to those who replied to my earlier query: thank you!

i've just ordered the following components:

cpu - athlon 64 3200+ (socket 754)
motherboard - asus k8n-e deluxe (nvidia chip)
memory - 2x512M corsair valueselect vs1gbkit400 (cas2.5)
video - sapphire atlantis radeon 9600 256M
sound card - turtle beach santa cruz
disk - western digital raptor WD740GD 74G SATA
dvd burner - pioneer dvr-108

case - Lian Li PC-V1100B
power supply - seasonic ss-400agx
case fans - papst 4412f/2gl, nexus d12sl-12
cpu cooler - zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu
fan controller - mCubed T-Balancer XL - 4 fans
disk mount - 1/2" soft sorbothane
hs grease - arctic silver 5

front panel flash drive - aftech p9
keyboard - aopen kb825b USB
mouse - microsoft basic USB
OS - Win XP pro

i've been involved in designing hardware and software for many years and have good test equipment, but i don't have much pc-specific knowledge or experience and have never assembled a pc from scratch before. i do not intend to overclock.

i'd appreciate any tips anyone has about any aspect of setting up this system, including:

ideas specific to the lian li 1100.
tips for mounting the zalman cpu cooler on the asus mb.
how to set up ram timings, CoolNQuiet, and other bios parameters.
any driver or O.S. issues.
helpful tips or warnings about any of the components i've selected.
suggestions about setting up the fans and controller
simple benchmarks to check that i haven't made any performance-killing setup errors.

i realize this is a very open-ended query. i'm not expecting anyone to write a dissertation. if you have even a brief tip about a specific issue that might save me some grief, i'd be most appreciative.

thanks.

No dissertation but some tips concerning your case at the very least. I have a PC-V1000 but they are the same internally.

• You'll need long SATA cables since your SATA ports are at the bottom of the board... which in this case will be the very top. I have 1 meter cables installed (unless you connect the centrally placed connectors I just discovered in this crappy photo of the board);
• Put the hdd's in the front set of drive bays, closest to the fans;
• Connect the front panel connectors early on during your build (usb, firewire, etc) otherwise you'll have a very tight fit. The cables were just barely long enough (on a A7N8X, but connectors are placed similarly);
• lose the back fan shroud; it raises case temps and does little to absorp/deflect noise;
• I cut out the back fan grille before ever installing anything; it is quite restrictive (assuming the 1100 has the same grille as the 1000) so I suspect it would generate quite some noise;
• I soft-mounted both psu and case fans (better fan soft-mounting than the Lian Li solution IMO);
• I have both case fans (the stock ones for now) at 20% in the T-Balancer, this seems to be all it needs;
• Use the images in the Quick Install PDF on the m-Cubed website to find out how to orient the sensor cables; this saves some turning off and re-plugging;
• do not use the sticky pads for the sensors until you are absolutely sure where to place the sensor: they do not come off easily.

Hope this helps.

Some of us here are wondering how the Nexus fan and T-Balancer work together; if you could report back on that we'd very much appreciate it. I personally am also very interested in the "disk mount - 1/2" sorbothane"... what it is exactly, how you intend to use it and most importantly: how it works!

Before I forget: congrats on a very nice system, happy building and even more happy silencing!

The world's shortest dissertation:

Read the Instructions.


It's always the simplest steps that people skip.

Most modern PC parts come with surprisingly well-written manuals these days. (not like the "stereo instructions" of yore...although some amazing Engrish still exists) The Asus, the Zalman, and the Arctic Silver's should be on your reading list for sure.

So once your bits arrive, take a hour or so and sit down with the instruction books/sheets and so some light reading. You'll likely avoid problems, rather than have to work to fix them later.

Good Luck!

I've mounted the Zalman on a build I did for a friend - so long as you read the instructions you'll be fine. Don't be afraid to be firm with it if you have to - you're only likey to damage the motherboard if you significantly bend it (by this i mean from it's raised height on the standoffs down to the tray).

Memory timings should be automatic (SPD) unless they have off settings, especially voltage, in which case you might have to manually set things. How you do this is BIOS dependant and will be detailed in the motherboard manual.

Careful with the AS5 (as the manual states) it IS an electrical conductor so only put it where it's meant to go!

Nice soundcard.

Also confirming interest in your harddrive mounting system as I am considering using this case for my next system - how and where do you intend to use the sorbothane?

thanks for the great tips; keep them coming

sorry to tease you all with the sorbothane thing. i don't have an exact idea of how i'm going to use it. once i receive the case, i will try to improvise something. i would like to leave the case intact, but if i can't figure out a better plan, i will remove the 3.5" drive cage and rig up some simple metal bracketing, with the drive sitting on the sorbothane.

er, iirc AS5 is non-conductive, the only real difference between AS and Ceramique is that AS can be slightly capacitive (capacitative? i forget) whereas Ceramique is for all intents and purposes inert.
i'd be comfortable with a bit of slopped AS5 but wouldn't squirt it all over anyways.

my turn to write a dissertation
improvised drive suspension (gave up on sorbothane):
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=16156