Just have to share.... as a long time casual user I really look forward to the future with what Cake has baked...
 
A few months ago I pegged 2014 as the year I am going to truly commit at least half my time to Climate/alternate futures songwriting... I've tried to prepare for this and it looks like the Bakers gave us all an amazing gift to make the new year go well...
 
I've been DAWless for the past 5 or 6 month... a self-inflicted banishment when my computer died.  I took that as cosmic intervention, as while I'd been dabbling, my gardening work was suffering, clients were getting frustrated, and I was beyond broke...I decided to take a break and right the rest of my world... refusing to fix my PC till I took care of all the other business and issues confronting me...and as I worked more hours, I kept myself broke on purpose, paying off bills while continuing to acquire more tools that I'd long coveted.  The VSTs, the sample packages, and many wonderful patch sets by many little folk who work so hard to polish these tools and make them sound even better.... all these things just continued building up in my Gmail/download sectors...everytime I wanted a beer, coffee, or any of the other incessant things that suck us dry... I supported those developing tools instead...
 
On Christmas Eve I got my daw back, and just came up for water, with no more than 612 hours sleep at most.  The VastMaschine has been totally rebuilt with ssd's, a 6 core 4930, water cooling, better fanless graphics, hot swap drive bays...After two and a half days I feel I'm living in dreamland...I mean, I only make $20Kish a year gardening at best and I have a billion dollar studio in the cottage where I live!  My case sucks (don't ask!) but that will be solved next week while I visit my aging mom...
 
Sidenote:  Anyone needing a SILENT case should go with the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1or 5 ...I analyzed every offering (12 hours after I realized I F'd Up!)  and it is universally agreed... they've blown the competition out of the water... clinical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd_LTgmRsbo; overclockers vid, really funny and detailed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqsdj-5te7Y   I went with the 5, which is full tower and ready for way beyond anything I'll ever do...the 1 would have been plenty good.
 
The fun/work has begun... I decided to go for a clean install (due to less than scrupulous habits in the past) and have terrabytes of stuff..as well as all the  new tools I've acquired over the last half year...and I'm bleary eyed installing, reauthorizing and reorganizing everything to be more fluid and coherent...and I've played around a lot with X3d for the first time in a loooooong time.  I feel like a new kid in fantasyland...Also reorganized my cottage space and will be ARC2 ing it when Sweetwater delivers... (can I say I LOVE ILok? Their new software makes it truly painless)
 
I've followed the forums over this 6 month period, logged things to watch out for and put in a few snarky thoughts from time to time...but I'm having so much fun! My cpu meters barely move with huge soft synth tests that my 950 choked on and the load is very nicely distributed amongst all the cores...only crash was when reauthorizing oooodles of Kontakt stuff while X3 playing and Kontakt in a track being played  (kinda dumb of me but 2 days no sleep...(and No, Alex... we don't need to start a trouble ticket on why X3d can't play music while we're updating the synth being played)
 
Everything seems so much more intuitive, having been away awhile...I always got sooooo frustrated in earlier years as the DAW always got in the way of the creative process... and now, I"M NOT!!!  I finally feel I have a DAW that supports my creative skills and doesn't inhibit them...I remember 10/15 crashes a night... it sucked! Three and a half days of way more productive workflow interspersed with downloading and installing/authorizing... and no crashes, having fun... if there were a heaven, I'm living there!
 
I'm sure I'll need help (for some reason can't play Kontakt via my usb keyboard) but all in all I'm having a blast, work flow is fantastic, and I am just ecstatic! 
 
Thanks everyone for all your help, wisdom, and patience...

I don't understand what noise is to be made with a basically a silent and fan-less(except for maybe a case fan, but even then why?) system. Watercooled + SSD + fanless vid card = most every case would do!
 
That said, the Cooler Master Sileo is solid and affordable.... ESPECIALLY in the scenario you laid out.

Hey Vastman, congratulations!!! I know exactly how you feel, as I did a 9 month hiatus with X2 due to frustrations I have seen, yet I upgraded to X3 very early on. I guess it is debatable if that was "an act of sheer stupidity" or "faith in the bakers," but I have had enough track record with CW to give them a fair shake and have zero motivation to learn another DAW.
 
It is very interesting to watch perspectives, one person will see the glorious mansion, and their counterpart the stain on the carpet. Neither seems to be able to convince the other of "importance," so one will stand fixated on the carpet stain while the other plays in the mansion like a kid in a candy store. X3 has been like an amusement park ride from day one... sure, see odd things here and there, but the ride is awesome.
 
For me, X3 has been quite an eye-opener. I delve deeper and deeper into it every day, and my first-time "real" involvement with the forum has challenged me to try and do more. I think for the first 6 years I was a member I did like typical new members do... come in with a problem, get the answer, and bolt. Just reading the posts here has been educational, and X3 actually was what made this happen for me as well.
 
I have enjoyed reading your posts, as you often bring the "reality check" into play. Please continue to do this, as sometimes it is very necessary! I watched Excalibur (1981) last weekend and burst out laughing when King Arthur and Lancelot first fought:
 
Lancelot: Your rage has unbalanced you. You sir, would fight to the death, against a knight who is not your enemy. Over a stretch of road you could easily ride around.
Arthur [after brief pause]: So be it. To the death!
 
I couldn't help but associate that with this forum at times! It is only highly comical if you are a passive bystander.
 
Enjoy your mansion, my friend, but don't vanish on us!!!
 

Hey, hockeyjx...
Well, I felt the same till I got it home and my mic was pickin' up noise from fans...  My so called "quiet" case is not so quiet and as I am a vocalist and have a pretty sensative mic, I notice the noise...if you're doing instruments, no big deal...
 
The Sileo, like my Anetec, were good in their day but I should have researched the latest and greatest...the guys lookin' at silence  conclude nothin' comes close to the Nanoxia... and it's layout/versitility/engineering just had reviewers flabergasted...it was funny watching them go.... "ive never... I can't believe.... Now this is fuc'in amazing..."
 
Silent and quiet are two different things...and what's more, airflow and versitilty are key when trying to fit things together nicely...I listened all night to reviewers...really SMART people... analizing the current "quiet" cases and they all had  issues about short cuts, poor choices for drive bay placements, gromets, cabiling, dust.......and when I started listening to them reviewing Nanoxia it's as if the company listened to all their reviews and designed a whole new case based on all the feedback... which is exactly what they say they did!  Small german company specializing in silent fans takes on the big boys... I love it!

mettelus!  a human after my own heart!
 
The forums are too helpful to ignore; I routinely "subscribe" to certain posts these days with good stuff I know I'm gonna need... like dealing with Kontakt, so I can find answers when I may need them...also, as my experience grows, I'm beginning to offer help when I can.  All in all, it feels good to be part of the wonderful community!
 
But new music/songs to save the world for my youngling are my new years focus... fortunately, I'm single again, not looking for a partner and my dog "volt" is the friend I need...No Drama!!! so I' gots me some time and'll still b around...keepin' the winers in check! I mean, honestly! CakePeople  are doing groundbreakingly wonderful things...and want to fix issues/problems...so help them!!!
 
did I mention... I really dislike winey people and/or flamers...
 
Thanks, Met...