@psyopper: my WD2000JS is already suspended with clothing elastics in my PC right now (but i think i will have to redo the suspension since the elastics doesn't actually "hold" the hard disk in place).

In fact i have 2 x WD6400AAKS, 1 in my NMT and 1 in my 2nd PC, both are used mainly for storage, games and movies. Both seem to vibrates a lot, while 1 seem to emit a tiny little kind of high-pitch noise, which i think is not dangerous, but could be annoying with the time, at least i don't hear this noise anymore since i moved, and like i explained, this new place is a bit more noisier than the previous one.

@ces: so the ThermalRight MUX-120 should be good? i would like a heatsink that i can point the fan to the exhaust case fan in fact...not to the power supply fan to heat it up and make it spin faster...Maybe using a Noctua NF-P12 instead of the stock fan.

Both the ThermalRight MUX-120 and the Noctua NF-P12 are good coolers. Not the very best but close. And not long ago the Noctua NF-P12 was a supercooler, its just that competition has filled a rank in front of it.

what would be the very best? the Ultra-120 Extreme?

Is Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit much better than Vista 64bit Home Premium?

Very Very best is the Noctua D14 with three Nexus fans.

Reasonable very best is Prolimatech Meghalens (or Thermalright Venomous X)

Least costly best is Mugen

Quiet best is Thermalright HR-01 using the duct instead of an extra fan.

You won't go wrong with any of the above.

Don't even bring up the name of Vista!

i think Vista was like the new "Windows ME", the in-between Windows that failed horribly

But coolers like this seem to be hard to install with tons of bolts & nuts and brackets...is there an option on NCIX so they can build it up for me instead? i would be willing to pay for that...

There's a way i could do it, but that would force me to buy an extra case, power supply and some other things...which will make the whole thing more expensive still.

ok do you think i'll still have good cooler temperatures with the MUX-120? Because the Venomous X is kinda really pricey and it doesn't come with a ThermalRight fan by default. Or should i take the Scythe Mugen 2 rev.B which is even less expensive?

Another question...can i use a Noctua NF-S12-1200 on the Scythe Mugen 2 rev.B's fins? are they spaced enough so it doesn't need a lot of static pressure for the air to go thru? (quickly said, like the Scythe Ninja's spaced fins?)

Like i said, i will probably do little to no overclock.

I also switched the main board for the ASUS P7P55D-E LX, which doesn't have CrossFire (i won't use this feature anyway), but have USB 3.0 built-in, and also SATA3 (6gb/s), for a few bucks more i think it's better to have USB 3.0 and SATA3 features already built-in.

Both the MUX and the Mugen area good. If you are not overclocking the MUX should do fine and I like it better than the Mugen which is just too big for me. But if the Mugen is less expensive and you have a thight budget, maybe you should do the Mugen, it comes with its own fan and its a good one.

I would not use the Noctua case fan as a cpu fan. I just wouldn't. I think Sata 3 is important. It's lesas clear to be that USB 3 is important. but it sound's like to me you are making the right motherboard choice.

do you think Scythe have the same quality as ThermalRight? i mean do i have chance the Mugen won't have a perfect contact with the CPU?

That is always a problem. Could be a problem with either, but can't predict which one. Well maybe. Prolimatech and TR Venomous X reputedly have the easiest mounting systems in the industry. Easy means you are mostly likely to do it right.

If you get the Mugen, make sure you get a bolt on kit for it, that is if it doesn't come with one.

i think i shouldn't take chance and let the NCIX technicians do the assembly and testing, just in case something go wrong if i do it myself...

the Prolimatech Megahalems seem to have spaced enough fins for a Noctua NF-S12-1200, and in the review, they're saying "Top-notch performance with both low and high airflow", and the fins seem to be spaced enough.

Airflow is not a fixed number. It is different in free air than against impedance. Some fans handle impedance well. Some collapse early.

The Noctua case fans are designed to generate airflow in free air. Their airflow will collapse against very little impedance. They are so weak that Noctua designed their CPU fans to compensate. Noctua fin spacing is greater than Prolimatech.

Take a close look at the fan blades or the Noctua case fan and then the Noctua CPU fan. Can you see why the case fans may not do well against impedance?

Then go take a close look at the fan blades of the Gentle Typhoon. Can you see how air is not going to stall or slip back through those blades? If you look at its CFM numbers in isolation, they are not impressive. But its designed so that its CFM doesn't collapse in the face of impedance.

If the Noctua doesn't work, you won't even know if it is them or something else. Not a good idea to use a chisel for a screw driver. If you are going to use a Noctua fan for a wide spaced fin array, you should use the fans that Noctua designed expressly for that purpose, not the ones that forced them to design a separate line of CPU cooler fans.

well there's the Noctua NF-P12 which pushes more air and seem to be efficient as a CPU fan, and they seem to include this one with their 120mm-fan-compatible CPU heatsinks.

