Quiet sub-$3k build

[Kisakuku]

About to pull the trigger on the following build. Please let me know if you see some obvious incompatibilities or if my reasoning is seriously flawed, and help me pick between some alternatives I listed. Is there more I can do in terms of quieting this build?


Approximate Purchase Date: The sooner, the better.

Budget Range: Less than $3k after rebates,

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (mostly WoW, so SLI/Xfire and dual-GPU cards are of questionable value).

Parts Not Required: Keeping my old 22" CRT, keyboard, mouse until I finish the build, will buy new ones later. Keeping my Sennheiser
HD600 headphones and Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speakers for the new build.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com > Newegg.com (pay California sales tax) > FrozenCPU.com

Country of Origin: US.

Parts Preferences: None.

Overclocking: Yes.

SLI or Crossfire: No. (Doesn't benefit WoW. Will be using Thermalright Spitfire or Shaman aftermarket GPU cooler, so 2nd card won't fit anyway.)

Monitor Resolution: Buying a new LCD eventually, at least 1920x1200, possibly 2560 x 1600. Hopefully by that time there will be some 120Hz models available.


Case:
SILVERSTONE Fortress Series FT02B Black Aluminum / Steel Computer Case
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030MHEJK/
$229.00 w/free shipping

Don't want the side window model, would rather have sound-dampening foam on that side panel too. Hopefully will come from Amazon with newer Silverstone AP181 fans. Will run all 3 of them on low to decrease noise. Will switch the top 120mm fan for a slower / quieter Akasa Apache PWM Fan (see under CPU cooler fans).

PSU:
CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PJ6QW4/
$189.99, $179.99 after mail-in rebate w/free shipping

Reportedly fits FT02 better than the Seasonics, could remove the fan grille if it doesn't. Rated wattage is overkill, but the only other option with all the features is AX750, which is only $20 cheaper. Do I need SATA/power extension cables for HDD/SSD drives positioned in the front of FT02?


CPU:
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115070
$329.99 w/free shipping


CPU Cooler:
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WB2LV6/
$62.99 w/free shipping

Push fan might have clearance issues with RAM heat spreaders?


CPU Cooler fans:
Akasa 120mm x 25mm Apache Black Super Silent PWM Fan w/ Hydro Dynamic Bearings - Black
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10345/
$15.95 x3

Prolimatech Megahalems Extra Fan Clips - 25mm Fan
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8890/
$2.99

Akasa PWM Splitter - Smart Fan Cable
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10350/
$7.95

Two fans for push-pull setup on CPU cooler and another one to replace the 120mm exhaust fan on FT02. All three will plug into the PWM splitter cable. They are each rated at 0.3A, so should be OK, since the PWM header is rated at 1A. Push fan might have clearance issues with RAM heat spreaders?


Mobo:
ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131693
$219.99, $8.50 shipping
OR
ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131682
$184.99 w/free shipping

Like the wider spacing of PCI slots and the 2nd PWM fan header on Sabertooth. (I want to run 4 PWM fans: 2 CPU cooler ones, 1 case exhaust and 1 GPU cooler, so the second PWM header will come in handy.) Don't mind giving up Pro's 2nd PCI slot and some external I/O connectors for those.


RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231429
$249.99, $5.99 shipping
OR
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231315
$249.99 w/free shipping

CL9 and 1.5V for stability. Am I going to have clearance problems between X series heat spreaders and the fans on the CPU cooler? If yes, will probably go with the second set, seems to have smaller heat spreaders.


GPU:
EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004B8VL64/
$499.99 w/free shipping

Don't want to SLI/Xfire or use dual-GPU cards since WoW doesn't benefit from them. Will be using Thermalright Spitfire or Shaman aftermarket GPU cooler, so 2nd card won't fit anyway.


