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New SFF computer

M

Maglio

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
64
i'm looking to build a new system. i have always been intrigued by sff, and would like to try it this time around. i am unable to get into the excel sheet to see if i would have any issues (blocked at work), so i thought i would just put it out there.

i would like to put this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500006

in this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144139

with this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187

first and foremost...will the card fit in the case. second...is 500w enough power? i plan to put 4gb ram to start, with a dvd drive, 3.0gb/s sata drive, a quad core intel (retail and plan on using the fan that comes with it), and a wireless network card.

also, how much is heat an issue? will i be able to use the stock cooler on the intel quad core? will the vid card put out too much heat for the case? i went with the single slot hoping to improve air flow slightly. a 2 slot solution would put it right next to the network card (PCI) and i don't know if that would be ok or not.

any thoughts, precautions, or tips would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

Mag

P.S. this is the other video card i was considering: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329
 
I actually did a lot of research on this case and putting a 8800GT in it, but if you read the reviews on the case. The 8800gt will fit but thats not of concern, you need to worry about the cooling of your case. The construction is really flimsy and brittle (yes you can cut yourself on the edges). Yes the case will fit the stock intel hsf if you plan to get an aftermarket one make sure its less than 76mm high. The included 500W psu will work with your setup, barely. If you plan to overclock, forget about that case. After Installation you'll notice there's only a little bit more than a inch of clearance between the case psu and your dvd drive.

Last of all, this case doesn't have adequate cooling for a quad core even if it has a rear 120mm fan. Read the review here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/12/05/apevia_x-qpack2/1
Its not worth it, you're better off getting the Thermaltake lanbox (its on newegg) which allows you to use a full ATX psu.
 
i don't really plan to OC at all. now...what about the benifits of the single slot solution as opposed to the 2 slot? the msi was my original choice, but with a wireless card sitting in the pci right next to it, i thought it might start causing vid card heat issues. i'll take a look at that case though. thanks for the recommendation
 
While I am not necessarily a fan of the QPack, they can accomodate a full size ATX power supply and the QPack II is actually slightly longer to fit anything short of those extra large 1k watt units. The QPII also has an 80mm fan up front and vents the front to back airflow is better than its predecessor. I wouldn t use the stock PSU but you should have no problems with your proposed build and a decent 500+ watt PSU. That being said, I retired my QPack for a LanboxLite because the heat sink on my (non reference design) 8800gt did not fit under the PSU (in the Lanbox, the PSU sits above the cpu heat sink). I have never heard of anyone cutting themself on a QPack, for the record, I tore mine apart on many occasions without injury. The only part I could see being remotely sharp is the bottom of the shell but you wouldn t have your hands on the inside edge when removing or putting it back in place. Dollar for dollar, I would say the Lanbox is of much higher quality, but they are also more difficult to work with because the left and right side panels don t come off. They both have their drawbacks, but either would suit your purposes just fine.

edit: regarding the SG-01, I think that particular case is well constructed and easy to work with. The SG-02 came out recently here in the states, you may want to consider that as well as long as you re not looking for something with case windows. There was also a QPack clone called the Icebox by RAIDMAX that looks promising, Newegg recently got those in stock as well.
 
after finding more reviews, i decided to go with the case that foxtrotniner suggested. thanks for that. i like the look of the lanbox a lot. now...for picking out a psu. modular is obviously the way to go. how do i figure out how many watts i'll need?

also, anyone have any thoughts of the 2 slot vid card heat issues vs single slot?
 
500W psu is more than enough for what you're putting in the case since you aren't overclocking.

As for the 2 slot video card vs 1 slot, its a matter of preference, both are hot and need something to move the hot air out the case.

Since you've decided on the lanbox you can put your psu fan facing the cpu cooler which can also help case temps a little. Helpful hint, if you only have a single hard drive i suggest you take out the 2 hard drive bracket holder from the bottom of the case. It blocks the intake fan and as a result case temps suffer. You can put your hard drive in the side bracket or in one of the 5.25" bays. Removing the dual hard drive bracket actually helped my temps drop a couple degrees.
 
Silverstone makes a short cabled 500w psu that works very well with these kinds of builds. Corsair has the HX520w modular psu that is excellent quality as well. Either psu will do the job fine and even allow for good overclocking if you wanted to. My guess is that the Silverstone short cable model would be the better choice if cable management is priority.
 
thanks for all the great advice. i may actually go with the msi card then, as it is slightly cheaper (with a slightly slower clock speed) comes with a rebate and the witcher. as long as i wouldn't have any issues (most likely) with the network card being right next to it.

no OCing for me. i'd like to try it some time, but i'm good with stock speeds for now.

thanks for the advice on the psu. that'll be a good research project i think before i finalize on one.

i will be using only 1 hard drive, and already planned to take out the extra bays.

the issue that was just touched on....the psu. the modular one's i've been looking at all have fans on top, and not the bottom. which way does that fan blow? does it suck in, or blow out? also, with the mobo i'm probably going to get, the cpu is almost directly below the psu. do i have to be concerned about the cpu fan? will the stock (i'm buying the retail cpu) fit under the psu? will the psu fan affect the cpu fan at all?
 
Yes the stock cpu will fit under the psu, no height issues with the thermaltake case. You can also get an aftermarket cooler too as long as its under 111mm in height. The psu's with 120mm fans on the bottom blow up and out the back. The psu fan won't affect the cpu fan but it might help case temps a bit.
 
Good thing you didn't go with the Apevia case. The PSU that it comes with is a POS. That PSU would've killed your system given enough time. So the Lanbox is a good choice.
 
Get the Silverstone SG01 with acrylic windows. IMO clearly the best mATX case, because it's the smallest of the pack, lightweight, 4 front USB, best cooling even for very hot and long graphics cards, like my 9800 GX2. My Sugo is slightly modded for the graphics card to fit in (harddrive cage modded and pushed inwards)



 
Maglio said:
the issue that was just touched on....the psu. the modular one's i've been looking at all have fans on top, and not the bottom.
Click to expand...

just FYI, you can mount the PSU with the fan facing up or down in the lanbox. I have mine with the fan facing down, but there is a vent on the top panel if you want the fan on top.
 
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