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Concerns on a SFF gaming rig

W

WintersFury

Gawd
Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
555
Ok, so I'm selling my mobo to a friend and have been thinking of going SFF for my next computer as I found someone willing to part with a LanBox for a great price. However I do have some concerns.

Mainly I'm worried about temps. Since the airflow in the SFF boxes isn't usually that great. I know I could make new plexi windows for the LanBox to get some 120mm fans intaking which should help with temps. I am worried about having a high end gpu with an OCed Quad and the temps being far too high. (I'm upgrading my gpu / cpu around the end of the year)

And space as well high end graphics cards seem to be getting larger and larger. I know the LanBox can hold a 8800GTX if I remove the HDD tray (Which I was planning on doing anyways as I only really need 1 HDD). But if future high end cards get any larger they may not fit into the case.

So before I go and make the SFF system, I figured I'd see what all of you think. I game for I'd guess 20 or more hours a week depending on if a friend is having some lan gaming, good TV, doing stuff with friends. And I don't want to burn out my components. I do like the portability due to the fact that I do lan game a fair bit and the smaller footprint on my desk would be nice as well. Should I go for a full size case, or will I be able to get enough cooling? And I guess all I can really do would be hope graphics cards don't get bigger.

Thanks for the opins :)
 
I dont think the graphic cards will get any bigger than the 8800GTX for some time. nVidia and ATI know people are having trouble getting them to fit in cases and the current GTX board seems big enough for now to let them do what they want hardware wise. Heat is a issue for all SFF cases. Look for one that has max cooling and can also fit good cpu hsf for max cooling as well. Something like the J08 or Sug03 may be a better option than the cube shaped SFF. Just depends on what you plan to add to it. The Qmicra v2 will probably have the best cooling and room for big cards and hsf as well as watercooling if you want it but at $300 its extremely pricey. Its the cadillac of SFF boxes currently.
 
1. Why are you getting a quad? Do you actually need the 4 cores? If not, I wouldn't bother with a quad core. Also are you looking at the Kentsfield quads or waiting for Penryn? The Penryn quads should run cooler and perform better, although they'll likely be more expensive. I'd recommend you wait for Penryn if you really must have a quad.

2. What kind of CPU cooling are you getting? This the one of the most important parts, which you did not mention. AFAIK, the best cooler that will fit in a lanbox right now is a Zalman CNPS-7700cu. The Zalman 8700 should be coming out later this year and should perform better. It's similar to the 7700 but has two heat pipes.

3. Before you think about modding and adding intake fans, you need to actually set everything up and see how it runs first. Depending on what you have in the case (as far as cables and other PCI accessories), you may find your temps aren't that much hotter than a full ATX case might be.

4.What resolution do you game at? If you don't game at anything higher than 1680x1050, then a GTX isn't really necessary. A 640 GTS would suffice.
 
AFAIK, putting a 120mm fan would be possible when you place it on left side of the case where the cards are at. I'm pretty sure that you cannot put the 120mm fan in the right side of the case where the CPU is at, unless you want to place the fan outside of the case (which will look a bit funky). For an overclocked Quad, you should be fine as long as you have a nice low profile heatsink with a high cfm fan. Also your power supply should have a fan underneath (like some of the Silverstone PSU) to help cool the processor and whatever component that is around it. As for the graphic card, you can either go for the case fan on the side of the plexi or get a card slot cooler. Cooling on the LanBox should not be a big problem if you don't mind the fan noise.

As far as the size of the graphic card goes, I don't think it will get any larger than it is right now... if it gets any larger it won't be able to fit in regular atx cases. Future graphic card are created to be more efficient than it's predecessor, so it shouldn't get any larger than what we have right now.

Overall, SFF are great for gaming on the go. Just the convenience of portability and the size is what attracted me when I went with SFF.
 
prototype_sx said:
The 7700 is better than the blue orb II?
Click to expand...

Hmm... good point, I always forget about the Blue Orb...I can't find any reviews that directly compare the two, only separate reviews for each, which don't give a fair comparison.

Me personally though, I prefer Zalman to Thermaltake, but if the Thermaltake does cool better then I'd pick the Blue Orb over the Zalman then.
 
I was just thinking the same thing. It'd be nice to see a direct comparison of the BlueOrb II and the 7700. Both are very popular for SFF cases. Maybe Steeeve at SFFClub or HF could do a review between the two?
 
