Thanks for that Martin
I went for a factory underclocked CPU; the 3.1GHz Intel i7-3770S. In i7s come in standard speeds, overclocked and this underclocked "s" version. I deliberately went for the underclocked CPU because it would draw less power, & therefore require less cooling. I have tweaked most things but the CPU is running with a stock Intel fan would you believe! I had intended to put a Scythe or Zalman fan (I'm a fan of those fans) but the CPU never heats up as the load is so light - never hits 1%. The CPU cost a couple of hundy more but I have been numbed into Hi-Fi pricing so it still cost less than some interconnects!
Did you install via USB? - I see no optical. I installed by DVD then disabled the optical drive.
I went the Hard Drive route. To be pure SSD is obviously the way to go, but ... (1) Space; a 2 Terrabyte drive is kind of needed. I have have 400 gb of Flac, and about the same of movies and music videos, the library is expanding with new rips and hi-res downloads. (2) Also I load the files to memory before playing so that partially ameliorates the problem, (3) The Drive I have is silent and suspended with silicon, (4) I have a noise filter between the drive and the SATA connector. It did cross my mind to put the OS on an SSD and have the spinning drive for storage, but then I thought I want to keep this beast as simple as possible with as low a power draw as possible and stick to one drive. How big are your SSDs?
I will do a bit of research on my DAC as to whether it relies on the USB connector for its power. I am impressed with ifi at the moment as the ifi phono stage was a pretty decent upgrade over the Pro-ject I previously had.
You may wish to consider faster ram. On the plus side it is still cheap - up to a point, uber-fast ram will attract a price premium. The other side is that you may have the same issue I had; namely finding ram that would fit in the enclosed space.
I am also running W8 64, I find it boots faster than I can say "I don't like apples".
I not at a final destination yet, rather something of a pause. There are minor tweaks on my source, my DAC needs upgrading to take DSD. I prefer Valves to SS but to improve on my amp would take megabucks. I have a couple of pure silver interconnects and to have silver all round would be an improvement. But I do know your feeling about a satisfaction when you really forget your gear and take quite an intense pleasure in all the musical elements that envelop you.
Andrei