Recent content by ironcladlou

Acted just a little too slowly and the parts won't be here until Monday. So, I'll report back then!

Okay, I pulled the trigger. SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s...

Will return in the morning. Thanks for the feedback!

I really appreciate the discussion, you guys. I actually prefer buying behind the curve a little, since it makes me appreciate more modest upgrades even more. Is there a 160gb SSD that's older/"slower"/cheaper, like the Intels? Depending on the price difference compared to the Crucial, I would...

Shit, good points about manufacturer dB ratings. D'oh.

Cool tip with the cardboard. Wish I had asked about that sooner. Oops. Good point about the case fans in relation to the hybrid. I think that matter is settled now. I'll think about the SSD situation. I don't really mind paying a little extra now. I'm impatient. I do a lot of music production...

My PSU's noise rating is 26-38dB, the Seasonic hybrid's rated at 16 dB when in quiet mode. Just for ref.

I actually just got done looking through storagereview, and learned my Spinpoint F1's are rated at 40 dB each! Curiously, there's a Barracuda on there rated at 10 dB which seems insane... I can't find any other tests to verify, and it doesn't even look available, and is very expensive for a set...

CPU cooler - That's two recommendations for the Hyper 212, so seems like a good bet (alternate recommendation was this Corsair cooler, comparisons welcome). SSD - The Crucial seems nice... 128 GB is really stretching it. My Spinpoints are just too loud, but I need the space for media. Any...

I closed the door, turned off the music, cracked open the case, and did a vivisection on my rig. I methodically A/B tested all the components as best I could by sticking my head inside the case and unplugging stuff over and over to isolate the sources of noise in the highest, most annoying...

Wow, I had no idea this existed. What are the implications? Like, would I need to take great care in terms of air flow in the case? What benefits does this case offer over my existing Antec 300? I'd really rather not change cases unless there was an obvious benefit. Very interesting. But...

First, let me say thanks for the input so far. While I appreciate the water cooling suggestions, let me go ahead and narrow the scope by ruling out any water cooling stuff. I would prefer to use fans (or lack thereof) exclusively. That seems very reasonable, and I am inclined to make focused...

Excellent info, and I want to address it all in detail when I get home from work today, or at lunch. Just a couple random notes before I run out the door: - Yes, stock CPU heatsink/fan combo - Great question about the fans and voltage control, I'll crack it open and check when I get home - I...

Hey guys. Been a lurker for like a decade, but never registered an account until now. I need to decide what do for a some tweaks to my build, and when comparing the new 27" iMacs to a DIY silent PC build, I saw the simply outstanding advice given on this other thread from a guy with basically...