Media PC Help

[Lehm]

I've been thinking of building a PC primarily for media playback. But on occasion it might need to do some 3d work, so a better graphics card than usual will need to be put in, and still remain relatively silent. Any advice on what parts I should look at, starting with the case that's the one that's confusing me the most. I was browsing around newegg, I can see what they look like but not how noisy they are.

So any help appreciated, Thanks.

 

[jkresh]

What do you mean by 3d work? For most work related 3d (rendering) a fast cpu (high clockspeed, probably quad core) would be important then gpu (as you probably aren't going to be buying a professional gpu for occasional work). As for cases, look for one with only 120mm fans (easy to get good airflow and low noise out of a 120 then out of a 90 or 80).