I'm a newbie going to buy my first custom pc, and I've decided on vadim (obviously !) and chosen the following configuration to replace my 5 year old PC, based on a little research around the net. I'm looking for a multipurpose high-end PC for gaming and for my job and and which will future proof me for a couple of years at least, for no more than £3k. Large storage is important (non-raid) and additionally relative silence is also important as this will be on overnight in my bedroom.
Custom Fusion-CS-Intel-775G2 system 41964
Case: Akasa Eclipse 62 Alumunium Case (No PSU) [Presumably with window]
Window: none selected
Cabling: Supreme Cable Management and UV Modding - Green and Blue
Cooling: Antarctic Cooling (3-5 Fans digital controlled+VGA/HD Cooling)
Airbrushing: none selected
Fans type: Red-LED fans
PSU: Coolermaster Real Power M850W Modular PSU
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus Formula (Intel X38 - 1600/1333 FSB)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Retail (4x2.66GHz 1333FSB 12Mb)
CPU Cooling: Sythe Zipang Heatpipe Cooler (All Cpus)
Memory: OCZ DDR2-1000 2x2048MB ReaperX 4GB Dual Channel Kit
Graphics: BFG Nvidia 8800GTS New OC 512Mb PCIe HDCP
Hard Drive: (2x) 1TB Barracuda 7200.11 32mb Cache SATA II NCQ
Storage HD: (2x) 1TB Barracuda 7200.11 32mb Cache SATA II NCQ
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-S203N SATA 18x DL DVDRW Black
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-S203N SATA 18x DL DVDRW Black
Floppy Drive: Heisei 3.5" Floppy Drive with Card Reader Black
PCI card: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1300 MCE HVR
PCIe Device: Abit AirPace PCIe 1x Wi-Fi Card
Sound Card: Creative 7.1 X-FI XtremeAudio
OS: Windows XP Professional SP2 OEM
Secondary OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit DVD OEM
OS Extras: X-Image on 2.5" USB 120Gb HD and Genesis CD
Building: Saver Build (10-20 working days)
Overclocking: none selected
Warranty: Deluxe 2 Year Collect and Return-Onsite Warranty
Free T-Shirt: Vadim Computers Baseball T-Shirt (M)
Packaging: Heavy-duty packaging (Full Towers - 80x80x40)
Sub Total 2274.51
Total (inc VAT) 2672.55
Is this spec likely to prove a good option for relative silence ?
Additionally I have a Tekram DC-315U Ultra-SCSI PCI card in my current PC (for an external Quantum DLT8000 tape drive). Would it be a problem for Vadim to source and install one of these for me ?
I would welcome any comments or guidance from you experts on my proposed purchase before I hit the "buy" button and commit - I'm new to this game
Darkstar . I'm also kinda new to vadim , and my Vadim system is my first serious heavy duty system iv owned ( i cant class my old alienware anywhere near my Vadim system !!! it doesn't even come close !! ). I agree with TeaLeaf & Dmc . I was kinda nervous about watercooling at first but I'm soooooo glad i went for it . You are in very very very good hands with vadim . Your chosen spec looks good ! I am sure if you speak to a member of staff about your Tekram Dc - 315u Ultra card they will be able accommodate your request ! also they can recommend any changes to your setup , if you tell them what you want the system for they will make some suggestions and give some advice they are ALWAYS willing to help
Many thanks for the welcome I hadn't considered water cooling as I always thought it was out of my league, especially financially (my original budget was about 2K but it's just crept up ...), but I'll definitely reconsider over the weekend before placing my order early next week.
My current PC keeps me awake at night so I'm not in the mood to repeat that experience ...
Thanks to everyone for the feedback and sanity check, and I'll post my final spec when done.
All systems would be cool and quiet (although the air cooled would be slightly louder than the watercooled systems). If the system will be running overnight in your bedroom though, you may want to reconsider having LED fans. Whereas UV lights can be switched on and off, LED fans cannot without stopping the fan completely and a system with four or more LED fans in it kicks out quite alot of light! (especially in the Cosmos S, because it is so well ventilated)
All systems would be cool and quiet (although the air cooled would be slightly louder than the watercooled systems). If the system will be running overnight in your bedroom though, you may want to reconsider having LED fans. Whereas UV lights can be switched on and off, LED fans cannot without stopping the fan completely and a system with four or more LED fans in it kicks out quite alot of light! (especially in the Cosmos S, because it is so well ventilated)
i will leave the hardware to the more capable guys on the forum im just a noob myself
but one thing that struck me was the bue/green uv light and red leds
if i was having red leds i would go for the blue/red or just red uv lights , but thats me and all down to personal style
The only thing I would advise, is changing the 1TB Barracuda to 1Tb Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 7200 32mb Cache SATA II.
These in my opinion are a better drive in the long run. They are quieter and run cooler.
As you have chosen 4 HD's, I would definately advise changing. Especially if you keep your choice of case, Akasa Eclipse 62 Alumunium Case. All the HD's will sit very close to each other, in my opinion, the heat will be less using the Samsung drives.
Shoud you choose to stay with air-cooling, I would also advise changing the case to a Silverstone TJ07 as this case air-cools much better and should you ever decide to go water-cooled, the upgrade is easier and more favorable.
This case has mesh already in the lower part of the sidepanels and will look excellent with a window cut in a sidepanel for any UV lighting or LED Fans.
Should you choose not to have LED Fans, due to leaving on all night, choose the Akasa Amber fans, they are very good.
As mentioned already, UV lights can be setup to be swithed on/off, the LED Fans cannot.
Otherwise your config is very nice.
Should you choose water-cooling, I would suggest the LiquoCool Antarctic over LiquoCool Premium. LiquoCool Antarctic uses the larger tubing, and again in my opinion, has a nicer finish if you have supreme cable management.
Hello Darkstar - we're in the same boat: I placed an order a few days ago; am a watercooling virgin (but have gone for that); and need to manage noise and light pollution (so I can concentrate when working). So:
1. I agree with what has been said (based on my research): you'll get a quieter product with water over air; and
2. I've asked for a switch so that UV lights can be switched on or off. Location is important: the cleanest option for my case was behind side-panel but I've opted for a switch at back of case as I'll likely be using it a lot.
The Vadim team have been very helpful, quick and informative with my queries and I'm sure you'll enjoy the same top-notch service when you take the plunge.
Again thanks to everyone for the very helpful advice.
Andy - thanks for the suggested configurations. My priority however remains storage so once I put that back in I'm looking to drop the watercooling unfortunately. And good points about the Led fans - that's precisely the sort of "doh" I'm trying to avoid
As for Vista 64bit, I think I'll cross that bridge further down the road and get upgrade CD media another time (I assume this is possible with an OEM vista ie. that I can upgrade using my OEM key). Currently I've got a triple boot system (MS Windows xp pro, Linux Fedora Core 8, Sun Solaris 10 Developer x86) so I'll get that lot working first with my existing apps on a repartitioned system with Vista 32bit before moving on.
RH - good suggestion about the disk drives. I'm a loyal Seagate user (about 10 drives over the years, all without problems) which has blinded me to other alternatives. Looks like the Samsung is the way to go, especially after reading the reviews on tomshardware.com and elsewhere.
Still undecided about the case - the Akase Eclipse looks nicer IMO, and is cheaper, but I'll look seriously at the Silverstone TJ07 (or TJ10 with window). And I'll definitely choose the Akasa Amber fans ...
darkstar 
