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SG-03 build feedback

H

harlanpepper

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 30, 2008
Messages
137
For some reason, I like the SG-03 design. I'm planning a new machine for HTPC-like duties (HD content & some light gaming @ 1080p). I'd like to re-use a HD4830 which is currently in my main rig. The parts I have in mind:

Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield $210
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 (P55 mATX) $150
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 $115
WD Caviar Blue 640GB WD6400AAKS $70
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W PPCS500 $80
LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo $125

Total comes to $750. I'll likely add another 1TB HD but not until I use up the 640GB. I'm mostly going with brands & models I'm familiar with - is there room for improvement? (Besides the video card, I know that's a bit of an Achilles' heel. ;))
 
Get a modular PSU. The SG03 is a larger mATX case, but neat cable routing can be a nightmare if you're not using a modular PSU. Also, if you're using a passive heatsink for the processor you'll need a PSU with a large intake fan.
 
I use a Corsair 520w in mine. Its modular. Silverstone also makes some modular models with short cables that work well in the SG03 as well. I turned my psu so that it sucks up air from the NT06-Lite I have installed and blows it out the back.

The SG03 will fit any size video card so dont worry about your 4830 choice since changing a video card is about the easiest thing to do on a PC these days. If you want to upgrade later you will have plenty of room to fit something bigger if you want.

I removed the original factory 120mm fan and put in two Scythe S Flex F model fans. Better than the original and very quiet. You might want to do something similar but at the very least get a second 120mm fan for the front. Its not that expensive and you get a lot more air flow into the case which is always a good thing wether you plan to overclock or not.
 
IsLNdbOi said:
Get a modular PSU. The SG03 is a larger mATX case, but neat cable routing can be a nightmare if you're not using a modular PSU. Also, if you're using a passive heatsink for the processor you'll need a PSU with a large intake fan.
Click to expand...

SG03 a larger mATX case? That can't be right.
 
Thanks for the suggestions... I built a SG03 for my brother 18 months ago using a Silverstone ST50EF-PLUS-SC, but I think modular might be the way to go for this one. Even the short cable supply was a bit of a pain at times. As this is a HTPC box, I'll also check out the Scythe fans if they are quieter than the stock ones.
 
harlanpepper said:
For some reason, I like the SG-03 design. I'm planning a new machine for HTPC-like duties (HD content & some light gaming @ 1080p).
Click to expand...

Can't disagree about the design ;) The specs you listed are overkill if anything, so definitely should work :D

NichoTL said:
SG03 a larger mATX case? That can't be right.
Click to expand...
I suppose he could be comparing it to a mini-ITX case like the SG05/06. I've found that most microATX cases are way too big to make much sense, but the SG03 would seem "tolerable", though still twice as big as my new SG06.
 
Yeah, I worded it the wrong way. I meant to say a larger SFF / HTPC case.
 
tvih said:
Can't disagree about the design ;) The specs you listed are overkill if anything, so definitely should work :D
.
Click to expand...

Good point - it's definitely more machine than I'd need for a HTPC, but I have a hard time holding back sometimes :) I could definitely step down a level on the mobo & CPU - maybe just get a LGA 775 board and an E6300 or E7500, then save some more on cheaper DDR2.
 
I agree with IsLNdbOi and Skott to go with a Silverstone PSU with the PP05 short cable kit. As far as cooling the CPU I am very happy with my Corsair H50 which performs just as well as any large Air HSF but can still fit in the SG03 just fine. My i7 920 is OCed to 3.8ghz and idle's at roughly 42C.
 
I suppose you simply attach the H50 unit to the second front fan slot?

Been looking at a Scythe Big Shuriken for a possible SG03+LGA1156 build (possibly the Maximus III GENE if I go nuts), but a watercooling kit like that could also be a quite efficient yet silent solution indeed. Much more costly, and would take up a case cooling fan slot, but I suppose the CPU is the hottest component anyway aside from the GPU.
 
tvih...Yes the top front fan. Or you can mod a 120mm fan opening on the top of the case towards to rear. All depends on how you design your airflow.

This is how I have mine configured:

Picture1.jpg
 
miguelito you don't have temperature problems with the DIMMs (due to lack of airflow). Maybe DDR3 run a lot cooler than DDR2...
What about the Northbridge?
 
the 135mm PSU fan pulls heat away from the DIMMs and Northbride. The NB was initially an issue, but all it took was flipping the PSU around and adding an exhaust fan at the top/back of the case.

DDR3 only runs at a max of 1.65 volts...so it is much cooler than DDR2. As you can see in my sig...the proc is OCed to 3.8 and max temps while gaming are in the upper 50's Celsius
 
miguelito said:
This is how I have mine configured:
Click to expand...
Yeah, seems like a nice way to do it. I have two silent Nexus fans enroute, to use for either with the SG06, or the SG03 if I get it. With the H50 in SG03 should provide the basis for a somewhat silent system.
 
I have my SG03 on my desktop right now. It's next to my monitor and it's pretty silent. I have three 120mm Cooler Master white LED fans in the thing + the fan in my GTX260-216 + the 135mm fan in the PSU.
 
