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......from another manufacturer.

Lots of luck there. The other manufacturers will be paying a license fee to Sony. And besides, you're probably buying Sony products without being aware of it. They don't put their name on everything.

I hate to break it to you, but thermal pads and thermal tape have been on the market for years.

Nobody is going to be paying Sony much of anything, because this is simply an ALSO RAN product in a crowded field of products.

Peltier cooling devices need power, though, and tend to amplify the heat output quite a bit more than you'd expect.

Example: Something like this product: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2408/exp-01/245W_Potted_Peltier.html

Disclaimer: I like FrozenCPU, but I'm not affiliated with them. Just using it as an example of a real-world, purchasable Peltier device, with comments that explain it in a bit more detail.

I don't see why the topic of liquid cooling hard drives isn't on the table. SAN or no SAN hard drives generate heat regardless of where they are housed. The individual drives can be liquid cooled even if not directly submerged in liquid.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7500/ex-blc-487/Koolance_HD-60_Hard_Drive_Liquid_Cooling_Block.html

Give in to the urge. You're fscked anyway, more or less.
http://www.frozencpu.com/cig-01.html

No thanks. I'll take my Big Black Box of Death over this modular monstrosity any day of the week (and for half the price).

...and I feel your pain when it comes to paying tax on items ordered online. I have built several systems through the years, and I, like you, am building another one now to replace my old P4. After you have done your research and decided what you want, here are some places to compare prices which will not charge you tax when shipped to TN:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Home.jsp

http://www.directron.com/

http://www.ewiz.com/index.php

For specialty items, like heat sinks, I sometimes buy here:

http://www.frozencpu.com/index.html?id=wdw9Exum

Above all though, compare prices using these useful sites, for you may find the same part elsewhere even cheaper:

http://www.pricewatch.com/

http://www.google.com/products

Newegg is great for comparing parts and reading detailed specs/reviews, but the tax and shipping generally lead to the parts being more expensive than if they were ordered elsewhere.

• Directron huge selection and prices aren't too bad. Does double boxing for a small fee. Has nasty habit of putting fragile sticker on shipping carton which means "kick me" to UPS and Fedex.
  
• Provantagedecent selection and low prices on some stuff. Cable prices are cheap but they make up for it in shipping fees big time. Packing is a little uneven. You want a disk drive real bad if you order from them. I don't check their site unless it's something I know they have at a good price before hand.
  
• Performance PCsPC modding stuff.
  
• FrozenCPUanother modding place.
  

You have to check around. Not any one place has the best prices on everything or the best selection. For a particular part, there may be only one vendor carrying it.

Well, I wasn't able to find a $200 waterblock, but I found one for $130 with a solid silver base. Most that I just now found were in the $60 range, and the one I have sells for $35 brand new. Even the top of the line ones, completely chromed out, are only $85. Check out these sites for waterblocks if you are only able to find $200 ones (five sites specifically for modders and water coolers who like the blinged out products, and not one has a $200 block):

xoxide
SVC
DangerDen
high speed PC
frozen cpu

While I paid twice what I would've had I done it myself with a local machine shop, I think the extra $20 was worth the testing and build experience of a mass market block.

If you're willing to shell out the 1200 bucks for the state of the art processor, you're probably willing to invest in some form of Noise Dampening for 50 bucks.

Yeah, but those cigarette lighter jump leads aren't all that good. The starter motor of a car takes the largest current of all components within the vehicle, so much so that the usual path of cable in a car goes:

Battery -> Starter motor & solenoid -> everything else.
The cigarette lighters take very, very little current in comparison (you can power one from your PC's power pack! ) and the circuitry leading to them is normally only of the guage required.

It is therefore very easy to burn out a chunk of your car's wiring loom or a fuse by using these dodgy jump leads.

