mATX gaming system

mugglemind · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:23

So I'd like to upgrade to an i7 system, and also thought it would be sweet as hell to go down the mATX route. Ill be using it mainly for gaming, but as Ill be taking the beast to uni, it will also have to do cpu intensive tasks like video rendering. The specs I was looking at are:

*OVERCLOCKED* Intel Core i7 920 D0 2.66Ghz @ 3.40Ghz / Asus Rampage II Gene mATX Intel X58 / Patriot Viper 6GB 1600MHz Triple Channel DDR3/ Noctua NH-C12P Bundle

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Ready Modular Power Supply

and either
Silverstone Sugo SG01B-F Evolution Aluminium Micro-ATX Case - Black (No PSU)

or
Lian Li PC-V351B Aluminium Cube Case - Black (No PSU)

(Ill be keeping my old HDDs, and dvd drive)

Basically what I wanted to know is: Would you recommend any different components? (Bare in mind Im already over budget) And Will everything fit inside the cases?

mugglemind · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:49

Was only looking at the 4850 x2 because of an article on tomshardware:

With rapidly-increasing prices over $220 offering smaller and smaller performance boosts, we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than the Radeon HD 4850 X2. While more expensive solutions perform impressively in multiple-card configurations at ultra-high resolutions, there’s just not enough of a gain compared to the Radeon HD 4850 X2 for the money spent, unless you play at higher resolutions than 1920x1200.

Id be open to going a different route, but like i say I cant really be factoring in any components that are more expensive then the ones on the list at the moment. My budget is £900 and im already at £925. Currently I have a radeon x1900 or something like that (using my dads old card because my nvidia 7950GX2 broke) so anything these days would be a substantial upgrade I guess?

mugglemind · 20 Jul 2009 at 01:39

Ok fair enough. How about the cases, will everything fit in them?

mugglemind · 22 Jul 2009 at 20:10

And will the noctua cooler fit in both the cases?

mugglemind · 24 Jul 2009 at 06:51

Thanks for all your advice on the graphics cards, but I'm far more worried about my lack of knowledge about SFF. Looking at older threads it seams the SG01 doesnt have enough room for the noctua cooler at all (without grinding off the top 8mm), and it wont fit into the v351 without some turbulence issues from the PSU fan. Firstly I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm this. Secondly, how much will turbulence from the PSU affect the cooling ability? Considering the bundle Im looking at comes with an i7 920 clocked to 3.4ghz Im guessing even the slightest problem with cooling would screw things up a lot, however would it be ok running at say 3ghz or a little lower? Would you guys suggest:
a) buy the spec and hope it works, if not run the cpu at <3ghz
b) go a different direction and buy cpu/mobo/ram seperate in order to get a cooler that fits
c) Make some cut backs and watercool the mofo