new SG03 or SG04 Gaming PC

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mediajunkie

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UPDATED!!

Hello folks..

i am new here but i read a lot and i can't find a better forum for SFF Builds than that one...

I want to build my own SFF with a Silverstone SG04-F

the hardware:
- CPU: Intel i5-2500K
- Cooler: Corsair H60
- MB: ASUS Maxmimus IV Gene-Z
- RAM: exceleram Sandy Bridge Rippler DIMM Kit 8GB PC3-10667U CL9-9-9-24 (DDR3-1333) (arrived)
- GPU: Gainward GTX570 Phantom (arrived)
- PSU: Seasonic X-560 (arrived)
- SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 maxIOPS 120GB
- FAN: BeQuiet 120mm SilentWings UCS
- FAN: Silverstone AP121-L Red

First Impressions:

- the Silverstone SG04 is a very small, Beautyful case with good buildquality. love it!

- the Seasonic X-560 fits well. With all powercables i need for my build, i think i will have no problems with the long cables. You have some space between the sidedoor and the 5,25" Case at the top, where you can go with the long cables to end up in the top/back area of the case. only the ATX powercable have to be at the front of the PSU, where the air flows to the upper part of the board. i will make some photos with ready cablemanagement.

- the Gainward GTX570 Phantom fit in the SG04 well! But the installation is a bit tricky... some pictures will follow!

Sry for my english! I come from germany... i am really thankful for each suggestion!

Steffen
 
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mediajunkie said:
Hello folks..

i am new here but i read a lot and i can't find a better forum for SFF Builds than that one....
Click to expand...
Welcome! Sorry for the late reply but this subforum escapes my attention sometimes.
mediajunkie said:
Question 1: I don't know, which cooler i should use. Samual 17, the Termalright, BigShuriken or a H50/H70/Antec 620 H2O? I want it as quiet as possible...
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Well first and foremost: Drop the Corsair watercooling kits: The pump for those kits are actually kind of loud. Probably the same with the Antec.

mediajunkie said:
Question 2: Would the Gainward GTX570 Phantom fit? And is the cooling performance ok in this constellation (Case with Card)
Click to expand...
It barely fits. Dunno about the cooling performance

mediajunkie said:
Question 3: Are there any solutions for mounting a SSD in this cases?
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Grab some velcro and mount the SSD where ever there is free space.
mediajunkie said:
Question 4: Would it better to choose a FT03 with this Hardware?
Click to expand...
I say yes.

mediajunkie said:
Question 5: Do you have a alternative for the PSU. I think about less long cables. But it should be as quiet as the StraightPower.
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Any Seasonic modular PSU would be of better quality than that Straightpower.
 
Thank you for your reply...

i will look about the Seasonic 560W.. is this PSU as quiet as the BeQuiet?
Hmm... the FT03 is bigger and i do not like the look of the plastic mesh on the side and on the top.

Have others some suggestions? About the cooling performance, semipassiv CPU cooling, experience with other "hot" GPUs in this case?
 
I've done builds with both the SG03 and FT03 and with your planned build I'd definitely go with the FT03. The SG03 is a nice and compact case, but cable management was a nightmare. Cooling wasn't that great either. I ended up having to cut a blowhole on the top and added a 120mm fan on the blowhole to help cool the system down.

When building with SFF PCs, I generally recommend SilverStone Strider PSUs + their short cable kit. The Seasonics are nice, but the cables are really long (bad in the SG03).
 
My personal experience with the SG03:

My build:

SG03 case
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T (overclocked to 3.36GHz)
Corsair H50
Biostar TA890GXE
4GB DDR3
Zotac GTX460 1GB
1 640GB WD Caviar Black
1 2TB Hitachi Deskstar
DVD-RW
Seasonic 650W Gold

My impressions:

With Silverstone AP-121 fans, it's pretty quiet. I can't hear the pump in the H50 from the distance I sit at. I can sort of hear the fans, but at 7V they are pretty quiet, while keeping temperatures about on par as they were with Gentle Typhoons running at the same voltage (while being quieter).

I love my PSU because it is so quiet, in fact I have yet to see the fan even turn on (it only turns on when needed). Anyway I must say this is the quietest build I have yet made. And with a 125W CPU at that.
 