That would be a more effective choice. Nexus would be a good choice. If you choose nexus, you can look up in SPCR exactly how they will perform.

since the CPU is 32nm, it's going to heat less and easier to cool down than my actual 90nm 3700+?

i'm also considering the Core i5 650 right now...

and a Nexus black-white 120mm fan would be good for the Mugen 2?

I noticed the Mugen 2 have different ways of installing the fan...which one would be the best? technically i think the cooling would be better with the fan blowing on all heatpipes on one side...can it be installed so the heatpipes goes vertically and the fan point to the exhaust case fan?

Look at the SPCR review of the Mugen. It should tell you how it performs with Nexus vs stock.

Start with the stock fan and experiment. Changing the orientation of the cooler will likely alter its performance.

If the heat tubes have to return their working fluid back up against gravity, that will likely be a major factor in performance.

But you never can tell. The most important thing you need to do is experiment.

they haven't done a review for the Mugen 2 rev.B. yet

Do you think this board and heatsink will have enough clearance for everything around?

The Mugen 2 reviewed by SPCR and the Mugen 2 rev.B is the same heatsink. The latter can be mounted on a socket 1156 motherboard while the former can not, that's the only difference.

ok...and which should be better for me, the i3 540 or the i5 650?

It seem like the Mugen 2 rev.B is back-order on NCIX, so which one would replace this? (just in case they won't have it in stock anymore)

You are already over budget. Buy the cheap CPU. Overclocked, they aren't going to be that difference in performance.

What other Scythe cpu coolers are available. Scythe coolers are generally good and low cost. Save some money on the cooler.

check here:
http://www.ncix.com/search/?categoryid=0&q=scythe+1156

what's the difference between the I3 540 and the i5 650 exactly?

Clock speed, no TurboBoost on i3, no VT-d on i3. By the way, why not the less expensive i3-530?

Are you saying it can't do virtual XP under Windows 7? Are you sure about that?

I said it doesn't support VT-d (virtualization support for directed I/O). The i3-530 does have VT-x and will support Virtual XP mode in Windows. Although, I seem to recall Microsoft has dropped the VT-x requirement recently.

As for what VT-d does - Google.

i noticed, on the Intel website, when you compare CPUs with the i5 650, the i3 540 and i3 530, only the i3 540 have the "Embedded", what does that mean?

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=46472,43546,46473,

for the heatsink, do you think the Megahalems would fit on this P7P55D-E LX board and Sonata 2 case?

ok well, i just checked and they seem to have the Mugen 2 rev.B back in stock.

But what would be better cooling-wise while using a Nexus 120mm Black-white fan? the Megahalems rev.B or the Mugen 2 rev.B?

I really need to know if one wouldn't fit on this P7P55D-E LX main board, the Megahalems do seem really good and would be able to keep my CPU cool enough, but it look pretty big and tall also, would it fit in my Sonata 2 case? can it be mounted on it so i can put a fan on it that blow air to the back case fan?

1. You just have to test these things. Logic can get you only so far.
2. My recollection is that SPCR said the stock Mugen fan was fine. Double check their review of the Mugen.
3. I wouldn't hurt you get get one Nexus fan and one Scythe 1200 rpm fan, just to experiment with.
4. I personally do not like the look of the Mugen. But it is a good performer. And for value, I don't think you can find better.
5. The new Scythe "YASYA" New High-End Tower-CPU Cooler looks interesting. It uses the new Scythe variable speed PWM fan. (I would still email Scythe support and ask what mounting kit they have for it in order to avoid the push pin mounts that come with it)
http://www.technic3d.com/article-987,1- ... m-test.htm
http://www.overclockers.com/scythe-yasy ... er-review/
Though it may not perform as well as the Mugen.
6. All the good coolers are about 160mm tall. If you want a good one you need that much room. It is difficult to believe that Antec has not provided that room in its case.

well value and good cooling wise, i might take the Mugen 2 rev.B after all...if it's still avaible in a month...

Also, changing the hard disk for a Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB (part number HD103UJ) is a good idea? (SPCR list it as the quietest hard disk with the biggest storage size, and without being a 5400rpm drive and without being too expensive)

I stick to the WD Black series.

hmm are you sure? At least for vibrations, i can suspend easily in my Sonata 2...

Is the WD1002FAEX any good and have a rather quiet seek and spinning noise with AAM set to quiet mode?

That is just me. They are solid performers. They are reliable. If you short stroke them with a small initial partition, they are almost as fast as a Velociraptor. They come with 5 year warranties. I trust them with my data.

I only notice the noise when they are seeking. That doesn't bother me because it's noise that I have fairly direct control over.