Build Questions

Javno

Javno

Javno

Associate
Joined
11 Sep 2012
Posts
10
Hey!

I have a few questions I hope you guys can help me out with:

1) Could anyone recommend a good modular PSU that is only 140mm depth? I like the look of the Silverstone ST65F-G but can't seem to find it on the website / in the UK! Even better would be something from Corsair (God I love that company). I'm thinking about building a relatively powerful mini-Itx system that is also neat and tidy on the inside.

2) Is it possible to install a fresh copy of Windows 7 / 8 onto a new SSD using an external DVD-ROM? I'd rather cut down on the internals but I'm not sure if this is possible (I could always install via an internal hard drive and then disconnect it later but then I'm buying both internal and external devices).

3) External sound cards... as good / same as internal PCI-E hooked up ones?

4) When a motherboards states it can handle x amount of RAM - is that fixed? Would they work with a higher speed RAM? I.e Asus states that some of it's motherboards can only handle, say 1600mhz, so does that mean I can never use 2000mhz Ram?

Sorry for bombarding the forums with questions. I have some experience building but I want my next build to be perfect - as I have no idea when I'll get the chance to do it again!

Cheers in advance for any help!
 
Last edited:
1/
The silverstone strider plus 500w is 140mm in length/depth.
techpowerup had a few gripes with it, but its still good: review

2/
It is possible, or do it from a USB stick instead.

3/
A sound card is a sound card, difference in connectors don't tend to affect the output.
Unless you are managing raw audio data the USB won't become saturated enough to cause distortion.

Not 100% sure on the RAM Q, id imagine that the profiles in the motherboards BIOS don't go past 1600MHz and that if you put 2000MHz RAM in, it would just run slower.
 
R088ieS86 said:
2/
It is possible, or do it from a USB stick instead.
Click to expand...

Cheers for the quick reply guys!

In terms of the above I'm probably going to use the GA-Z77N-WIFI - does this allow external optical drive installation of windows? It's hard to ascertain from their website: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4337#ov. Sorry to be a pain in the arse - I can think of nothing more annoying then creating a brand new build and finding out it can't install windows! Googling it seems to show people with varying problems. I hope it's just a matter of me selecting the right option in the bios.

Also good shout on the PSU!
 
I don't have experience using that specific board, but external USB DVD drives appear as bootable options in my BIOS (GA-Z68X-UD5-B3) which is an older model, would be odd if they removed this feature from a newer motherboard.

like I mentioned, make a bootable usb stick and copy the contents of the windows disk to that. It will actually be quicker to install.
 
  • MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
  • Intel Core i5-3450S 2.80GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (65W)
  • OCZ Agility 3 240GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive
  • Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard
  • Creative X-Fi HD USB Soundcard
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
  • GeIL EVO Leggera 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
  • BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black
  • Silverstone Strider Plus 500W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
  • Samsung SE-S208AB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW - Black
  • Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler

I think all these components should be compatible with each other. But if anyone can confirm that would be great. Recommendations on more suited components is also welcome!

Also, do you guys think the memory will fit with the heatsink?

Cheers for any help!
 
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