SG05 or Cooler Master 120

X

XenatR

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
Messages
183
Hi all i currently have an SG07, which is great, but i want a little change (perhaps some 'change' in my pocket also)

my current setup includes a GTX 570 windforce card, which id sell and get the GTX 670 as that fits the SG05

the two options are the SG05, and the Cooler Master elite 120

regarding the SG05 is there ANY way you can fit a full size gfx card (like the GTX 670), and have water cooling AND a slim optical drive? i dont care for hard drives as ill be using one sdd i could squeeze in somehow

the Cooler Master would be cheaper, easier to water cool, but will be less compact than the SG05 (which i find so cute lol)
 
Optical drive may be a stretch for the SG05. Here's an example of an SG05 w/ a GTX 680, AIO water on the processor and an SSD. You may be able to rotate than radiator and keep the optical drive.
 
You can take a look at my build here to get an idea of the CM Elite 120 watercooled.

GTX 670 is no where near the size of a full length gpu depending on which on you get. There are some GTX 670s that have the GTX 680 PCB - I personally don't understand this since really the shorter version of the GTX 670 is just as good.

Personally, for you or anyone else, it comes down to cost and ease of build - not saying the CM Elite 120 is a complete cake walk but it's way easier to build in that than the SG05 builds I've seen that were watercooled, assuming we're talking about going full loop.

The CM Elite 120 was a great case and way easy to stuff with hardware, your choices of cpu coolers are limited but for watercooling that's a non-issue and if you're using SSDs then it's really a no-brainer imo which case to get.

EDIT:
Using this silverstone device here you could get a slim slot loading drive and 4 SSD sized drives in the ODD bay without issue in the CM Elite 120.
 
Machupo said:
Optical drive may be a stretch for the SG05. Here's an example of an SG05 w/ a GTX 680, AIO water on the processor and an SSD. You may be able to rotate than radiator and keep the optical drive.
Click to expand...

xyexz said:
You can take a look at my build here to get an idea of the CM Elite 120 watercooled.

GTX 670 is no where near the size of a full length gpu depending on which on you get. There are some GTX 670s that have the GTX 680 PCB - I personally don't understand this since really the shorter version of the GTX 670 is just as good.

Personally, for you or anyone else, it comes down to cost and ease of build - not saying the CM Elite 120 is a complete cake walk but it's way easier to build in that than the SG05 builds I've seen that were watercooled, assuming we're talking about going full loop.

The CM Elite 120 was a great case and way easy to stuff with hardware, your choices of cpu coolers are limited but for watercooling that's a non-issue and if you're using SSDs then it's really a no-brainer imo which case to get.

EDIT:
Using this silverstone device here you could get a slim slot loading drive and 4 SSD sized drives in the ODD bay without issue in the CM Elite 120.
Click to expand...


thanks for your replies.. ill be probably either using Corsair H40 or H60, and the GTX 670 evga FTW edition

that SG05 build is really cool.. id love to be able to fit an optical drive in there also :( is there just no way enough room? :(

also your cooler master 120 water cooled build is simply stunning.. a little too much for my skill level.. well done mate
 
Well you could easily remove the HDD bay as I did but use a H60, the CM Elite 120 also provides excellent GPU ventilation.

I just went custom loop because, well I thought it'd be fun, but also because I wanted better cooling for GPU.

I think a CM Elite 120, H60 and GTX 670 FTW would be an awesome build, it would all fit in there with room to spare, you could still put 4 SSDs in there as well as a slim optical.
 
XenatR said:
that SG05 build is really cool.. id love to be able to fit an optical drive in there also :( is there just no way enough room? :(
Click to expand...

Yes you can. I have done this myself by making a custom cage for the SDDs (basically I folded a piece of modders mesh). I used a H60 and had the rad turned 90 degrees with hoses along the right as you look at the case from the front. I'll try to dig out a pic.

edit:


The tubes of the H60 run behind the drives, approx. parallel to the folds in the mesh. This allows the optical tray to sit above the rad.

