It's been a while since I updated this, but the project took all summer and now into the fall before I got it completed... budgeting is FUN...
I'm posting this from the Cube, finally, after I've finally nearly finished my upgrades. I installed the new HD, RAM and cooling fan back in May. The 80mm fan is supposed to be quiet, but I think it's a little loud. I have a 45mm Titan GPU fan coming from Newegg -- with the HD running at 28°C, I think the 80mm fan is a little overkill. Speaking of the GPU, I finally replaced the stock ATI Rage 16mb card with a shiny new GeForce 6200 256mb (after removing the faceplate and taping off pins 3 & 11). The difference in performance is outstanding. The card isn't running hot, but I'm not really taxing it yet, either. Right now it's cruising at about 55°C. If the Titan fan can keep it at or below that level without the 80mm fan on, then I'm going to remove the bigger fan so it's a nice quiet system. Still, it's a LOT quieter with all the new upgrades than the old stock 30gb HD alone... I thought that thing was gonna explode.
I opted against a PowerLogix CPU upgrade, since those are still pretty pricey. Maybe someday, but then I'm getting into possible power issues, so I might just leave it alone.
I'm posting this from the Cube, finally, after I've finally nearly finished my upgrades. I installed the new HD, RAM and cooling fan back in May. The 80mm fan is supposed to be quiet, but I think it's a little loud. I have a 45mm Titan GPU fan coming from Newegg -- with the HD running at 28°C, I think the 80mm fan is a little overkill. Speaking of the GPU, I finally replaced the stock ATI Rage 16mb card with a shiny new GeForce 6200 256mb (after removing the faceplate and taping off pins 3 & 11). The difference in performance is outstanding. The card isn't running hot, but I'm not really taxing it yet, either. Right now it's cruising at about 55°C. If the Titan fan can keep it at or below that level without the 80mm fan on, then I'm going to remove the bigger fan so it's a nice quiet system. Still, it's a LOT quieter with all the new upgrades than the old stock 30gb HD alone... I thought that thing was gonna explode.
I opted against a PowerLogix CPU upgrade, since those are still pretty pricey. Maybe someday, but then I'm getting into possible power issues, so I might just leave it alone.