Help with building a comp with PC-V350

[Jahcob]

Greetings!

Im in the middle of building a new computer.
But since i dont know much about building one from scratch, i thought maybe you guys could give me a few pointers.

With some help from a friend, this is what i had in mind:

Case: Lian Li PC-V350
Motherboard: GigaByte - Socket AM2+ - mATX AMD 780G (GA-MA78GPM-DS2H)
CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition 2.6GHz
Grapichs: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC 512MB
HDD: Seagate 1TB SATA II Barracuda ES.2
RAM: Corsair Dominator 4096MB PC2-8500 1066MHz
PSU: CORSAIR TX 650W

first off: Does the graphicscard fit in this case? since the heatpipes seems to make it a little bit higher than the non-toxic ones..

Second: which CPU coolers do you guys recommend? Scyte ninja mini fits but is there any better choice?

third: the motherboard... eh, is it any good? completly lost here..

Is there anything else i should think about?

Thanks in advance! //Jahcob

btw, simple explantions is appreciated, sorry for not knowing so much..

 

[vertigomhs]

well first of all, id consider going intel over AMD, they are just better overall and AMD has been behind for some time.

Board: looks fine

CPU: this thing is a heat machine, so you might consider getting an appropriate cooler, not sure if the mini ninja would cut it but theres always the noctua nh-c12p / coolermaster geminii s / thermalright si 128 se

GPU: not to sure on this one, ive never owned a graphics card!

HDD: i wouldnt use such a big hard drive as my OS drive, consider the wd6400aaks (640gb) its one of the fastest drives at 7200rpm, and its quiet and cheap. Another smaller drive would also work.

RAM: looks fine

PSU: you might consider a modular psu such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

its still corsair and its only 30 watts less, but its pretty expensive, another good modular psu will also do.

 

[lt_shiro]

Toxic most likely will not fit inside of PC-V350. 9950 is about as fast as a Q6600 but the Q6600 will over clock lot better.

 

[zero2dash]

You could also go with an HX520 instead of the HX620.

Cooler wise if you go with a quad and you plan to oc the best option for air would be the Noctua NH-C12P which is arguably the best short stature cooler available (nearly similar performance to a TRUE).

If GTX cards fit, length isn't the problem - it's the vertical clearance of the cooler on the gpu. You would probably have to cut into the HD cage to fit the Toxic edition card since the Zalman cooler extends out a fair bit from the edge of the card pcb itself. Check the V350 thread; Tremeloes did a mod (cut job) on the HD cage to fit an Asus 3850 - you'd have to do something like that to fit the Toxic card.

here: http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031834458&postcount=68

 

[Thuleman]

I am just going to pitch in and say that if you are looking for a small case, the V350 is not it.
Not sure why some would consider it to be a SFF. Due to it's mobo layout the case dimension turned out be be odd (although normal for cases of the same type).

My suggestion is to cut out some newspaper to the footprint of the V350 and check to see where you will put it. If desk space comes at a premium the 350 isn't the case to buy.

 

[tiraides]

What's the purpose of this rig? Gaming? Watching movies/TV?

And why did you want the V350? (It's not a nitpick; I'm just curious.)

 

[zero2dash]

I am just going to pitch in and say that if you are looking for a small case, the V350 is not it.
Not sure why some would consider it to be a SFF. Due to it's mobo layout the case dimension turned out be be odd (although normal for cases of the same type).

As opposed to a SUGO1 or 2 or a Lanbox/Lanbox Lite which is not as wide but rather deeper?

Or a CM 340, SUGO3 or 4 or a TJ09 which is taller?



If you want a small case, get a mini ITX. Shuttles are overpriced and having a proprietary motherboard limits a lot of options.

 

[Jahcob]

What's the purpose of this rig? Gaming? Watching movies/TV?
And why did you want the V350? (It's not a nitpick; I'm just curious.)