I have an SG04 and I mounted my SSD where the floppy drive was supposed to go. The SSD is an OCZ Vertex 2, came with an adapter for a 3.5" bay, but still fit in the floppy spot fine

The cool thing about this is I can still mount two normal hard drives normally if I want to.

Ah, I have the seasonic 560 as well, so I'll throw my 2cp in. The cables are definitely too long, and cable management is a pain because of this. I've never used the strider PSUs but if they're reasonably quiet and they meet your power requirements I'd try that. I really like the seasonic, but the cables are just toooo long.

I'm thinking about trying to mod the cables shorter, but don't want to nuke my warranty yet so I'm holding off :)
 
The stock fans for the H70 were so loud I thought my HAF turned into a Boeing 747...if you do get it, make sure to replace the fans.
 
hey... thank you for sharing your experience with me!

I look about the seasonic and it is a really good PSU. Modding the cables, hmm...
what do you think... eventually the short cable kit for the Striders fit on the seasonic. is there a standard? because, when i buy this expensive PSU i want to use this a long time and when i want to go back to a normal ATX Case, i have a problem with modded cables :)

The striders are not Gold certified, only Silver or Bronze, so the seasonic is definitely more sexy to me^^

One Last Question: What do you think: Is there enough cooling performance for the GTX570 Phantom?

Thanks for your replys! (sry for my bad english)
 
Every now and then I see someone say the pump of the H50 is loud. Mine is pretty quiet. I cant hear it unless got my ear close to mine. Once in the case and closed up I certainly can't hear it above the GPU fan. My guess if its truely loud to someone that they have a bad unit. They really are not that loud. You should not be able to hear it once you have your case closed.

I haven't seen a comparison test between the Antec and Corsair yet. I'm guessing Antec did a knock off build of Corsair's considering how closely they resemble each other in looks. There are certainly better air hsf units out there but for a SG03 build I don't think you'll beat the H50 in performance for that case. Unless maybe you can shoe horn a H70 in there somehow. The SG03 doesn't allow for too high of a hsf.

Just my opnions anyway. :)
 
mediajunkie said:
hey... thank you for sharing your experience with me!

I look about the seasonic and it is a really good PSU. Modding the cables, hmm...
what do you think... eventually the short cable kit for the Striders fit on the seasonic. is there a standard? because, when i buy this expensive PSU i want to use this a long time and when i want to go back to a normal ATX Case, i have a problem with modded cables :)

The striders are not Gold certified, only Silver or Bronze, so the seasonic is definitely more sexy to me^^

One Last Question: What do you think: Is there enough cooling performance for the GTX570 Phantom?

Thanks for your replys! (sry for my bad english)
Click to expand...

The Seasonic has an unusual 24-pin connector on the PSU-side, so you could probably buy the short cable kit for the Strider and just change the connectors out for those that are on the Seasonic, but that is very risky if you're not familiar with it.

My GTX460 works great in this computer, so you might be able to use that to judge whether or not a GTX570 will work. I'm not sure what the thermal envelope is on those.
 
Skott said:
I haven't seen a comparison test between the Antec and Corsair yet. I'm guessing Antec did a knock off build of Corsair's considering how closely they resemble each other in looks.
Click to expand...
Neither Antec nor Corsair make their own watercooling units. They both commission them from Asetek, a third party. Hence the family resemblence!

Regarding the H50. I have one in my SG03. The pump is not loud at all.

To be realistic, the H50 (or H70 if you can fit it) is the best solution for the SG03. Especially if you want to overclock a Core i5 to 4.0GHz... It's easy to claim that the H50 is only as good as the best air-cooling heatsinks, however none of those will fit in an SG03.

P.S. Mounting an SSD. I didn't do this, my SSD is just "loose" on the bottom of my case. It's not tidy, but it hasn't caused problems yet!
 
Performance-PCs can shorten the cable for you. I remember someone mentioning that the Seasonic's 24-pin cable had something built into it vs. other PSUs that have it built into the PSU itself.
 
I looked about some other coolers and found a threat where someone have grinded a Noctua C12P for a Silverstone SG01. Grinding is no problem for me, so this would be a option for a semipassiv setup.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1033551165

I could install the C12P vertical, so that the fresh air will blow toward the cooling grills... hmm... this could be enough cooling under the 20% power, where the cooler of the seasonic wouldn't be active, or what do you think?