Also think about it, who's going to know the correct procedure for jump-starting a car but not know where the battery is?
The idea is there and it's good to think outside the box, but sometimes the box is there for a reason so it may be a safe idea not to stray too far outside the box :)

I believe this company is offering the same sort of cable modularity as in the Antec NEOPOWER line (looks rather new):

http://www.antec.com/us/pro_details_powerSupply.ph p?ProdID=24480

The Antec version appears to have some interesting features, not the least of which is the fully open-back grill on the back of the unit. The dark brushing alumnium/steel finish is rather cool too. However, the Antec product does not offer the same sort of sleeved cables as the one in the originaly article. They are, instead, bundles of molex connectors -- two to three connectors per bundle.

Here's a flyer PDF link on the Antec product:

http://www.antec.com/pdf/flyers/NeoPower.pdf

Tom's Hardware also review this Antec product on July 20, 2004:

http://www.tomshardware.com/firstlook/20040720/ind ex.html

Also, if you're interested in EXTREME modular PSU options, visit Frozencpu.com and look under the Power Supplies area for a slew of their own customized PSUs with modularity options included. It's almost to a point of overkill, including plexiglass casings, UV wiring, LED fans, laser cut fan grills -- all for a friggin' power supply.

IronChefMorimoto

I've been quite happy with the Vantec LapCool Laptop Cooler. My battery died on my old laptop, so I had been leaving it on in my living room on the coffee table. It is one of those beasts of a "desktop replacement" laptop, so thing gets HOT. I was a bit concerned with the heat on the table, and the noise from the fans was noticable while just sitting on the table, let alone when my girlfriend plays the sims on it. So I picked up one of these suckers and have been very happy with it. It is almost silent (much quieter than my laptop's fans at least), and I can sit that and my laptop in my lap with no problem.

Water Dye

There is a market for add-ons. Although most people who install fans in adition to where there are brackets/screw holes in their case can install one anywhere. Its really not difficult to cut a fanhole in the side of your case or a blowhole in the top.

FrozenCPU.com has been offering wood cases for quite a long time.. if you want to take a look for yourself, go ahead.

These guys have cases. All you need is cash.

Just use slow spinning 120mm, 92mm, and 80mm fans rather than fast spinning 70mm and 40mm fans.

My microATX system runs with a 120mm fan in its ATX power supply. When idle it spins at about 1,000 RPM's. It's maximum rating is 2,000 RPM's. It self adjusts depending on load. That is less than 20db once the case is closed up.

Then I modded that same case for a 120mm fan in the front of it (from the normal 80mm fan) and I run it at 1,200 RPM's (I use a rheostat to adjust its voltage/RPM). Then I use a 92->80mm fan adapter on the cpu heatsink with a large Alpha 8045 (80x80x45mm) heatsink with copper inlay. This fan runs at about 1,000 RPM's, but it has a heat sensor on a wire that I can place anywhere. I chose to tape it to the side of the heatsink and that keeps the fan at about 1,800 RPM's under load and 1,000 RPM's idle. If you tape the thermal sensor for this fan to another area, it will run at a slower or faster rate, depending on how hot that surface gets.

Then I modded the back of the case (click on the "back view" to see it) to allow a 92mm fan in there rather than 80mm. I run it at 1,000 RPM's.

Now, every fan in a normal default factory case runs at about 2,500-4,000 RPM's by default and are only 60-80mm wide. A 120mm fan at 1,000 RPM's pushes the same amount of air (provided there is little restriction in the airflow pathway, and the shape of the finns, but on average...) as an 80mm fan running at 3,000 RPM's.

Also, using the built in fan grill in your case (the ones they just punch out small holes in a pattern the shape of 60 or 80mm fan) is the worst thing you can do, even if you are going to use default sizes. You should always dremel out the built in grill and use a standard wire grill rather than those fancy air restricting/turbulence creating grills.

Then use a 5400RPM Hard drive. If you want to blow money you can even get a heatpipe cooler for your hard drive that screws into a 5.25in bay with rubber washers, and isolates the HDD from the case. Then the heatpipes keep the drive cool. This works up to even with 10krpm drives. But I use 7200RPM's on my desktop systems.