GPU Cooler:
Thermalright Shaman Eight Heatpipe Universal VGA Cooler
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12301/
$79.95

Not ideal for vertical mounting in FT02 due to resulting heat pipe orientation and not being a slot cooler with exhaust outside the case. Quieter than Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus. Downside is it blocks 3 and maybe even 4 PCI slots on the mobo, only leaving the bottom PCIe 2.0 x4 and maybe PCI above it, so I'm limited to a sound card at most.

OR

Thermalright Spitfire Universal Copper VGA Cooler
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10236/
$74.95
PLUS
Thermalright GF-100 Spitfire Bolt-Thru Kit
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11055/
$9.99
PLUS
Thermalright TR TY-140 140mm x 160mm PWM Fan - 900R~1300PM
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11677/
$14.99 (OOS, so might get it from HeatsinkFactory.com)

This is a "make your own Shaman" kit. Spitfire has correct heat pipe orientation for vertical mounting in FT02. It won't outright block any PCI slots, but might have clearance problems with wider PCI cards. Will have to plug the fan into Sabertooth's 2nd PWM header, since it has a regular-sized PWM 4-pin connector and the one on the video card is a mini-4 pin. I'm already splitting the 1st PWM header to 3 Akasa Apaches.

Thermalright VRM-G2 VGA Voltage Regulator Cooler
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11666/
$34.95

Might be overkill for GTX 580's VRMs, but couldn't hurt. It's designed for GTX 480, but apparently can be easily modded to fit GTX 580 by removing one screw. Will use it in passive mode w/o a fan. Heat pipes are oriented correctly for vertical mounting in FT02 and it's compatible with the Spitfire in either orientation. Hopefully, it won't interfere with CPU cooler/fans.


SSD:
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX120G 3.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227590
$214.99, $194.99 after mail-in rebate and free shipping
OR
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003NE5JCO/
$223.57 w/free shipping
OR
Wait until February.

Crucial RealSSD C300 2.5" 128GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820148348) is faster, but doesn't seem to be such a good value at $264.99. Don't own any laptops I could ever put this into, so seems like buying the 3.5" version of Vertex 2 is a better deal. Any downsides to the integrated 3.5" enclosure? Not sure how well it will fit into the FT02 HD caddies. (It will go into 5.25" bay if I remove the caddies.) The 2.5" SSD will mount elegantly on the side of 5.25" cages using the adapter included with the FT02 case. Then again, maybe I shouldn't get an SSD right now and wait for the new generation coming out in February?


HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822152245
$99.99 w/free shipping
OR
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001U3S5S0/
$60.61 w/free shipping

F4 is a 5400 rpm drive, so slower than the 7200 rpm F3, but great as a quiet media storage drive. SSD will take care of the OS/programs. On the other hand, F3 is not much louder than F4, it has a smaller capacity, but better overflow alternative if I fill up 75% of the 120Gb SSD.

Akasa HDD Cooler / Anti-Vibration Suspension Set
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11757/
$10.99

Will probably remove the 3.5" HDD caddies and mount the HDD in 5.25" bay.


Optical drives:
LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827136181
$99.99, $4.99 shipping

Quiet BD burner, good reviews on CDRLabs (http://www.cdrlabs.com/Reviews/lg-wh10l ... usion.html).

LG Black GH24LS50 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827136178
$19.99, $4.99 Shipping

Quiet cheap second drive, can use as a second DVD burner in a pinch.


Sound card:
ASUS Xonar Essence ST 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UVME88/
$214.16 w/free shipping
OR
ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OV789U/
$189.59 w/free shipping

Need a card with a good headphone amp to drive my Sennheiser HD600 headphones. The only other option is Auzentech Bravura, which has a lot of reliability issues. The PCI version of the Essence is actually better since it doesn't have the PCI/PCIe bridge chip and can be connected to an ASUS Xonar H6 daughter card, providing 7.1 speaker connectivity. PCIe version is more future-proof though, but I would have to use mobo's on-board audio for my Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speakers.


TIM:
Arctic Cooling MX-4 Super High Performance Non-Conductive Thermal Compound
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12125/
$11.99

Non-conductive, no curing, easy to apply.


