Gaming SFF?

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I started a thread similar to this before but now have a few extra bits and pieces together in my desktop PC and would like to transfer them into a smaller form factor but still retain the functionality that my PC currently has. At the moment I'm using my PC purely for games with a bit of browsing thrown in on the side, what I want to do is transfer my CPU, graphics card, RAM and HDD into a sff but I have no idea on what kind of motherboard, case or PSU I should be looking at.

At the moment I've got an E8400 with the stock cooler, a Radeon 5850 and 4GB of OCZ Gold DDR2 800Mhz. Can anyone offer a bit of advice on which motherboard would be appropriate for those components and then which cases and PSU's I have a choice of using?

Cheers in advance.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

You'll need to hunt down a ZotacLGA775 mobo, like the Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX-I-E. This supports 775 CPUs and 16x PCI-E cards.

Cases - Lian li and Silverstone both do small cases designed for mini-itx and are available from OC.

Cheers, I'll look those up, what else would I have to look out for?, I'm a bit concerned about heat, especially from the CPU, I'm running the stock cooler at the moment and the heatsink on that looks pretty big, are there any that are better and smaller? Also I was looking at the Sugo, would that be a decent choice in your opinion? Oh and one other thing I'd need to put into the build would be a PSU, I'm not sure the one I've got at the moment would fit, it's from an Alienware PC and as far as I know it's a 1000W Coolermaster PSU, not sure if that would fit into a mini itx type case?

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Tute that's brilliant. In that case I should be fine with the Zotac board mentioned, the standard PSU and the Sugo that I was after in the first place, although I may upgrade the PSU shortly after. It's going to require me buying a new copy of Windows so I may as well splash out on Windows 7 and get a new HDD at the same time.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

There's a 450W PSU for the SG05/06 due in a matter of weeks. Should be a simple swap over, but as shown the 300W is very good, you can pretty much go right up to 280-290W from what i've seen.

And yes, there is only one 6-pin PCIe cable. But that's what molex-PCIe connectors are for!

Well I'll probably wait until the new PSU comes out if it's fairly soon.

Hopefully I'll be able to pick up the case, motherboard, HDD and a copy of windows for under £300

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Well it's either that or wait for the SG07. It'll be bigger, but comes with a very beefy PSU (~600W) and it can take upto an HD5970.

Depends what you're looking for really. I think the HD5970 would be massive overkill for me, hence why i'm just staying with the SG05.

Given you already have an HD5850 i'd recommend just doing the same unless you yearn for more power.

Quick tip though - attach the PCIe connectors BEFORE you put the card in, as you stand zero chance of attaching them when it's already in the case!

Good tip and no doubt I'll forget by the time it comes round to ordering all the bits.

I find that my current hardware is more than powerful enough for the games I play so I think I'll get the SG05 and make do with the 300W PSU. If you say it's more than enough power for the 5850 then that's alright by me. You mentioned the bundled PSU only has 1 power connector and the 5850 requires 2. I can just take one out of my current rig and that should do the job shouldn't it?

Also I don't know if you know much about this but I'm going to ask anyway; What would you recommend CPU cooler wise? Am I okay sticking with the stock intel HSF? It's been fine for me so far and has kept everything nice and cool but I'm a bit worried as to wether I'll need extra cooling power when I make the switch to the SG05.


EDIT: Tute, before I forget, have you got any other pics of inside of the case? Just curious as to see how much space is left when that 5850 is in there, also which cooler are you using on your CPU? Cheers.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Last time I checked OcUK didn't have any SG05's in stock so what I've decided to do is just wait for the 400W to come into stock and go with that. Think I'll stick with the Intel cooler on the CPU and a single 2.5" HDD, I'd like 2 HDD's but I think with the graphics card I'm using I'll need to save all the power I can. Not too keen on passive cooling I'm not convinced that it would be a good option for me given the usage that the machine is going to get, I'm not too comfortable having all that hardware in such a tiny space and having the brain of the outfit being cooled passively might be a bit risky, especially with the heat that my graphics card will probably be generating.

One other thing that's slightly annoying is that I can't even find the Zotac board mentioned on OcUK's site, I've found it on other E-tailers sites so unless OcUK are getting it in stock soon I may have to shop elsewhere. Pics would be great Tute but if you can't get them up today then that's fine.

I've been considering the limitations of the 300w supply in the SG05 and have entertained the idea of using something like a 120w pico psu for the board, cpu and ram along with the 300w psu for the gpu and system drives.

I'd use a dual psu 24-pin adapter cable to connect the two so they worked in tandem.

Not as elegant as a single psu solution but i thought it would provide extra headroom for clocking and general reliability.

gt

I'd try something like that but the point of me downsizing is so that I can keep everything neat, tidy and with as little mess as possible. I think that does sound a little inelegant there with the 2 PSU's so that's why I'm going to stick with the 300W or possibly the 400W if it comes out any time soon ie within the next few weeks. If I find the 300 isn't enough I'm sure I can pick up a more powerful PSU if my desktop one doesn't fit in the Sugo either.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I don't think i'll be able to get them up today, I won't be home until at least 9-10pm tonight and i'll just be shattered, got a 6am start on Monday.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask though, i'll be checking this all day.

