i7 Rogue MATX

[CrazyRob]

I know the NZXT Rogue hardly classifies as SFF, but here's some pics none the less. Specs are in my sig. OC is still in progress, but i have a rock solid 24 hour prime stable 3.8, havn't completely ironed out 4Ghz with stability yet.






more photos can be found here

*edit* more up to date photos here with the TRUE replaced with a Corsair H50

 

[Private_Ops]

Lol, one stick of RAM.

But, why the 1000watt PSU?

 

[CrazyRob]

Both the ram and the video card are place holders till I get something better (Uncle Sam took a hefty cut this year). Planning on a pair of something high end, and of course the ram will be getting replaced soon. I was planning on a pair of gtx 285's, but i know someone parting with a 4870x2 for a pretty fair price so i may do one or two of those instead.

 

[Private_Ops]

Sounds cool.

Better post pics!

 

[gamestar44]

Looks like a pretty sweet setup CrazyRob

 

[CrazyRob]

whoops, wrong thread

 

[Sojuuk]

it's like a big bear mATX ^_^. I have this case sitting on my couch in the box until I can use it. What brand of fans are those btw?

 

[CrazyRob]

Coolermaster for all the fans

 

[Redemptions]

Rob, your build gave me the confidence to pull the trigger on ordering my own Rogue build with the same motherboard & CPU cooler (although I got the black version).
What kind of temperatures are you seeing in your case, was there any problems by having the fan pointing out the side case rather than out the back? I can't think of why there would be, but asking doesn't hurt, much.
You mentioned that the heat sink hangs over the first two ram slot. How much space is there between the top of the RAM and the bottom of the heat sink? I think I'll be okay as I picked up some OCZ sticks that only have the basic heat spreaders.

 

[CrazyRob]

Rob, your build gave me the confidence to pull the trigger on ordering my own Rogue build with the same motherboard & CPU cooler (although I got the black version).
What kind of temperatures are you seeing in your case, was there any problems by having the fan pointing out the side case rather than out the back? I can't think of why there would be, but asking doesn't hurt, much.
You mentioned that the heat sink hangs over the first two ram slot. How much space is there between the top of the RAM and the bottom of the heat sink? I think I'll be okay as I picked up some OCZ sticks that only have the basic heat spreaders.

Just to be clear, I actually have the cpu fan pointing (blowing) away from the side intake fan, so that they are blowing in series. And my TRUE is black too For some reason, i had to crank the volts on my D0 to get it stable at 4ghz so it's running toasty under full prime load (sometimes peaking as high as 99 on some cores ) However with most of the games I play it tends to hang around the 50's. I'm gonna be doing a build for a machine at my work, so I'm gonna pick up corsairs new water cooler. If it fits inside the rogue, that's where it will go and I will bump the TRUE to the work computer.

Installing standard height modulars will easily clear the heatsink, however if you're trying to install ram after the heatsink has been mounted, it can be a challenge to sneak them in. I've done it myself, so it's doable, just takes some patience and removal of the fan and clips.

 

[Redemptions]

Not sure I follow.
The pictures I saw posted of yours, appears to have the fan on the right side of the heat sink.
http://img10.imageshack.us/i/dsc00010oar.jpg/
I assume the fan is blowing air away from the heat sink toward the right side of the case.
What direction is the air moving on the right side case fan? Into the case or out of the case (in the same direction as the heat sink fan).

 

[CrazyRob]

The side fan is blowing in. Traditionally heatsinks are much more efficient with the fan pushing instead of pulling. I have my case configured with all side fans blowing in, relying on the rear fan, power supply fan and gpu fans for system exhaust.

 

[Crimson01]

I can tell you for certain, the V8 with Rogue & Asus Rampage II Gene does NOT fit. The problem isn't height, the PSU Slot is too close to the heatsink. I found out the hard way as the pics demonstrate. Currently running the Stock Intel cooler, awaiting my RMA to purchase probably a Xigamatek Dark Knight. Does anybody have a better suggestion? This case is in a cabinet, and just putting it there raised all temps 10 C. Currently CPU 43 C stock setting, and NB is 51. (Runs hot on this mobo. Installed an Antec Spotcool yesterday, and a cool little Thermatake USB fan to circulate air in cabinet. (Niether seem to help much) Not ready to watercool, would prefer the best air solution possible.

