunky, yet there's something also strangely appealing about it: http://www.thermaltake.com/product_info.aspx?PARENT_CID=...

Just wondering if Mike or Lawrence plan to attend this year. It would be cool to get a sneak peak at any new interesting quiet hardware coming out.

jhhoffma wrote: Also, and acrylic case will store up static charge before discharging, leaving more potential for damage.

Thanks. I had wondered about this too.

This is good news. I hope Antec borrows some improvements from the Fractal Design group (a la R3).

http://www.xoxide.com/acryliccases.html

Are acrylic cases any good from a silencing perspective? What about RF and EMF sheilding?

Just curious.

I like the minimalist design...almost Apple-ish. And I like the fact the I/O ports are on top (with USB 3.0). The feet seem nice and high so I wonder if there is a vent on the bottom. I just hope it doesn't have that bitumen smell inside. Thanks for posting this. Definitely a nomination for an SPCR ...

I'm also considering either a FT02 or a P-183. My situation is I'd like to transfer my current uATX board into one of these two cases. I was wondering if a fanless video card (like the Zotac 430) on a uATX board in the FT02 would be too far away from the bottom fans for proper cooling? Or should it ...