Greetings - Ready to pull the trigger! Come see.

[Lnx2Mac]

Hehe. Planning on a Corsair Hydro Series H50 eventually myself.

Note that the H50 is neither quiet, nor a great thermal performer...
You might be better off with a good tower air cooler (like the Mugen-2) or a real water-cooling system.

 

[Blackstar]

Hehe. Planning on a Corsair Hydro Series H50 eventually myself.

Note that the H50 is neither quiet, nor a great thermal performer...
You might be better off with a good tower air cooler (like the Mugen-2) or a real water-cooling system.

Really? Hmm, that's interesting. Had read several favorable reviews and gotten an endorsement from a highly experienced Linux/OCer and personal friend. (Liked it so much he would not sell me his, and this guy is a diehard experienced water cooler, trust me on this.) Also read on Intel's own site, they recommended the same device for the i7, (under another manufacture's name I forget it though.)

Some reviews I found showed with a i7 920 and the Corsair H50:

"Temps: I have an i7 920 overclocked to 3.2GHz and my idle temps are 37/35/37/33c. Load temps are 59/57/58/55c with an ambient room temperature of 73F."

Which is pretty much where I'd like to be. Rating says 28 db fan, though I could swap out a quieter Akasa fan if I wanted. Either would be fine in my rack. Have you read or had some bad experiences with it? I'd be curious to know before I buy.

The Mugen-2 looks very nice. For air only, the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 also had some nice reviews. Thought about, would one of those or the Mugen-2 would fit on my Cooler Master 590? Any more recommendations on air only coolers? I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.

 

[Lnx2Mac]

Hehe. Planning on a Corsair Hydro Series H50 eventually myself.

Note that the H50 is neither quiet, nor a great thermal performer...
You might be better off with a good tower air cooler (like the Mugen-2) or a real water-cooling system.

Really? Hmm, that's interesting. Had read several favorable reviews and gotten an endorsement from a highly experienced Linux/OCer and personal friend. (Liked it so much he would not sell me his, and this guy is a diehard experienced water cooler, trust me on this.) Also read on Intel's own site, they recommended the same device for the i7, (under another manufacture's name I forget it though.)

Some reviews I found showed with a i7 920 and the Corsair H50:

"Temps: I have an i7 920 overclocked to 3.2GHz and my idle temps are 37/35/37/33c. Load temps are 59/57/58/55c with an ambient room temperature of 73F."

Which is pretty much where I'd like to be. Rating says 28 db fan, though I could swap out a quieter Akasa fan if I wanted. Either would be fine in my rack. Have you read or had some bad experiences with it? I'd be curious to know before I buy.

The fan is half the story... Seen it at a friend's and the noise was really disturbing... but I guess it was the pump, not the fan...
See the review in http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1042-page1.html
Recordings in page 7 with the stock fan at various speeds confirm my suspicion regarding the pump noise, which isn't even covered by the turbulence of the fan at 12V...

The Mugen-2 looks very nice. For air only, the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 also had some nice reviews. Thought about, would one of those or the Mugen-2 would fit on my Cooler Master 590? Any more recommendations on air only coolers? I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.

Yeah, Noctuas are great... but pricey...
You can see a comparison chart of several coolers in page 6 of the linked review.

IMO, the Mugen-2 Rev.B, hits the sweetspot in terms of price/performance.
I use it on my Antec Sonata Designer (which is a bit thinner than your 590... 8.1" vs. 8.27"), so I don't think you'll have any problem fitting it in your case.

Good Luck !
Lnx2Mac

 

[Blackstar]

Note that the H50 is neither quiet, nor a great thermal performer...You might be better off with a good tower air cooler (like the Mugen-2) or a real water-cooling system.

The fan is half the story... Seen it at a friend's and the noise was really disturbing... but I guess it was the pump, not the fan...
See the review in http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1042-page1.html
Recordings in page 7 with the stock fan at various speeds confirm my suspicion regarding the pump noise, which isn't even covered by the turbulence of the fan at 12V...

Yeah, Noctuas are great... but pricey...
You can see a comparison chart of several coolers in page 6 of the linked review.

IMO, the Mugen-2 Rev.B, hits the sweetspot in terms of price/performance.
I use it on my Antec Sonata Designer (which is a bit thinner than your 590... 8.1" vs. 8.27"), so I don't think you'll have any problem fitting it in your case.

Good Luck !
Lnx2Mac

Thanks! Some good reviews there, very detailed. I'll have to check out my friend's in person one of these days to see if the pump noise would be an issue. He has so many computers in his work area he probably can't even hear it. Lol.
Since mine is residing in my Middle Atlantic A/V rack and will have upwards of 10 Hard Drives eventually; I'm pretty much resigned to idea of it making 'some' noise. But quiet is always preferable. Looked a few other cool PC designs on that site, will be looking up more. Good to know that cooler should work, I appreciate it.

If anyone else has suggestions on cooling/fan solutions etc, I'd love to hear them.

Well, guess I'll have to post some pictures now.

Drilled some holes in the case this weekend to mount the side rails. Fit is absolutely perfect. So to demonstrate, here are some horrible pictures set to the wrong white balance.
Progress. Slow but sure, but still progress.

 

[Blackstar]

*UPDATE - 08/14/2010*

Just ordered the last two parts I needed: the mobo and the Mugen-2 cooler.
Should arrive next week. The the fun begins.


*UPDATE - 08/21/2010*

Ok, got the mobo and cooler and put it all together Monday night, installed OS X on Tuesday.
Have Gigabit in 64-bit working, still tackling onboard sound. (working now).
Using iMic for the time being, but it's useable and very, very fast. (onboard audio now).
Running stock CPU and RAM speeds.


Final Cost - 8/16/2010

• 
  Intel Core i7-920 - 2.66GHz - $249.99 - TigerDirect - FreeShip
  G.SKILL 3GB DDR3 1600 (12800) - $ 84.99 - NewEgg
  MSI N260GTX GT 896GB - $149.99 - NewEgg
  COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 600W - $ 69.99 - NewEgg
  COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 - $ 59.99 - NewEgg
  Pioneer SATA DVR-218LBK - $ 24.99 - NewEgg
  GA-X58A-UD3R Rev 2.0 - $189.99 - NewEgg with $20 Instant Discount
  CPU COOL SCYTHE| SCMG-2100 - $39.99 - NewEgg
  Shipping and Handling - $ 24.21 - NewEgg

___________________________________________

SUB TOTAL $894.13

Minus MacMini 2.0GHz sale - $500.00
___________________________________________
TOTAL Out of Pocket Cost $394.13

Old MacMini 2.0GHz C2D Geekbench Score: 3202
Hackintosh 2.7GHz i7 920 Geekbench Score: 9592

And I haven't even started over-clocking yet.


*UPDATE - 09/22/2010*

Hackintosh Overclocked to 3.8 GHz - 64 bit OS - Geekbench Score: 12918