Thanks again for all the idea - now I'm looking at some new configs ;) Even a totally stock (1 front fan) SG03 was pretty quiet to my ears, but any improvement on that would be great. I'll probably go with the i5 build just for the hell of it (and maybe cooler RAM).
 
Is there anything going on with SG03s and TJ08s, because here in Sweden they are almost impossible to find anymore. Not to mention the fact that the SG04 without handle doesn't seem to have made it to Europe...
 
At least in Finland it seems all Silverstone products have a very long wait time to get them. Like I waited for a month for my SG06 to arrive.
 
tvih said:
At least in Finland it seems all Silverstone products have a very long wait time to get them. Like I waited for a month for my SG06 to arrive.
Click to expand...

At least you got it. For the SG03, and TJ08, you can't even find resellers...
 
For those in the USA, search Froogle.com. Looks like it's still available from a number of places.
 
NichoTL: Well, that does suck, then :( Though the place I bought the SG06 from is the only place that lists it here, and it and another store (which does have SG05) are the only two that have the SG03 listed.
 
Not to thread hijack too much, but it seems my brother is willing to buy my SG06 kit from me, so it leaves me with building a silent and energy efficient but fast SG03 LGA1156 setup that I can be more content with for some time to come.

I'm thinking along these lines:

Case: Silverstone Sugo SST-SG03B (with a Nexus 120mm fan to replace the stock one)
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600W (gonna change to a modular Corsair HX450W later probably, but as it happens there's a spare OCZ lying around at the moment)
Mobo: Gigabyte P55M-UD4 (if it becomes available here soon, and if not, probably ASUS Maximus III GENE or some hopefully cheaper suitable alternative)
CPU: Intel Core i5 720 with Corsair H50 watercooling kit (using a Nexus 120mm fan)
GPU: Initially Sapphire HD 4670 Ultimate, but a suitable ATI HD 5XX0 most likely once they hit the market - hoping for a model with reasonable power consumption
RAM: Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x2GB) 1800MHz DDR3 CL8
HDD: 2x Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATAII 32MB (RAID1 configuration for real time data backup in addition to external HDs for periodical backups)
ODD: Probably Slim drive (that I have and am stuck with, brother doesn't need the slim BD drive I got for the SG06) with Scythe Kama Panel 2 to control the Nexus fan speeds on demand as well as to provide a card reader and two USB ports)
Audio: Either integrated audio or the X-Fi Platinum that is away on "lease" at the moment - as a downside can't use the front panel due to only one 5.25" slot, and connecting the card to the Kama Panel's or case's front audio connectors is a bitch. So, a bit undecided.

That about covers it, I think. Should last for some years to come I reckon (overkill for my current needs except for the initial HD 4670), and be about as silent as I can realistically hope for. Might even get some case dampening material at some point, who knows. Also the H50 should make overclocking the CPU a breeze if I need it, and the 1800MHz RAM should provide good enough performance to match the CPU in an overclocking scenario.

Sadly it won't be as small as my cute SG06 kit, but well, the "desk footprint" thankfully is only slighty bigger.
 
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Of note: I don't think the H50 supports socket 1156... yet. Also the Gigabyte board is already available in Sweden (has been for a few weeks now) when the Maximus isn't here yet. My guess is that you will see the Gigabyte first (can't you order from Sweden, btw? or give Multitronic Oy a call), and that's good cause it's a lot cheaper. Also your RAID 1 is overkill if you have an external backup solution, IMHO: like a NAS with backup software, for example.
 
The vendor lists LGA1156 in the specs for Corsair H50, so does Corsair's site. So I assume it should work :)

I could order from Sweden I guess, depending on the postage costs. Got any good suggestions on where to order from? I've no clue on Swedish IT stores. Oh, and also I did check Multitronic, but they had none of Gigabyte's P55 stuff listed. Their price for the Maximus III GENE is slightly better than my usual vendor's, though.

EDIT: And about the RAID setup, I only have an external USB HD, and I'm kinda lazy at making external backups, so for my own peace of mind I was thinking of going for RAID1.

EDIT2: I suppose I could also just get a second Samsung Spinpoint M7 500GB (got one of those as the sole HDD in this SG06 build) and use those in RAID1 like I originally intended to do even in the SG06. But I'm not sure about that, as it's less performance than the 3.5" drives. It'd be cheaper now though, as I'd only have to buy one drive instead of two. If I could additionally get two Scythe Quiet Drives to house the 2.5" drives in, it would certainly help make the system even more silent. Too bad the SQDs are so damn expensive.
 
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Well, it seems I'll drop the RAID setup after all. Figured there's not enough data GB-wise that needs mirroring to justify dedicating an entire 1TB drive to it. Just gotta sync backups on the external HDs more often I guess. So it's just one WD Caviar Green, and the Spinpoint M7 is going to an external enclosure probably.

Also probably taking G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 MHz CL7 memory instead of the HyperX. It's a whopping 29 euros cheaper, and the tighter timings might help as much or more than the extra 200 MHz (or so I'm told).