When i play games and the GTX is active, the seasonic will beginning with actively cooling the C12P.

or i just use a H50 or the new Antec 620 H2O... but have then the vibrations of a waterpump.

And about overclocking the i5-2500K. for 4Ghz, you do not need to rise the CPU Voltage. So you haven't more powerconsumtion and furthermore the cpu should not get hotter, or?

hmm.. don't know, what i sould do^^
 
The fan in the PSU is designed to keep one component cool: the PSU. It is not also designed to keep the CPU cool. Especially for the new "quiet" PSUs like Seasonic. (In the past, the PSU usually had a fast and loud fan because it was the main exhaust fan for the case. But it's not true now.)

Notice that in your link, the guy who modded his Noctua C12P also replaced the fan in the PSU and connected it to the motherboard fan header.

I had a similar setup for many years. SG03, using an NT06 heatsink (similar style), and two fans in push-pull on either side (one was the PSU fan, and the other was a 120mm fan blowing up).

The H50/620 is a better solution. It cools better, you don't need to remove the PSU to clean the dust out, there's no modding involved, and there's no trouble installing and testing it.

P.S. I've never noticed the vibrations of the pump.
 
Raising clockspeeds does make cpus run hotter. If graphed it's just more linear than raising voltage, where there is a bit of an exponential effect.
 
ok.. i think i will choose one of the Watercooler.. the H70 Pump should be, if i can trust the few test i read, quiet enough... but the radiator isn't that good, because it need enough airflow, which means that you need a faster cooler or two cooler...

so.. the antec should use the same pump as the H70 but with a smaller radi... i have to wait for some reviews.

okay... i think in two weeks or so, evnetually i wait for the new SSDs with the new Sandforce Controller, i will order this maschine. When it is ready, i will post some pics and share my experience...

thank you for all the information you have shared with me!
 
If you come across some reviews between the Antec & Corsair units please post the links. I'm curious what performance differences there are.
 
a First H60 Review
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1125/pg1/corsair-h60-liquid-cpu-cooler-review-introduction.html

and one of the Antec 620
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3880/antec_k_hler_h2o_620_liquid_cooling_cpu_cooler_review/index7.html

when i analyse the testresults i come to the following conclusion:

- Both, the H60 and the Antec find there place in cooling performance between the H50 and the H70.
- the Antec is lowder then the H70 with stock cooling...
- the H60 have a less noicelevel as both, the H50 and H60, with stock cooling...
- the Antec outperform the H60 with two coolers on it (this information is from an schwedish test which i translate with google)

BUT: no words about the noiselevel from the waterpumps! In all tests! And no information about coolingperformance with better coolers like the noiseblocker or the silentwings
 
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But i don't need a 750Watt PSU when my RIG idles at about 150Watt and need about 350Watt at Load...

additional the 750W Strider is a bit too pricey for me...
 
Some News about my project:

- I will wait for the new Z68 mATX Boards, especially for the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z and the Gigabyte.

The rest of my list is still the same. 2500k with a H60 in a Silverstone SG04, rocked by a GTX570 Phantom and the C300 RealSSD.

I order the stuff at the end of this month, so look forward for some pics and a conclusion ;)
 
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when you get a chance please take some nice pictures.

Im about to drop some dough on a SG04 as well, i want a bad little pc in my living room!
 
If you dont mind slightly use. In a month or so, I might end up selling my SG04. >_< I am downsizing even more from the looks of things and i barely game or use it now a days with work.

:p I run water on the CPU and rarely hear it when it was running. :)
 
some News here: the first hardware is arrived!

Here my first impressions:

- the Silverstone SG04 is a very small, Beautyful case with good buildquality. love it!

- the Seasonix X-560 fits well. With all powercables i need for my build, i think i will have no problems. you have some space between the sidedoor and the 5,25" Case at the top, where you can go with the long cables to end up in the top/back area of the case. only the ATX powercable have to be at the front of the PSU, where the air flows to the upper part of the board. i will make some photos with ready cablemanagement.

- the Gainward GTX570 Phantom fit in the SG04! And it is a very sexy card!! yeah!

- the exceleram is sexy, too... but its a german company, so i don't know, if you can get one in the USA.

So... at monday, the Corsair H60 will arrive.i will test all possibilities to install the radiator and share my experience.

Last but not least... i still waiting for the release of the Maximus IV Gene-Z. But Computex is not that far :)
 
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