I have the same case with an Athlon 64 4600x2....I used both front 92mm fans, but mostly to cool the three harddrives, not to necessarily improve system cooling. I used the two 80mm rear fans, but I did not use the side fan. I just don't see this one being beneficial. But, in your system, it might b...

Try:

Discount Electronics on Anderson

Goodwill Computer Store at I-35 and 183

I'm not sure that there is a better option than what you already have. Nvidia is more power-efficient than ATI, so moving to ATI would not help. The 7300 series might be a little less power, but not enough to spend money on it. Moving to a more advanced heatpipe based cooler might help. Use a utilit...

Lots of good questions. Have you considered the cost of electricity to keep a PC with USB drives (or a large NAS) running?

I like the idea of using USB drives on your Mac. Access will be very fast. Much faster than a 100Mbit ethernet. They will also power down with your Mac, saving electricity.

Sounds like you are very lucky. The power supply in my case is loud. Since it is shorter than normal, it will be difficult or expensive to quiet.

The Nvidia 7600GS is probably your best choice. It is more power-efficient than the X1600, so you will have less heat load inside your case. If money is an issue, then drop down to the 7300 with a passive heatsink. I have the Gigabyte 7600GS with the passive cooler in my HTPC. Look at Xbitlabs for t...

This won't help the OP, but is directed more at people who might buy an Aria. ..

The Aria is the first Antec case I've owned that really sucked. I ended up selling mine rather than doing the massive mods to make it quiet. I would not recommend it (or the newer NSK1300) to anyone.

I really like the NSK2400. I especially like the harddrive mounts and quietness. But... (1) Size: (very important) NSK2400 = 5.5"(H) x 17.5"(W) x 16.3"(L) Chenbro = 3.7" x 12.8" x 15.6" I really don't need two 5.25 bays or any full-height PCI/PCIe slots. (2) Orientation: (very important) Because of ...

Anybody have this case? http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-71023BD&show=r It looks nice and is small. Seems like it would work well for an HTPC. I like the 2.5" and 3.5" harddrive mounts. I typically keep my OS on a separate harddrive than data, recorded tv, etc. I would use a small 2.5" for my ...

I used to have one of the Sonata cases, and I really liked the orientation of the hard drives. It is easy to remove one drive without disconnecting EVERYTHING and then yanking out a drive cage. Thumbs up from me.

I've got a pretty quiet HTPC in a Silverstone LC20 case, but the system would never do S3 standby correctly. I've been researching the components looking for hints on how to solve the problem. I solved it today, and now have a "silent" PC (at least when I am not using it!). Just posting this here in...

I had the earlier version of the Aria. The new version is the NSK1300 (or something like that). It looks identical except for a new vent in the top. I did not like it at all. Venting was poor - my Athlon 2400 system ran extremely hot. It also was not quiet at all. Mostly due to the power supply fan....

I have two of the Gigabyte Silent Pipe II 7600GTs, and highly recommend them. The only downside is the lack of HDCP.

I would recommend the Gigabyte Silent Pipe II 7600GT. It is typically a little cheaper than the Asus model, but it does use a extra slot.

I recommend you keep your OS on a separate harddrive, not in a RAID array. I typically use an 80GB Seagate for the OS/Programs. Typically less than 20GB is used. It makes it very easy to image the boot drive before major system changes, updates, etc.

I'm looking for a low-profile or at least slim mATX case. I really like the Antec NSK2400, but I need something that will also work vertically. I've thought about the Antec Minuet 300, but it seems to not be very quiet. Can anyone suggest a mATX case that will work vertically or horizontally? Thanks...

Is the new 4 pin connector compatible with older 3 pin motherboards?

I know what PWM means in general...but what does it mean on this particular cooler??? Does it have it's own temp sensor and PWM control built into the cooler? Or does it just mean that it is compatible with PWM control from the motherboard??? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168351...

Saw this review and thought it was interesting. Their software lets you adjust the voltage and clock. Of course, the primary purpose of the article was overclocking, but for silent PC purposes, undervolting is also possible. http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2051&page=1 There are pass...

I did a mini-review of the LC-20 at avsforum.com, and there are many subsequent comments from other LC-20 owners.

I think it is unlikely that you will be able to use all 6 harddrive slots because of interference with the power supply, PCI cards, etc. I could only use 3 slots.

It's difficult to get a straight answer to your question - I've also been looking for the same info... From reading I've done, my understanding is that Purevideo acceleration scales with GPU clock speed. Since the 7600GT has a higher GPU clock speed than the 7300GS, it should have better Purevideo p...

I was looking at the NSK2400 and one of the many Silverstone cases. I went went the Silverstone LC-20 for three reasons...the silver front of the NSK2400 doesn't look as nice, the ability to have more hard drives in the LC-20, and the ability to use a full-size ATX motherboard. That being said, IMO,...

I did a mini-review of the Silverstone LC-20 case over at avsforum.com. I've purchased two Silverstone cases, and my general impression is not favorable. They make nice looking cases, but seem to skimp on internals and make some REALLY stupid design choices. For the high price they typically charge,...

I don't think you will feel the difference between the two processors. It's less than 10% difference, which is somewhat neglicable when you take into account all the other system variables (hard disk speed, video, etc). I have no doubt that if you bench mark movie encoding, the 4800 will grade out m...

I like the Nvidia 7600GS or GT. They run cooler than their equivalent ATI offerings (X1600), and both are available passive. I have three of them in my various home systems. Gigabyte, in particular, seems to have the best passive solutions. The downside is no video input. Get a cheap TV tuner card f...

Two ideas if you might want to keep your existing case... Have you considered a different power supply like the Antec SP-450 that draws air in from the back? It should be easier to add an effective duct to the rear of the power supply. I'm not familiar with your case...could you add a duct all the w...