Im contemplating taking the plunge from XP to Win7 and also from Vista to Win7. I run vista on my laptop, which is only 1yr old and it runs pretty good with aero off, but I seriously miss the XP start menu.. having to 'search' for everything drives me batty. Well you are solidly in the minority on ...

Windows 7 improved on Vista and XP... Well it just proves that MS products are generally crap to begin with. So if the new Windows improves on the old version that just proves that the old one was crap? So not improving on an old version proves the old version was perfect? It sounds like you just w...

Couldn't you do positive pressure from the front on a P183? It has a really open front (with a door) and I believe you can have 2 12cm intakes up front and even one in the middle (behind the drive cage). Why not use negative pressure? The P183 has a good amount of filter surface area. Unless you are...

The gentle typhoons are also great. The 183 just has more open intakes on the front, the general design is the same as the 182. Personally, I would try it with out any intake fans. Many block the top and just use the back exhaust, but obviously it's designed to use the top exhaust too. I heard of pe...

Setting up like so means that windows 7 has a whole hdd to it's self, my boot times are crazy sub 40 seconds and shut down even faster. That is due to using a solid state drive, not due to the fact that you are using multiple drives. Also as each drive has it's own SATA connection ur pc is not limi...

I'm going to go against the grain here a bit. For an average PC user (or even above average) the performance gains are going to be minimal, perhaps unnoticeable. Things like web browsing, email, and listening to mp3s are so light on data that you are just working from RAM in most cases. Most applica...

You are going to get a lot more space per dollar if you don't get the newest biggest drives, so 1.5TB or even 1TB . 2 1TB drives are much cheaper than a 2TB, and in most cases it's not a big deal to have more drives. As far as noise goes, cost is not really a factor. It's mostly just a choice betwee...

Looks like a solid middle range system. I can't really help you on the Linux issues though.

There was just today a review posted here on the new Athlon x4's. AMD seems to be going hard for the budget market. As he covers in the review, the price/performance is comparable between the AMDs and Intels (in this $100 range). The notion that AMD is a better value is not really about just the pro...

Also, I'm a bit paranoid about hdd temps... my last case was a Nexus Breeze: quiet as hell, but literally hell for the drives. I lost two in there before I figured out what was happening! The WD Green is a low power drive and they'll have lots of room around them suspended in the Solo. You would ha...

You might not need the intake fan to keep it cool. Start with a 120mm exhaust fan and see where your temps are at. a 120 in the back is going to a fair bit quieter than a 92 in the front. The Caviar Green is a good choice for a DAW. Many people seem to think that high performance drives will improve...

Starcraft
Neverwinter Nights
Oblivion
Warcraft 2
Civilization 2 or 4

There truly is no reason to use Vista over 7, every review and article I've seen agrees with that. There is a Windows email program, it just isn't installed by default. You are the first person I've seen recommending that owners of Vista buy the full version. Go ahead and do that if that's what you ...

Well, there is the possibility you need Vista installed before it will proceed with new installation. If you buy the less expensive Upgrade version and somehow need to reinstall your precious Windows 7, what are you going to do? You would most likely have to reinstall Vista to upgrade--a very real ...

Well even if Microsoft doesn't clear this up, we will know once it comes out. So unless you have a burning desire to pre-order, you can just wait and see. Plenty of us PC builders/enthusiasts have unused copies of Windows laying around, especially XP. Why should we pay more for the full version? The...

Microsoft has confirmed on someone's blog (can't find it now) that the upgrade disk will perform a clean install of Win7 in the same way Vista did. You will only need to insert your previous valid Windows disk as some point during the installation of Windows 7 and it will perform a clean install. N...

1) an installed and activated OS that qualifies for the upgrade (there's no option to enter a key -- it just checks for that installed and activated version), This is not confirmed. The tech media have been asking Microsoft this question for a long time now and there has still been no answer. This ...

As to whether to do the in place upgrade when upgrading from Vista, I always do a clean install with Windows. The registry system is a mess, randoms files are hidden all over the place, etc. Plus, I just think it's good to do a clean install every year or two just to keep junk and stuff you don't us...

Microsoft has not said anything about how the upgrade version will work when installing on to a blank drive. However, in a all previous versions of Windows you could use an upgrade disk to install on a blank drive (you would just need to type in your key from the old version, I believe). So the assu...

Dell does not make a computer that requires that much air flow. Why do you think you need so much? You should be more focused on your temperature readings than a specific amount of air flow. Also, two slower fans are better if you can do that. A large part of making a PC silent is power efficiency a...

I swear I've seen MBs with dual DVI, I'll have to do some research.

If you don't play games just get a MB with onboard video. Most have dual DVI or DVI and HDMI. Any modern MB can handle any 2D graphics just fine. I'm not sure what it is, misconceptions about modern integrated graphics or marketing that tries to get everyone to buy an expensive card, but a lot peopl...

Basically, it has a 3 prong plug for a reason; it was designed to be connected to the safety ground. I'm not so sure about how much (electromagnetic) noise a standard PC case keeps in though. I seem to remember learning that without a complete shield a large amount "leaks", even from a small opening...

Hello, I've recently discovered this treasure of a place and I've decided to add these forums to my list of forums to frequent. I'm a recent grad in audio production, so I've become interested in silent computers from the DAW perspective. Even if you aren't recording in the same room as a computer, ...

I don't believe normal cases provide much of a shield, as far as electromagnetism goes. It is nice that you ground yourself whenever you touch the metal frame (PSU chassis ground is earth grounded and thus any metal touching it). So I would make sure to use a wrist band to ground yourself when worki...

The level of design and engineering to make active noise cancellation work reasonably well in this situation is probably very high. It's done in headphones because they provide a nearly ideal environment; you know the exact response of the speakers and mic you are using, acoustics are almost a non-f...

Definitely going to replace the PSU. Haven't decided on Nexus or Corsair. Looking at review information the Nexus seems to have the edge for lower noise. However, really like the idea of a modular PSU. I'll also replace rear exhaust with one of the Scythe fans. I cannot keep the northbridge cool en...

IMO Scythe has a few good lines. Slipstreams are the best value, probably the best value fan overall actually. S-Flex and Gentle Typhon are a bit more and have some interesting designs. Basically, trying to find "the best" fan isn't really worth it (or possible). Just get what appeals to you most ou...

You have a lot of good options. Look at the 120mm fan roundup article. It's a couple years old, but many of the fans in it are still among the best. From a value perspective I think the Scythe Slipstream and Nexus Basic are the best options. My vote is to buy some Slipstream 1200rpm's and then under...

You definitely want to find a way to make it work without using the fan on the north bridge. 120mm exhaust fans should be able to provide plenty enough air flow to keep the MB cool. A Sythe or Nexus is going to be able to provide a good amount more air flow at noise levels compared to your TriCool o...