SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project

so this is an open question and i would really appreciate some feedback. at the moment i am having some power issues with my psu and my vega 64, basically running at peak use. i was wondering if i could fit an hdplex 160w in along side the sfx psu and only have the sfx power the gpu. is that possible and will it fit? i was also looking at the nano psus but they don't have an 8 pin cpu.

so your under powered psu is causing problems with your gpu? and now you want to attempt to power a card that calls for a 750w with a stand alone 160w?! just stop before you kill anything and get a proper sized psu.

PS this is exactly what I've been saying USE THE RECOMMENDED PSU! YOU DO NOT KNOW BETTER THAN THE PEOPLE THAT MADE IT!!!!

His idea was actually to use the hd-plex to power the motherboard and CPU from those 160W and dedicate SFX to GPU.

This might work, but it means buying hd-plex, an external power brick and a new riser on top of that, the one that gets power from a molex or something like that because you should power the slot with the PSU that is powering the card. Getting such riser might be tricky because such problem exists generally in mining riggs where you connect the GPUs through pci-e x1 risers.

I think that this is doable, but it'll be more expensive than getting a proper SFX PSU in the first place.

Btw for others thinking about vega 64 - not recommended because of power draw and thermals :p
 
OK I misread that but my point still stands. people argued that a low wattage psu wouldn't be a problem but it obviously is.
 
so your under powered psu is causing problems with your gpu? and now you want to attempt to power a card that calls for a 750w with a stand alone 160w?! just stop before you kill anything and get a proper sized psu.

PS this is exactly what I've been saying USE THE RECOMMENDED PSU! YOU DO NOT KNOW BETTER THAN THE PEOPLE THAT MADE IT!!!!
i love your enthusiasm really, i was just looking for a cheaper option than having to go with an sfx-l psu given i already have the highest wattage sfx. i had seen on forums that it ran fine but my dorm power delivery is a little shoddy and i believe the headroom provided by removing the cpu from the equation would be enough, especially given that the recommendation of 750w is for the system, not the entire card.
His idea was actually to use the hd-plex to power the motherboard and CPU from those 160W and dedicate SFX to GPU.

This might work, but it means buying hd-plex, an external power brick and a new riser on top of that, the one that gets power from a molex or something like that because you should power the slot with the PSU that is powering the card. Getting such riser might be tricky because such problem exists generally in mining riggs where you connect the GPUs through pci-e x1 risers.

I think that this is doable, but it'll be more expensive than getting a proper SFX PSU in the first place.

Btw for others thinking about vega 64 - not recommended because of power draw and thermals :p
so the odds are i should just look at fitting a larger sfx-l psu? shame, i was hoping to avoid doing it as im unsure how easy it would be to re-sell the 650w.

would a different powered riser really be an issue? i
 
you kinda will win IF you sell or trade it. otherwise you can't even use it to its full potential....
and now youre stuck with custom cables for a psu that doesn't work right for your build. lesson learned?
 
you kinda will win IF you sell or trade it. otherwise you can't even use it to its full potential....
and now youre stuck with custom cables for a psu that doesn't work right for your build. lesson learned?
i'm not stuck with anything, find me a sfx-l psu that isn't silver-stone in the 800w range then i would agree.
Despite the potential profit, i have a lovely 2k freesync ulrawide on its way and i would really like to use that feature.
 
there aren't any yet. whats wrong with the Silverstone? [H] liked it, gave it gold.
nothing, you simply argued that the custom cables were for a psu that doesn't work right, they should be compatible for the entire silverstone line as the pinouts are the same. the 800w is the one i would go for, if i could find a way to sell the 650
 
would a different powered riser really be an issue? i

I guess that is a problem since it is actually addressed. The problem might be the power delivery not being in sync or something like that. I never dug deep in this as this is a generally mining oriented problem, but I've read and heard few times about this when people were figuring out how to do multi-gpu with two power supplies. They mentioned it few times in LTT's scrapyard wars as well.

As for silverstone sfx PSUs - I actually have nothing against them - they are quiet and they do their job. Every other brand of SFX we've tested had it quirks, although we haven't tested corsair's PSUs. BeQuiet's SFX units aren't really quiet, at least the old ones with 80mm, chieftec's SFX-L had the coil-whine-like noise for some time before the bearing in its fan stabilised etc.

I think that, while people treat silverstone as a sub/low-quality brand, they actually took care of their SFX PSU lineup properly way ahead every other brand that had SFX units in their offer.

For example full sized BeQuiet PSUs we've got at my gamedev studio are really quiet, while multiple bequiet SFX units that we've bought for testing and fitting are simply a disgrace to the brand name - they are nothing near being quiet and are far from what silverstone did offer at the same time.

If you want a high-powered SFX from other brand, this might mean you'll have to wait some time for that.
 
you do or don't have custom cables then? cause I'm not understanding why you mention them...
you should be able to resell it but expect to take a bit of a hit or if its not too long, return it to retailer.
 
