Other advantages:
-Better productivity.
-Better enjoyment of your computer audio. HTPCs, anyone?
-People think you're more refined. Unless you have bling-bling all over your case, that is.
-People don't know you have the computer on all the time. So you appear less of a geek.

I have an ASUS motherboard, too, and ASUS Probe that I think overestimates CPU temps. SiSoft SANDRA reports a much lower temp when I compare the two. How often does the stock HSF reach 6100 RPM?

No, I don't have a UPS but plan to get one for my next system (most definitely APC). I've had two power outages in one month (each lasting several hours).

Cool, thanks.

To me, black is more elegant and less flashy (literally). Silver is fine, though.

I believe NCQ is supported only on SATA II...I don't know of any motherboard or PCI solutions that support SATA II as of yet. Curiously, Intel claims to support NCQ in their latest 915/925 chipsets but only SATA I.

Fine choices, inxil, but have you considered Sennheiser's PC 155 headset as an alternative to the Plantronics .Audio 90 (which is in itself a great headset)? The Sennheiser can accept 3.5mm or USB input.

How about a review of the stock Athlon 64 HSF, SPCR reviewers? It might be useful for many of us...

Thank you, Neil. I was seriously considering the Zalman 7000 AlCu but don't know if I have enough room. From your advice, I think I will buy a retail A64 when there are nForce3 S939 boards available. Stock HSF should be good enough for me!

How does the stock Athlon 64 heatsink perform (I believe it's an AVC) in terms of cooling and noise? Would you recommend a third-party alternative?

I'm sorry if this topic has been covered, but I'm in a hurry.

Cheers and thanks.

Q3'04 is the official "date."

In response to the questions above:
-Yes, the SATA versions of the 7200.8 series are all native.
-Q3'04
-This remains to be seen; I will wait, though. I want native SATA all the way.

Also, the 7200.8 series has an 8.0 ms average seek time (down from 8.5 in the 7200.7) and has 16MB buffers available. I'm getting the one-platter 120GB version!

The Plextor PX-708A is very quiet according to Maximum PC, and is their current "best of the best" DVD recorder. That is about to change, though, with the introduction of 12X burners from Sony, TDK, and Plextor's own PX-712. Sony has an 8X dual-layer, dual-format burner called the DRU-700, too. (It ...

Thanks, CRT_Leech. I guess I will get the Sony for my next system then.

The "floppy" part of the Mitsumi floppy drive/media reader is basically a notebook floppy drive. However, there seems to be reliability problems with the drive. You can read some customer ratings here: http://axiontech.com/ratings.php?act=view&cat=FLOPPY%20DRIVES&pcode=FDMIFA404A This is where I buy...

http://hardwareguys.com/picks/memory.html I'd personally go with Crucial for compatibility and stability; their modules have conservative timings and CAS and are in perfect JEDEC compliance (up to DDR400 or PC3200). And since they make their own chips (well, parent company Micron) they know how bes...

Regarding the most reliable floppy drive, Alps' can claim that title. Their drives have the highest MTBF I've seen (yes, I have researched) and are used in professional applications. But I have one, and it's probably the loudest floppy drive ever. I also have a Mitsumi; it's fairly quiet (and reliab...

How come two different cases are both named Gaming Bomb II (or Xpider II)?

I have just bought the Fortron 350 to replace the stock PSU in my Aopen case. It is MUCH quieter and perhaps the quietest PSU I have.

I would recommend going with Samsung optical drives, perhaps a black Samsung 52X/32X/52X combo. They're a bit slow to access and autorun your CDs but are quieter than other drives in my experience, including Lite-On drives. I have no experience with LG drives, unfortunately.