I've got that one, and can't hear the fan at all.  I wanted the extra air moving out the back since my X11 case is 1st gen and only has one 80mm fan moving air out the back.  Been thinking of drilling a spot for another one, or just getting a new case... but it's running so why mess with it?

my take on the "mistakes" part of this thread from my own experiences.

Buying the wrong parts (overbuying, underbuying, forgetting to buy)
building while the machine is on (snap crackle pop)
not testing the system (waf-able)
stopping short (lazy setup, abandoned features, uninstalled peripherals, never finishing)
throwing boxes away (ignoring rebates, shelving wrong parts)
lack of room planning (fugly installations)
not considering other viable options (tivo can be your friend if your not looking for a hobby)

The best recommendation I can think of for building an HTPC is to forget about trying to recycle that old PC and build a new HTPC from scratch.  Th best source of hardware is the sticky thread posted in the HTPC section of the AVSForums.  If you go with one of their recommended systems you're essentially guaranteed to have a system that works as advertised.  If you go out and look for the cheapest components that you think should work, then you run the risk of buying a lot of headaches as well.

I think all of the points identified in the article are spot on.  I especially echo the sentiments of buying the proper case and power supply.  You should also check the layout of your motherboard and see if the graphics card you are considering will actually fit both the card and the case before you buy either of them. 

I bought a Silverstone LC-14M case, an Asus motherboard, and a Nvidia 8800 GTS card only to find that the graphics card interfered with the hard drive rack.  I bought a different motherboard and discovered that the card interfered with the SATA connectors.  I eventually ended up using the card in the 2nd PCI-E x16 slot, although I still had other issues with interference.  This is one huge card and there are probably few cases that will accommodate it so take things like this into consideration ahead of time and you'll save yourself some heartache.  I have since replaced the motherboard, CPU, memory, and graphics card with items from the recommended list and everything works fantastic.

I reuse parts. I think the key is to research what you get and buy brand name stuff, not those cheap combos at fry's. But I do try to get rid of stuff as soon as I don't have a use for it to prevent me from monstering a pc together. About the only thing I keep is hard drives. Recently my parts go to family quicker than anything. A PSU to the father in-law a HDD or DVD drive to a friend, a video card that will play CRYSIS at settings that I can't tolerate to look at.