..

[Bejitto]

..

[kuzzia]

F4 320GB was chosen because of the single (667GB) platter, and single head. I liked the idea of it. 320GB is more than enough for me for a few years (Still only using 70GB total on XP atm). By that time, SSDs will be cheaper, bigger, and I can most likely move entirely to SSD storage.

I don't quite see how the 320 GB can have a single platter of 667 GB

At such a low capacity, you might want to consider a 2,5" if you can bear with the performance hit. Quieter and easier to suspend.
320 GB.

About the stock cooler.. Aren't those usually very noisy by SPCR standards? or are Intel's stock coolers quiet at idle?

And I don't think the difference between HD 3000 and HD 2000 is worthwhile, I've read it on several reviews on the internet. You should check that.

But these are just few nitpicks for an otherwise excellent built!

[quest_for_silence]

To accomplish your goal, personally I would have thought to a completely different system.

Case: Antec NSK3480 - $95 (shipped) - http://goo.gl/67f0U
PSU: Antec EA-380D (included)

Mobo: ASUS P8H67-M EVO (REV 3.0) H67 mATX - $140 - http://tinyurl.com/6hwmqcf
CPU: Intel SB i5-2500K 3.3GHz (for the sake of gaming) - $180 - http://goo.gl/tztS7
GPU: None. IGP.

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) 8GB (2x4GB) (for the sake of ASUS QVL) - $82 - http://goo.gl/SLWSx
HDD: Hitachi TravelStar 7K500EA HTE725025A9A364 250GB 7200RPM 16MB SATAII - from $55 - (almost wherever you will go)
DVD: ASUS Black SATA 24X DVD-Writer - $22 - http://tinyurl.com/6betygl

Cooling and dampening: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - from 21$
2 x Scythe Slipstream PWM SY1225SL12LM-P - from 7$ (each)
Akasa AK-CB002 - from 4$
Scythe Slipstream M SY1225SL12M - from 6$
Scythe S-Flex SFF-80A - from 11$
Scythe Quiet-Drive 2.5 - from 26$
Noise Magic No-Vibes III - from 25$

Total amount should be slightly greater than 681$.

Properly driven it should be almost inaudible.

[matchu]

With an H67 board, wouldn't a K-series CPU be a bit of a waste? You wouldn't be able to use the overclocking features of the CPU.

[jhhoffma]

Agreed, the OP's choices are sound.

For the poster asking about the 320GB drive with a 667GB platter, that drive is "short-stroked" in firmware which only uses the outside (fastest spinning) portion of the platter at the cost of storage space. It's kind of like CPU binning, except performance goes up after removing some of the functionality.

[quest_for_silence]

With an H67 board, wouldn't a K-series CPU be a bit of a waste? You wouldn't be able to use the overclocking features of the CPU.

Yes, you are right: but if he will to game with the IGP, then he does need the HD3000 power, IMO.

[Bejitto]

..

[Falkon]

Why did you choose the EVO motherboard from Asus over some of their other H67 boards? I couldn't justify the price of the EVO as the LE has everything I need at a much cheaper price.

[fumino]

....Scythe Mugen-2.... look like they're going to block some of my RAM slots.... blowing towards the top exhaust fan on the P183. Not sure if I can do that with either of these two?...How come they're all designed like this now?

a fine choice. the fan is excellent, as is the cooler itself.
the mugen shouldnt interfere with ripjaws.
blowing out the top is fine too.
you can mount the fan on any side of the mugen. its recommended to put it on the larger faces though
efficiency, effective use of space.

[Rekonn]

I just built a system with a Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B and a pair of Ripjaws, and I can confirm they don't interfere. I installed the heatsink, then added the ram, and then attached the fan to the heatsink no problem. Now, if I wanted to add more ram later, I'd need to detach the fan first, but that's not that big a deal.

Do you live next to a Microcenter? If so, pick up the $2500k for $180, faster and $20 cheaper!

For the PSU, I wound up choosing an Antec Truepower New. I was also annoyed that on this "modular" psu they left the molex power and others attached, and that it required extra cable routing to hide the ones not used. But, that only has to be done once, and then you have a psu that provides power as reliably and quietly for $50 less.

That's money that can be put towards an SSD, which will make a real noticeable impact on multitasking. If you need to find more room in the budget, consider going with a less expensive case too.

[ArtShapiro]

At such a low capacity, you might want to consider a 2,5" if you can bear with the performance hit.

Am I missing something everyone else knows? I wasn't aware of that allegation. I expect to build an H67 system soon in an Antec 300-150 case within the next couple of months. That case only takes 2.5" drives, and it seemed that a dual 2.5" setup with one SSD and one magnetic drive would be wonderful. Other than a cost premium, I was under the impression that "notebook" drives were as fast and as reliable as traditional desktop 3.5" units.

Art

[quest_for_silence]

I was under the impression that "notebook" drives were as fast and as reliable as traditional desktop 3.5" units.

It depends.

However, I think it's quite OT here.

[ces]

I was under the impression that "notebook" drives were as fast and as reliable as traditional desktop 3.5" units.

Generally they aren't. But if you get a Velociraptor and pull it out of its cradle you get a quiet 2.5" hard drive that is about as past as traditional hard drives come.