I'd go with a different case, PSU, HD, and source the CPU from another vendor. Techonweb and tankguys list the E6600 for a fair bit less, but alas, they're both out of stock.

EDIT: I'd try a Scythe Ninja for semi-passive (exhaust) cooling, too.

Couldn't you just plug the 4-pin connectors into a fan controller?

Yate Loon D12SL-12 fans are $4 at Jab-tech, btw.

FSP probably correctly rates the fan at 38dBa. That's the noise output at 12V, which will be supplied to the fan only rarely.

Too lazy to type what I wanted to type, so I'll just say that Newegg is raping people on their E6600 prices.

The Seasonic.

What monitor do you have? Specifically, what is its resolution?

What are you planning to do with it?

Will the reversed Condor fit in a P180?

Remember, when you're talking 0dB, ANYTHING that can move will cause noise. Don't forget about the transformers, boiling fluid in heat pipes, etc. ;) If my transformers were moving, I think I'd have bigger concerns than the associated noise... http://www.federalpacific.com/university/transnoise/cha...

Perhaps the heat spreader is convex instead of concave. I assume that you had placed the compound in the middle to be spread out by the pressure of the HS base; if that's the case, then concavity would have allowed more compound to rest in the middle.

Remember, when you're talking 0dB, ANYTHING that can move will cause noise. Don't forget about the transformers, boiling fluid in heat pipes, etc.

KorruptioN wrote:I have.

The included SU-430 PSU is a Seasonic design -- the insides look pretty much identical to the NeoHE, minus the modular design, slightly different +12V distribution, and the gunmetal casing.

What brand of capacitors?

Shipping might kill this deal:

http://tinyurl.com/fngfk

Why not just leave the slots empty?

Why a 7800GTX?

Scythe Ninja Plus

Speed is speed. If an HD with 2MB of cache performed better than one with 16MB of cache, the 2MB model is what you should get.

Cache size is even less important than peak engine power (in a car) for determining performance.

I wonder if dimpling the fins would increase the cooling efficiency...

I wonder how performance is affected by such small radius pipe bends... If they bent it less tightly, there would be more "hot" surface area too.

jaganath wrote:

The X1900XT is a faster card than the 7900GT.

It also uses about 40W more than the 7900GT.

It's not like he said he wants minimal noise or that he's using a small-capacity PSU (Sonata II PSU is 450W).

What's the source for these prices? Any more recent info on availability? I received the 500w unit from Seasonic a short while ago and we just posted the review on HardwareLogic yesterday ( LINK ). I wish we had the kind of resources the good folks here at SPCR have for testing PSUs, but for a snea...

When you say voltages stay within 1%... I guess that means +/- 2%? Because 11.83 is definitely more than 1% less than 12.

Any reason why you're going with the M2N32-SLI over the M2N-E? To be honest, I've researched and flip-flopped between them both. If I could find a really good comparison review of the two, I might still land on the side of the M2N-E, but absent that, I erred on the side of features! :) Which featur...

Looks like a derivative of the M12 design...

Any reason why you're going with the M2N32-SLI over the M2N-E?

I'd say the grain of metals is nearly impossible to see with the naked eye...

A certain amount of grain is visible in the surface

If cost is a factor, the Yate Loon D12SL-12 are basically the same as the Nexus fans. They're $4 at Jab-tech, last I checked.

Cut and splice?