A real gaming system with Z68 and mATX form factor

So, I finally got the time to post it!:p
I ended up installing a Lamptron FC4.
007bnb.jpg


It has 4 channels handling up to 20WATTS per channel
011du.jpg


It seems pretty well built to me, with heat-spreaders and very long fan cables:
013ovh.jpg


014ozf.jpg


Before installation, I marked the channels, since it would be a problem to check what is connected to what when sealed inside the front of the case:
015wmw.jpg


I really like it because the 6cm fans are very distant from the front case but the wires are abundantly long to guaranty easy sliding of the MoBo tray.:)

Then, I attached each single SUNON PMD1206PMB1-A to a channel (channels 1 and 2).
When idle, I keep them turned off, temps are fine.
When gaming, I activate them at min to mid. These fans have a personality even at min, that is 40% of power though. It's a whine, clearly audible.
I play with earphones, so even at higher RPMs I don't hear them, and the cooling is just excellent.

Here the set up on the case:
020yb.jpg


021yh.jpg


img1111r.jpg

I'm tempted to use the other 2 channels with other fans...:p
 
Last edited:
echn111 said:
What was wrong with the Zotac Z68 ITX?
Click to expand...
You know? I didn't even try to overclock (that was the reason of the purchase) since I got an unbearable noise from the board as soon as I booted it up. :mad:
It was a defective mosfet, whining even at idle.:mad::mad::mad::mad:
This is a commonly reported problem with the MoBo, along with RAM slot defects and the throttling for temp issues.
I didn't have RAM issues, but didn't check if I could get the 1600 MHz because I drop it of after seeing that I couldn't stand the noise.
Same thing for the trhottling.
Very disappointed!
It seems that ITX and SB overclocking aren't just a good match.
 
Mousemagician said:
It seems that ITX and SB overclocking aren't just a good match.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why the only Z68 ITX boards are pigs. None of the "better" manufacturers have stepped up to the plate for whatever reason. Could be that the earlier chipset bug hit the companies just as their ITX boards were being designed so they lost resources. Oh well... there's always Panther Point. ;)
 
flopticalcube said:
I'm not sure why the only Z68 ITX boards are pigs. None of the "better" manufacturers have stepped up to the plate for whatever reason. Could be that the earlier chipset bug hit the companies just as their ITX boards were being designed so they lost resources. Oh well... there's always Panther Point. ;)
Click to expand...
I think you got a good point. The economy is quite bad now and it is possible that the resources of these companies are focused on something more lucrative that the niche of gamers in the SFF.:(
 
I dumped the the itx after reading this thread. And bought a gene z. Waiting for my "blackheart" now. And now also have a SG07 & that case the armor A30 for sale. Definitely going to water cool as well.
 
Super Sic said:
I dumped the the itx after reading this thread. And bought a gene z. Waiting for my "blackheart" now. And now also have a SG07 & that case the armor A30 for sale. Definitely going to water cool as well.
Click to expand...
You'll be impressed by the GeneZ!:cool:
It's overclocking power, the quality of materials, and the BIOS/UEFI are just magnificent!:cool::cool::cool:
There is no paragon with any ITX!
Are you purchasing the Armor A30?
If you still don't have the A30 and if you are really going watercooled I would like to suggest you to point to a different case; the LianLi PC-V354, for example.
The reason is just because of the watercooling; I cannot imagine where you can put the radiator in the Armor A30...:confused:
Moreover, you'll lose the sliding on the mobo because of the hoses.
To me, the A30 has been a necessity to fit my loved Setsugen 2, and I nailed down the system cooling!
It's still a very difficult case to work with, though.
If you already have the case, I'm really curious to see how you'll set the watercooling.
Please, keep us posted!;)
 
Last edited:
A few people on here didn't like the quality of it, but.... I think they got prototypes. I will address the power, reset buttons if I see fit.. And I'm ordering rubber feet that are Lian Li's
 
Skott said:
Did you buy the case through LanGear or did you buy it from a 3rd party?
Click to expand...

Had to be 3rd party. Their site is EU only. And if you try to buy it'll just link you to that supplier (3rd party) anyway. I think it's a great base. I think most who frequent this board have the knowledge to modify it to work. Correctly! Has to holes in the back for quick disconnect for external radiator fan set up. I think it's perfect.
 
Slick setup you got there Mouse.