That is the basics. On top of all this you can do even more: Rubber washers between each fan and the case to prevent oscilations. If you use 2 identical fans, don't allow them to both run at the same voltage, as they will give you a beating effect because they will never spin at EXACTLY the same rate (unless you buy expensive computer controlled fan regulators which are only available in servers). Put a rubber washer between the power supply and the back of the case before screwing it in. Then put thin padding on all the joints of the case (like where the side pannel touches the rest of the case). This will dampen the oscillations throughout the case, and regulate all oscillations to be contained in a single pannel, rather than the entire case.

There is much more you can do, but this post is getting long. You handy people should get modding. You don't have to be fancy and rice out your case with glowing lights to be a case modder. I don't, and my mods are what draws the attention when my friends compare computer systems with eachother. They just don't see how I can pack the fastest video card, the fastest CPU, and the best everything in such a small case, overclocked, and still keep it quieter than a Mac G5.

I have some solid advice.

First, consider replacing your fans with larger fans if possible, or adding fans in those 'optional case fan' locations so many cases have. I'm not sure if G5 cases have these, but you should check. Get your local computer guy to check if you don't know what to look for.

If your fans don't have to work as hard, they won't make as much noise. Remember, two 40dB fans will be MUCH quieter than one 50 or 60dB fan, since decibels are an exponential measurement: those two 40dB fans should add up to ~41dB.

You could make a DIY extra fan port with a drill, but be careful not to interfere with the direction of airflow in your case too much. That'll definitely void your warranty.

Second, go to your local Staples and see if they carry the Antec noise reduction kit. It should be in the middle of short aisle 1 near the modems and memory, right above or near the Antec power supplies. That's if your Staples is anything like the one I work at. It has rubber mounts for the fans, drives, and power supply. A rubber-mounted case fan is much quieter than one that's just screwed tightly into the metal, since the rubber absorbs the vibrations that the sides of your case would amplify. The product might have been a promotional item for Christmastime but we seem to keep getting them.

Finally: Check out Frozen CPU or read up on cooling at Anandtech, TweakTown, or any of the overclocking forums.

Remember, don't attempt any replacements without matching the voltages and sizes. If you don't know your fan's size, bring it with you when you go shopping. Anyone care to post on how to measure a fan? I seem to remember their size being the length of one side, and they are square.

Absolutely! Air cooling can only go so far, air is not a very good conductor. Even if you had a big heatsink made of silver and the big fast fan, a less volume moving water cooled system would out perform it.

Think geeks
ThermalTake Aquarius II CPU Cooler $119.99 and is great quality.

I would like to start seeing more commercial/module use of water cooling, where you had a large choice of radiators, reservoirs, pumps, blocks, and tubes, that are all interchangeable and at local pc shops. Most of the commercial ones you see are kit for single cpu , 1 harddrive and a video card.

Oh, and some other places with cases and modules:
xoxide
FrozenCPU

And quite well i might say, no custom designs yet, but you can get a matching computer skin and mouse pad

And quite well i might say, no custom designs yet, but you can get a matching computer skin and mouse pad

Why dont you try some fan filters.

Pffft! Forget mini cases! ;-)

Make it PROUD! This is the perfect project to combine two geek past-times into one glorious project: case modding and the entertainment center!

I'm using the full atx clear case with lights. The possibilities are endless!

Oh, right! And quiet, fan and power supply! (if it looks good but pisses off your family, well...)

Real nerds should have most of the parts lying around! (jk)

$54 Geforce 4 mx
$29 5.1 Sound
$99 Clear pc case
$50 Cordless keyboard with built in mouse
$99 120 Gig hard drive
$219 DVD Burner
$43 512 Meg memory
$137 1800 XP AMD / Soyo Dragon MB combo
$25 Zalman cpu cooler
$69 Zalman quiet power supply
$74 +/- Various Case Lighting
$16 Fan controller (slow down!)
$0 OS
$0 Multimedia software

$914!

Coolness factor..priceless.

