Currently I have a pretty much silent system (120mm @ ~500rpm, 2x80mm @ ~800rpm, but performance is a little... dated. Duron 1200 (Morgan), Radeon 9200SE, 40GB IDE drive (Barracuda 7200.7). So, the parts I'm keeping are as follows:
Seasonic Super Silencer 400 rev.A2, modded with a Coolermaster TLF-S82-EB fan, externally powered to bypass the faulty controller.
Coolermaster SUF-S12-EB 120mm fan
Plextor PX-712A DVDRW drive
Sunbeam Rheobus
My budget is around $1500, less if possible
It does not include storage for fileserver duties - I plan to do that 6-8 months later, as my wallet recovers from this purchase...Anyway, the plans are:
Athlon64 3200+
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
2x Samsung 512MB DDR400 (single-sided, FWIW)
Leadtek 6800GT (or regular 6800, depending on budget and availability)
Samsung 80GB (or maybe I'll keep my current Barracuda for the meanwhile)
Coolermaster CM Stacker
The reason for picking Stacker is that it leaves me options open - when I do build the storage array (I want to do a RAID5 on the SiI3114) I'll be able to freely experiment with enclosures, suspension and whatnot. Also, I don't exclude the possibility of OC'ing (within reason of course), and Stacker's vented design allows for very good airflow with slow, quiet fans.
For cooling, I plan to put an XP-120 on the CPU, with the Coolermaster 120mm fan I have now - it undervolts very nicely, doesn't click at all, and is inaudible from half a meter away through a side vent. I want it to shut off completely however, when the CPU is running under CnQ, so I'll connect it through a fanmate set on minimum, and use Asus Q-Fan - alone, Q-Fan alternates between low speed and full speed, but fanmated it should alternate between off and low speed, which is precisely what I'm aiming at.
Video card will use a VF-700AlCu - from what I understand, NV Silencer 5 is somewhat problematic, and besides it won't fit over NB-47J on the chipset. The 70mm ball bearing fin gives me some concern, particularly because finding a quality sleeve-bearing 70mm fan to swap in wouldn't be easy at all, but I guess I'll have to live with that, as there are simply no other options aside from jury-rigging a CPU heatsink.
I'm thinking what would be the better place to put the power supply, top or bottom. Either position is easy to duct from outside, and the top position offers a ready fan mount which can be used to blow outside air into the PSU - am I right in assuming that two fans in a push-pull configuration will be able to spin slower than a single fan just pulling air through the PSU? The power demands imposed by this system are quite high, so I'd like to play it safe with the (quite expensive) PSU. On the other hand, the bottom position will let me use both front and bottom PSU intake vents, as the bottom vents will be positioned right over the case floor vent. In addition, placing the PSU in the bottom position frees up 3 80mm fan mounts in the top of the case where hot air gathers, and in case the single 120mm in the back proves insufficient (at low speed, that is - I don't want to run any fans over 1000rpm, would rather add another very slow fan than run existing fans faster), putting fans there will greately improve overall cooling.
So, in summary, there will be 2x 120mm fans (CPU and case exhaust), 1 or 2 80mm fans (PSU), and a single 70mm fan on the video card. Running below 1000rpm (preferrably closer to 500-600 for 120mm and 700-800 for 80mm) it should be quiet enough.
Future upgrade plans include storage (3-4 drives for a RAID5 array, either mounted in the stock 4-in-3 module with 120mm fans, or individually suspended and/or enclosed), some OC'ing on the CPU and/or graphics card, and maybe a second 6800GT when they drop in price sufficiently (as in, $150ish used).
Is this workable? Anything obvious that I'm missing? All feedback is welcome