Quiet gaming, suggestions please

I'm trying to build a quiet gaming system. Can you please recommend me good components?

Right now I'm planning for a QX6600 and a 8800GT (passively cooled, when available).

Is is possible to make a decently silent system from a 6600? Or would you suggest something that is cooler, quieter but has a not-too-much lower performance?

I know a dual-core system would be much cheaper and cooler, but
a. I'm betting on keeping this system long enough to see games exploit multi-core
b. I think the power consumption difference is too little to be excessively bothered about

Another big noob question - Is the installation of the cooling setup such a risky hassle that (as a first timer) I should seek a professional install?

If you get the passively cooled 8800GT - I'd recommend a PCI 120MM fan just to blow cooler air across the HS. If you're worried about noise, just set the fan speed to low (and use a quality fan)

Also, stick to 120MM fans on your case and make sure the grills that are covering the fans aren't too restrictive. The honeycomb grill design works pretty well.

What you guys said, makes a whole lot of sense..

decripple, I was not actually looking to passive cool the processor, but your suggestion is setting me off in that direction.

rgeist... I'll get the best fans I can, and make sure they're 120mm

aevm, I didn't know that hd 3870 series were quieter! now that I look, they're not only quieter - but also cheaper (and available). The sparkle is still not available anyhow afaik. The p182 looks very good, especially the top vent, that should be my top choice now.

Please do keep your suggestions coming, I really appreciate your help.

Yeah, it worked, but long-term 109C scares me. Well, like you said, if there's a case fan there to help it's probably OK.

Speaking of fans: I went with Scythe SFF21E ($19 in Canada, 20 dB, 1200 rpm). There's also SFF221F ($19, 28 dB, 1600 rpm), which cools better but makes more noise. Based on reviews, I'd say Nexus or SilenX fans are quiet too, but I haven't tried them.

P182 has sound proofing so it's good for a quiet PC.

The PSU: two very good and quiet PSUs that fit in the P182 would be the PC P&C Silencer 610 and Corsair 620HX. They are very similar (no wonder, both designed by Seasonic). There's a tiered list of PSUs somewhere which puts the Silencer in tier 1 and the 620HX in tier 2. It is very important to get a good PSU because a bad one will be the noisiest thing in the PC and of course it will also cause trouble.

Hard disks can also make noise. Raptors or Barracudas for example are fast but can be annoying at times. Recent disks with perpendicular recording are close to the Raptor in speed and much larger, for about the same price. I like Western Digital's WD7500AAKS, but Hitachi and Seagate have very good stuff too.

I figured the fan would probably help with the temps a bit, but the long-term 109C would scare me as well.

Nice link. Now I have some more stuff to read up on.