I have a Silverstone fanless power supply in a P180 and I’m happy with it; it’s about two thirds the cost of the Phantom. Thanks SC, I will definitely check out this fan. I'm a fan of anything fanless. :) >> If you’re not looking to aggressively over-clock your system, play games or trying to...

The M2V is based on a VIA chipset, which is inferior to the Nforce from Nvidia, according to many reviews on the net. EDIT: Just read your requirements again, no games played, I would go for the M2N-E, should do you nicely, and it's cheaper than the SLI version. Thanks very much Anvar, this does in...

Well, simple, then: Antec P180 [latest rev, preferably] ASUS A8N-SLI Premium* Antec Phantom 500** AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester*** CORSAIR XMS 2GB [or whatever you choose] Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS**** Scythe SCNJ-1000P It seems the more you know the more complicated this becomes! I'...

Anvar wrote:According to the P.S., it seems so.

Thanks Anvar. Man there are so many things to be on the look-out for with a new rig. I was worried about the power supply, now I learn that the original rubber O-rings were inferior.

swiharta wrote:I think it depends on what stock the place you are buying from has.... So, you'll end up with a good one either way, if you can deal with a possible RMA situation.

Thanks Swiharta!

I read an update on this site today:

"Update Jan 3, 2006 - Antec P150 recommendation put on hold until bundled NeoHE PSU issues are fully resolved. "

I'm considering a P150 and would like to know if the issues have been fully resolved yet?

Thanks!

androgeny wrote:I'd recommend heading over to the head-fi.org forums (specifically the Computer-as-Source subforum) and chatting those guys up regarding your sound card needs.

Thanks, I will do that.

Thanks also for the info on a larger case and the importance of cable routing/air flow.

I'd first like to say all you guys here are really great with your advice and help. I really appreciate it. I wouldn’t let one bad experience with a large case put you off the P180 or other suitable large cases; it’s an excellent case. OK I will look into the larger case then. Is this case being...

Since you aren’t on a tiny budget, I would suggest that an AM2 or C2D system is preferable, due to having a deeper upgrade path. >> This is actually what I dropped by today to mention: you could pretty logically justify getting a low-power AM2 processor instead of the socket 939 I recommended; so...

>> My Chaintech AV-710 (Envy 24HT-S based, though I think it's more of a listening card than a recording card) has no heatsink at all on the chip, and I would be very suprised if it put out more than 5 watts in total. I keep it in the last slot right by the case floor and never had any heat-induced ...

[quote="smilingcrow"]I don’t think you mentioned whether the size of the system case is an issue for you! If it is, then check the dimensions of the P180, as it comes highly recommend by many including myself, but it is big.[/quote="smilingcrow"] As you will read in one of my replies, I had a bad ...

Thanks for getting back Engine! I know you are talking from a musician's perspective so I appreciate your reply. [quote="Engine"] Well, most boards have some sort of built-in solution, and many aren't too bad. And you can always drop in a SoundBlaster for cheap, or an Echo Audio breakout box or what...

Well I'm back, two weeks the smarter for it! I didn't know the first thing from an AMD chip to an Intel one, but I believe I've got the basics down now. Well if you want bleeding edge it would be a Conroe system or if you wanted AMD it would be: CPU: AMD X2 3800+ Case: Antec P180 PSU: Seasonic S12-4...

[quote="drees"]I got 2 Sempron 3000+s have them installed and am satisfied with the power savings and additional performance, but of course, I'd like more, but I don't think I'll be able to get much more without another significant cash outlay. [/quote="drees"] Thanks for the report drees. I'm consi...

Yes, definitely undervolt those bad boys. On the Pundit in my sig, undervolting reduced idle from the wall by ~4w and load by ~11w. Hi Frosted. I noticed in your sig you are using a 40G Fujitsu 2.5" HD. I have an 80G Fujitsu 2.5" that I'm planning to use in my next system. Can you please tell me th...

Thanks Jag and Mex!
I'm taking good notes from your suggestions.

I've waited this long so I guess I can wait until Jul 23 to take advantage of any price drops.

Thanks Jag I'll be noting down all of your suggestions carefully. Really bleeding edge would be a Core Duo or Conroe system. I did say 'close' to bleeding edge. :) I'm usually inclined to stay away from the absolute bleeding edge for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you always pay a sizable premium for...

Hi Engine, thanks very much for your reply, I really appreciate it. Let's start there, then: which programs do you use to make music? If you're just doing pure wave recording of live instruments, for instance, and then editing them, you'll need performance in different areas than if you're doing sof...

Hello, It's probably time that I upgraded my system. It is more than 10 years old after all. I would really appreciate your experience and expertise in silent/quiet pc's. I'll start with what I have. It's a P233 with 256M RAM. ASUS MB. Many PCI cards and even some ISA cards. The power supply is prob...

I'm in the market for a new system.
I noticed that the recommended CPUs haven't been updated since 2004.

Any news on when the 2006 CPU recommendations will be coming out?

Thanks.

I guess the problem with propping the laptop up is that it makes using the laptop not very ergonomic. Not at all. The styrofoam that we used were two flat pieces. They raised the notebook aprox. 1 - 1.5 inches. The notebook was very stable and viewing height was pretty much the same. Try it, you'll...

Put away your pots and pans, copper etc.

My girlfriend has a Toshiba notebook whose fan would come on every few minutes.
We just took two pieces of styromfoam (approx. 1 inch high) and placed them underneath her notebook.
The fans hardly came on at all after that. Big difference.

NFG

CA_Steve wrote:Samsung and now Sony. I've heard rumors Apple might go this way as well for the subnotebook class.

Fantastic news Steve!
It sure has taken them long enough.
HP released their first flash drive notebooks more than 10 years ago.

NFG

Hi there. Tought I might chip in here with my own experiences. I bought an IBM ThinkPad X31 about a year ago. It's a 12'' Centrino ultraportable with a 1.4 GHz Pentium M and an ATI Mobility Radeon graphics chip. Thanks Sanska for the heads-up. It does sound very nice indeed by your description. I c...

...In that case, depending what you'll use the notebook for, you could consider getting a notebook where you could remove the hard drive and boot from cd or flash drive, such as with knoppix or damn small linux, toram... . Hey, thanks for your tips Michael! I don't know if even booting from a flash...

I support the need for SPCR to do a more formal assessment of the silent notebook market, notebooks have really been neglected by SPCR to date, but of course the editorial team has limited time and resources. Yes I realise that extra work would be required for this to occur. I just thought that use...

Hi Folks, I've been reading stuff on this site off and on for about a year or so. This is my first post though. As far as noise sensitivity goes, I'm probably one of the most if not the most sensitive of members here. I'm talking about _feeling_ emf's in my temples even when I can't hear any noise! ...