Case: Fractal Design's Nodes look nice, and the 304 is definitely cheaper than the GD08B, and the built-in fan controller should be welcome. How do these cases compare with the GD08B? What about the 605? It wouldn't save me money, but it looks nice enough to be considered as an alternative to the G...

The Nexus fans can be bought at quietpc.com. Perhaps their price isn't that expensive?

I know Nexus makes very quiet PSU's (just look at the recommended liste of PSU's here at SPCR). They can be bought at quietpc.com (based in UK. Shipping costs are quite reasonable). Look at the Nexus NX5000 (530 W) or the Nexus Value 430 W which have both been reviewed here at SPCR. Though a bit out...

Case: There's the Lian Li PC-Q08. The only major issue is probably that vibrations from hard drives create a lot of noise. Fractal Design also has the Node series that seems very competent. Take a look at these cases too. One of them is even similar to the Grandia that you've mentioned. PSU: Some ca...

If I listen closely to my Corsair CX400W (with a fan-swap) I can hear some high-pitched whining-like noise, as you describe. But sitting at my desk, I can't hear it.

How is the AVG (free-edition) during recently? I rememeber some years ago when it was the go-to free antivirus application but I haven't heard of it much since then?

Instead of the Cooler Master 212 EVO, then why not a small blow-down cooler such as the Scythe Samurai ZZ? By going for a small-sized CPU cooler you would be more assured that it will fit in the case. It's probably easier to install the system with such a small cooler, too. According to the SPCR rev...

There's also the Corsair Carbide 200R and the Fractal Arc Design Midi to consider. They are somewhat comparable to the NZXT Source 210 Elite. Around five years ago, Antec was perhaps no. 1 in building good enthusiast cases. The P183 or the P180 Mini for example innovated the entire industry with the...

I thought a lot of seasonic fanless psu fails? I've never heard that Seasonic fanless PSU's are more prone to failure than any other PSU's. In fact, I've never heard about a fanless Seasonic unit fail. Seasonic produces quality products, so you shouldn't worry too much about the reliability of thei...

I agree with the post above by edh. I would also add that the reputation of PSU makers is crucial since this usually equals to the reliability of the PSU. I have never heard of Coolmax so I would suspect that their products are too cheap = bad quality. The unit is probably not that quiet neither. Th...

CPU cooler: You could choose a Scythe Mugen 3. It's reasonably cheap, it can easily cope with a non-OC'ed CPU, and the fan is great. It can easily be made completely quiet via PWM. SSD: 137 euro is quite much for a 128 GB SSD. Why not choose other reliable models such as the Samsung 830, 840 (non-pr...

Case: The NZXT Source 210 Elite would probably not be the ideal choice for noise dampening compared to the 550D and the R4. But it could be argued that a quiet case relies primarily on quiet components and that the case only has minimal effect on the noise level. Simply take a look on my build (can ...

Hmm I am really thinking if I should get a passive or not.. not really sure. It will bring extra heat I guess. Hmm, if the system consumes 200 W at load, and the efficiency of the PSU is 85-90% at 200W, then it will dissipate ... 20-30 W? That's not a lot compared to the amount of heat dissipated b...

Case: Have you considered the Fractal Design R4 or the Corsair 550D? The cases come with a fan side cover. Or the Antec Solo II? The Solo II has a great advantage because you can suspend the harddrives with built-in cords. The vibrations from the hard drives, when passed on to the side panels, is a ...

Very nice!

Do you notice any difference between using an SSD and a RAM-disk?

Very nice to hear something about the NZXT Source 210 Elite. It definitely looks like a great case for it's price. I don't think many people know about the case compared to similar cases like, let's say, the Corsair Carbide 200R and the Fractal Design Core 3000.

You could also opt for hard drives with another capacity. 1.5 TB seems an odd number when 3 TB drives are easily available. I also agree with CA_Steve regarding the SSD but I would like to the Intel SSD's to that list. Intel SSD's have been known to be very reliable. Don't forget to look at the Frac...

If your budget allows you to, then a Seasonic X PSU or one of the high-end models from Kingwin.

Another option, if your budget allows you to: A 2.5" inch drive in a 2.5" Scythe QuietDrive. This enclosure (which has the same dimensions as a regular 3.5" drive) can be suspended by an aftermarket suspension system sthat can be seen at the front page of this website: http://noisemagic.de/ If you h...

When I bought the Crucial m4 a long time ago, Crucial had already updated the firmware. At the time, the firmware was quite new so it was a nice surprise for me.

What about the Silverstone Precision PS07? It's a bit more cheap than the Temjin and it doesn't have the 180 mm fan which can't be made very quiet. You could also consider a very cheap case like a Cooler Master Elite 341 or a Fractal Design Core 1000. Or simply go mini-ITX. The vibrations coming fro...

Very nice. Can the passive cooler cope with the CPU? And what would you say was the noisiest component?

Regarding the current state of Intel SSD's, have a look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel#Solid-state_drives_.28SSD.29 Samsung is another major player on the market. The used to only sell their CPU's to OEM's, but they have been very successful with the 470 and the 830. Currently, they sel...

Karkee, have you considered the Antec Solo II? Though an ATX case, it has roughly the same size as the Fractal Design Mini.

CA_Steve wrote:If you start with optimally quiet components, any of these cases will make for a very quiet PC. Lots of posts and reviews on this site for the cases listed.

I definitely agree with this point.

Have you tried raising the fan speed of the exhaust fan? I could image the heat would be trapped below the GPU area. Perhaps it would be good to remove this heat.

The Define Mini does have damping material where as the Arc Mini doesn't. Otherwise they look just the same to me. And I agree with edh. There's no need for damping material if the components are quiet to begin with. Simply take a look at my very quiet system that uses a well-ventilated case (see th...

I think modern Pentium CPU's, and even Celeron if the budget is tight, are capable of handling the tasks that users such as your father would use. This could save some money. The bad reputation of the Pentium and the Celeron originate from the fact that the Pentiums and Celerons from yesterday (or s...

As long as you pick standard sized RAM, you should have any problems with interfering of space. Have you considered other cases? The 690 II Advanced is a bit outdated. Corsair, in particular, has made similar cases since then and they are superb according to numerous enthusiast webpages. You could a...

You can add a front fan if necessart. Isn't it possible to place a fan right behind the upper hard drive cage so that the fan runs right beside the GPU?