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Please help me build my new computer, DC!

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superboyac:
Check out this case, it's probably overkill for me, but still.  I love the emphasis on silence, but I also like the screwless design.  $190?  Hmmm, might be too much for my needs...

Superior Silent Environment:
> Soundproof materials applied to build a quiet environment
> Sound barrier design reduces vibration for silent operation

Thermal Solution:
> Dual bottom air intakes to enhance airflow and reduce system noise
> Six aluminum detachable HDD modules with ventilation holes for optimized cooling performance
> Side removable VGA cooling tunnel to advance thermal airflow

Tool-free User-friendliness:
> Patented finger pressing buttons for quickly maintaining or upgrading 5.25” drive devices
> Tool-free design for opening side panel conveniently

Cable Management
> Separate HDD modules make it easy to organize cable direction
> Cable management system for better cable routing and neatness
--- End quote ---

Lashiec:
The Cosmos is an excellent case, and one of my personal favourites. But I think you can get away with a cheaper case that is still silent, like the Sonata cranioscopical and mouser mentioned, which is built to achieve that. The Antec Solo also has sound dampening material IIRC. In any case, the choice of the cooling components also helps here.

One plus of the Cosmos though, is that is quite roomy, and is built to keep components as cool as possible, as the result of its enthusiast-oriented nature. I don't think you'll have much problems with temps, not getting a fancy GPU, but perhaps you will appreciate the space if you plan to have many drives and swap them often.

superboyac:
Thanks Lashiec, I will consider all you said.  In the end, I will look at the price and if it really turns out to be too much, I'll start cutting things off that I truly don't need.  In this case, it's a matter of $60 between the Cosmos and the Antec, so we'll see.  For now, I'm going to put the Cosmos in my list.

[Click here to return to first post and see updated system components & price]

superboyac:
AnandTech just posted their Holiday 2008 Display Guide.
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3480
I've found this website's reviews to be reliable.
-40hz (December 19, 2008, 01:04 PM)
--- End quote ---
Thanks, 40hz, I spent over an hour today reading anandtech's monitor guides and suggestions.  It seems like the 24" Dell 2408 is a very good choice.  Fortunately, that's the same one I use at work so I'm quite familiar with it!  Now, it's pretty expensive at darn near $700, so what do I do?  I definitely will not pay for two of them at $1400, but do I go with one 24", or two 21" like mouser suggested?  I must admit, the 24" is nice at work, but practically speaking, the only time I actually feel like I need it is when I'm using Autocad (which I won't use at home) or when I'm watching HD videos (again, I don't plan on spending a lot of time watching movies and shows in front of my computer).  If anything, if I'm going to watch something for a long time, it's going to be on my coach in front of the tv.  So, two 21" may very well be the right choice for me.

Does that make sense?  Mouser?

f0dder:
superboyac: in my opinion you only need one raptor drive (unless you're going to set up a RAID MIRROR for data safety (and remember that mirror is a supplement to, not a substitute for, backups)). If you go for a 150gb velociraptor, you have more than enough space for OS + programs + documents, and you can use whatever other drive for bulk data storage. Other drives are plenty fast as well these days, and some of the larger drives beat the original raptors in term of sustained data transfer rate (although not seek time).

With a decent case that reduces vibrations, the 10k rpm of the raptors is not a problem at all. The only time they make some noise is when the read/write heads move a lot, which should only happen on badly fragmented partitions, or when you do multiple I/O streams on a single drive. And even then, it's a relatively pleasant click/clack noise that, although slightly loud, isn't annoying like the high-pitched rotation whine you can usually hear from drives (but which I, strangely enough, don't hear from the raptors... perhaps the 10k rpm noise is too high-pitched? Or my case dampened enough?).

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