Wrist strap:
Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6899261005
$6.99, $1.99 shipping


OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NGJO4M/
$99.99 w/free shipping

Total: $2750ish.

[Kisakuku]

TLDR Summary:

Case: SILVERSTONE Fortress Series FT02B Black $229.00

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W $179.99

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz $329.99

CPU Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B $62.99

CPU Cooler fans: Akasa 120mm x 25mm Apache Black Super Silent PWM Fan $15.95 x3
Prolimatech Megahalems Extra Fan Clips $2.99
Akasa PWM Splitter - Smart Fan Cable $7.95

Mobo: ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 LGA 1155 Intel Motherboard $219.99 + $8.50
OR ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel Motherboard $184.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $249.99 + $5.99
OR G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $249.99

GPU: EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 $499.99

GPU Cooler: Thermalright Shaman $79.95
OR Thermalright Spitfire $74.95
PLUS Thermalright GF-100 Spitfire Bolt-Thru Kit $9.99
PLUS Thermalright TR TY-140 140mm x 160mm PWM Fan $14.99

Thermalright VRM-G2 VGA Voltage Regulator Cooler $34.95

SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX120G 3.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $214.99
OR OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $223.57
OR Wait until February.

HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $99.99
OR SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $60.61

Akasa HDD Cooler / Anti-Vibration Suspension Set $10.99

Optical drives: LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - OEM $99.99 + $4.99
AND LG Black GH24LS50 SATA DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM $19.99 + $4.99

Sound card: ASUS Xonar Essence ST 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card $214.16
OR ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card $189.59

TIM: Arctic Cooling MX-4 Super High Performance Non-Conductive Thermal Compound $11.99

Wrist strap: Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap $6.99 + $1.99 shipping

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $99.99

Total: $2750ish.

Is the PSU fan going to align with the case opening? Is the PSU fan grille going to be pushing against the removable dust filter?
Are the RAM heat sinks too tall and will conflict with the CPU push fan?
Spitfire will obviously be pointing towards the front of the case, not towards the CPU. It has the correct heat pipe orientation and won't have the issues that Shaman and Accelero Xtreme Plus have in this case. Am I going to be able to install a PCI sound card (ASUS Xonar Essence ST) in a slot under the heat sink or does it sit pretty close to the mobo?
The 480 VRM cooler should fit 580 if one screw is removed. Will it interfere with CPU cooler/fans?

Any help would be appreciated.

[CA_Steve]

Hiya. I bet you could build a GREAT system for WoW for $1500 or less. WoW isn't that demanding of a game:
- The game uses 2 cores. I have an e8400 @ 3GHz, and they seldom reach 80% usage in-game.
- It sips system memory. It seldom loads more than 1-2GB into the DRAM.
- WoW is more CPU dependant than GPU dependant. I have an HD5770 and run at 1920x1080 with 2x AA and high quality settings and the game is maxed out at 60fps.

So, here's some suggestions.

CPU: Get the i5-2500K and not the 2600K. A 100MHz bump for $100 is Intel's little joke.

RAM: Get 4GB unless your main use is Photoshop editing - then get 8GB. I don't think the RAM will get that warm at 1.5V. So, you don't need massive heatspreaders.

SSD: Spend the bucks here and get the Crucial C300 128GB. The Sandforce controller in the Vertex bogs down with compressed data....and all of the WoW data is compressed.

GPU: WoW plays great with a $120 card at 1920x1080. Here's a benchmark for Cataclysm at Tom's Hardware. If you aim for 2560x1600, then even a GTX460 or HD6850 @ $200 can do well with ultra settings.

Audio: I'd get the Xonar DS for $50, or if you want Dolby Digital, the DX for $90. Don't think the extra $100-150 for the Xense brings noticible improvement. If you want desktop control for a headphone amp, I have been very happy with the $50 Scythe Kama Pro SDA-1100.