I have the old Thermaltake Lanbox. I have been looking for the LCD screen for years to install in there.
 
noid370 said:
Slick setup you got there Mouse.

I have the old Thermaltake Lanbox. I have been looking for the LCD screen for years to install in there.
Click to expand...
Here the link of the Crystalfontz LCD controller!
The build inside the Armor A30 is becoming sicker and sicker...
I just ordered a second XFX HD 6950 2GB from the egg;
it's the overclocked version at 830MHz core clock and 1300MHz (5.2Gbps) memory clock:eek:
 
Last edited:
noid370 said:
Not that kind lcd screen. This one.

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product.aspx?c=1257&id=1481

Been looking for it for years. Its for the older model Lanbox that has the handle on top
Click to expand...
Oh, that one!:eek:
I'll be damned, it's super cool!:cool::cool:
7" LCD touch screen LCD, remote, in other words, a real console control in the front of your PC.:eek::cool:
Also quite expensive, right?:rolleyes:
I cannot find it available anywhere.
What about this statement at the end of this review from The Tech Report?
In the end, then, Thermaltake's retractable LCD touch-screen seems more appropriate for automotive applications than home PCs. The screen's picture quality isn't exceptional, but it's good enough for a basic car PC interface, where support for touch-based input should be particularly handy.
Click to expand...
My opinion is that everyone does what he likes to do, and this thing would be a sweet one to have!
...but it would be really unlikely that I could ever have it, though!:p:p
 
Last edited:
I decided to anticipate Christmas and I got:

  1. A new HD-695X-CNDC Radeon HD 6950 2GB, from Newegg.com
  2. A new monitor: HP ZR22w 21.5" S-IPS, from Amazon.com
I was scared to set a CrossfireX so beefy inside the Armor A30 because of potential overheating, but at the end I did it!:)


A few pics of the process:


The card is a XXX version, that means the factory overclocked one
004cl.jpg



Kindly, I got also DeusEx free coupon, along with double lifetime warranty.;)


The cooling is different than my original 6950:


010ub.jpg


016db.jpg


The card seemed way lighter than the original one as well; in fact, it's shorter also:

013yl.jpg



015kw.jpg


First, I wanted to purchase a Setsugen 2 with Enzotech heat-sinks like for the former one, but soon I figured out that the factory cooler is quite silent... I don't know, still thinking whether change it...:rolleyes:

Here how it's when installed:

022loa.jpg


I put a 6 cm fan just on top of the 2 cards, as an exhaust. This small baby is dead silent and moves some air.

025nih.jpg


026tja.jpg


027tu.jpg


028mjf.jpg


I've had to go back to the slim fan for the Setsugen 2, for obvious space reasons. This fan got connected to the Lamptron FC4. It starts at 40% (absolutely silent) and I max it out during gaming sessions.
Of course, when gaming, the stock fan on the new card is a little noisy (surprisingly not that noisy, though), noisier that the slim Scythe. Probably I'll buy the other Setsugen 2.
Why it takes so much money to purchase your goodies???:(:mad::(:mad:

MAX TEMPS UNDER FURMARK:

  • Sandwiched card (with the Setsugen 2): 90C
  • External card (with the factory heatsink): 80C
MAX TEMPS DURING INTENSE GAMING:

  • Sandwiched card (with the Setsugen 2): 70C
  • External card (with the factory heatsink): 65C
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Very nice setup you got! Did the crossfire setup change the temps of your cpu? My friend showed me this post last month and made me get a similar setup! lol I got the a30 and the gene-z with a 2500k. Though I really wanted a nice air cooled HSF in the case I knew it was going to get hot so I decided to go with an Antec 620 liquid cooler and mounted the rad in the back lol it was tricky but I was able to make it work if you don't mind a rad on the back of your case.
 
dawarmachine22 said:
Very nice setup you got! Did the crossfire setup change the temps of your cpu? My friend showed me this post last month and made me get a similar setup! lol I got the a30 and the gene-z with a 2500k. Though I really wanted a nice air cooled HSF in the case I knew it was going to get hot so I decided to go with an Antec 620 liquid cooler and mounted the rad in the back lol it was tricky but I was able to make it work if you don't mind a rad on the back of your case.
Click to expand...
Good question!;)
It's difficult to answer because I changed my fan settings compared to before upgrading to the CrossfireX.
At this moment, the two 6cm fans that pull out air from the CPU heatsink are turned off; I have them at 40-50% only during gaming. Before, there were the silent Thermaltake ones constantly on and these warranted a little of warm exhaust.
Also, the 14cm CPU fan is lowered in CPM; you can see below that I set a very silent curve:
fancontrolquiet.png


Even the fan on the new video card is set very silent:
msiafterburnerfansettin.png


The system is really quiet now, and powerful when gaming.