I guess that is a problem since it is actually addressed. The problem might be the power delivery not being in sync or something like that. I never dug deep in this as this is a generally mining oriented problem, but I've read and heard few times about this when people were figuring out how to do multi-gpu with two power supplies. They mentioned it few times in LTT's scrapyard wars as well.

As for silverstone sfx PSUs - I actually have nothing against them - they are quiet and they do their job. Every other brand of SFX we've tested had it quirks, although we haven't tested corsair's PSUs. BeQuiet's SFX units aren't really quiet, at least the old ones with 80mm, chieftec's SFX-L had the coil-whine-like noise for some time before the bearing in its fan stabilised etc.

I think that, while people treat silverstone as a sub/low-quality brand, they actually took care of their SFX PSU lineup properly way ahead every other brand that had SFX units in their offer.

For example full sized BeQuiet PSUs we've got at my gamedev studio are really quiet, while multiple bequiet SFX units that we've bought for testing and fitting are simply a disgrace to the brand name - they are nothing near being quiet and are far from what silverstone did offer at the same time.

If you want a high-powered SFX from other brand, this might mean you'll have to wait some time for that.
im fine with silver stone, i already have one of their psus, thanks for clarifying the power delivery issue, makes the solution pretty evident.
you do or don't have custom cables then? cause I'm not understanding why you mention them...
you should be able to resell it but expect to take a bit of a hit or if its not too long, return it to retailer.
i mentioned them because it meant i was restricted to one line. however given that they should be compatible with said line, it shouldn't be much of an issue besides a few lengths might now be too short due to the size difference in the psu body, potentially enough that id need to get them remade.
 
oh so you do have them now and would want to transplant them to a new unit. yes you would be "stuck" with SS. I doubt their pinout would be different between units and as long as the cable sockets align to the same place length shouldn't be a problem.

SaperPL do the SFX and SFX-L line up the same, where the sockets are inside the case?
 
SaperPL do the SFX and SFX-L line up the same, where the sockets are inside the case?

What do you mean by "line up the same"? SFX and SFX-L have (at least should have) the same mounting side where you screw them to the case.

This is actually tricky because there's that fifth screw hole in the middle on some PSUs and there are those that have only 3 with only that one in the middle on one side.

As for the SFX-L being longer, there's a risk that some units might have their modular connectors standing out more than the ones we've tested and having more of them might mean those giving you a hard time to connect cables because of the central wall in Sentry being a bit too close.

Does any of that answer your question?
 
I mean this edge: and I think that you are saying yes...
if that edge is the same position for both formats then his cables should be fine. if that edge moves he might have issues.
this is a SFXL right?

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I mean this edge: and I think that you are saying yes...
if that edge is the same position for both formats then his cables should be fine. if that edge moves he might have issues.
this is a SFXL right?

View attachment 49807

Yes, that's SFX-L. The thing is, someone noted that for those 700W and 800W silverstone squeezed out the modular connectors even more than the ones we've tested, and having more of the connectors means they are spread wider/closer to the front of the case, meaning those may be blocked off by the piece of the central wall that is connected to the front next to the power switch.
 
Yes, that's SFX-L. The thing is, someone noted that for those 700W and 800W silverstone squeezed out the modular connectors even more than the ones we've tested, and having more of the connectors means they are spread wider/closer to the front of the case, meaning those may be blocked off by the piece of the central wall that is connected to the front next to the power switch.
thats kinda the issue i would be facing. im concerned my cables wouldn't be able to make that bend let alone fit.
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The noise from my sentry is annoying the hell out of me, I'm very sensitive to fan noise and it seems to be the gpu fan needs to be at 100% at max load to not thermal throttle, which to me is just too loud.

The cpu could also do with some additional cooling but it's not as bad as the gpu. I'm using a gtx 1080 aero 8g oc with a vapor chamber cooler taken from an gtx 1080fe.

The case is sitting in a horizontal position in a relatively cool room. So I'm looking for some suggestions, I've thought about watercooling although I'm not sure it's even technically possible or perhaps some additional fans although I have no idea where they could go?
 
you modified your gpu with a crappier cooler, that's the problem. not the case.

You're saying a vapor chamber cooler is worse than the one on the aero oc? Because if you look through this thread there are about five different users saying the opposite.
 
well it has to run at full blast right?!

Correct. But it's considered to be better so I don't see why you feel the stock was better than the vapor chamber. I actually replaced the stock to increase cooling performance as that was also inadequate.
 
because its so hot it has to run full blast and is so loud you are complaining about it
 
because its so hot it has to run full blast and is so loud you are complaining about it

But you never asked me how loud the stock cooler was. (it was also extremely loud)

Vapor chamber coolers are more effective coolers by design. I'm trying to figure out how I can further optimise my system to deal with the acoustics.
 
that's debatable. maybe get [H]ard and mod it for some more breathing, cut yourself a hole for the fan.
bottom line is its not the case its the gpu fans.
 
that's debatable. maybe get [H]ard and mod it for some more breathing, cut yourself a hole for the fan.
bottom line is its not the case its the gpu fans.


