Some advice please for my SFF gaming rig

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vespr

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Hi everyone,

I'm building a SFF computer in the middle April, early May which will be solely for gaming and DVD encoding/burning. I use a Mac for all other tasks. My main concern is size and what will fit, how this'll limit my future upgrades. I'm also after something that will be relatively quiet... Note, I'll be playing games through headphones, but it's still nice to know there isn't an unwelcome buzz going on.

The games I'll be playing will be anything Half Life 1/2 related. Battlefield 2. Quake Wars. In other words anything FPS related, oh and the odd Command and Conquer perhaps. I won't mention budget coz I'm going through Pound Sterling and also because my company told me I can purchase through their credit card and avoid paying tax (UK laws and my job rocks!)

Anyway, if I could get some advice on the hardware that would be really appreciated, see the specs below for a general outline I'm heading towards...

Case
I'll start of with this because this is the one product I'm certain on, and well, the main reason behind the SFF. Silverstone Sugo SG01 Aluminium Mini PC - Black.

Motherboard
This is the only board I could find that seemed decent enough for a Micro ATX style case. Any other recommendations? What's OC'ing like on this baby? I wouldn't be bothered if choosing the SFF route meant I couldn't OC, it's not one of my interests. Asus A8N-VM CSM Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI Express Motherboard

CPU
Ok, seeing as I'm going down the AMD route, and I've been looking at the X2 range, but I've read that these aren't the ideal solution for FPS gaming simply coz they're not programmed to take advantage of them? Well seeing as this is a spec for now and the future I'm guessing Dual Core should be the route for me, coz games will eventually be programmed to take advantage of them. The 3800 seem's the most viable option, but would I notice any differences by taking up the 4400 with the extra L2 cache? Also do you recommend the stock HSF, or a Zalman/Orb variant? Will they even fit in the case? Are they quieter? Also isn't there a new AMD CPU coming out soon anyway? The longest I'll put off building this is early May.

Sound Card
Have chosen this card, Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Edition to feed my Sennheiser HD650. I can't find anything better, bar the Pro model, and Sound Blaster has always been the dominant card in audio?

Graphics
This is an area I'm heavily confused on. What can I get to fit in these cases, with the above sound card taking up a PCI slot. The card I'm looking at the most is this one XFX GeForce 7900 GT XXX Edition 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express). Basically a heavily OC'ed 7900 GT running at 520MH/1500Mhz. But for a little more I could nab an X1900XT. But this begs the question, will one of those cards fit with it's dual slot fans? Also heard they're louder and hotter. Seeing as how I'd appreciate quietness and it's a SFF heat will be an issue? If I can fit a dual slot card would I be better off with a 7900GTX for the future? Read somewhere that there'll be a 7900GTX with 256 memory which will be single slot. Anybody know if this is true and when we can expect them?

PSU
Is this going to be good enough to support my needs for a GT or will I need upping for a GTX/XTX? Seasonic S12 430W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply.

Memory
Can't get better than this right? Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3500LL Pro TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2.

Hard Drive
Enough space for my needs? Samsung SpinPoint P HD160JJ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache.

LCD Display
I've read some great reviews on this and have decided to go the widescreen gaming route. Apparently it's the gaming of the future... NEC MultiSync® LCD20WGX2 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor. Can gamers though please don't rape me for the extra space I'll get on the sides :)

Other frivolous things such as a DVDR, Copperhead mouse, Saitek keyboard to be included also. Can't wait for the opinions and thanks for reading.
 
24 views and no opinions :) - Where's the SFF club when I need em.. hehe

Just had a look around, apparently the biostar mobo is a better choice. Haven't located one in a UK reseller yet /sigh...

Ebay I guess..
 
When going for the Silverstone Sugo case, make sure it's the Evolution or "E" model. The differences between the Evolution and the regular one are spots for 3 80mm fans as opposed to 2 60mm and 1 80mm. Your components will thank you. ;)
 
I just recently completed building an SG01 Evolution and am fairly happy with it (it's still hard to get used to the size compared to Shuttle) but I like the fact that it gives me many more options as to the components I can use.