Still undecided on the motherboard. Think I'll go with one of the two Gigabytes. The UD4 has 12-phase power, UD2 apparently doesn't. No idea how this affects anything though. Also UD2 lacks the powered eSATA port (of which ASRock has two). Aside from those two and lack of proper dual GPU capability (can always just buy a X2 card instead if need be), I suppose the UD2 pretty much has all the needed stuff. Though just noticed the UD4 apparently also has more precise voltage controls... bleh. Decision, decisions.

So far it seems the price for the new parts is 672 euros or 712 euros delivered, depending on the motherboard. HD 5770 or whatever I decide on from the new Radeons on top of that, and it's a hefty price for poor ol' me ;)
 
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If you can wait a couple of days, I think Anandtech will have a review of the UD2 soon. Their early impressions had been very positive, but you might want to wait for the full review to see what's what.
 
I used a Gigabyte 550 GT power supply in my sonsSG03, 140mm fan and you can control the speed of the fan and two other fans with the Power tuner software that comes with the psu.
 
NichoTL said:
If you can wait a couple of days, I think Anandtech will have a review of the UD2 soon. Their early impressions had been very positive, but you might want to wait for the full review to see what's what.
Click to expand...

A few days of wait isn't too bad. I just hope they'll have some comparisons to the UD4 as well, as the main question is that is the extra stuff in the UD4 worth the 40 euros or not (well, strictly price/performance-wise probably not..).
 
Holy crap, this thread is awesome. It has all the components that I'm looking at!
p55m UD4,
i5 750
HX 520w from corsair
5xxx series GFX
(possibly geforce 9xxx series for physx)
4GB (2x2gb) from corsair (i still dont fully understand the concept of timing for RAM)
Corsair H50
SG03
Velociraptor 300gb (boot)
1tb green (still looking)

whats the max fan size at the front of the case??

You guys are awesome. Please, discuss.
 
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There is space for 2 120mm fans at the front, one of which will surely be taken by the H50 in your case.

PS: Physx is way overrated IMHO
 
Well, I jumped the gun and ordered. Ended up with the UD2 (figured if the next upgrade is going to end up needing a mobo change, I'd rather not pay extra compared to negligible gains for my needs), the G.Skill memory and one HDD. Also might order a Nexus Value 430 as the PSU as it's supposed to be very silent. I'm really hoping to get a more silent system than the SG06 build is given that the noise level is one of the biggest disappointments with it.
 
Skott said:
I use a Corsair 520w in mine. Its modular. Silverstone also makes some modular models with short cables that work well in the SG03 as well.
Click to expand...

Do the Silverstone cables work with the HX 520watt from Corsair?
 
My SG03 system is up and running now. I actually had to install the Sapphire Ultimate HD 4670 to the PCI-e x16@4 slot on the Gigabyte P55M-UD2, because the PSU would block it in the primary slot. Good thing(?) it's slow enough to work fine at x4.

So far so good otherwise but I was wishing for a silent setup. But at the moment it seems this is more noisy than the SG06 build. Doesn't really make sense, since aside from CPU cooler all the fans are more quiet than the ones in the SG06. And lowering CPU cooler RPM doesn't seem to affect noise levels much.

I suppose the extra cables all over the place do cause a fair amount of noise from turbulence (before today, didn't realize just how much noise plain turbulence from cables and even fan guards can cause). Hopefully a modular PSU will solve some of that in the future. And any possible CPU noise will mostly be eliminated once I get the Corsair H50. If it's not silent by then... oh well, not much that can be done, and I'll just give up on the entire idea of silent performance computers :p
 
HD 5870 on PCI-E 2.0 x4 only have 4-5% performance reduction based on TechPowerUp's review. No need to worry at all.
 
A HD 5870 - if I decide to get one (I'm in no hurry, so I'll see what Nvidia comes up with as well) - should fit the primary x16 slot fine, it's just that the passive HD 4670 has the heatsink extruding to the backside of the card, hence bumping into the PSU.

That said, seems odd if the performance reduction is that small @ x4 slot for a HD 5870.
 
miguelito said:
tvih...Yes the top front fan. Or you can mod a 120mm fan opening on the top of the case towards to rear. All depends on how you design your airflow.

This is how I have mine configured:

Picture1.jpg
Click to expand...

Quick question. Are you using both front fans as intakes, or is the on on the H50 an exhaust?
 
Both fans intake and the PSU fan helps in exhaust. But I recently upgraded to a 5870 vid card and the bottom fan has to be removed or replaced with a slim 120mm fan.
 
Thanks, that helps. :)
I'm about to do an i5 build like that, but will be using the corsair hx650W power supply which only has a 120mm fan instead of a 135mm fan. I assume though that this shouldn't be a problem as an i5 build should be cooler than an x58 i7.

I wonder if it is possible to cut the back panel at the top pci slot and fit a lian li BS03 as an exhaust (an alternative to the roof exhaust)? I won't be trying this soon as I don't have the time.
 
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