I can tell you what the logic suggests (and other forums as well):
two powerful video cards (such as these HD6950), overclocked, in CrossfilreX, with no space in between (a real sandwich), in a cramped case will increase the temperatures of the entire system (CPU included).
Anyways, I find my solution acceptable!:p
When you want a Ferrari engine inside a mini compact car (let's say a Smart), you need to make compromises...:eek:
 
One more thing.
My temps were around 45C without the 6cm fans blowing out air, but with these at 40% here what I get:
systemtempswith6cmfans.png


It's 39C!!!:eek:
It was 38C before adding the 2nd video card.:D
 
Last edited:
Oh nice temp increase isn't as much as I thought makes me want to crossfire sometime in the near future lol again nice setup man!
 
Hi guys,
Finally, I decided to give the Scythe treatment to the second XFX HD6950 2GB.:D:D
I installed:

  1. Scythe Setsugen 2, from Heatsinkfactory.com, at $45.95 + $6.15 shipping (Total=$52.10)
  2. Additional heatsinks, from Koolertek.com:
006kdp.jpg



Moreover, I've installed a Nexus Real Silent 92mm Fan with Fan Mounts, for the front intake of the case, from Koolertek.com, at $9.79.
008qtv.jpg


The shipping cost from koolertek.com was $6.45, for a total of $39.98.

The total cost of all of these new goodies was $92.08.

The Scythe Setsugen 2 is at this time the only option to have a two-VGA solution on 4 consecutive slots.
The results are totally satisfying!!!:cool::cool::cool:

As you can see below, I went from this hybrid aftermarket/stock cooling...
001qyg.jpg


...to an elegant and functional full Scythe VGA cooling in CrossfireX!;)
003dcv.jpg
 
Here, the installation process

Uninstalling the factory XFX cooler:
013xs.jpg


012aai.jpg


As you can see, the factory cooler has a fan at the center that blows in all directions of the card.

Moreover, VRMs are at the front of the VGA, differently than the ATI specs that put the VRMs on the back:
014eyr.jpg


Here, without the black heatsink:
015ic.jpg


Uninstalling the GPU heatsink:

1) Unscrewing the back support
016vxw.jpg


2) Detaching the factory heatsink:
017zk.jpg


3) Cleaning the GPU surface:
A lot of thermal paste from XFX...
020qnj.jpg


025vxq.jpg


DONE!
026dd.jpg


027vr.jpg


031mar.jpg


Time to place the Enzotech copper heatsinks:
028sz.jpg


029zi.jpg


033fg.jpg


034ho.jpg


Installing the Setsugen 2 (for the HD 6950, use the holes "A2", it's not specified on the handbook);
037qh.jpg


I love it!!!:p:p:p
038vt.jpg


039za.jpg


040fiw.jpg
 
Last edited:
You can see below that the original XFX HD6950 (the lower one in the pic) is not only longer than the new one (on top) but has different location of the VRMs:
042zt.jpg


It causes that the VRMs aren't covered by the setsugen directly, but receive air form the fan:
044ka.jpg


Moreover, I didn't need to cut the copper heatsinks as I did for the first one, GOOD!!!:D:D:D

When installed, the two VGA are supercool!!!:cool::cool::cool:
047bm.jpg



048sj.jpg


049os.jpg


When I say supercool, I mean stylish...
I'll talk about the cooling in the following posts.
 
Last edited:
So, it's time to check the cooling of two Scythe Setsugen-2 in such a small space, in a case that has been criticized to be a nightmare for cooling.:confused::confused::confused:
The first thing I want to say is that I'm still waiting for an answer from the US Scythe customer service to have sold two 12cm PWM slim fans, the one that is installed on the Big Shuriken.
The consequence is that, so far, both the fan RPMs on the Setsugens are regulated manually: the one in the first cooler has been purchased apart and is set via the Lamptron in the front case, the second one is regulated by a knob sold with the fan and is installed in the side of the case:
farregulator01.jpg