PSU: Yeah, 850W is serious overkill. If you build to my list, your power under load will be under 200W. Consider sometihng on the order of a 400-450W fanned PSU - at your loads, the fan will never rev up. Or even the Seasonic X-560 for $120.

[Modo]

I second the suggestion to get the i5. The i7s most important advantage is hyperthreading, giving you even more threads you won't be using, unless you do multimedia editing.

Don't think the extra $100-150 for the Xense brings noticible improvement.

After using the Essence ST for a while, I can say that the improvement over lesser hardware (X-Fi Gamer in my case) will be noticeable when paired with a proper stereo/headphone rig.

I'd consider the X-Fi Titanium HD plus a dedicated amp. Given its current price ($160 at Amazon), this card is better value for your money than the Asus competition. The Asus cards do some undocumented dynamic range compression at high volumes, and get bad channel separation at lower volumes. The THD, as far as I could find out, does not have such problems.

[Shadout]

WoW can be somewhat more demanding than shown in the TomsHardware test though, as they also admit:

Even the fastest card dips under 40 FPS, despite peaking beyond 120 FPS in other spots. And while the two slowest cards seem to serve up reasonable speed, you might find that more demanding raiding environments with spell-heavy fights push those numbers much lower than what we see during a flight around Twilight Highlands.

Still WoW is a lot more dependent on CPU than GPU, but it can eat up some GPU power. Probably wouldn't go below a GTX 460/560 or HD6850 even for 1920x01080, nor is there much to be saved by doing so. GTX580 on the other hand does seem like overkill (for pretty much any game tbh).

8Gb is worth it as well tbh (but not 16GB). While WoW wont eat more than 2GB at the most, WoW + windows + random software in background can push it over 4GB (especially considering Windows 7 likes to use as much RAM as you can feed it for faster program loading).

Been through the consideration of 2600K vs 2500K myself, I have to agree that 2500K is the better buy for the task as well.

Is the PSU fan going to align with the case opening? Is the PSU fan grille going to be pushing against the removable dust filter?

Going for the same case + PSU and from what I've read/seen, it wont align perfectly with the case opening (maybe 80-90% though), but it shouldn't really affect the PSU fan speed at all. Dont know about the dust filter though.

[CA_Steve]

Don't think the extra $100-150 for the Xense brings noticible improvement.

After using the Essence ST for a while, I can say that the improvement over lesser hardware (X-Fi Gamer in my case) will be noticeable when paired with a proper stereo/headphone rig.

Quoted slightly out of context...I think the biggest improvement is going from mobo sound to the $50-90 Xonar's. The extra $100-150 spent on the Xense brings a small incremental improvement.

I can't speak to Creative's driver quality today...as I've avoided them like the plague for a long time

Shadeout: Yep, there were times in a 25-man ICC raid when things slowed down to ~20fps with my 5770...but in a mmorpg it's still playable. WoW has a couple of bottlenecks....and I think it's CPU speed, CPU cache, hard drive speed, and having enough free RAM (in my case with XP, and having Firefox, Kaspersky, iTunes, etc running in the background, my load is ~2.5GB - can't speak to Win7). Then, the Video card becomes a factor.

[Modo]

Quoted slightly out of context...I think the biggest improvement is going from mobo sound to the $50-90 Xonar's. The extra $100-150 spent on the Xense brings a small incremental improvement.

You are correct in that the quality difference will only be heard on really good equipment. Since the OP has mentioned the Sennheiser HD-600 headphones, I think the more expensive buy might make sense in this case.

I can't speak to Creative's driver quality today...as I've avoided them like the plague for a long time

I hear you, this sentiment is why I didn't even research the option. However, after some reading, the THD actually looks like the better sound card, provided you're not still using Windows XP. They got the sound quality way up there, some say higher than the Essence ST, and they wrote a completely new driver (probably why there's no WinXP support). The one problem I've read about is that when you plug your headphones in, THD automatically turns off the line output, unlike the Essence ST, where you pick the output manually using the driver.

