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Need Advice on remote SFF Build

K

kyro555

n00b
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
8
Hello, I have come to the point where it is time to upgrade my desktop computer. It is currently a tower case and I'm really wanting to move to a SFF system. I have been reading as many reviews and suggestions on these forums (and others) on what would be an option that suits my needs, and have come up with the following list. (Please note: I am located in New Zealand and as such websites such as newegg are useless for buying parts as most do not ship to New Zealand and if they do the shipping is around $100-200NZD, which is unreasonable.)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Due E8400
RAM: Corsair Twin2x4096-6400C4DHX DDR2-800
Motherboard: Asus P5E-VM HDMI or the Asus P5QL-EM (more about this below)
PSU: Corsair 620HX
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870 or 4850 (I do want to game without having to worry about low fps)
+ 4 x Sata HDDs and a Sata DVD drive.

Being located in New Zealand, means that parts are not as plentiful as in the rest of the world :(

The first question I have is whether or not the ATI 4870/4850 would impact the accessibility of the SATA connections(to the point where they are not usable) on the P5E-VM HDMI, and if so is the P5QL-EM a decent board for overclocking? (I've read that the P5E-VM HDMI board is good :confused: )
The second question I have is would the 4870 or the 4850 be a better option for a SFF computer, in terms of noise, heat and performance ? (1280x1024 resolutions I'm talking here, in games such as COD4 but not Crysis)
The third question, is will the Corsair 620HX & motherboard be able to support a system such as this? and will it be able to support over clocking the E8400 and possibly the video card ?

and the final question is of each of the three cases Qmicra v2, SilverStone SG02 and the LanBox Lite, which would be able to support a system such as this?

P.S: I will be utilizing design specs that I have of each of the cases and building my own with the help of some local companies that have water jet cutters and laser cutters. This is because the cost of any one of those cases is well in the $400+ range here in New Zealand, which is outside the range I'm willing to pay. :(

Thanks.
 
1) With all single slot and some dual-slot HD4850, you shouldn't have any problems with SATA accessibility with the P5E-VM HDMI. With the HD4870 or some dual-slot HD4850, you will have some problems with SATA accessibility. At least two SATA ports might be blocked. Though 4 is likely. Have not heard anything about the P5QL-EM mobos.

2) For 1280x1024, the HD4850 is MORE than enough for most games at that resolution. An HD4870 is ridiculously overkill for 1280x1024 unless you love Crysis. But in terms of noise and heat, the HD4870 and some dual-slots HD4850 would be the better choice.

3) Yes to both questions. Hell you could drop down to the 520HX and you'll still have plenty of power. However, do get a 2rd party HSF if you plan on overclocking. As for which HSF to get, that depends on the SFF case you get.

4) The SG02 can only fit 3 hard drives but could fit a 4th if you get a 3.5" to 5.25" bracket. But other than that, all three cases should be able to support your planned setup.
 
I just got my SFF built and I finally decided upon the P5E-VM HDMI as it had a much better track record the the newer P5QL-EM, especially with add on video cards.

That being said, im' still running my original 7800GTX which is pretty big card and I had no issues with my SATA cables being covered, so I don't believe the 4850/4870 will be a problem, though the dual slot cooler will make it a bit tighter.

wiring3.jpg


This gentlemen was able to put in a GTX 260, I don't think its the same board but looks like his SATA connections are fine.

DSC00906.jpg


A 4850 is currently the top of the line pick for a price/peformance/noise/heat, especially if your gonna be gaming on that resolution, you will be throwing money away unless you want a beefier card to last you longer down the road. The Corsair have a good track record from what i've heard and will easily power that system. I am currently running an Antec NeoHE 500w for my setup with no probs, though the GTX 260 may push it to its limit when it arrives next week :D

All three of those cases will hold a system like that just fine, it depends on how much you wanna spend and what case layout/design you like better
 
I have got some images of the motherboard and the graphics card and have estimated the size of the graphics cards profile. Does this seam to be close to what its profile will be?
The graphics card is the HIS HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX - Product Page
Blue is the cooler cover.
Green is the capacitors at the end.
and Red is the board itself.
27547302ch0.jpg
 
Looks about right, but no way to be sure unless you build it or find someone else with the same setup.
 
kyro555 said:
Another quick question, the ATI HD4850 is says:

http://ati.amd.com/products/Radeonhd4800/specs.html

But for the Asus P5E-VM HDMI it does not state that it is PCIe 2.0 x16.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1912&l1=3&l2=11&l3=584&l4=0

Is the P5E-VM HDMI PCIe 2.0 x16 compatible? (via a bios update :confused: )
or is it only PCIe 1.0 x 16 ?
Click to expand...

The P5E-VM HDMI is PCIe 1.0 and it will run PCIe 2.0 cards just fine, just not at full bandwith obviously and you won't notice a difference between the specs unless you were running and SLI setup or synthetic benchmarks. PCIe 3.0 is coming out next year so don't sweat it
 
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