Before deciding about installing a CrossfireX in this case, I was a little concerned about temps.
Mainly, I knew that the best way to cool in a limited space is pulling out air directly to the back of the case, while these coolers disperse air in all directions inside the case.
I WAS WRONG!!!
What I got is that the PSU makes a barrier to the diffusion of the air toward the CPU area, creating a real tunnel:
airtunnel01.jpg


The little and silent 6cm Scythe fan in the back exhausts the warm air efficiently, completing the job!:D:D:D
airtunnel02.jpg


airtunnel03.jpg


As a consequence, temps are good considering the space available:

  • Idle: 38C and 41C for the external and internal VGA, respectively, at 50% RPM
  • Intense gaming: 60C and 66C, at 100% RPM
  • FurMark: 80C and 90C, at 100% RPM
Most importantly, it happens quietly!:cool::cool::cool:


Next, benchmarks!;)
 
Last edited:
I ran the benchmarks just after updating Catalyst Control Center to version 11.12, on 12/24/11.
Surprisingly, I got a ref flag from 3DMarkVantage:
3dmarkvantage122411.png


GRAPHICS DRIVER IS NOT APPROVED!:eek::eek::eek:
It should take a few weeks to have it "approved".
I'll re-check later on.

Whatever, I'm not going back to the V.11.11.
Scores are doubled when compared to single card solution:
3dmarkvantagedetailed.png


Also 3DMark11 showed almost doubled score:
From 5199
3dmark1120oced052911.jpg


...to 9063:
3dmark11c.png


The video cards are both overclocked to 840 MHz clock and 1325 MHz memory.

What was unexpected is that WEI went down from 7.9 with a single card to 6.3 with CrossfireX both in Graphics and Gaming...:confused::confused::confused:

I've read that Windows gets confused when multiple VGAs are installed. Bah!

Now, I'm playing Mass Effect 2 all maxed out and the game is greater than before. I finally have the anisotropic filtering at 16X and the resolution increased from 1600x900 (Acer AL2216W) to 1920x1080 (HP ZR22w).

Very nice!:p:p:p
 
Last edited:
I just ended a session of Mass Effect 2.
Below the temps:
tempsnew122611.png


CPU: around 55C
GPU 1: MIN 38C, MAX 68C
GPU 2: MIN 36C, MAX 56C

Excellent!;)
 
Very nice! My uncle loved the case and wants me to build him one next, He is going to crossfire too, how do you feel about having the stock fans on the gpus? Think it will get to warm? I believe he has 2 5850s. So far I'm loving my case I replaced all my fans with scythe ones lol and I put 2 gt-ap15 on my antec 620 as a push and pull loving the temps! Also I don't know if I missed it but what are your average ambient temps just out of curiosity?
 
Yeah, I'd say those temps are more than acceptable. Great work. :)
 
dawarmachine22 said:
Very nice! My uncle loved the case and wants me to build him one next, He is going to crossfire too, how do you feel about having the stock fans on the gpus? Think it will get to warm? I believe he has 2 5850s. So far I'm loving my case I replaced all my fans with scythe ones lol and I put 2 gt-ap15 on my antec 620 as a push and pull loving the temps! Also I don't know if I missed it but what are your average ambient temps just out of curiosity?
Click to expand...
Dawarmachine22,
The stock fans on the two HD5850 will be enough to cool them, but expect them to be noisy...:rolleyes:
What I think is important to point out is that you must be certain to have enough clearance with the drive cage.:confused:
I think that your HD5850s have the power plug at the end of them, not in the side.
If it's so, you can have issues...
Instead, I'm really curious to see some pics from your build: the external radiator most of all...:)
Thank you!
 
hmm good point about the size, though he may not use the 5.25'' bays like me. I took out the cage for it to have better air flow since I'm using an external dvd drive. If I can have him do that he may have room for the 5850. But yeah I'll definately have to post some pictures of my case for you, It was a little interesting but I was able to make it work.
 
dawarmachine22 said:
So far I'm loving my case I replaced all my fans with scythe ones lol and I put 2 gt-ap15 on my antec 620 as a push and pull loving the temps! Also I don't know if I missed it but what are your average ambient temps just out of curiosity?
Click to expand...
...sorry, I missed to answer to your question:
my room temps are 20-21C.:D
Nice fans these gentle typhoons that you installed in push-pull; a lot of air with them!:cool::cool::cool:
 
Oh ok good to know thanks! Yeah I'm loving the GTs! Sorry about the delay I'll post pics of my setup soon!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top