More fans!

[mstlyevil]

Oh, hey, can anyone recommend where to look and what to look for in an inexpensive, reliable, and quiet power supply?

Also, ignoring cases made out of fans for the moment (cool as they are - heh, unintentional pun), any recommendations for a good not-too-flashy-but-not-beige-either case that fits a lot of drives (without melting any of them - sometimes my drives get HOT, and then the CD/DVD drives seem to want to stop working) into which I could plop all my current hardware (which includes one of those no-longer-fancy front-mounted card reader/USB port dealeys, a CD-RW, DVD, and 3 hard drives) with room to spare? I don't have the motherboard specs in front of me right now, but the case I currently have is something in a mid-tower such-and-such.

Are you buying locally or online?

[sethmahoney]

Are you buying locally or online?

Either works.

[mstlyevil]

Depending on your budget look for a mid rang to high end power supply. Do not go cheap on it or you may be sorry in the long run. Some brands to consider are:

Athena
Enermax
OCZ
Thermaltake
Coolermaster
Asus

Another rule of thumb is if it cost below $50 it is probally a piece of crap.

Cases you can be a little more thrifty on and still get a great solid case. Try to buy a name brand case like one from Codgen (Codgen Group, CG). Look around and see if you can find a good deal on a high end case like Asus, Coolermaster or Thermaltake. You may be surprised what you can find for a bargain.

I got my Thermaltake Saprano case for $120 with a 430 watt Thermaltake power supply included. I did have to buy a 20 pin to 24 pin adapter to run it on my 24 pin MOBO but hey I am not complaining.

[jdong]

I've had excellent luck with Antec power supplies, too... They are fairly quiet, acceptably so.... Especially their silent and near-silent ones.

[mstlyevil]

I've had excellent luck with Antec power supplies, too... They are fairly quiet, acceptably so.... Especially their silent and near-silent ones.

I forgot about Antec

[sethmahoney]

Woohoo! Got an Antec power supply, got it installed with no problems, and now my computer is back to its old self. Still not as quiet as I'd like, but its a vast improvement. Thanks for the help!

[mstlyevil]

Woohoo! Got an Antec power supply, got it installed with no problems, and now my computer is back to its old self. Still not as quiet as I'd like, but its a vast improvement. Thanks for the help!

No prob.

[Iandefor]

Good to hear! Here's a way to make it sound quiet: run 70 case fans simultaneously for ten hours straight. Turn them off, and boot up your Antec. It'll sound whisper-quiet, I assure you .