Synology NAS devices are well supported and easy to use. I have the DS212j at home, and under most use scenarios, it's very quiet. The fan is a standard 92mm fan, so even if it is too loud for your tastes you can replace it with something quieter.

Welcome to SPCR! Is this machine just for playing video? An external video card isn't strictly necessary if that's the case. If you've got an older CRT TV, you're going to need something with RCA or S-Video output. That video card you have linked doesn't have either, even though the specs page says ...

Really quick writeup for anyone else looking into a NAS. I managed to pick one of these up on a crazy clearance sale today ($89!). Installation is quite straight forward. Pop off the cover, install your drives, replace the cover, plug in cables, power on. Run the setup software from Synology and fol...

My eight 3TB Reds are quieter than the four 4TB Greens that they've replaced, especially under load. I cannot hear them seeking in the case that's right next to my chair.

If you're willing to pay the premium, Red's all the way.

I've got eight of the WD Red 3TB drives in my server. Sitting next to them (ear -> drives is about 4ft), I can barely hear them spinning, but it's so faint that any other noises drown them out - even my own breathing. I've never heard seek noises from those drives , even when I know that there's hea...

Neither drive will give you stellar performance. I've had several of the EARS drives in my server for a long time and they were nearly inaudible. Unless you were exceptionally sensitive to noise, you wouldn't hear them. I haven't worked with the EARX or EZRX models, but my guess is that either of th...

@Monkeh16 - First off - I'm going to preface this whole post by saying that I have tried to use Linux on the desktop several times in the past 10 years, and every time I've been put off by one thing or another that was simply missing or did not work as well as Windows. Your attitude towards my post ...

Even with the massive 310 driver performance improvements? http://nvidianews.nvidia.com/Releases/NVIDIA-Delivers-Massive-Performance-Boost-to-Linux-Gaming-8ac.aspx That may be, but from what I've seen the 310 series have caused their own issues on 670 and 680 cards in certain Windows games. Like I ...

The problem with Ati^H^H^HAMD cards is that they're still operating with reduced functionality - if at all - if you run linux and, to a lesser extent, a hackintosh - and i do both. Software fan control is also useless if you dual/triple boot since it tends to only run on windows. So, nvidia it is f...

I'm not the one yelling about how Windows sucks every chance he gets and blaming it for a problem it not only did not, but could not cause. Windows is at the core of the problem. Along with the slow switch to 64-bit, and the continued existence of 16-bit software which should've been abandoned deca...

I'm well aware that there are some performance-setting "fixes" for these kinds of issues, but IMO, this shouldn't be something necessary for the user to do - especially on a premium $400 video card (the only more expensive at the moment options being the 7970 and 680). I've run into my fair share of...

I want one :D I got one.... but it seems to be a lemon. :( I picked one up after the recommendation of this review and based on the fact that nVidia's 660/670/680 series cards tend to use less power than the AMD 7800/7900 series in 2D mode when multiple monitors are connected. After uninstalling AM...

It's been a while since I started a thread here, and even longer since I made the thread describing my file server as it was in 2008. A few upgrades have happened in the past 4 years, most notably the change from 8x1TB WD Greens to 4x2TB Greens about two years ago. Back in April, I upgrade both my d...

It's possible, but you still won't get silence from any multi-hard drive system. I had eight WD Green drives in my server a while back, and it was definitely quiet once I suspended the drives (a necessity IMO) but still audible if you listened for it. http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.p...

It's huge and ludicrous. I kinda want it.

If you want to overclock on an Intel system, you need an overclocking capable chipset and CPU. i3-3220 + Z77 = no overclocking possible i5-3570K + H77 = no overclocking possible i5-3570K + Z77 = overclocking possible Again, the days of FSB based overclocking on Intel systems are long gone (and is pr...

Unless you're planning on spending the cash to get an i5 (with or without overclock capabilities), I'd say that the upgrade from your current system to an i3 wouldn't be worth it. If you do want to have the flexibility of overclocking, you'll also need a Z77 board. H77 boards cannot be used to overc...

With modern Intel based systems, you don't touch the BCLK (the FSB replacement) at all. It's 100MHz, and it stays at 100MHz. Any higher and you're risking significant issues with system stability. This also means that the only way of getting an overclocked processor is to purchase a K-series CPU. Th...

For a home server build, the WD Green drives are just fine. I would recommend that you do not install Server 2008 R2 on the GP drive, but instead use it as storage. A small SSD will do miles for the performance of the server and you can get away with a 40GB SSD for the OS itself with room to spare. ...

This would make an excellent little box for a pfSense router, especially with the dual NICs. My guess is that it was meant more for such purposes or for thin client setups. The lack of crunching power leads me to believe that media encoding/decoding was not in the intended usage patterns for this sy...

Yep, I was planning on doing that later tonight. I'm really quite pleased with this card. It handles just about everything I throw at it, and now runs very cool. Apparently AMD has released some hotfix drivers to address an issue with system stability after the monitors are put to sleep. More testin...

Didn't get around to taking those pictures last night - I'll be sure to do that when I get home in a little while. Replacing the stock cooler on video cards is quite easy this day. As long as you've got a clean work area (i.e. a clean table or desk) and some patience, there's usually little that you...

For any of you wondering about the new generation of AMD and nVidia graphics cards and how to cool them, I'll give my first hand experience with a recent upgrade I did on my desktop. As with any early adopter of new hardware, I bit the bullet on a Gigabyte Radeon 7870 OC Windforce graphics card hopi...

Actually, yes. I'd much rather buy from a company that has a good support track record, regardless of any unproven potential issues. How many stability concerns regarding the 520 have you heard yet? On that note - how many issues have you heard recently since the latest Sandforce firmware was made a...

I've been lurking around here ever since I stopped working for Mike a few years ago. I don't consider myself as much of an audiophile/audio enthusiast as most around here, but at the end of the day, what is it that really matters when it comes to audio equipment? How it sounds! Who is it that decide...

I think what people are ultimately forgetting is that Microsoft is a publicly traded company. As such, their first priority is towards their shareholders. If giving away free software in order to "lure" new users to their products leads to greater share value, then so be it. My school had almost eve...

Not only has Microsoft stolen code and ideas, they steal our time with their bullshit, as well as the countless hours all of us have spent helping others understand confusing, flaky, poorly documented/implemented features. That's funny. I've spent less time helping friends, family and clients sort ...

With Linux you don't have to deal with this crap. You know you want to! But you have to deal with all the other crap that comes along with working in a Linux environment. Don't tell me that "Linux is easy", because frankly, it's not. The learning curve is steeper, the performance benefits are margi...

Is there any reason NOT to get the OEM version of Win7 Pro? Features wise - they are the same. The things that you'll be missing from a retail edition include: - No official support from Microsoft. You'll still receive updates and whatnot, but you won't be able to call them regarding issues you'll ...

Newer Intel CPUs also have the ability to let Windows7 "park" the cores, essentially turning them off altogether. All the i7 CPUs support this, but I'm not sure if the previous generation mobile C2D chips do. Ultimately, the i720 will give you better performance overall, and better multitasking capa...