Plus, on the bright side after your wife/lover/puppy figures out how much this all cost you can remind them that its totally upgradable! Plus you can install next years features an 1/3 the cost (intead of throwing it away)!

Real nerds should have most of the parts lying around! (jk)

$54 Geforce 4 mx
$29 5.1 Sound
$99 Clear pc case
$50 Cordless keyboard with built in mouse
$99 120 Gig hard drive
$219 DVD Burner
$43 512 Meg memory
$137 1800 XP AMD / Soyo Dragon MB combo
$25 Zalman cpu cooler
$69 Zalman quiet power supply
$74 +/- Various Case Lighting
$16 Fan controller (slow down!)
$0 OS
$0 Multimedia software

$914!

Coolness factor..priceless.

Plus, on the bright side after your wife/lover/puppy figures out how much this all cost you can remind them that its totally upgradable! Plus you can install next years features an 1/3 the cost (intead of throwing it away)!

Every computer needs a lighter!

You can buy case handles for a low amount at places like pcmods and Frozen CPU for fairly a fairly good price. They are easy to install, too.

Just another thing copied off the Mac, huh? ;)

Even though I've had good luck with the thousands of dollars of stuff i've purchased from Newegg, they aren't perfect. I tried to get a KT7A-RAID MB from them a while ago, they had one refurbished, with a certian version number. The lunkheads coudln't get the v1.3 board to me, only a 1.1, or a 1.0. Tried several times, no good. The 1.3 board supported the Athlon XP's while the older ones didn't. Obviously some people there are too stupid/stubborn/ignorant/illiterate.

Ohwell, overall good as long as u stick with the free shipping items. I also recommend: tcwo.com, nexfan.com, bestbyte.net, FROZEN CPU!, and ocsystem.com.

C ya!

I just bought one of These baybuses. They work like a charm and REALLY get things quite. They undervoltage your fans at the flick on a switch which is perfect for sleeping and when your gaming you turn the sound up and the fans on. Its very easy to setup and looks very smooth. Its very fun to show my friend my computer. It looks like im starting an airplane as i flip on rows of switches and hear the fans fire up. With over a dozen fans and multiple screamer 7200 hard drives and cd-r's it can get noisy. Yet when i want to it runs at a very quite hum in teh corner which is kinda nice when im sleeping. Also i set the last switch to control the internal lights so i dont have to use an awkward switch for the cold cathodes.

5fame makes an LED pulser thats kind of cool, although you could make the circuit yourself if you've got the skills..


heres a review

you can buy it here

I agree... I bought a Blizzard case from Frozen CPU with 8 fans in it. It's kinda loud, but my system is always running at cool temperatures, and I kinda like the background noise when I'm falling asleep. :)

Tom speaks about both a heat-sink falling off and fan failure. For the latter I'd recommend taking steps to see that your heat-sink is up to snuff. Yes, yes, yes...I'm well aware that passive cooling won't work for the overclockers but if your fan kicks out and you're not around it's nice to know that you might be able to survive a CPU meltdown if the heatsink itself is robust. I'm not saying that this is the way you want to run your rig but it might be enough to save it in an emergency.

I've used many types of cooling systems from water-cooling to peltier to a failed experiment in immersing a motherboard in mineral oil (kinda like a Cray) and I've found that a nice old-fashioned big-ass heatsink will get you by. Peltiers are dangerous because if they lose power they actually start acting like and insulator and speed up the destruction. Water cooling works great for cooling but I'm still nervous leaving the machine on when I'm not around, I get the same feeling when I leave my place with the dishwasher on. Most heat sinks that come with off-the-rack systems are useless, I buy heatsinks as birthday presents for people I know that have bought Dells. If the heat sink falls off there's not much you can do unless you've got a successful mineral-oil-immersed motherboard ;)

Here's some good info sites:

www.ocaddiction.com

www.coolerguys.com

www.overclockershideout.com

www.frozencpu.com

www.extremecooling.org

Motherboard Monitor a nice utility.