First SFF Build

I

IceBrewedBeer

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
145
I've been lurking on [H] for awhile learning about SFF to replace that PC I once had. I compiled a list on Newegg and I know you guys at [H] seem to know your stuff...I'm looking for advice.

So I ask would you take the time out of your busy day and take a look at the list and give me some of your opinions.

I'm really open to ideas and I want to keep it under or around $1,200, the less I have to spend..the better. I appreciate the replies so I'll thank you guys in advance.

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=6157307

EDIT: I might replace the PSU for a Silverstone. I have my heart set on a modular PSU, so I don't know if they make one.
 
Go with the ST50EF-Short Cable + Silverstone NT06-lite combo. If you want modular then by all means go with a Corsair HX520w. I'm using the corsair+nt06 and I'm loving it.
 
Question. I see you have two hard drives listed. One is a 80Gb and one is a 320Gb. Am I assuming that you intend to put the O/S on the 80Gb drive and the 320Gb is for storage and such? That 80Gb is a 8Mb cache unit. Get a 16Mb cache unit.

As far as the hard drives go WD are good drives but I think the Seagate 7200.10 drives are better. Whatever you do get make sure both drives are 16Mb cache.
 
go with a q6600, and get the cheaper x1950xt to save some bucks! you dont like the sugo windowed? and get a f-i90hd
 
Skott said:
Question. I see you have two hard drives listed. One is a 80Gb and one is a 320Gb. Am I assuming that you intend to put the O/S on the 80Gb drive and the 320Gb is for storage and such?
Click to expand...
Correct. I didn't notice that at first...thanks for pointing that out..I'll take a look around and find one.

lillimon04 said:
go with a q6600, and get the cheaper x1950xt to save some bucks! you don't like the sugo windowed? and get a f-i90hd
Click to expand...

Quad Core: I was going to go for the quad core but I decided against it. Simply because I think it's nothing but a money pit or a chance to brag about it..neither one interest me. AFAIK Vienna and OSX are the only operating systems out there that force processes on each core available on the CPU. Vista was supposed to have that feature but it was cut. So I've been told anyways.

Case: I don't care much for windows...I like to keep it pretty simple, its the inside that counts.

Mobo: I was looking for that Abit mobo on newegg, I couldn't find it, maybe you guys will have better success. I'm also kinda worried about getting it as there's been alot of negative comments and concerns about it in another thread.

Calpis said:
If you want modular then by all means go with a Corsair HX520w. I'm using the corsair+nt06 and I'm loving it.
Click to expand...
Done!

Thanks for the info guys, keep it coming.
 
My recommendations would be to make the following changes:

1. Video Card - 8800GTS
2. MB - Abit F-I90HD
3. Memory - GSkill or Patriot

Definitely go with a next generation Video card, the 8800GTS is nearly silent and is an excellent performer.

I Like the choice of the E6600, however by going with the Abit MB you can easily OC an E4300 to even higher speeds than you could get with an E6600 on the Gigabyte board which likely does not OC at all. Use teh savings to upgrade your video card - you won't regret it :D
 
You are overpaying for RAM. Benchmarks show that since the Core 2 has such a big and awesome cache, fast memory makes almost no difference because the entire working set tends to fit in the cache. Super fast, low latency RAM performs almost immeasurably compared to ultra cheap DDR2 400!

I went for DDR2-800 G.SKILL (bought 4GB of it and put it in a ASUS P5B-VM DO MicroATX and it is solid as a rock). But from what I understand, you can even get $80 2GB RAM on this page and get comparable results if you want. Use the extra $ for something that gives you more bang. Specifically, get the 8800GTS, not the Radeon!

Get a modular PSU--they are great for cooling which you need in a small case. I have the same case as you and went for the Ultra X2-Connect 550W, but there are better out there.
 
dworley said:
My recommendations would be to make the following changes:

1. Video Card - 8800GTS
2. MB - Abit F-I90HD
3. Memory - GSkill or Patriot

Definitely go with a next generation Video card, the 8800GTS is nearly silent and is an excellent performer.

I Like the choice of the E6600, however by going with the Abit MB you can easily OC an E4300 to even higher speeds than you could get with an E6600 on the Gigabyte board which likely does not OC at all. Use teh savings to upgrade your video card - you won't regret it :D
Click to expand...

i would go with this, u can buy the 8800gts 320mb, is the exact same as the 640mb until u get to the maxium res. and u can buy the f-i90hd at steeeves store, sffstore.com and u can buy the case there too, and the heatsink. but ya go with a e4400 and oc the shit outta it. i got my e6300 at 2.45ghz easily and it beats out a e6600 or is the same to it(benchmarks!) and i just need to learn how to oc the vcore and volts and shit. but ya if u get all that then it will be cheap and fast as hell
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082
http://www.sffclub.com/store/index....id=188&zenid=436f3f924ebd54b836964fc4b8450fe4
http://www.sffclub.com/store/index....id=251&zenid=436f3f924ebd54b836964fc4b8450fe4
http://www.sffclub.com/store/index....id=190&zenid=436f3f924ebd54b836964fc4b8450fe4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115014
all that comes out to 683.95 then u just buy the hdds and the psu and ram
 
If you decided on the NT06-lite then you won't need a fan. I gets cooled passively by the air that the PSU is sucking upwards, it works really well. The heatsink will be like 2-5mm away from the psu's fan.
 
OHHHHHHH ok....well that seems pretty logical. Thanks guys.

lillimon04 said:
dont get a 6420! u might as well go with a 6600, get the 4400 and oc it!
Click to expand...
Why? The 4400 has a smaller FSB compared to the 6xxx live of C2D. I would almost think you would notice the difference in multi tasking?