Dude this is the second smallest gaming pc case available I think it's highly probable that that is a major contributing factor to the heat issue. Which is why I'm asking for advice on this thread and not somewhere else.

I'm not looking to place the blame on any one factor I'm looking for solutions to this problem that preferably doesn't involve damaging the case. I don't understand why you are so dead set on it being the gpu fans when my cpu is also partially effected. I'm looking to reduce noise of the computer as a whole as much as possible, again without causing any major damage to the case itself.
 
you need better/more airflow. its that simple. modding your case would greatly improve the airflow and prove that your [H]ard :) its not damage its a mod, like we used to do...
 
Dude this is the second smallest gaming pc case available I think it's highly probable that that is a major contributing factor to the heat issue. Which is why I'm asking for advice on this thread and not somewhere else.

I'm not looking to place the blame on any one factor I'm looking for solutions to this problem that preferably doesn't involve damaging the case. I don't understand why you are so dead set on it being the gpu fans when my cpu is also partially effected. I'm looking to reduce noise of the computer as a whole as much as possible, again without causing any major damage to the case itself.
get some weatherstripping off amazon or something, then coat the area around your gpu fan and your cpu fan so you have a ring of stripping in the gap between your gpu intake and the case itself. this will reduce noise by reducing the amount of turbulent air around the intakes and prevent re-circulating which will also reduce temps a bit. Next, what fan are you using on your cooler? try shoving a noctua 92mm if you can instead of the current cpu cooler fan, they run quiet as fuck. Next, half your fucking issue is that you have it horizontal. the case performs vastly better in the vertical position and your gpu temps and thus noise levels would be vastly lower.
 
get some weatherstripping off amazon or something, then coat the area around your gpu fan and your cpu fan so you have a ring of stripping in the gap between your gpu intake and the case itself. this will reduce noise by reducing the amount of turbulent air around the intakes and prevent re-circulating which will also reduce temps a bit. Next, what fan are you using on your cooler? try shoving a noctua 92mm if you can instead of the current cpu cooler fan, they run quiet as fuck. Next, half your fucking issue is that you have it horizontal. the case performs vastly better in the vertical position and your gpu temps and thus noise levels would be vastly lower.

Actually according to this youtube video posted by SaperPL, made by YetAnotherTechChannel putting it in a vertical position would be even worse than horizontal. It's the difference between the blower style and open air. I may try some of your other recommendations.

See picture:
 

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Actually according to this youtube video posted by SaperPL, made by YetAnotherTechChannel putting it in a vertical position would be even worse than horizontal. It's the difference between the blower style and open air. I may try some of your other recommendations.

See picture:
i am afraid your source isn't very well done, the temps may be the same but as i provide in pictures, the clock speeds are not. Simply put, it is far less effective to have it in a horizontal position. the gpu is hitting the same temps but at a slower speed. Linus in his own review of the case direcly says that horizontal positions directly hamper performance, In all tests, the fans had to spin faster to maintain those temps when in a horizontal position (which further makes it louder) Like it or not. The numbers don't lie
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Try undervolting, I habe my 1070 running at around 1800~1900MHz with 0.85~0.850v. I also set the power limit to 85%. It usually sits around 75-80%. Thanks to that I was able to slow my fans from around 1500~1700RPM to 1000~1200RPM. Also, what temperatur is your GPU running at?
 
I put together my Xeon e3 1231 v3, GTX 1080 and was surprised how easy it was to put the whole thing together (also pretty fast); only problems were the riser bring a bit stiff and finicky, I put it in the wrong way and tried to remove the PCIE and took me more force than I would have liked but all is fine and my custom GPU cable was too short (ordered for different case) and tried to use angled extension cable but didn't work so when back to stock SF600 which is not too bad actually. Haven't got to test temps but I think the L9i will be fine.

Was just looking at the stand and it looks awesome but got me thinking about travel.. doesn't seem the most portable or is it just me? Like the legs sticking out. Any pics of it in a bag with the Sentry?
 
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try the weather stripping, its a good idea. it'll force the gpu to suck fresh air from outside the case.
did it on mine, really could tell a difference in gpu noise, especially considering how close the case actually is to me and i have a vega 64, hardly a queit card
I put together my Xeon e3 1231 v3, GTX 1080 and was surprised how easy it was to put the whole thing together (also pretty fast); only problems were the riser bring a bit stiff and finicky, I put it in the wrong way and tried to remove the PCIE and took me more force than I would have liked but all is fine and my custom GPU cable was too short (ordered for different case) and tried to use angled extension cable but didn't work so when back to stock SF600 which is not too bad actually. Haven't got to test temps but I think the L9i will be fine.

Was just looking at the stand and it looks awesome but got me thinking about travel.. doesn't seem the most portable or is it just me? Like the legs sticking out. Any pics of it in a bag with the Sentry?
i use the bag it came with
 
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