New low power consuming computer in old case

I decided that after five years it was time to upgrade my main computer system. I started this thread in the video card forum but realistically should post the, "finished," product here.

My goals were 1. improve performance, 2. reduce power consumption, heat and noise, 3. remove old, extraneous stuff (floppy drive, sound blaster, fan controller, etc.) 4. upgrade to Windows 7 (from Windows Vista) and 5. hopefully build a rig I can enjoy for another five years. I spent $640 on new parts.

The rebuild is done and here are the NovaBench results:
Previous build NovaBench score = 811
This build NovaBench score = 1221

Reused parts:
Lian Li mid tower ATX case
Cooler Master Silent Pro 600W modular psu
Intel 120GB Sata II SSD
LG Blu-ray optical drive
New parts:
Intel i3 4130T cpu $130
MSI Z87 PC Mate motherboard $60
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR 1600 $85
EVGA GTX 750Ti video card $130
Rosewill USB 3.0 internal card reader $20
Noctua NH-L9I cpu cooler $43
Noctua 140mm NF-A14 FLX case fan $23
Noctua 120mm NF-S12A PWM case fan $20
Crucial M500 240GB Sata III SSD $90
Lian Li 5.25" to 4 2.5" SSD bay $25
Lian Li mesh bay cover $14

Some pictures...
Most of the parts.

I used the stock Intel cooler at first but the fan was too noisy for me.

Here's the Noctua cooler.

Everything in place. The modular psu helps reduce clutter.

I replaced the stock Lian Li case fans with Noctua fans. I removed the gigantic four drive mounting bay since I'm only using SSDs now. This opened up a ton of room and allows for much better airflow.

Closer up.

I really like this Lian Li case. Its super easy to work on...

...and I think it still looks good too.

From the back.

Here's a rather fuzzy screenshot of the bios. Temps and volts are nice and low.


Here's a short video demonstrating the noise level.

Kudos to you for the success of your rebuild.

But your choice of CPU doesn't actually save you power: At idle, it uses the same amount of power as the Core i3 4130. It is only under load that you will see some sort of power saving. But even that is negated if the CPU is under load for long periods of time. The 4130T is clocked lower than the 4130. Therefore it may more time at load doing a certain task then the 4130 which means more power is used.

Also with all of the money you spent on the cad reader, mesh, and bay adapters, couldn't you have used that money towards a newer and more up to date Lian-Li?

You're crushing my thermal dreams here. I was planning on saving like $8 / year on my energy bill man don't shoot me down like this. Seriously, I didn't know the power @ idle consumption was the same. Plus I spent $20 more for that slower chip. =\

Well in another five years when I'm ready to rebuild again I'll reflect on your advice and heed these words of wisdom. By then maybe i'll be ready to waste some energy bitcoin prospecting and re-purpose my vintage 4130t, convincing myself of my earlier sagacity.

If you take a look at new Lian Li cases they are very similar in design to what I already have. No point in forking over cash for a new one when I'd just be back in the same boat: noisy fans and no SSD cage for a 5.25" bay. Plus the nostalgic part of me just wanted to give the old girl a tune up.

Well the newer Lian Li cases would have arguably better cooling and far far far better cable management features/setup. But I can understand the desire to give an old case some use.