[CA_Steve]

You are correct in that the quality difference will only be heard on really good equipment. Since the OP has mentioned the Sennheiser HD-600 headphones, I think the more expensive buy might make sense in this case.

I see your point. I guess it depends on the OP's audio source material. Note the Klipsch powered speakers are rated at 1% THD @ 60W.

[Kisakuku]

Thank you for all your replies. I guess I should have described my upgrade habits better. Although it is sensible to update your system to a middle of the road $1-1.2k build every couple years, I find I never have time or interest for this. My current system is from 2002, WoW hadn't even come out yet. Back then, I was told that P4 3.0Mhz w/hyper-threading, 2Gb of RAM and Radeon X800 XT PE was overkill. Here I am, full eight years later, and it still chugs along OK. Three years ago it was actually still half-decent for the games I was playing. So while this is not the most rational approach, I'd rather front-load and overpay a bit upfront and then just run the system into the ground until I absolutely have to get an entirely new build. If I were picking underperforming or incompatible or badly reviewed components, I'd appreciate somebody pointing those out to me. If I'm just getting more than I need for my current tasks, I'm OK with that, I'm sure I'll need it in 3-4 years. Besides, there's the fun factor to consider. I'm going to enjoy putting this build together with quality components.

I'd really appreciate some advice about the cooling/quietness aspect of my choices though and any obvious spatial issues the CPU/GPU coolers might have with the case / optical drives / PCI cards / RAM.

@CA_Steve:
In light of the above, I think 2600K, 16Gb RAM, and GTX580 make some sense.
WoW can use as many cores as you have, it's just poorly optimized and the 2 big threads run on 2 cores, while smaller threads can run on the remaining cores. Throw in ventrilo, fraps and various background stuff and hyper-threading might become an advantage. The main point though is that who knows how Blizzard will optimize the next xpac or the one after the next. I'm pretty sure I'll still have the same CPU when that time comes.
Tom's WoW benchmarks are VERY flawed, the price for making the results reproducible was making them completely uninformative. Lots of threads about that on mmo-champ. Also, 20fps in a heroic 25 man is simply unacceptable to me and defeats the purpose of getting a new build. Another consideration is that I might try out a 120Hz 3D LCD with NVidia 3D glasses once those start coming out with resolutions bigger than 1080p. That would immediately drop my frame rates in half, and although an SLI build would be more suited for 3D, again I don't really want to deal with spatial constraints of silently cooling 2 GPUs in FT02.
After lurking at head-fi and guru3d forums, I think Essence ST is a good substitute for a dedicated amp. Rather not go this road due to space constraints around my desk.
I really appreciate the advice about getting Crucial C300 SSD. I think I might just get the build done now w/o an SSD and see if the new SF-2000 controllers do better with compressed data when they come out later in Q1.

@Modo
I've considered X-Fi Titanium HD, but I'd have to buy a separate headphone amp, which makes it a worse value and hogs more space on my desk. Also, I like the ability of putting in a daughter card for Essence ST for analog 7.1 connectivity.

@Shadout
Glad we're thinking somewhat alike.

[Modo]

If you want the SSD to be reliable, I say get an Intel G3 when they become available. Every new generation of Sandforce has had some stability issues. Yes, they read fast, but other benchmarks aren't as great, and they aren't rated for years of server usage like the Intel ones.

[Kisakuku]

Well, there's also going to be C400.

[Modo]

Is it going to be more reliable, or just faster when it works? That's my main gripe, so far, with the other controllers.

[Kisakuku]

Good point, I'd rather give up some performance for reliability, especially for a system drive.

[CA_Steve]

We differ in philosophies <shrugs>. I don't think you can future-proof a PC build. Today's high end components are next year's performance parts and the next year's mid-range with their corresponding performance/mid-range prices. I don't believe in paying a 50% premium for a 3% performance boost (ie: 2600K).

That said, the weak link in your current specs is the hard drive. Your CPU/GPU will be starved for data in WoW using a HDD.

