The systems of ours that SPCR has checked out in the past are a bit different from the Serenity, as they were using laptop processors from ~2005/2006 to make low-heat / low-noise computers. That worked great, but it was a very custom option that not a lot of our customers took advantage of. With Ser...

If you are considering the P182 vs P183, there are some good articles and comparisons out there (including one from here at SPCR):

http://www.silentpcreview.com/antec-p183

http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=68

I still like the look of the P182 better, personally

Yes - as you get closer to a power supply's maximum wattage the heat it puts out will go up, so its fan will spin up to compensate. It is hard to know for sure how much wattage your system will draw, but from the description you gave (quad-core, 4 HDDs, 8800GT) I would suspect in the 200-300W range ...

I like the Corsair units personally, and have found them (and the Seasonics they are based on) to be very quiet. They have a 450W model, but it might be worth bumping up to 650W to help ensure that you are staying in the best efficiency / noise level range.

If you want the horsepower of a Q9550 but don't want the extra heat, consider the QXXXXS series processors from Intel. They are 65W just like the dual-cores, but give you the extra horsepower of a quad... for a small price premium, of course. I think the Q9550S is the highest-end option available, b...

Looking at thermal output (wattage) of chips can help, and is usually a good indication of how hot they will run and how much power they draw. It can be a bit deceiving, though, as AMD and Intel measure differently. I'd look at a few platforms that interest you and then search for reviews of them th...

I was surprised to find this here, as I was reading the SPCR forums, but it is nice to see that someone noticed it :) Actually, the reason there aren't SSDs is that when the system was built (September 2008) they were not yet available in the speeds / capacities they are today. The customer who orde...

I've been a reader of SPCR off and on for a few years now, but didn't realize there was a program for system builders to engage SPCR and collaborate on quiet computer designs. I'm from a system builder in the Seattle area, and would be very interested in more information on this if someone wants to ...

I haven't noticed any change, but then I didn't monitor temps religiously when I had Vista (nor do I now - I just had occasion to check a couple of days ago and then did again today in prep for this response). The first thing that comes to my mind is just ambient temps - depending on where you live ...