The other caveat is that the back of the GPU might be touching the H60 rad. You need to put something in between there to avoid any electrical contact. You can probably get some black insulating tape at a local hardware store.
 
Last edited:
xyexz said:
Well you could easily remove the HDD bay as I did but use a H60, the CM Elite 120 also provides excellent GPU ventilation.

I just went custom loop because, well I thought it'd be fun, but also because I wanted better cooling for GPU.

I think a CM Elite 120, H60 and GTX 670 FTW would be an awesome build, it would all fit in there with room to spare, you could still put 4 SSDs in there as well as a slim optical.
Click to expand...

yea it would :) im definately going to think about it.. the only thing is that im not sure if ill need all that hard drive space. i only use two sdd's at the moment, and will be upgrading to one 512gb crucial m4 soon. although, budget considering, the 120 is a very cheap case!

WiSK said:
Yes you can. I have done this myself by making a custom cage for the SDDs (basically I folded a piece of modders mesh). I used a H60 and had the rad turned 90 degrees with hoses along the right as you look at the case from the front. I'll try to dig out a pic.

edit:


The tubes of the H60 run behind the drives, approx. parallel to the folds in the mesh. This allows the optical tray to sit above the rad.

The other caveat is that the back of the GPU might be touching the H60 rad. You need to put something in between there to avoid any electrical contact. You can probably get some black insulating tape at a local hardware store.
Click to expand...

oh that would be awesome to see! please post as many detailed pics as you can!

btw, nice cage! does it sit above where the optical drive slot is??
 
That cage is on the right side as you look at the front of the sg05 :)

Nice work, wisk!
 
xyexz said:
You can take a look at my build here to get an idea of the CM Elite 120 watercooled.

GTX 670 is no where near the size of a full length gpu depending on which on you get. There are some GTX 670s that have the GTX 680 PCB - I personally don't understand this since really the shorter version of the GTX 670 is just as good.

Personally, for you or anyone else, it comes down to cost and ease of build - not saying the CM Elite 120 is a complete cake walk but it's way easier to build in that than the SG05 builds I've seen that were watercooled, assuming we're talking about going full loop.

The CM Elite 120 was a great case and way easy to stuff with hardware, your choices of cpu coolers are limited but for watercooling that's a non-issue and if you're using SSDs then it's really a no-brainer imo which case to get.

EDIT:
Using this silverstone device here you could get a slim slot loading drive and 4 SSD sized drives in the ODD bay without issue in the CM Elite 120.
Click to expand...

Im considering the 120 purely from a financial pov.. that + h60 = price of an sg05!

Going h60 are there any drawbacks in the 120? Should i rather go h80? Im not going for crazy clocks and want as quiet system as poss.. is it worthwhile swapping the h60 for a quieter fan? Am i losing out on space that could otherwise be used by a larger watercooler like an h80? Custom loop isnt an option
 
If you aren't going for crazy clocks then h60 should be fine, if you have spare budget and want a little better temps go for the h80 - it won't hurt to have better cooling hardware for future builds or if you decide to overclock more.

There actually is a ton of space up front and even if you put an h80 in the front you'd have room on the sides of the RAD to mount SSDs or other things like wiring bundles etc - you can really make a nice clean build in this case.

The h80 isn't that thick of a rad compared to a Alphacool Monsta 80mm thick rad like what I have, or even other custom loop rads - those types of rads need better static pressure fans to push air through.

The closed loop coolers rads are designed from the factory to have a low fin count but higher rpm fans - the tradeoff is you might get a little more fan noise but you won't have to shell out for really expensive fans with high static pressure - and their fans they provide can be less costly but still provide effecient cooling.

You can still use high static pressure fans with a CLC to increase cooling effeciency with the added bonus of possibly reducing noise.

Personally, just stick with the stock fans and see if you like it.