[Kisakuku]

I agree with your philosophy 100%, it's the only rational approach given an ability to upgrade once every couple years. I just know it won't happen for me, so the second best approach is grabbing everything I can right now.

As I said above, I'm not scrapping an SSD, just delaying that purchase for a month or so. Does it make sense to make an 120Gb HDD partition with OS/programs and then clone it onto an SSD when I get one? Or am I better off doing a clean OS install onto the SSD?

[Modo]

Have you considered getting two 7200 rpm 2.5" drives? That would mean a 750 GB drive maximum AFAIK, but maybe it's enough? You could start off by using one as the system drive. Later, you could transfer the OS the SSD or reinstall if needed, and RAID1 the two hard disks. This should give you less noise than a 3.5" drive, add reliability, and remove the hassle of resizing/merging partitions after migrating the OS to the SSD.

[Shadout]

I reached the same conclusion about SSD's. Better wait and see what Intel G3, Micron C400 and Sandforce 2 brings along in the next few months.
You'll likely either be able to get something better or something cheaper then, depending on preferences.

Personally I would always make a fresh install of Windows when changing harddrive tbh. Even more so when chancing between HDD to SSD.

As far as future-proofing computers. It is pretty meaningless to try doing so for video cards. They are easy to switch out, and they are pretty independent of the rest of the system (except the connection type ie. Pci-E), so upgrading it again 2 years from now should be possible without problems.
That isn't the case for CPU though imo, as it directly depends on the motherboard, which then (sometimes) affects the RAM as well. Thus CPU upgrading can turn out to be a much more substantial upgrade. Which is the reason I normally would spend a bit more on good CPU/Motherboard/RAM, and a little (relatively speaking) less on video card (except for people running 2560x1600 in Crysis or something), simply because the CPU is likely going to last a lot longer, if you don't like to upgrade much. (2500K is a damn good CPU though, so its a good choice even for long term).
Getting a video card ranging between $200-300 on the other hand, is a better option than GTX 580 (imo), and gives you the option to upgrade video card (and nothing else) 2-3 years down the road for a nice performance boost.

[CA_Steve]

Rebuilds - I hear you. My system is in need of a s/w overhaul/drive rebuild but have been holding off until Win7 SP1 finally ships - lots of time spent getting everything back in place - only want to do it once.

Does it make sense to make an 120Gb HDD partition with OS/programs and then clone it onto an SSD when I get one? Or am I better off doing a clean OS install onto the SSD?

Yeah - I'll defer to more knowledgable folks on this. I've always met with failure when trying to clone partitioned drives onto diff sized/diff partitioned drives. (ie: back up my OS partition, then unable to use Acronis to restore it because there is also a data partition on the same drive). There's probably a simple answer - I just don't know it

Also, look at the thread on SSD reliability - when looking at partition sizes, you might want to plan ahead for SSD overprovisioning to increase lifetime.

[Kisakuku]

@Modo
It does sound interesting, for example using a Samsung SpinPoint MT2, a 1Tb 5400rpm drive for $80. I don't think I really need a RAID 1 setup for a mostly media HDD drive though, I usually just back up important things on an external HDD.
What are the benefits of 2.5" drives over something like a 2Tb 5400rpm Spinpoint F4? Honestly though, if I'm bothered by the noise from grommet-mounted 7200rpm Spinpoint F3, I could just use the rubber band trick.

@Shadout
New install it is then. Also, while it may seem that switching out a GPU in a year or two is easy, it only holds true for stock cooling. Even if I were to get a GTX 570 instead, I'd still use a Spitfire to quiet it down. Who knows if this setup will be compatible with a new GPU. If not, I'll have to spend more time looking for a cooler with correct heat pipe orientation for FT02's vertical GPU mounting. It would also have to not block my only PCI slot with the sound card. I've killed three days already figuring out which GPU cooler I need, I don't want to do it again any time soon

@CA_Steve
No partitions then, just a clean install onto SSD and a wipe of the HDD. Thanks for reminding me about overprovisioning, I'll check out the thread you mentioned.