Your choices are definitely very good, but I would recommend a few changes based on my experience:

  • X2 4200+ which OC's nicely and since the L2 Cache makes little difference on AMD CPU's
  • Biostar or Foxconn MB
  • X-Fi Xtreme music - I heve seen numerous compaints regarding the Fatality and crackling / popping in BF2 on the soundblaster forum.
  • 7900GTX 512 which is silent compared to the 7900GT cooler. (or get a Zalman VF900 for the 7900GT)
  • PSU - I can't say enough good things about the Enermax Liberty PSU's, but Seasonic is very good also!
  • CPU cooler - Zalman 7000 or Blue orb 2 work very well

I also replaced all of the stock fans with 17dba Nexus 80mm and added a Zalman ZM-MFC1 fan controller to get my system running practically silent at idle.
 
With the Silverstone make sure you get a 80mm fan for above the video card. Heat isn't a problem for me and I am running a FX-60 and 2 x7900GTX Super Clocks.
 
the 3.5" HD cage is in the front and is metal on metal which creates a holy hell of a vibration noise. You can A) get sound dampening material to stop the metal on metal, or B) buy a 2.5" version of a hard drive, and suspend it in the 3.5" drive cage. =D

That is my only regret when I put together my SG01E.

Also from a noise point of view, all along both sides of the case are punched holes that are 1/3 and down the entire length. All the sound will come out.

Also this system has some strange thermal characteristics, but nothing that can't be resolved.

If you don't care how loud it is, then disregard my info.
 
It only makes noise if it doesn't get locked in to the floor of the case. Mine wasn't and made noise so I took it out and put it back in, now its firmly locked in and quiet.
 
Since you aren't concerned with overclocking or SLI, I would peronally forego the silverstone and go for a shuttle or other pre-done sff. They are a good deal smaller, usually have good thermal characteristics and are much better looking.

Also, just a general statement and feel free to disagree, but I'm really not sold on the need for an add-in sound card if the board has a decent onboard solution. Sure, an add-in takes some load off of the cpu but with dual core it shouldn't make a difference, and I really couldn't tell the difference in sound quality with my on-board vs an audigy on my 5.1 setup, so took it out in favor of an hdtv wonder. I doubt the difference between an audigy and x-fi would be even as large as that from on-board to an audigy, and if I couldn't notice even that I don't see why it'd be a worthy expenditure. Going for a 7900gtx over a 7900gt and x-fi would seem to be a much better path...
 
bobzdar said:
Going for a 7900gtx over a 7900gt and x-fi would seem to be a much better path...
Click to expand...

I agree with that.


bobzdar said:
forego the silverstone and go for a shuttle or other pre-done sff. They are a good deal smaller, usually have good thermal characteristics and are much better looking.
Click to expand...

I disagree. The Silverstone is a very good looking case and I like it alot. It doesn't have the plastic front like some of the Shuttles but everyone has their own opinion.
 
I would go with the SUGO-E Currently. It is a bit noisier than my Shuttle SN25P was, but still really nice. And its just as good looking albeit a bit bigger. It just means I can put in a extra PCI card.
 
Thanks for reponses guys, really appreciate it. Decided I'm definitely going with the Sugo, although locating an "E" model in the UK is proving difficult at the moment, have they just been released?

Reason I don't want to go shuttle is they're way over priced in comparison to what I can get out of the Sugo and I've got more flexability with one of those. Also I'm definitely keeping the X-Fi. My HD650's pick up every little nuance and I'd rather have a dedicated audio option. Looked into the Fatil1ty problems with the hissing and that certainly is a worry! Thanks for the heads up on that, will stick the X-Fi music. Anyway the rig will look something like this then...

Sugo-E (if/when I can locate one in the UK!)
Biostar T-Force (Again hard to locate!)
X2 4200
Creative X-Fi Music
Samsung SpinPoint 180GB
Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3500LL Pro TwinX
BFG GeForce 7900 GTX OC 512MB
NEC MultiSync® LCD20WGX2 20.1"
Pioneer DVR-110BK 16 x 16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
Seasonic S12 430W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply
 
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