6am start? Sheesh!

No problem, I've decided to buy within the next 2 to 3 weeks. Decided on the current SG05, the Zotac 9300-ITX and a Samsung 400GB 2.5" Sata drive. Along with my current E8400, 4GB DDR2 and the 5850 it should make a pretty decent little machine. I'll probably be needing some cable sleeving as well to keep it all neat and tidy. Do you find your rig gets pretty hot with the side panels on?

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Thanks for the pics. Looks like cable management might be a little bit tricky but I'm hoping some sleeving will make mine a little less untidy when I order it. I've been reading a few reviews and a lot of them do say that the cabling is not the best in the Sugo. Also read about a few issues in regards to using a full size HDD as opposed to the notebook drives, I'm assuming that if I buy a 2.5" HDD I won't have a problem with Sata connectors though.

Temps seem to be impressive with this particular case because of all the grills surrounding the outsides and of course the 120mm fan on the front. The only thing I'm concerned about at the moment is the cabling but I think that's a problem that could be resolved with a lot of time and patience. There's a few mentions of it being a difficult case to work in as well and seeing as this is going to be my first mini ITX build I'm a bit wary of that.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

About to order the following:

Silverstone SG05B Mini ITX w/ 300W 80+ PSU

Zotac GF9300 Nvidia GeForce 9300 skt 775

400GB 2.5" Samsung HM400JI Spinpoint

LG Slim Sata optical drive

Akasa Sata Cable for slimline opticals

Windows 7 Home PRemium 64-bit OEM

I'll be putting my E8400, 4GB OCZ Gold and the 5850 in there. What I still need to get is the converter so that I can have two 6 pin power plugs to plug into the 5850 but I can't seem to find any on OcUK I'm probably looking for the wrong thing, can anyone gimme a link?

I'll also be getting some cable sleeving and shrink wrap but that'll be ordered tomorrow probably.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

The best set-up for case cooling in the SG05 is to turn the PSU upside down (so it draws air from outside of the case) and then use a CPU cooler that has a down-blowing fan. Any one, even the stock cooler. That way you keep the PSU cool while getting good airflow at the back of the case.

I had overheating problems on some of the hottest days last summer until I did this. The other solution was to remove the 3.5" HDD caddy, which also cut temps drastically. It seems to block a fair bit of air from reaching the back of the case (I was running a passive CPU cooler at the time so the PSU was the only thing creating airflow back there).



Molex to 6-pin PCIe? Should come with the case

Cheers that's a good tip, I was thinking of doing that, also I'll be removing the 3.5 bay as I'll not be putting a fullsize hard drive in the case, just using that 2.5 that I'm buying.

How did you find cable management? I'm a bit of a neat freak I'm afraid so I want to get as much info as possible. I've had a look in the Sugo thread and none of the cabling work in there has really impressed me so far.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Cable management can be a pain. The front USB and audio cables aren't long enough. It is possible to have it reasonably tidy though if you get a bit creative. Mine is reasonable and would be better with sleeved cables.

Without the 3.5" caddy airflow is a lot better. I don't use it any more. There's room for an SSD on the case floor and then I've got a 320GB 2.5" HDD for storage.

Okie dokie. From the pictures I've seen of the insides it seems that the 3.5" bracket blocks parts of the big 120mm front fan too. Hoping my graphics card will take kindly to the 300W PSU but from what Tute has said I think it should be fine. Should have a nice stable temp as well seeing as there's that big vent right next to the PCI-e slot. I think I'll definitely be attaching the 6 pin power cables to the graphics card before putting it in the case as it looks slightly fiddly doing it afterwards in such a tiny case.

The bits should all be coming tomorrow but at the moment I have no spare cable sleeving or any of that shrink wrap to cover the ends up so until OcUK get some more of the shrink wrap I won't be doing too much to the insides. I might pinch some sleeving out of my desktop, will get some pics up tomorrow of the build if everything goes according to plan. Also I'll get some temps up here as well.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

i belive i remember seeing a fully modular 400w matx psu somewhere ill have a look and see if i can find it for ya

Cheers. You sure that will fit in a Mini ITX case though?

if you are worried about the heat, you could always get this:
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjEwMg==&lan=us

Too late.

All the bits were delivered this morning, spent the last hour and a bit working on it, everything seems okay although I can't fit the bloody PSU in because my CPU cooler is too tall. Hmmph! Off to town now to get a stock Intel cooler for the time being and may replace it with a Shuriken later on in the week. Still need to get some cable sleeving as well, I did notice the cables coming from the PSU and the front panel are far too long, completely unnecessary lengths but I'm planning to tuck most of the extra cables above the optical drive out of the way.