[Modo]

By using a 7200 rpm 2.5" drive, you get the best of both worlds: Great silence and good performance. I'm not sure if there would be as much of a difference when using 5400 rpm drives, since the main point is to reduce vibrations. Smaller platters or lower speed should do.

I have had to listen to two 3.5" Samsung drives--in my previous and current rig. Both models generate lots of vibrations. Even though the noise is low overall, the humming transfers to the enclosure every now and then, and that is very annoying at night. Since the capacity is not an issue any more (I was buying almost 4 years ago, and I'm still not ripping movies), I've decided to avoid 3.5" altogether.

[MikeC]

By using a 7200 rpm 2.5" drive, you get the best of both worlds: Great silence and good performance. I'm not sure if there would be as much of a difference when using 5400 rpm drives, since the main point is to reduce vibrations. Smaller platters or lower speed should do.

I have had to listen to two 3.5" Samsung drives--in my previous and current rig. Both models generate lots of vibrations. Even though the noise is low overall, the humming transfers to the enclosure every now and then, and that is very annoying at night. Since the capacity is not an issue any more (I was buying almost 4 years ago, and I'm still not ripping movies), I've decided to avoid 3.5" altogether.

Hardware changes quickly. I might have agreed with you 18 mos ago, but definitely not today. I have not heard any 7200rpm 2.5" drives that are as quiet as a WD Green 2TB 3-platter 3.5" drive. 7200 2.5" drives are definitely noisier than 5400s. The Samsung 3.5" drives have always had a bit more vibration than other quiet 3.5" ones -- not sure why, but it's pretty consistent. For overall performance, the high density 3.5" 5400rpm drives will take on any 2.5" drive, and generally, 2.5" drives are NOT made to last as well in a 24/7 environment. They are mostly made for laptops which are rarely powered up for that long; rather, optimized for start/stop/intermittent use. If the OP is planning on 24/7, then get the AV version of the WD Green -- no head parking, designed for 24/7 use. If vibration of the HDDs becomes a noise factor, it is possible to elastic-cord suspend one or 2 in the FT02... tho it might take some ingenuity. But with the broadband noise of those 3 bottom fans, I doubt you'll get bothered by the vibration of a typical WD Green.

[Kisakuku]

Thanks for all the help again. Done with the build, just need to do some cable management.

Takeaway points:
1) Thermalright Spitfire won't fit in FT-02 in either orientation if you have 180mm optical drives and a tower CPU cooler. Went with a Thermalright Shaman and a modded (broke off one screw) Thermalright VRM-G2 instead.
2) G.Skill Ripjaws X series heat spreaders are too tall to have a push fan on the Thermalright Silver Arrow and still be able to close the side panel. I have the fans in a pull-pull configuration, does not seem to be noisier.
3) Didn't try the Thermalright Archon, since the Silver Arrow is around 5mm shorter and already touches the side panel foam.
4) Asus Sabertooth P67 has its only PCI slot in the last position making a PCI sound card a tight fit even with 90 deg SATA cables. Went with Asus P67 Deluxe instead.

Here's the final config after some tweaking:
Case: Silverstone FT02B Black, replaced 120mm exhaust fan with an Akasa Apache PWM fan.
PSU: Corsair AX850
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow with its two TY-140 fans and the Akasa Apache case exhaust fan hooked up to the mobo's PWM connector via an Akasa PWM splitter.
Mobo: Asus P8P67 Deluxe
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3 1600 CL9
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 580
GPU Cooler: Thermalright Shaman and passive Thermalright VRM-G2
SSD: Waiting.
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM suspended upside down (PCB up) in a NoiseMagic NoVibes III.
Optical drives: LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner and LG GH24LS50 DVD Burner
Sound card: ASUS Xonar Essence ST
TIM: Arctic Cooling MX-4
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM

Silver Arrow and Shaman take up most of the case interior with their combined three TY-140s and 3.5 heatsink fin banks if you count VRM-G2 for half. At stock speeds CPU idles around room temp, at full load goes to 38C. GPU idles at 29C, at full load goes to 50C. The whole rig is barely audible when idle and very inoffensive at full load. Essence ST is driving my Sennheiser HD600s very well, no need for a separate headphone amp.

