It began as a Thermalright SP94 review but soon took on a life of its own and spiralled out of control into this sprawling heatsink roundup involving the SP97, SLK900, and Zalman 7000A (both cu and alcu versions) on Intel P4 as well as AMD Socket-A platforms. Who's the coolest of them all? Both P4 and socket-A test platforms get updates, as well.

Nexus has had some big PSU successes with quiet PC seekers. They have a new 120mm fan 350W model. What have Nexus done this time? Our sponsor EndPCNoise sent us a sample of the Nexus NX3500 "Real Silent PSU" 350W Special Edition so we could find out in a comprehensive review.

According to the manufacturer, the Xice Watercooling System combines easy installation without any modifications of the case, ultra-quiet PC operation and stylish design. Compared to other solutions which consist of several separate parts, the Xice solution uses one external cooling device. The 'ExternalCool' combines heat exchanger, pump and fluid reservoir in a designer-chassis. The pump gets its power directly from the power-supply of the PC. This ensures that the pump is always working when the PC is turned on. The set is available at http://www.pcsilent.com for 349 Euros.

Frontier PC in Vancouver, BC offers up their Silent XP2500+ prebuilt system for SPCR's scrutiny. A value system by one of the few Canadian stores that sells a complete quiet PC, this ones uses the boldly styled Chenbro Xpider case. Check out our review of the Frontier PC Silent XP2500+ system.

Russ tackles the MCX462-V, a clear continuation of classic Swiftech heatsink design: Thick copper base with helicoid aluminum pins press fitted into the base. But as with the MCX478-V, the P4 counterpart recently reviewed by Ralf Hutter, this Socket-A heatsink is designed "to optimize cooling at air flow levels as low as 22CFM and 23dbA." Our MCX462-V review shows you how well Swiftech has achieved its goal.

The just-released Antec P160 "Performance One Super mid-tower" aluminum case is anticipated with a great deal of excitment over its bold appearance and Antec's promotion, which promises "mind-numbing performance." We got the jump on even the overclocking and gaming web sites on this one: Our review of an early production sample of Antec's new case, with detailed noise analysis as usual in our reviews, appears to be the first posted anywhere on the web. Here is our comprehensive Antec P160 case review.

It's raining case reviews at SPCR! Russ tackles a new mid-tower case from Fong Kai called the FK-330. Weighing in at 32 lbs, it qualifies as a heavyweight, being some 50% bigger than similar size offerings from Antec, Chenbro and Evercase. The Fong Kai FK-330 is a modern case that -- as you'll see in Russ's thorough review -- takes a big shot at the title of the most open airflow mid-tower case available.

Mikhail examines a LCD monitor from Solarism said to have a 16ms response rate (compared to 25ms of most) and marketed to gamers. "After months of prolonged use," he says, "I can't see myself going back to CRT, not even my 21" Trinitron." Thems fightn' words for some folks!

EPIACENTER.com has just posted an interesting news item on a new hard disk by Toshiba. It's a 1.8" sized one which has a total storage capacity of 40GB and only uses 1.4 watts (!!!). That means that you could have 120GB of data with an overall power consumption of less than 5 watts, doesn't that sound great?!?! Check out the complete news item for more information and a picture...

It was not long ago that we reviewed a Swifty, yet here's another one, a new gen with a twist -- no, a bend! -- this time for the P4: The Swiftech MCX478-V. Ralf runs a gamut of tests with a variety of fans on the new heatsink, then tosses it in the ring with some recent heavyweight contenders for a thorough comparative roundup.

It was not long ago that we reviewed a Swifty, yet here\'s another one, a new gen with a twist -- no, a bend! -- this time for the P4: The Swiftech MCX478-V. Ralf runs a gamut of tests with a variety of fans on the new heatsink, then tosses it in the ring with some recent heavyweight contenders for a thorough comparative roundup....

Helping to achieve slimmer, fanless designs, the VIA EPIA TC mainboard features a built-in 12V DC-DC power converter, eliminating the need for bulky power supplies that need a noisy cooling fan, and providing 60W of power on the 17cm x 17cm board. A horizontal SODIMM slot on the underside of the mainboard and the optional CardBus (PCMCIA) and CompactFlash slots help to achieve the VIA EPIA TC's unique low profile design by providing expandability without using the vertical PCI slot.

Some of you may have been waiting for... Silent PC Review's Fall 2003 Promotional Giveaway! We have two generous sponsors who have put up two attractive quiet case + PSU packages for this event, which begins today and ends Dec 3. Check out the prizes and see how to qualify!

Hush Technologies' sleek and stylish Hush Mini-ITX PC finally gets reviewed at SPCR. It looks for all the world like a cross between a high end stereo amplifier and a high end CD player. It could easily become a fetish if you're so inclined. Our complete review, complete with sound power testing results.

Two weeks ago, I jumped the gun to post a preview of the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer because I did not have access to an ATI 9500-9800 or nVidia GF3 card, for which the product is designed. Russ Kinder happens to have a Sapphire-ATI 9500 VGA card, now nearly 2 years old, but still a good performer, and more importantly, one that the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer would work with. I arranged to have a sample sent to Russ, and now, a scant week later, we've worked together to turn this once-preview into a full review.