Im aming for gaming/movie comp, i dont really want (or need) a hardcore"OMGWTFPEWPEWSKILLZ"-gaming. but i do want to try some of the latest games and future games.

and why V350? just look at it! plus it's the exact same height as my stereo, so i got the perfect place to put it. I dont want another ugly graybox standing on the floor and i dont want a wierd neon-monster. it's a part of the everyday life and i want it to cooperate with it.

anyways, i have decided for the 620HX, your right it seems to be the best choice for the case.
and after reading some test i found about coolers, Noctua NH-C12P, seems like the only sane thing to go for... same thing on the HDD.

so now it's: Case:
Lian Li PC-V350
Motherboard: GigaByte - Socket AM2+ - mATX AMD 780G (GA-MA78GPM-DS2H)
CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition 2.6GHz
Grapichs: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC 512MB
HDD: WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR BLUE 320GB SATA/300 16MB
and: WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR BLUE 640GB SATA/300 16MB
RAM: Corsair Dominator 4096MB PC2-8500 1066MHz
PSU: CORSAIR HX 620W
Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P

And about AMD or Intel, i have always been under the expression that amd is for gaming and last longer... but im guessing that isnt true?

Well, thanks for all the replies and questions, keep em coming!

 

[zero2dash]

Used to be true that AMD was slightly better, but that was years ago.

Intel will do much more especially if you're comfortable with oc'ing. Running stock is slightly cheaper with AMD but not necessarily better.

 

[Dangman]

Ditch the Dominator RAM. They're very overpriced considering that one can get 8GB of DDR2 1000 RAM for $90 without dealing with a rebate:
G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 1000 RAM - $45

Definitely go with an Intel build if you can aford the extra ~$50 or so and are willing to do a small OC of 3Ghz:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU - $190
Asus P5E-VM HDMI Intel G35 mATX Motherboard - $125
----
Total: $325 plus tax and shipping.

But if you plan on not overclocking and can't spare an extra $50, then stick with AMD.

GPU wise, ditch the TOXIC HD4870. At $280 (cheapest I could find at froogle.com), it's not a good choice considering that you can get the slightly faster GTX260 for $220:
eVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCI-E Video Card - $220

 

[Thuleman]

As opposed to a SUGO1 or 2 or a Lanbox/Lanbox Lite which is not as wide but rather deeper?

Or a CM 340, SUGO3 or 4 or a TJ09 which is taller?

Oh I am not suggesting that there are better retail cases out there (other than the Shuttle, which has plenty of mobo options if you look at their line-up, just most vendors don't offer all of them).

That's honestly surprising to me. I would have thought some vendor would come up with a design that conserves desk space. Usually height is not an issue, it's width and depth that does one in.

Just looking at components I can easily envision a design that is 10" deep, 5.5" wide, and then however tall one needs to make it to fit the components. Heck, it could even be wall-mounted so that it's completely off the desk.

 

[faugusztin]

4850 with T-Rad2 fits with maybe 1-2mm clearance. I don't see how can 4870 Toxic fit here.

 

[zero2dash]

Just looking at components I can easily envision a design that is 10" deep, 5.5" wide, and then however tall one needs to make it to fit the components. Heck, it could even be wall-mounted so that it's completely off the desk.

The only problem is fitting a lot of the stuff people try to cram into SFF cases (myself included). You won't fit gaming capable gpus in a short height case. Therein lies the problem; IMO it's a pick-your-poison selection. You have a cube style vs a tall style vs a long/deep style. (each with their own pros and cons)

I've built 3 SFF systems now (or rather, this will be my 3rd). The first was in an NSK3480 case which fit a TRUE, but sideways. The psu chamber separation ruined the 3480 for me.

#2 was with a CM 340 I modded the crap out of and spent tons of time on. In the end, the dust was horrendous and I couldn't deal with that.

So, #3 I'm going with the V350. I'm hoping the fact that since the front intake is a bit more restricted (via the slits in the sides and bottom as opposed to having a wide open/mesh front like the CM 340 or SUGO3), the dust won't be a problem. HOPEFULLY.

 

[Sojuuk]

I'm hoping the fact that since the front intake is a bit more restricted (via the slits in the sides and bottom as opposed to having a wide open/mesh front like the CM 340 or SUGO3), the dust won't be a problem. HOPEFULLY.

dust is always going to be a problem with computers that aren't sealed. Accept it buy a can of air to clean it out with.

 

[zero2dash]

dust is always going to be a problem with computers that aren't sealed. Accept it buy a can of air to clean it out with.

I disagree with that statement.

Depending on airflow you can have little to no dust. My V1000 has next to no dust whatsoever in it and it's practically an oversized cheese grater. The CM 340 front was dusty and clogged within 2-3 days, tops. When I disassembled the system and actually removed the fans and the front panel, it was even worse than I had originally thought.

It's all about airflow and pressure.