Alternatives to SG03 for m-atx gaming case?

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sidsaccount

Weaksauce
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Right now I'm very close to getting an SG03 for a nice 5870 crossfire setup. However, the only issue that is still bothering me is the heatsink limitation; I dont want my cpu to be bottlenecked by my crossfire'd cards, so I'd want to overclock.


Does anybody have recommendations for other m-atx cases that are similar in size and able to accomodate 2x 10.5inch video cards as well as a respectably sized tower CPU heatsink?

Thanks
-Sid

(p.s. the 5870s in question are not reference, and are only 10.5 inches).
 
I'm after a SFF gaming setup and if I go for matx, I'm thinking of the NZXT Vulcan or the In Win Dragon Slayer (getting a bit too big). However, the Vulcan isn't proving to be very friendly for X58 heatsinks :(

For a cube style case I'm thinking of Da Box from Lan Gear.
 
antec p180 mini...it's alittle large but it fits anything you want.
 
Murgh Bpurn said:
I'm after a SFF gaming setup and if I go for matx, I'm thinking of the NZXT Vulcan or the In Win Dragon Slayer (getting a bit too big). However, the Vulcan isn't proving to be very friendly for X58 heatsinks :(

For a cube style case I'm thinking of Da Box from Lan Gear.
Click to expand...

Right off the top of my head I would have said the NZXT Vulcan.. But I have no ideal how a case can prove to have problems with heatsinks from a specific platform. I Do know that its got 2 120mm fans right above the Mobo though so if you want an h50 your golden & if you are going to run full h20 then its got the little plugs in the back for your tubing.

Plus its only about 70 bucks which puts i 35 bucks cheaper then an sg03 on newegg..
 
I saw one NE reviewer saying he couldn't fit a H50 in the Vulcan because the radiator was too big for the back 80/92mm fan blow hole. First thing I thought was put the radiator on one of the two top 120mm blow holes. I don't think the guy thought of it though. At least he didn't mention it anyway.

I'd consider the Vulcan or the InWin Dragon Slayer before the P180 mini. Assuming you can get a H50 into them. They are smaller than the P180 mini and much more easily carried if mobility is something you need. The DaBox would be ideal if you just want a single GPU.
 
sidsaccount said:
Right now I'm very close to getting an SG03 for a nice 5870 crossfire setup. However, the only issue that is still bothering me is the heatsink limitation; I dont want my cpu to be bottlenecked by my crossfire'd cards, so I'd want to overclock.
Click to expand...

What CPU are you planning on using? If not an i7 9xx, you could use a Corsair H50 in the SG03. I don't recommend this for an X58 motherboard because using the H50 leaves the air around the chipset too stagnant (and you don't have many other options for moving air in this case). But for an i5 or i7 8xx setup, it would work fine.

Does anybody have recommendations for other m-atx cases that are similar in size and able to accomodate 2x 10.5inch video cards as well as a respectably sized tower CPU heatsink?
Click to expand...

The FT03 (google for images) that SilverStone just showed off at Computex sure looks interesting. It's an unconventional design that provides plenty of headroom for the CPU cooler. But it sounds like it's still at least a few months away from production.
 
bastage said:
But I have no ideal how a case can prove to have problems with heatsinks from a specific platform. I Do know that its got 2 120mm fans right above the Mobo though so if you want an h50 your golden & if you are going to run full h20 then its got the little plugs in the back for your tubing.
Click to expand...

This thread explains.

Skott said:
I saw one NE reviewer saying he couldn't fit a H50 in the Vulcan because the radiator was too big for the back 80/92mm fan blow hole. First thing I thought was put the radiator on one of the two top 120mm blow holes. I don't think the guy thought of it though. At least he didn't mention it anyway.
Click to expand...

I believe the motherboard's to close to the fans for this.
 
Mac Truck said:
Antec NSK3480 isn't the prettiest of cases but it'll handle the job.
Click to expand...

Much as I personally like the NSK3480, I would have to say that it is a terrible recommendation for the OP's proposed system. The OP will be doing two 5870 in Crossfire. The NSK3480 will not fit a PSU with enough power for such a setup. My LAN party rig uses the NSK3480 and I recently upgraded to an Antec Neo Eco 620W because that seems to be the best choice these days for a higher wattage small PSU (I sported a GTX 295 in that system for MidWestLAN). The NSK3480 can only fit a PSU that is 5.5" deep, otherwise not only does it butt up against the optical drive, the PSU will start to cover the holes that allow the cables to go into the lower compartment.

The other problem is that the NSK3480 has very few drive locations and the lower video card will block one of the two official HDD mounts.

