I'll have to bite the bullet before then, but I know I'm not the only one torn between the two (leaning toward MSI for probably lower idle, but GB's is $5 cheaper, and a mini-HDMI->DVI would be a useful adapter). It looks like the GB might be quieter under load, but the sites reviewing so far have p...

Excellent. I guess I'll get new Scythes. Thanks.

So, can I assume that the Slipstreams are still very good fans for the CFM & dBA, then? 4-pin PWM isn't a must, but I was sold on it even back in '07--just that then, the ~450RPM (5v) Slipstreams kept my computer cool enough, and were 100% inaudible from where I sit. The ACs then, while very good fa...

So, I'm about to add a good 100W to my PC (GTX 460), and I'm unsure whether a couple old Slipstream 800 RPM fans are up for it--or maybe if something that can ramp up under load might be better. The old 7-blade AC PWM fans were OK (the slow Slipstream fit my needs better, at the time), but now they'...

+1 Andyb, right down to mobo brand preference. Gigabyte and MSI boards since the bad cap fiasco have been stellar, IME. Another problem with an older system is that newer GPUs with an AGP bridge tend to be much slower than the older GPUs, thanks to both PCI-e-centric design (8GB/s full-duplex v. up ...

When I got my AX-7, it was amazing. An undervolted Panaflo kept it all running smoothly for years. Now? Newegg has at least four good CPU HSes off the top of my head, and enthusiast stores have more. When I got my P80 HDD, it was pure bliss. Not even notebook drives at the time were that quiet. Now?...

@ Liacon : Thanks! Noted. But ... tima notes that he " won't be using the Pioneer [215D] to rip any more CDs " due to ripping artifacts. I have made a habit of ripping all my cds (to flac, using Grip) and I'd hate to have artifacts in there. Any opinion/experience on that? I went quiet by using a e...

Quieter than the 400GB? Not hard, sadly. I got taken by that, too, before reading :). I doubt the Silent Drive will help enough. The noise just eats through any barrier (mine's a HD403LJ, IIRC). I can heartily recommend a WD GP, if the performance hit would be OK. Otherwise, a 500GB Samsung would no...

The Audigy 2 cards, except for the Platinum, were as bad for music as they were good for games. AFAIK, the X-Fis are OK. Really? How come? Do you mean the Platinum or the Platinum Pro BTW? I think it was just Platinum, but this was awhile ago. Generally listening, with software SRC. The ZS just was...

The Xonar seems to getting a good bit of love at Head-fi, and seeing banks of bypass caps on it make me feel warm and fuzzy inside :). Later on, you could even hook it up to a nice amp. I don't know that the DTX-800 benefit much from a good amp, of course. The Audigy 2 cards, except for the Platinum...

For RAM, no, you don't need 1333MHz. Intel's FSB does run at the same bandwidth as RAM per clock, so it's not too confusing, except that 1333 is really 333MHz, with data read four times per source clock. Anyway, the chipset is dual-channel capable. If you run in single-channel mode (the manual will ...

Silence/cooling: HR-01 Plus, Scythe 800RPM Slipstream fans, and Zalman Fanmates for convenience. [...] Of course some decent easy to use TIM, too, like Ceramique. Thanks. I was kinda leaning towards the Scythe Ninja, because that seems to be what everyone's using, but this get's a pretty darn good ...

1. You can't just connect pins. I can't find the specs right now, but there's more to it, and IIRC, it wasn't just a diode across at each fan (though there may be such a requirement as part of what should be done). 2. You should be able to daisy-chain them. The header exists on them specifically for...

Workstation: the Solo is a good value, but any Antec that you find used around here will fit. Honestly, almost every Antec tower I've built from or worked on has been a pleasure, compared to most others. Don't short the P182...but also consider how it would look (seems to be a love/hate thing), and ...

1. There's a decent EXT2/3 driver for Windows. Wouldn't help when bringing it over to a buddy's house, but might help for easy recovery of data off the server. Beyond that, it's one of those things that's plain annoying, since FAT32, which is an abysmal FS, is the oonly one supported across all mode...

Touché on the distros. Don't use Windows? First, it's not like Windows won't work. Depending on your experiences and mindset going in, using Linux could be enlightening, or hair-pulling. If you're afraid of the command-line, there's no doubt it will be hair-pulling. Many aspects are going to be od...

I'll assume since you even mention Linux distros, that one would be used for the case of a file server. 1. Don't use Windows. Windows has always been too twitchy about using the HDD. Until you saturate the drive or buffers, a stock *n*x install will just write every so often, even with random reads/...

Was your SATA controller set to AHCI? Emulating IDE, was your optical drive running UDMA?

I thought the 320GB (only one sample) was adequately quiet, and felt quite snappy--a good balance. If the Hitachi P drives are even quieter without a performance sacrifice, I might have to make up an excuse to use one in something 8), to hear for myself. It could also be just what the OP wants, sinc...

Any suggestions on a fast but also quiet 150gb Hard Drive? Velociraptor. Not up for that kind of expense? Then, think 2.5", or think big. The Seagate Momentus is a good choice, for 2.5" The Scorpio (non-black) might be, but I don't want to give it too much credit, since the official noise specs dif...

Don't forget to send it to Gigabyte , too. That should not happen . You should able to install the HSF with a good insulating layer (like clear plastic to protect the mating surface on the bottom of a heatsink...not that I ever, um, well, :oops:) on the CPU, and it should simply refuse to boot, due ...

It could be DMA (or BIOS issues). It's not an IRQ problem. Maybe XP doesn't know to automatically try UDMA for the HDDs on that JMicron chip w/ the driver you have?

12 volt lights = 13 watt 12Volt CFL - $13.78 each. 600 lumens on just over one amp. How many could a good trolling battery light for several 7 hour evenings? http://www.nolico.com/saveenergy/12_volt_marine_cfl.htm BIG PLUS - DC lights are flicker free. It's a CFL... you don't know whether it is DC ...

Costs of productivity loss with inferior lighting. Lighting should try to mimic sunlight in spectrum, because that is where the human eye can see best, and thus it reduces eyestrain, which is the other defining factor of decreasing eyesight performance during aging (the other is your genes). That's...

...before overhead. GbE should be able to get close to max, too, but usually stops around 40MB/s. Sure you probably won't get even that in real terms, but...

HDD is a tough one. Seagate seems to have given up on quiet 3.5". I wonder how the 320GB WD compare? *browses Newegg* Or, the 250GB, for that matter... Heatpipes on the board = marketing. Audio quality will depend far less on the chip used than the nuances of the motherboard. Actual experience with ...

You can run single channel RAM. Get 1GB, unless you have other plans for the server that may actually tax it, or just want to grab RAM because it's cheap. I would say to go as low as E2180 for CPU. A nice PIII will handle everything you claim to be using it for with CPU cycles to spare. The E2180 wi...

Everything on C:. As soon as you first boot from the HDD, set the page file to be really big, like 4GB to 8GB. Need to reload the OS? Clear all temporary stuff, copy your user folder elsewhere, and re-install. Use as many apps as possible that do not heavily rely on the registry. Make sure to check ...

nVidia needs to work on ways of getting IGP better and better. Intel will not compete at the very top, but as more transistors are crammed in for less money, the difference is going to shrink. Would you have recommended an office-style user get IGP in '03? Not if you say the quality and performance....

The chipset is the same (P35/ICH9R). P35: Intel P35 chipset. Mainstream, stable, good features, etc.. Intel didn't quite get the 900 series right, but they did the P35. P35C (combination?): as above, but can accept DDR3 RAM, as well as DDR2 (only one at any given time, of course). EP35: Saves a coup...