I will recommend to put your h60/80 pump directly on the PSU and plug the h60/80 fan into the fan header on your motherboard to control through software like SpeedFAN etc.
 
xyexz said:
If you aren't going for crazy clocks then h60 should be fine, if you have spare budget and want a little better temps go for the h80 - it won't hurt to have better cooling hardware for future builds or if you decide to overclock more.

There actually is a ton of space up front and even if you put an h80 in the front you'd have room on the sides of the RAD to mount SSDs or other things like wiring bundles etc - you can really make a nice clean build in this case.

The h80 isn't that thick of a rad compared to a Alphacool Monsta 80mm thick rad like what I have, or even other custom loop rads - those types of rads need better static pressure fans to push air through.

The closed loop coolers rads are designed from the factory to have a low fin count but higher rpm fans - the tradeoff is you might get a little more fan noise but you won't have to shell out for really expensive fans with high static pressure - and their fans they provide can be less costly but still provide effecient cooling.

You can still use high static pressure fans with a CLC to increase cooling effeciency with the added bonus of possibly reducing noise.

Personally, just stick with the stock fans and see if you like it.

I will recommend to put your h60/80 pump directly on the PSU and plug the h60/80 fan into the fan header on your motherboard to control through software like SpeedFAN etc.
Click to expand...

wow dude thanks for all your info! im only new to this site, having previously been a long-term member of xtremesystems.org, but ive never had such quick responses before!

id like my fans to be a quiet as possible but remain extremely effective.. would a gentle typhoon be an optimal stock fan replacement?
 
I am getting ready to build just such a set up. (CM120 + h60) I will post links and pics here.
 
XenatR said:
wow dude thanks for all your info! im only new to this site, having previously been a long-term member of xtremesystems.org, but ive never had such quick responses before!

id like my fans to be a quiet as possible but remain extremely effective.. would a gentle typhoon be an optimal stock fan replacement?
Click to expand...

Hey no problem, I'm always checking these forums - kind of my hobby messing with pc stuff all the time lol.

I personally have tried CM Sickleflows and the Corsair SP120 HPs (higher static pressure) fans. I've also used some Tri-Cool antecs, they weren't really that great though so i'm mentioning them as an afterthought.

Sickleflows were louder but didn't flow too bad but honestly I liked the SP120s were awesome and is what I'm currently running on my rad.

Hopefully someone else will chime in on the Typhoons - I've read great things about them but that's as far as my knowledge on them goes.
 
xyexz said:
Hey no problem, I'm always checking these forums - kind of my hobby messing with pc stuff all the time lol.

I personally have tried CM Sickleflows and the Corsair SP120 HPs (higher static pressure) fans. I've also used some Tri-Cool antecs, they weren't really that great though so i'm mentioning them as an afterthought.

Sickleflows were louder but didn't flow too bad but honestly I liked the SP120s were awesome and is what I'm currently running on my rad.

Hopefully someone else will chime in on the Typhoons - I've read great things about them but that's as far as my knowledge on them goes.
Click to expand...

how are the corsairs on the decibel front? at the moment my setup consists of an sg07, housing a gtx 570 windforce, and an i5 ivy cooled by a stock intel heatsink (oc'd to 4.1ghz)... its a little too loud for my liking id like something more quiet, and ive heard awesome things about the msi gtx 660 twin frozer PE (and its so cheap!! :))

Hofy said:
I am getting ready to build just such a set up. (CM120 + h60) I will post links and pics here.
Click to expand...

that would be awesome! i think i will do the same actually, then, next year, when the 700 series cards are out and theyre small enough, perhaps go for a gtx 780 for the SG05... right now i think the CM 120 is a good, cheap solution :) looking forward to seeing your pics dude, when do you think youll start the build?
 
I used a 120 elite and an H60 for my budget Gaming PC. I had to go with the 120 elite because my GPU was stupid long.
Build is here
 
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I have both the CM120 and the SG05, and imo unless space is your #1 concern go with the CM120.