For a higher performance rig I prefer the Cooler Master Elite 341. I know someone with GTX 260 SLI in that case with an 800W PSU, three drives plus optical and overclocked Core i7 920. That case also has a lower HDD mount that will be lost (tab needs to be bent out of the way too) but it has more drive bays.
 
doing a quick interweb search I cant find anyone who has tried the h50 in the top of the vulcan. There is 1 post saying that the h50 was mounted to the front fan spot but that user was using 5770's so there may not be enough room with longer cards. Another post also mentiones that the rear fan location may actually be drilled for 80/92/120mm fans. There only appears to be 2 sets of holes though so I doubt that. Another possibility is that there appears to be enough room to fit a 120mm on the back so it may just be a matter of cutting in the 120mm fan hole & calling it a day (which since cutting out the factory perforated shit gets you better & quieter airflow anyhow thats not a bad ideal).

Personally though I am waiting for the Lian Li v354 & will then make my move to a new case (currently in a bgears b-envi matx cube).
 
I think I might just splooge for the SG03

The fan's placement is very nice, and I don't think any other MATX case serves the same things I will use it for

Bah! Humbug!
 
There is a Vulcan thread that links pics of a h50 installed in the front of a Vulcan using GTX 295 (I t hink) video so your 10.5" 5870's should be fine. Also the x58 issue is because the CU socket is too close to the top of the motherboard the cooler is often hitting the fan.
 
I'm not sure if you can fit two HD587s in an SG03. If you could that thing would be hot as hell. Glad you're lookin elsewhere :)
 
I thought about an SG-03 for my CF 5870 setup. After contacting Silverstone, however, I decided against it. They told me neither the SG 03 or 04 could handle a CF/SLI build.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
They told me two 5870s wouldn't fit, even though the website said 10.5" cards would work.
Click to expand...

The Radeon HD 5870 are 11" long

Below are some of the 10.5" cards for your reference:

GeForce GTX 480
GeForce GTX 295
GeForce GTX 285
Radeon HD 4870X2
Radeon HD 4890
 
I had an SG03, and although they are great looking cases (and I liked it a lot) heat is a huge issue in those cases. There's little exhaust and the heat builds up real quick. I had a Q9300 as well as an 8800GTS (G92) and my fans had to be running pretty fast to keep temps within reason. I would definitely think hard before attempting SLI or Crossfire in one.
 
im not sure why are you argueing that it wont fit when i got a pair in CF in my SG03

heat wise they do get alittle hot but its tolerable
 
I have a SG03 and its a good case but if I was going to go dual GPU I would consider either modding the SG03 for better cooling or look at a different case. That new Vulcan or the upcoming V354 looks interesting.
 
I would say that qualifies.;)
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1035889124#post1035889124
9dbf8a8c.jpg

Thanks Massive Overkill!
 
I like the idea of modding a PSU and cramming it into the space at the top behind the cdrom. That way the volume over the CPU is clear. You can then mount a tower cpu cooler and a 120mm rear exhaust fan
 
dexx said:
I like the idea of modding a PSU and cramming it into the space at the top behind the cdrom. That way the volume over the CPU is clear. You can then mount a tower cpu cooler and a 120mm rear exhaust fan
Click to expand...

martinv is part of Lan Gear, a company that make Da Box, a mATX case that takes a standard ATX PSU and uses a 90degree power cord to help fit the PSU in that position.
 
mattinv said:
Thanks Massive Overkill!
Click to expand...

No Mattinv, thank you for going out on a limb and creating something us [H]ardcore SFF enthusiasts have been looking for, and taking direct input from us instead of hiring some out-of-the-loop Eng/Marketing team to guess at what we want.
 
MassiveOverkill said:
No Mattinv, thank you for going out on a limb and creating something us [H]ardcore SFF enthusiasts have been looking for, and taking direct input from us instead of hiring some out-of-the-loop Eng/Marketing team to guess at what we want.
Click to expand...

Well said :D
 
5870 will work in the sg03, and you can get an h50 with a push pull set up, the trick is to get thin gentle typhoon fans : P and if you do the blow hole mod to the top that helps with heat also. Sorry, just love the looks of that classy little case ;) and hate cubes

Quoted from another thread:
Hi,
Yes, if you just mount a 120mm fan at the front top, and the Raden 5870 will
fit in SG03, and if you want to mount two 120mm fan, you could choose a slim
120mm fan and mount it at front bottom, then the Raden 5870 also can fit in
SG03.

Best Regards
HQ Support
SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd.
 
I managed to get 2x gentle typhoons on Push pull for my sg03...

The only problem is that I had to press really ahrd down onto my Mobo PSU connector.

No issues... yet s:S:S
 
Have had no need for a push pull setup myself. Using a Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan with the H50, and it's only spinning at 700rpm. Yet there's no problems keeping my i5 750 very cool. I suppose it could be different with an overclocked i7, but unless going to extremes, even a single fan should still be able to handle.

As far as the rest of the case goes, I have the secondary front fan (also a Nexus) providing to overall case air flow, and no components except GPU get overly hot. And GPU only heated up because it's passive, so I chucked a very silent 80mm fan next to it, and that fixed that. Getting a GTX460 early next month, so will see how that works as far as temps go.
 
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