Pics will follow once I'm happy with the cable management.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Finished installing Windows, all components working as they should be, I still need to try out the 5850 later on but I'm a bit scared the whole thing will go pop.

Cable management in this case is a nightmare, I haven't any cable sleeving and the local computer shops don't seem to have any either. I'd order from OcUK but I'd like to think my tastes are slightly better than neon green cable sleeving that looks like somebody has squashed a frog inside the case.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Hmm... Seem to be having a bit of a problem fitting the 5850. It fits inside the case fine but when I get it in there's no room for my fingers to get the 6pin plugs into the card. If I try and fit the plugs to the card and then put the card in I just can't seem to fit the card into the case.

I can see that when the card is in the PCI-e slot there's plenty of room for the cables to actually fit but I'm having a few issues with getting the bloody things in!


GRRRRR

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I had trouble with this. I had to remove everything bar the motherboard and then fit the HD5850 with the plugs in. Then lower the PSU into the case afterwards. It's a right pain in the rear but sadly I found it wouldn't fit otherwise.

The front 120mm fan in particular is an impassible obstacle, it won't go in without removing that first.

Bugger.

I've got everything in and most of it is sleeved now as well.

I had removed the HDD and the PSU so at the moment I have just the board with all the bits attached. I think I'd better start unscrewing the 120mm fan then.

On the bright side this thing is gonna be sweet when I finally get it to fit.

Edit: It fits! I love you haha.

Have a cookie!

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

*munches*

Any temp readings yet m8?

CPU is fluctuating between 40 and 41 degrees celcius, this is with the stock Intel cooler, HDD is at 29 degrees and I haven't downloaded a program to check the GPU yet but will do that tomorrow. This is with general Windows usage btw, I'm just updating drivers, browsing and downloading through Steam so I expect the CPU temps to increase a fair bit when gaming. I haven't got an optical drive in at the moment, I plugged one in to install Windows and then just unplugged it again, I needed the molex connector to plug my molex to pci-e adapter anyway.

I'll get some gaming temps up tomorrow, at the moment the PSU seems to be coping very well although Silverstone are apparently bringing out a 400W PSU which I'll buy when it becomes available. I didn't have any cable sleeving so I borrowed some out of my old PC of which I've only been able to do hafla job with, no shrink wrap either unfortunately so that'll be something for me to do soon.

I'll get some pics up tomorrow, thanks again for your help Tute.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Nice illuminated keyboard. I'll get some pics up tomorrow evening, I'll have to try and find some flattering angles of the insides too.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Route as many cables as you can under the motherboard (Mobo power, CPU power, front panel header stuff if it'll stretch) and then use the holes in the ODD tray to tidy the rest. I've got the SATA cables weaved through the holes on the left, while the PCIe power cable goes up on to the right side of the drive tray, down through the hole at the front and is tucked between the fan and bottom of the ODD tray. It's exactly the right length for this and reaches the right spot with very little slack. There's quite a few little spots to tidy cables in to if you look at the case in the right way.

I'll see if I can get some pics sorted tomorrow, because re-reading that it makes little sense. My case isn't that tidy at the moment though, waiting on a replacement CPU and couldn't be bothered to do it for what will only be a week or two.

Cheers, I think I saw your case in the Sugo thread and it was one of the neatest ones. At the moment I'm waiting on some cable sleeving and some of the heat shrink for the ends. When I take some pics later I'll have to tidy it a little as it's still a bit of a spaghetti junction in there. I think it would help matters if I didn't have the 5850 crammed in but it's necessary.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Right then, here's a few pics, I'm far from happy with the cabling and this is just a temporary solution until I order some more sleeving and heat shrink for the ends on the cables to de-messify the situation. The only cable at the moment that is causing the mess is the motherboard power cable which seems to be way, way too long for a case as small as this one. Also the two 6 pin connectors to the graphics card are a bit messy but it was such a challenge getting the card to fit at first, after Tute mentioned taking the front fan out it just slipped in perfectly though. I've managed to sleeve the rest although that's just temporary, a quick fix until I can be bothered to rip it all out and do them properly.

Following suggestions from others I've mounted the PSU upside down so that it's drawing in fresh cold air from the outside instead of air straight from over the motherboard, I'm hoping this will increase the airflow inside the case too although I'll have to monitor temps and see how they go. Also, you may notice that I haven't put the little wifi card on the motherboard, this is because I didn't bother reading the manual and when it came to putting the card in I realised it looks like it has to be screwed in from the underside and seeing as I'd already screwed the board onto the standoffs and put all the components in I couldn't really be bothered to rip it all out just for a neat little aerial. Instead I'm going to have to get along with a USB wireless adapter.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

is it easy to braid the cables?

Yeah the sleeving just slips over the top of the cables. You're supposed to take the connectors off first and do a proper job but this is just temporary.