SG05 is a lot smaller (1/2 to 1/3 the size of the CM120 to my eyeballs) but the only limit to your hardware choices in the CM120 is cooler height. If you are doing water then that won't concern you, just rad location which there is plenty of room for.
 
Here are some pics of my build in the CM120 with H60.

My first concern was clearing the caps on the Asus 77H mobo. Not a problem.

mb8.jpg


Plenty of room after removing the HDD cage. I only have a single 2.5" 500GB HDD mounted on a side rail.

mb19.jpg


Selling this PSU and going with a modular one. I originally bought this 750 for a larger case.

mb9.jpg


The thing that ticks me off is the SATA layout. 5 of the 6 jacks are facing the same way. The 6th is reversed. I had planned on using a 90 deg cable for better cable management. Look at the next 3 pics and you will see why.

mb13.jpg
mb16.jpg
mb17.jpg
 
Hofy said:
Here are some pics of my build in the CM120 with H60.

My first concern was clearing the caps on the Asus 77H mobo. Not a problem.

mb8.jpg


Plenty of room after removing the HDD cage. I only have a single 2.5" 500GB HDD mounted on a side rail.

mb19.jpg


Selling this PSU and going with a modular one. I originally bought this 750 for a larger case.

mb9.jpg


The thing that ticks me off is the SATA layout. 5 of the 6 jacks are facing the same way. The 6th is reversed. I had planned on using a 90 deg cable for better cable management. Look at the next 3 pics and you will see why.

mb13.jpg
mb16.jpg
mb17.jpg
Click to expand...

That's a really sharp looking build--I'm looking to do a lower-end version of that. How did you remove the HDD cage? How is your 2.5" HDD mounted? With the HDD cage removed, do you get sufficient airflow, even with the front cover on? Did you take out the side fan?

Thanks!
 
The HDD bay is very easy to remove, there are many options you have for mounting ssds or mechanical 2.5 hdds even with the hdd bay removed.
Take a look at my build for other ideas: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1711727

Without too much reading there are 5 rivets I believe that I drilled out to remove the hdd bay.
 
To remove the HDD cage you need to drill out 7 rivets. 4 from the bottom of the case and 3 from the optical drive tray. I mounted the 2.5" drive in one of the plastic adapters that came with the case and then attached it to the side rail. I will start a new thread with more pics later this week. That way I can stop high jacking this thread. I am just waiting on the modular PSU so I can get it all finished.

xyexz, your build was the inspiration for my build. Thanks.
 
Hofy said:
To remove the HDD cage you need to drill out 7 rivets. 4 from the bottom of the case and 3 from the optical drive tray. I mounted the 2.5" drive in one of the plastic adapters that came with the case and then attached it to the side rail. I will start a new thread with more pics later this week. That way I can stop high jacking this thread. I am just waiting on the modular PSU so I can get it all finished.

xyexz, your build was the inspiration for my build. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind comments Hofy :D Glad my build thread helped someone else out.

7 rivets is definitely the correct amount - I just got done counting them on my case lol.
 
Just for giggles I grabbed my buddies only 680 gtx and slapped it in my sg05 and holly crap it fit I did have to take everything out and do some teteris but I would thing if you are nor using the 3.5 drive bay you could get the h50 in there not sure about anything bigger but I haven't messed with those.
 
WiSK said:
Yes you can. I have done this myself by making a custom cage for the SDDs (basically I folded a piece of modders mesh). I used a H60 and had the rad turned 90 degrees with hoses along the right as you look at the case from the front. I'll try to dig out a pic.

edit:


The tubes of the H60 run behind the drives, approx. parallel to the folds in the mesh. This allows the optical tray to sit above the rad.

The other caveat is that the back of the GPU might be touching the H60 rad. You need to put something in between there to avoid any electrical contact. You can probably get some black insulating tape at a local hardware store.
Click to expand...

how do you mod the mount for the ssd?
that is good
could you post the address for buying the materials?
thanks./
 
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