*** SFF FAQ ***

UPDATE:

If you have an older shuttle & your temps are idling >36, upgrade your BIOS & enable the C1 Disconnect. It will drop your idle temp about 7-10 deg.
 
I'm seriously considering building a SFF with the Qpack case, but I have a few questions though. I noticed from pics that alot of people are using standard power supplies in theirs because the stock one sucks, is there a list of which ones fit? Also, which HSF's are people using for their LGA 775 Procs? It looks like the Thermaltake Golden Orb 2 will fit. Just a cheap system to hold MP3's/Movies and something to lug to lan parties for some CS, nothing too hard core.

I plan on doing :
Qpack case
Celeron D 2.93 ghz ( On Sale at Tiger for $39.99)
2 or 3gb of DDR2 RAM
Gigabyte GA-8I945GMF mATX mobo ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128303 )
GeForce 6600
and 1 or 2 200gig SATA drives.
 
You should pick a PSU which is no longer then 150mm at the very most, and a optical drive that is 180mm at the very most. The Liberty is a good PSU, it is 140mm, and most lite-on drives are 170mm, this would give you 40mm to work with, which is quite good in this case.
 
Here is a short list of common questions. If you have anything specific just PM a SFF Club officer.

Will this PSU Fit? and Other Related PSU Questions
Yes it will. If it is one of the "longer" ones then probably not (under 6"). However!! You must use a smaller opitical drive such as a lite-on or plextor for it to work. Either that or you can buy shorter connectors as shown here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=924745

Keep in mind that the Qpack is smaller so perhaps a 5.5" PSU is better than the 6" PSU.

The stock PSU is garbage so don't use it. Read this review from JonnyGuru.

Will this video card fit?
Any video card that doesn't extend beyond the top of the card should fit. Some get very close though.
You can also watercool the VGA although it makes it tricky.

Will this CPU Cooler Fit?
Maybe, Obviously the stock coolers will fit, many ZALMANs fit (which are probably the most popular). Pretty much 3-3.5" is the safe mark. If it is taller than that, then you might want to ask first.

CoolMaster Hyper L3
Swiftech MCX series
Zalman FS-C77 Fatal1ty (among other Zalmans)
ALL STOCK HEATSINKS

You can also cut that middle brace if you want too! Although this will make your case much weaker

Example of ZALMAN CNPS7700ALCU Cooler

Will this GPU Cooler Fit?
Probably, unless it extends above the card. The clearance between the video card and bottom of the PSU is less than 10mm (probably more like 5).

Here is a picture of an Artic NV Silencer (I believe) in a Qpack
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v246/dworley/DSC00078.jpg

Can you watercool a qpack?
Yes, Click Here or check out the SFF gallery forums. (VGA watercooling available too)

What is the best motherboard?...all other mobo related questions
See motherboard thread...they are all mostly fine....go with the newer ones though.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=900405

Optical Drive Questions
Like I said earlier, if you get a normal PSU then you will most likely have to use a shorter optical drive such as the Lite-on or Plextor models. You might be able to use the longer ones with the modified connectors as linked here

In general...stick with something below 180mm.

memorex dvd burn 198mm
nec dvd burn 189mm
benq cdburn 179mm
samsung dvd burner 170mm
liteon dvd burner 170mm
aopen dvd burn 190
lg dvd burnter 170
and sony dvd burner 165mm

!!!CAUTION!!! The ones that barely fit might not fit with certain PSUs. I suggest you don't risk it.

update: The MicroFly and similiar are longer cases and therefore might be able to take longer Optical Drives. I suggest you still get the shorter ones but perhaps 190mm is ok now. Keep in mind that with a 6" PSU this changes

Are There Any Carrying Bags for the Qpack/etc?
Well, kind of. There is no bag made just for the qpack but many people have found some that work.
See this thread for some information on what some people have done:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=968279

The Sugo Pack from Silverstone will fit all SFF cases I have tested to date

More questions as I think of them...
 
i'd like to see a listing of the various SFF chassis (like the X-QPACK, Aria, etc) that has their physical dimensions such as clearance from CPU to the structural bar or how far back a PCI/AGP card can go before interfering with the 5.25" bay. Things like that make my planning a build much easier.
 
svet-am said:
i'd like to see a listing of the various SFF chassis (like the X-QPACK, Aria, etc) that has their physical dimensions such as clearance from CPU to the structural bar or how far back a PCI/AGP card can go before interfering with the 5.25" bay. Things like that make my planning a build much easier.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a good idea to me. If you don't mind, post this in the SFF Club forum as an idea.

I can do it for the Qpack but someone else has to do it for everything else.
 
2.5 Questions:

1) Will the Opteron 146 OEM I buy from here include stock cooling? I'm confused if OEM processors include fan and heatsink. http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120331

2) Will this motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813138264 be able to support this ram: http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?

Is that ram a better thoice than this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145505

Thanks.
 
OEM does not come with the heatsink.

As for the RAM...first link doesn't work..second link doesn't have that great of RAM. Depends on what you need it for.

Any PC3200 (DDR 400) RAM will work with that board
 
Oh sorry, I meant to post a link to the 1GB Patriot DDR2 ram Taken from the sticky in Hotdeals forum.

I have heard of good things about Corsair and not so much about Patriot. However, I have heard that DDR2 runs cooler than the old DDR. Just a question of which is better in this case I think.
 
i looked on the net and seen one report of the memorex dvd burner at 7.8 inches long or 198 mm which is way too long for xqpack. can anybody confirm? does anybody have this dvdrom?

upon further investigation through google

memorex dvd burn 198mm
nec dvd burn 189mm
benq cdburn 179mm
samsung dvd burner 170mm
liteon dvd burner 170mm
aopen dvd burn 190
lg dvd burnter 170
and sony dvd burner 165mm so it looks like a winner
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=172472
now does anybody know of a problem with a sony dvd burner drive?? incompatable with any games or any troubles with one?
 
brandinb said:
i looked on the net and seen one report of the memorex dvd burner at 7.8 inches long or 198 mm which is way too long for xqpack. can anybody confirm? does anybody have this dvdrom?

upon further investigation through google

memorex dvd burn 198mm
nec dvd burn 189mm
benq cdburn 179mm
samsung dvd burner 170mm
liteon dvd burner 170mm
aopen dvd burn 190
lg dvd burnter 170
and sony dvd burner 165mm so it looks like a winner
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=172472
now does anybody know of a problem with a sony dvd burner drive?? incompatable with any games or any troubles with one?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I saw somewhere that said "150mm" which is probably impossible considering a CD is around 120mm. I always thought memorex was on the long side of things too.
 
I am looking to buy a SFF system. I was told that the Monarch horent pro is the best one out there ?

feedback please ?

www.monarchcomputer.com hive core duo $999.00

I also like the frag box. but the review on here does not look good.

Also. who makes the best boards ?
 
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