Also I'm running the rogue fans rifle style with 2 left blowing in set on High, and 2 right exhausting set on Med. Also Rear exhaust as well. Should all 4 blow in?

See pics below...

Oh no....

This is as far as PSU would go.

Rogue in action in cabinet (4 Antec LED 120 for sides, plus Antec Spotcool)

CRIMSON01
Core i7 920 (Stock for the moment)
Asus Rampage II Gene MicroATX
NZXT Rogue RED
EVGA GTX 260 SC
3x2GB OCZ HP DDR3 1600 XMP
PC Power&Cooling 750 Silencer
LG BluRay Burner
WD Velociraptor 150 / 1TB WD
4 Antec Red LED 120/Antec Spotcool
Stock CPU cooler (awaiting V8 replacement)

 

[[Ion]]

How does everyone like the NZXT Rogue? I'm considering it (the black version with blue LEDs) since my Shuttle XPC died. If I pick out the Rogue, I'll be using the Q9400 (have), 4GB DDR2 (have), a 500GB Caviar Green (have), a Gigabyte G41M-ES2L, an OCZ ModXStream 500w or 600w, and most likely an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro (I can get one for cheap) and a 9600GT/GSO. I've heard some people really like the size, looks, and build quality of the Rogue, but I've heard of others who hated it. Otherwise, I'll probably pick up the Sugo SG05-B, a GF9300 ITX WiFi, a Geminii S, and the same 9600GT/GSO. I really like the size of the Sugo, but I also really like the looks and expandability of the Rogue.

 

[Blazestorm]

The rogue is about .5" from fitting a full ATX motherboard... it can fit full-tower heatsinks, long 1000 watt PSUs, 10.5" GPU's, 4 HDD's etc.

It's not really SFF... it just happens to be limited to a mATX motherboard, kinda like the mini P-180.. which is like a p180 cut down a little bit to only fit mATX or mini-itx...

 

[Redemptions]

Biggest complaint from me is the mounting system for the optical & hard drives, outside of that, only other complaint is that the thumbscrews are small and the threading/mounting of the screw holes seem to be off. Had to use an electric drill to remove one, which stripped the screw. Going to replace all of them.

 

[Crimson01]

I'm pretty pleased with the case. There are some minor annoyances to deal with, but overall, it was a good first SFF install. There is more room than most SFF, and it lends itself to modding well. Claims to hold 4 HD & 2 5 1/4 optical, but I bet you can get more. If the stupid PSU slot would have been 1" more toward the left, my V8 would have fit. But I've seen V8's in other rogues, probably just the CPU placement on my particular Mobo.

 

[Skott]

Crimson, is there anyway you can post a pic of the cabinet in question? Might helps us help you with better suggestions if we could see what you are dealing with exactly.

 

[HaxEJxuK]

Custom bracket? would be fairly simple mod.

I'm pretty pleased with the case. There are some minor annoyances to deal with, but overall, it was a good first SFF install. There is more room than most SFF, and it lends itself to modding well. Claims to hold 4 HD & 2 5 1/4 optical, but I bet you can get more. If the stupid PSU slot would have been 1" more toward the left, my V8 would have fit. But I've seen V8's in other rogues, probably just the CPU placement on my particular Mobo.

 

[[Ion]]

Well, the black Rogue with blue LEDs (the only one I really like) is OOS at Newegg, so that pretty much answers my question. I like the Rogue, but not enough more than the SG05/9300 ITX to wait for it to come back in stock. Sugo SG05 it is.

 

[CrazyRob]

How does everyone like the NZXT Rogue? I'm considering it (the black version with blue LEDs) since my Shuttle XPC died. If I pick out the Rogue, I'll be using the Q9400 (have), 4GB DDR2 (have), a 500GB Caviar Green (have), a Gigabyte G41M-ES2L, an OCZ ModXStream 500w or 600w, and most likely an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro (I can get one for cheap) and a 9600GT/GSO. I've heard some people really like the size, looks, and build quality of the Rogue, but I've heard of others who hated it. Otherwise, I'll probably pick up the Sugo SG05-B, a GF9300 ITX WiFi, a Geminii S, and the same 9600GT/GSO. I really like the size of the Sugo, but I also really like the looks and expandability of the Rogue.