Edit: Scratch that RAM part. I guess I'm going to get some GSKILL RAM.

Just what is the difference between these two, besides the crazy low latency from the 2nd link?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114
 
IceBrewedBeer said:
OHHHHHHH ok....well that seems pretty logical. Thanks guys.

Why? The 4400 has a smaller FSB compared to the 6xxx live of C2D. I would almost think you would notice the difference in multi tasking?

Edit: Scratch that RAM part. I guess I'm going to get some GSKILL RAM.

Just what is the difference between these two, besides the crazy low latency from the 2nd link?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114
Click to expand...

You would be able to OC the FSB of the E4300 / E4400 higher than the stock FSB speed of the E6600 on the Abit board. E6420 is also a good choice.
 
IceBrewedBeer said:
OHHHHHHH ok....well that seems pretty logical. Thanks guys.

Why? The 4400 has a smaller FSB compared to the 6xxx live of C2D. I would almost think you would notice the difference in multi tasking?

Edit: Scratch that RAM part. I guess I'm going to get some GSKILL RAM.

Just what is the difference between these two, besides the crazy low latency from the 2nd link?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114
Click to expand...
the e6420 is too expensive, and you can oc the 4400 like mad crazy because of the low fsb! just trust me, it will have you some green and you will have a lot of performance, but if you go with the e6420, think about the e6600 for only 40 bucks more
 
The 9 multiplier chips (E4300/E6600) have been getting better OCs on the F-I90HD mobo. The E4300 is the best bang for buck of the two. The only real reason of choosing the E6600 over the E4300 IMHO is if you dont want to OC or if for some reason you wont be able to get the F-I90HD to overclock stable at all. Basically you'd be running the E6600 at stock and its not a bad chip for a gaming system in stock form. I dont see the E4400 or the E6420 superior to the the E4300 when using it to OC on the F-I90HD mobo. The F-I90HD just doesnt get that high of a fsb to do it and it favors the 9 multiplier chips for some odd reason.
 
really? I checked online and I found something that said the 8800GTS is just short of 11 inches. I kind of eyeballed my case with a ruler, so it wasn't exact, but it still seemed too long.

Got a link to a picture or something?

edit: regoogled and nevermind, looks like the GTS is just short of 10 inches. hmm..that's kind of tight.

edit2: found my own pictures..
 
Skott said:
The 9 multiplier chips (E4300/E6600) have been getting better OCs on the F-I90HD mobo. The E4300 is the best bang for buck of the two. The only real reason of choosing the E6600 over the E4300 IMHO is if you dont want to OC or if for some reason you wont be able to get the F-I90HD to overclock stable at all. Basically you'd be running the E6600 at stock and its not a bad chip for a gaming system in stock form. I dont see the E4400 or the E6420 superior to the the E4300 when using it to OC on the F-I90HD mobo. The F-I90HD just doesnt get that high of a fsb to do it and it favors the 9 multiplier chips for some odd reason.
Click to expand...
Thanks for clearing this up...this is something I was going to ask. I really REALLY appreciate the time you guys took with me to point out better products and save me some money. I'm not much of an overclocker so I might just go with the E6600 and leave at stock or bump up the mhz a few but not insane like you guys do.

Again...thanks. When I get enough funds (real soon, like the 15th) I'll take pictures of the build. :3

Again, thanks [H]
 
gwai lo said:
really? I checked online and I found something that said the 8800GTS is just short of 11 inches. I kind of eyeballed my case with a ruler, so it wasn't exact, but it still seemed too long.

Got a link to a picture or something?

edit: regoogled and nevermind, looks like the GTS is just short of 10 inches. hmm..that's kind of tight.
Click to expand...
gts is not 11 inches
 
IceBrewedBeer said:
Just what is the difference between these two, besides the crazy low latency from the 2nd link?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114
Click to expand...
I don't know if anyone answered your question about those two sticks, so lemme give it a shot.

If I recall correctly, the RAM in the first link (black heat spreaders) are Micron D9's, while the RAM in the second link are ProMOS. If you're going to run the RAM at stock speeds, it means very little. However, Micron D9's have the reputation of being the best overclocking IC's out right now. Hence why those sticks are slightly more expensive. But those ProMOS are nothing to scoff at either, and they'll probably do just fine.

If it were up to me, however, I wouldn't spend so much on RAM. Like the previous poster said, ther performance difference that you'll see between DDR2 800 and DDR2 667 or 533 speeds are very small. Additionally, even if you want some zippy D9's, you're overpaying. Troll the hot deals forums. Crucial has run several deals recently, and if you don't mind waiting on a rebate, you might be able to pickup some D9's for less than 110$.

And to top it all off, if you're worried about RAM holding back your overclock, you can run DDR 667 1:1 up to 333FSB (which is about all you'll reach on the FI90-HD).

What you might want to consider, if you plan to overclock the FI90-HD, is a Northbridge cooler. Several people have posted about the Northbridge heating up. Reseating the NB heatsink with the aftermarket thermal compound of your choice, or buying a beefier chipset cooler can't hurt, and it might ease your mind about some of the failures that have occured on this board.
 
I don't mean to bump my own threads but I just pulled the trigger this morning and bought the entire setup. I've made some changes and I bought the Corsair 520W from buy.com. Thanks Bosom! and everyone who replied in this thread. :cool:

Here's the list:

Case: Thermaltake LANBOX Lite

Mobo: ABIT Fatal1ty F-I90HD

GPU: BFG Tech GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 OC HDCP

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

HardDrive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

CPU Cooler: Thermaltake CL-P0257 Blue orb II

PSU: Corsair 520W

Total: $1,009.94
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top