Well, I've tried to do my homework - thanks to all of the editors and contributers to SilentPCReview. Great information resources and articles!

Here's what I've settled on for my new PC (to replace my noisy 4-year-old PII 400):

Evercase E4252B-PCT
Fortron FSP350 Power Supply
Panaflo FBA12G12L1A 120mm Fan
Panaflo FBA08A12L 80mm Fan
MSI K8N Neo Platinum MS-7030
ATHLON 64 3200+/64BIT
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu
Radeon X800XT 8X APG 256MB
Optorite DD1203 12X DVD+/-R Drive
Pmi 1GB (512MBx2) DDR PC-3200, PMI3200-1024DPH (2.5-3-3-7)

All of the components will most likely come from Newegg except the fans & Zalman. The noisiest part of the machine is most likely going to be my old hard drives (One Maxtor 7200 ATA-133 and another drive I can't remember the model number on).

Anything I should be concerned about? One thing I'm not sure about is there seems to be some controversy about whether the Evercase from Newegg comes with a 120mm fan grill in the back or not. If it doesn't, I'll get 2 80mm Panflo's. Any issues with this layout that anyone is aware of in terms of whether the Zalman will fit?

Thanks for any feedback!
Gibson

Looks good.

Although, I would consider going with the AlCu version of the Zalman 7000. There have been little evidence to support that the Cu version is significantly cooler, andI would rather avoid the increased weight.

Also, why not get a quiet hard drive to replace your existing one? Perhaps one of the Samsungs. They aren't that expensive <$100 for 120GB.

Hey Mark, thanks for the tip! I had read a review that suggested a 2-3 degree difference between the 2, but looking at the weights it does make me a bit nervous that the Cu version is above spec. Not that I plan on moving the PC at all, but better safe than sorry.



I just may do that once I have the thing built if the noise gets to me. Right now, the fan noise of my current PC is the most annoying. Once I don't have to contend with fan noise, the drives might need to be dealt with.

Out of curiosity, does anybody know if there is a difference between the Panaflo FBA08A12L1A and FBA08A12L, or is it just a typo on the part of the stores that carry the FBA08A12L?

Thanks!

Found the answer to my own question here:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... +fba08a12l

Apparently 1A stands for "bare tails".

I would get some higher quality memory such as Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, or Mushkin.

Thanks for the tip, Andrew. I was wondering whether PMI was a good name or not. This memory seems to get glowing reviews: Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2PT, and is only about $40 more than the PMI.

The noise WILL get to you. Me being a disgusted owner of one of those Maxtor drives, I can tell you outright that there is absolutely no way you will have a quiet (mind you, I'm not saying very or ultra quiet, just plain quiet) PC with that hard drive. It's insanely loud. Try disconnecting the drives power, you might realize that even in your current situation the high speed whine you hear is NOT from the fan but from the drive. (Note, I'm guessing the drive to be one of those first ATA133 drives that came out)

Moved to the fancy new System Advice forum.

I agree with burcakb that the Maxtor drive is likely to detract markedly from the quietness of your system.

I also wonder if that Athlon 64 3200+ you are thinking of is the 512KB L2 cache version or the 1MB L2 cache version. While some may disagree with me, with these particulat processors I think you are better off with the smaller cache (a 512KB L2 3000+ is almost on a par with the 1MB L2 3200+ in performance because they have the identical clock rate, and the 3000+ is a good bit cheaper).