I really like my Rogue, It's a great looking case, very well ventilated, and is designed to be packed to the gills with the latest and greatest gear. But with every non-standard case, there are compromises. If (and when) I decide to pull out my blu-ray drive (for an rog oc station), I will have to pull out my hard drives as well, but becaue my TRUE is behind the right hand drives, to do that, I will have to fully remove the power supply, and the motherboard. So basically complete system disassembly.

Also, there is a pair of very tiny screws that hold each side panel in place. It appears they designed them to be optional, however, overall structeral integrity is greatly compromised when not in place. The whole thing will flex and lean if you try to move it.

Thirdly, There is a ledge to help support the weight of heavier power supplies that hangs right over the screw holes for the expansion slots, effectively blocking them. So if you want to remove a video card, for example, be prepared to mostly remove your power supply, partially remove the mobo tray, remove the video card screw, then reinsert the tray to remove the video card.

Lastly, one of the two screws holding the metal plate ont eh front door for the magnetic latch was stripped out of the box, nothing a little adhesive won't fix, though.

I know this sounds like a lot of complaints, but really, I am quite pleased with it. Already it has survived the trip to several lans, the included carrying straps being quite handy. All cases have their flaws, Just pointing out my notes of interest for this one. Overall, I highly recommend it.

 

[[Ion]]

I really like my Rogue, It's a great looking case, very well ventilated, and is designed to be packed to the gills with the latest and greatest gear. But with every non-standard case, there are compromises. If (and when) I decide to pull out my blu-ray drive (for an rog oc station), I will have to pull out my hard drives as well, but becaue my TRUE is behind the right hand drives, to do that, I will have to fully remove the power supply, and the motherboard. So basically complete system disassembly.

Also, there is a pair of very tiny screws that hold each side panel in place. It appears they designed them to be optional, however, overall structeral integrity is greatly compromised when not in place. The whole thing will flex and lean if you try to move it.

Thirdly, There is a ledge to help support the weight of heavier power supplies that hangs right over the screw holes for the expansion slots, effectively blocking them. So if you want to remove a video card, for example, be prepared to mostly remove your power supply, partially remove the mobo tray, remove the video card screw, then reinsert the tray to remove the video card.

Lastly, one of the two screws holding the metal plate ont eh front door for the magnetic latch was stripped out of the box, nothing a little adhesive won't fix, though.

I know this sounds like a lot of complaints, but really, I am quite pleased with it. Already it has survived the trip to several lans, the included carrying straps being quite handy. All cases have their flaws, Just pointing out my notes of interest for this one. Overall, I highly recommend it.

Thanks for taking the time to write all of this up, but I have already ordered the ITX setup. The only Rogue that I liked (the black one with blue LEDs) went out of stock at Newegg, and then it became deactivated, so I just went ahead and purchased the Sugo SG05 and the Zotac Geforce 9300 ITX. I know I could have purchased the Rogue elsewhere, but $70-80 was the most I was willing to spend, and the other places all had it for $150.

 

[CrazyRob]

Thanks for taking the time to write all of this up, but I have already ordered the ITX setup. The only Rogue that I liked (the black one with blue LEDs) went out of stock at Newegg, and then it became deactivated, so I just went ahead and purchased the Sugo SG05 and the Zotac Geforce 9300 ITX. I know I could have purchased the Rogue elsewhere, but $70-80 was the most I was willing to spend, and the other places all had it for $150.

Hey, no problem, just wanted to get that out there to share with everyone.

As an unrelated note, I will be updating my main post with new pics after my next round of upgrades. I'm hoping to finalize with a 2nd gtx275, Asus ROG OC Station, and a Corsair H50 with fans in push/pull configuration. To fit the OC Station, I will be making my Blu-Ray burner an E-sata External drive. Right now I'm mostly just waiting on the OC Station to retail.

 

[SpeedBump613]

Nice looking setup. Good job.

 

[ToastyBread]

Does anyone happen to know just how much space is between where the socket is located, and where the power supply is? I've seen pictures such as CrazyRob's which show the TRUE installed, and it seems like there's still a good 20mm of space at least before the power supply's location would impact heatsink placement.