[flemeister]

Post some photos in the Gallery forum when you're ready!

[Kisakuku]

I will once the tangle of cables is under control. Though it is pretty silly to spend so much time tidying everything up considering I don't have the side panel window. I guess I just need to get it to the point where right panel doesn't bulge.

[CA_Steve]

Congrats on the build! Given the really low load temps, you could mess with the fan profiles for lower load rpm. Turn the inoffensive into barely audible, too.

[Shadout]

Congrats.
Is your 180mm fans just set at 'low' or undervolted? Mine was ridiculously loud at the standard low setting.

NoiseMagic NoVibes III

How is that working out for you?
My hard drive in the Fortress II is creating quite some vibrations currently, so looking for a better solution.

[ces]

TIM:
Arctic Cooling MX-4 Super High Performance Non-Conductive Thermal Compound
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12125/
$11.99

What is the difference between Arctic Cooling MX-2 and Arctic Cooling MX-4 ?

[ces]

Congrats.
Is your 180mm fans just set at 'low' or undervolted? Mine was ridiculously loud at the standard low setting

Don't forget a 700 rpm 180mm fan has faster moving blade tips than a 700 rpm 120 mm fan. The tips of the blades of a 180mm fan at 700 rpm are moving as fast as the tips of the blades of a 120mm fan running 2.25 times faster (1575 rpm)

So you really need to slow a 180mm fan down if you want to run it quiet.

[Kisakuku]

Thanks for the 'grats.

Congrats.
Is your 180mm fans just set at 'low' or undervolted? Mine was ridiculously loud at the standard low setting.

They are set at low. They are probably the loudest thing in the case but I have to get my ear on top of top grille to hear them and I really don't want to deal with wiring in a separate fan controller. Guess we have different definitions of 'ridiculously loud'...

How is that working out for you?
My hard drive in the Fortress II is creating quite some vibrations currently, so looking for a better solution.

NoiseMagic NoVibes III works pretty well in FT02. I removed all 5 plastic vertical HDD trays and mounted the NoVibes in the same transverse orientation, but horizontally at the bottom of the HDD cage, not in a 5.25" bay. This way the HDD sits right on top of the front 180mm fan for better cooling and whatever rotational noise it makes is absorbed by the foam on the front and side walls of FT02. The paper-thin ill-fitting 5.25" bay covers provide virtually no sound dampening compared to this.

I put some cushioning between the bottom of the NoVibes and the cage (just some leftover strips of the 3M material that comes with the Silver Arrow) and used two zip ties to tie it down. Then I placed the HDD on top of both rubber rings (not the recommended way of inserting the HDD through the rings) with its PCB facing up (don't want the zip tie joining the rings to rub against the PCB) and secured it with the top ring. This way the HDD sits about 1cm higher than normal and doesn't touch the vertical metal tabs at the bottom of the HDD cage, which should be fine unless the bottom rings fail catastrophically. I stocked up on replacement rings, will just change them once a year to be safe.

[Kisakuku]

Don't forget a 700 rpm 180mm fan has faster moving blade tips than a 700 rpm 120 mm fan. The tips of the blades of a 180mm fan at 700 rpm are moving as fast as the tips of the blades of a 120mm fan running 2.25 times faster (1575 rpm)

So you really need to slow a 180mm fan down if you want to run it quiet.

Given equal linear velocity of the blade tips, the ratio of angular velocities of the tips is the inverse of the ratio of the radii. So the blade tips of a 700RPM 180mm fan move as fast as the blade tips of a 1050RPM 120mm fan.