My previous PC served me well (and still does) but it's not capable to do what ever task I want, any more. Especially, the ability to handle High Definition files (and to play the latest games). 1080p files are no go-go and 720p displayed at slow motion
. I am using a laptop (not mine) to play/edit those files but eventually, I had to upgrade. So here it is:Case: Thermaltake M9
CPU: Intel E5300 (Dual core, 2.60 GHz)
Motherboard: MSI P45 Neo2-FIR
VGA: MSI N9500GT-MD512Z/D2
HDD: Samsung SSD 64GB (MMCRE64G5MPP-0VA) MLC
PSU: HEC 400TE-2WE [or Heroichi (or Herolchi)]
Ram: GeIL Black Dragon 4GB DDR2-800 (GB24GB6400C5DC)
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-C12P
DVD recorder: Plextor PX-820SA
Case:
I liked this case from the first sight. It has the proper design for push-pull, 2 fans, set up. i) One 12cm slow rpm fan for intake, to cool the mechanic HDD and create some airflow & ii) A 12cm fan for exhaust. And the HDD cage has the correct orientation for this set up. But until I gather all the parts, finally I went for a SSD!
So, no need for intake fan.THE BAD: Short cables. a) No problem with front USB cable. b) Front audio cable in combination with the far left connector in MSI board is too short (for cable management). c) But I can't even hide the power switch/led, HDD etc. cables. 1-2 inches (3-4cm) longer would be enough.
CPU:
I read and looking at several temperature graphs but I didn't knew what to expect in cooling and real performance. So I picked a not to powerful processor and I will see how it goes.
Motherboard:
I really need a serial port!
I like the design, but NOT THE FLOPPY CONNECTOR PLACEMENT. I intend to use the floppy drive and the cable will not look too good crossing the entire case. The front panel audio connector is to far on the left also.VGA:
Fanless, low power consumption and native HDMI support. I would prefer DD3 instead of DDR2, but no one is perfect.
HDD (as used to called):
Samsung SSD MLC 90/Read-70/Write. Far superior to all JMicron and dual (Raid) JMicron solutions. But inferior to Intel of course, Vertex and the new Samsungs (220R/200W) etc... (for some benchies look below).
CPU cooler:
I had a serious thought on this. I couldn't decide. Could I run it fanless in the hot Greek Summer? Then will be a tower-style cooler like Ninja, Thermalright, or other. But I think even a minimal "puff" will cool a CPU with ease. [I remember once, I put a 1000rpm 8cm fan to a HDD and drop the temperature by 8-10 C degrees!!]. OK then, a fan. So it will be a blow-down cooler. And I picked the best one (in my opinion).
PSU:
I am using a HEC PSU and works flawless (even with a fan swap). So there is no need for experiments. I think that those 400W versions are 80 Plus Bronze, but I am not sure. No need for higher voltage anyway.
Here are some random photos (poor digital camera) but with work in progress. PC power-up perfectly and loads BIOS, but I am missing a SATA cable (stupid Plextor retail package, I thought that a SATA cable will be included
) to connect the DVD drive and install Windows!! 
[It is Easter holidays, so I have to wait]:
As you can see it's a three (3) fan set up.
1) At the cooler, there is a Nexus fan with Noctua's "Low-Noise-Adaptor" and spins at ~900rpm. This fan blows air to northbridge, capacitors etc. and to VGA's heatsink. Because of this, I think that I will keep it at this relative high rotation.
2) Sharkoon ("Silent Eagle") 1000rpm fan. I will definately use a resistor, maybe Noctua's "Ultra-Low-Noise-Adaptor" or another I one I have (12V to 9V if I recall correctly).
3) PSU's fan, which I can't speculate it's rpm. I don't have in mind a fan swap at the moment.
I think that for a (average) 12hour/per day usage PC, you can't use less than two fans. I was thinking of using a fanless PSU, a Silverstone 300W one, but I couldn't take the risk. At Summer this set up: a fanless PSU, a fan on CPU cooler and a fan as exhaust, will suffer.
The good news is that PC is quiet! No noise from the front of the case (SSD "magic"), but some noise from the 1000rpm Sharkoon, the 900rpm Nexus and PSU's fan.
I am sorry for the rush and the incomplete presentation, but I can't deny that I am very excited. Below are some benchies for the SSD in a friend's Vista 32bit PC (forgot the I/O operations test). I will come back with some more photos. For example, above CPU socket glow nicely 4 blue leds (MSI's "DrMOS"), two red leds on ram (urfortunately a bit bright) and a nice touch from MSI is that "power" "reset" and "clr CMOS" buttons emit a warm green color. I had PC keep it running at BIOS for a few minutes. CPU E5300 was at 27 C degree, one degree above ambient (this doesn't say much, I just mention it). Will install OS and re-post. Regards...
