Okay guys and gals, I have the Sonata in my living room, all shiny and lovely. Ta for all your recommendations (and the general discussion). Picked up from near St. James' Park, tried to walk to Waterloo Station (bear with my non-London people) via Westminster, and what do I find. A bloody load of p...

PS. According to several studies performed by companies that work in the datastorage business, most datalosses can be followed back to software error or human error. Ain't that the truth. I've had two machines where hardware failures lead to data loss, both cases were down to old cruddy hard disks....

Thanks for the feedback. I'm getting the Sonata, as it looks like being just the right sort of deal. I guess I'll have to cope with the CPU or see how I can go about making it quieter if it annoys me... so that'll be some more trawling of this site! I only intend to use two fans so only having 2 5v ...

Ta, that's what I was thinking overall - I just wanted someone out there telling me I'm not about to do somnething stupid (aside from lugging the damn thing across London!). The BQE seems better normally, but at this price....
Thanks for the opinion,

Tom.

I have a choice of cases for my new PC, a Sonata and a 3700BQE. Okay, I've read the reviews and the recommended cases sections, and the BQE seems to win, but... The Sonata's second hand, with AcoustiPack , going for 65GBP, while the BQE's going for £55 (+delivery) on its own. The downside for me ab...

I was looking at using an Asus board, but having have problems with Linux and my current hardware (my Canon scanner has never worked right) I thought I'd look around... and found among other things this http://www.mozillaquest.com/Linux04/Asus_Sucks_Story-01.html page detailing why Asus and Linux do...

I've just has a reply from Tekheads, who I asked aboput the Zalman 7000AlCu OEM, they say:
"It is untrue, we bundle the Socket A and A64 fittings with all Zalman 7000Al-CU OEM coolers."
Tom.

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=601956 are selling the 7000AlCu for 17.50 GBP + vat & del, I think this is the cheapest around. They also have a nifty "price match" where whey try to match a competitor's price. Handy if you want to use only one supplier to reduce delivery costs. Oh, I t...

I'm guessing you bought the HDD in the UK (unless there's also a non-UK Microdirect) Trading Standards... On buying a computer: http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0055-1111.txt "The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended): The computer should be of a satisfactory quality, fit...

Brings a new meaning to "Cases and Damping"!

Ta for that info, I'll see if anyone there has any experience with quietening these lovely little things. I'm not sure there's much chance of fitting an oversized heatsink or a silent HDD cage/box, but maybe something can be done. I note the VIA boxes come with: * "Temperature controlled 80mm Arctic...

I'm looking at making/buying a quiet er PC, but size and looks are important. Has anyone here considered a Hoojum (ex-NetCube) box? ( http://www.hoojum.com ) They look lovely, and come in VIA and P4 configurations, but I don't know how quiet the P4 will end up. If anyone's seen/given a review of thi...