Thanks for the opins all :) I'm going to do it afterall, depending on what I get and all I may have some reviews for the sffclub site. Now to just hope the guy has the super cheap LanBox (I think he was only asking $80 for it).

As for the questions, I don't plan on getting a quad until sometime next year as I know the 45nm ones will run cooler and faster. That and by then games may actually use 4 cores and it'll be a decent investment.

As for the cooler, I'll be using a Zalman 7700 until the 8700 comes out. And as for gpu's I don't plan on upgrading till the start of next year as I'll just voltmod my 7900 and it'll do fine till then I'm sure.

And I'm fine with fan noise, though I do try and get quieter fans if possible... I used to run a TT Volcano HSF with the crazy 3 blade impeller fan at 100% at all times. Sounded like I had a hair dryer in my case.

And while I could get a mini tower, part of the SFF thing that I like is the cube cases. And the handles that they seem to usually have. I've honestly never been a huge fan of tower enclosures. I've always been kid of partial to the endangered species of "desktop" cases. And have found myself liking the cube cases even more.
 
grats on the lanbox purchase! I'm liking mine a lot. I do have a couple points to add:

(1) Adding a quiet 60mm fan in the provided slot above the vid card will help pull air through that side and lower GPU temps quite a bit.

(2) If you're getting a heatsink like the 7700 or clones, then you may want to test with reversing the Power supply (instructions have you mount upside down)...I'd expect if th e7700 sits to close to the power supply fan, you'll have probs with them cancelling the airflow of eachother, so doing reverse may work better.
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You might check out the XP-120 or Silverstone heatpipe coolers, as these work really well with the lanbox and power supply can be mounted normal to help extract the air.
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I also agree that a 8800 GTX is still not quite worth it...I'd suggest a 8800GTS or whatever is best bang for buck card when you're ready to buy. Gratz again and have fun!
 
I was planning on putting a 60mm up there, as well unless I can find something that cools very good and exhausts the air out of the case for my 7900 it's just going to be throwing hot air around in the case.

I didn't think an XP-120 would fit in the case... Can you fit a fan on it? I was planning on mounting the PSU with the fan up to get cool air from outside the case. As well I figure the psu gets hot enough as is without being my HSF cooling device.
 
I ordered my lanbox just now and cant wait to get it :) but I have a few questions.

How well does it cool? Will I still be able to overclock cpu and gpu?

I ask those questions because of the following. i originally had a case that had a 80mm fan right beside the gpu and southbridge and it kept both my 8800gts and my southbridge quite cool, but I sold that case when i decided on the lanbox. I have put my stuff into a temp case I had laying around that doesnt have a side fan by the gpu an my temps have gone up a good 6 degrees. My south bridge temp went from the usual 45 degrees to a whopping 54 degrees which I dont think is safe. I am hoping the lanbox will be able to cool my setup :) I bought a SilenX IXP-34-12 60mm Case Fan to help cool it without adding to the noise level.

Will update when my case arrives next week
 
WintersFury said:
I was planning on putting a 60mm up there, as well unless I can find something that cools very good and exhausts the air out of the case for my 7900 it's just going to be throwing hot air around in the case.

I didn't think an XP-120 would fit in the case... Can you fit a fan on it? I was planning on mounting the PSU with the fan up to get cool air from outside the case. As well I figure the psu gets hot enough as is without being my HSF cooling device.
Click to expand...

Well, it mostly depends on your motherboard.. (with my current asus board, the XP-120 is actually very close to the window, but on the abit, no probs). Clearance is fine under the powersupply, I even had room to add a 120 fan which works out well.

Mounting the PSU upside down is fine, however, the problem I noted is that there just isn't much negative airflow in the case..so you get dead pockets of air. I did some testing with my setup and had much better results by using the PSU to also exhaust and pull air through the case.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1166883
 
Antecs NSK-2400 is a good compromise here IMO. MATX Motherboard, 2x 3.5", 2x 5.25", 2x120mm Side Exhaust, ATX Power Supply. It's not the tiniest case but does seem like a nice base for building a powerhouse SFF.
 
Not sure he's building for HT purposes or I'd recommend that case too, but, as a SMALL form factor gaming rig, i'm sure the dude wants it to be small, not a regular size case with sff parts in it
 
NSK-2400 looks like it should be under someone's monitor in an office setting :-p
 
Hehehe, while I do like the look (Even though it does look like an office computer). I like the cube cases even more, the windows and handles are pluses as well :D
 
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