 

[ToastyBread]

Hey CrazyRob, did you ever put the Corsair H50 into your Rogue? If you did, I was wondering if you could say where you installed the radiator, and maybe post some pics

 

[CrazyRob]

Hey CrazyRob, did you ever put the Corsair H50 into your Rogue? If you did, I was wondering if you could say where you installed the radiator, and maybe post some pics

Nah, not yet, goin to PAX drained my fun budget for a bit. And to answer your previous question, there's about 1/2" between the power supply and the TRUE at their closest points.

 

[indokyne]

moar pics dammit

lol nice build. I'm looking for an mATX SFF myself... I just can't seem to get used to the sheer size of some of these so-called "SFF's"

 

[FengPangzi]

Looks nice. I was looking at that case for a simple build for my dad. The form factor and size look very appealing.

 

[CrazyRob]

The case is quite large for a "Micro" ATX system, but considering how spacious the interior is and how well cooled it is, it was a compromise i was willing to make. It's a shame they've been discontinued

 

[dstarr]

Just replaced my Scythe Mugen 2 with a Corsair H50. I was having serious issues with the Mugen not sitting well (minor side pressures touching the PSU and DDR3 in my Rogue.. even after grinding down some fins) and core temps getting in the 90s under full load and no OC. Gotta say after a few days of testing the H50 is living up to expectations. With no OC and full load my 920 D0 cores never really get hotter than 65 now.

What I'm wondering is what are your X58 (NB) temps CrazyRob? I think the Gene NB heat sink is really designed to catch the blow-off from the stock Intel cooler. According to my LCD poster, the NB is around 86-90 without any OC. I havent put the side of the case back on yet to see if the side 120mm fans will bring it down a bit, which I hope they should.

Also did you ever try putting the H50 rad on an intake like they recommend? I'm exhausting it too. I picked up an extra fan to sandwich the rad (fanwich?) with but dang it now I need to find some screws to mount a 120x38mm on the rad or the side panel.

 

[dstarr]

What I'm wondering is what are your X58 (NB) temps CrazyRob? I think the Gene NB heat sink is really designed to catch the blow-off from the stock Intel cooler. According to my LCD poster, the NB is around 86-90 without any OC. I havent put the side of the case back on yet to see if the side 120mm fans will bring it down a bit, which I hope they should.

Wow I'm just a bit surprised with a 1400rpm fan on the side closest to the cpu and 3 more 1100rpms around it, the NB temps have dropped to ~65! (MB ~40 SB ~50 room:26)

Also did you ever try putting the H50 rad on an intake like they recommend? I'm exhausting it too. I picked up an extra fan to sandwich the rad (fanwich?) with but dang it now I need to find some screws to mount a 120x38mm on the rad or the side panel.

Found the screws I needed they were #6x32tpi 2" long holding the Ultra Kaze 38mm in place with some washers it works well without being too much louder. Pretty sure I don't need to try setting the rad fans to intake at this point. OC (and perhaps some pics) still to follow...

 

[CrazyRob]

I'm pretty sure the two main reasons corsair recommends the H50 be used as an intake are 1) to make sure moderately cool air is provided to the radiator, and 2) ease of mounting the radiator to cases of various thiickness and design. If they recommended using it as exhaust, they'd have you mounting the radiator directly against the case, which could cause some extra fitment issues, as well as concern with providing mounting screws of sufficient length to pass through the case and into the radiator without piercing the fins.

Those things taken into consideration, in a sufficiently ventilated case, i see no reason to not have it mounted as an exhaust.

I havn't looked at my northbridge temps at stock, but i did replace the removable part of the stock heatsink and replaced it with a zalman chipset cooler. Not sure if it actually had a huge impact in my case, but based on others recommendations it seemed like a good idea.

 

[Mr. Baz]

Isn't a 1KW PSU a little overkill? Wouldn't a 750W do just fine?

 

[CrazyRob]

Isn't a 1KW PSU a little overkill? Wouldn't a 750W do just fine?

Considering I just added a GTX 275 CO-OP, I now have 3 GPU's in there. So, no, having a 1000Watt PSU is not overkill. Having a little too much power doesn't hurt, especially since most psu's highest efficiency is around 60% of max load. Having not enough power, on the other hand, is not an option.