Review on Shuttle SZ68R5 dream build please

Genoma

Genoma

Genoma

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I'm looking for a review on these components please.

I'm probably going to start without some of the components to keep costs down and add them later. Hopefully this should make a really nice HTPC/Gaming PC for the living room.

Shuttle SZ68R5 not currently stocked by OCUK +

1 x MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £126.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £99.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (OEM) £69.98
2 x Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9) £47.99 (£95.98)
Total : £912.25 (includes shipping : £9.50).

 
It sounds like a nice plan :)
But if you plan to leave the cover on, I think a dual fan OC VGA won't be the best choice. Holes arent enough for nice cooling, a reference nVidia/ATi VGA would be better. But it is just my suggestion, maybe others (or you) won't agree. (I have to add I'm not Shuttle owner yet, never was)

By the way, I will wait for the SZ77R5 model and build a monster config in it :D
i7 3770k Ivy Bridge cpu (@4GHz) with stock Shuttle hp cooler at first
AMD ATi RadeonHD 7970 reference card (I like the Diamond one, if I can find one, or maybe stick with Sapphire one)
16GB Corsair XMS DDR3 1600 MHz (2 pieces 2*4GB kit)
120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD
some 500GB HDD
some DVDRW
Creative XFi GO USB sound card
mouse keyboard etc...
 
oooh the SZ77R5 does look nice... I've postponed my shuttle build for the time being as I bought a laptop recently instead :)
 
Maybe I've missed something but doesn't the SZ68R5 only have room for one hard drive? How are you getting the SSD in there as well?

David.
 
From: http://www.shuttle.eu/products/mini-pc/sz68r5/specification/
Storage bays: 1 x 5.25" (external), 2 x 3.5" (1x internal, 1x external)"

I had assumed it woudl support a SDD + HDD due to the compatibility with Intel's RST (SSD caching for HDDs) but I think you are right, the 5.25" bay is probably for the optical drive (external? I assume they mean it's accessed externally).

Now I'm wondering if the configuration for this build would have to be:

1x5.25" bays used by the optical drive (blu ray)
1x3.5" bay for a SSD
1x3.5" bay for a HDD

So I would have to adjust the shopping list and replacethe 5.25" 2TB HDD with a suitable 3.5" laptop HDD.
 
Yes. The Shuttle website doesn't seem to mention the 2nd 3.5" bay so I hadn't noticed that. Unfortunately, that's the one that's usually used for a card reader as there is a drop-down flap on the front of the case to access it. It's a shame that nobody sells a 3.5" card reader that allows you to slot a 2.5" sata drive into the rear of (killing 2 birds with one stone).

I hadn't noticed the memory height requirement either.

David.
 
So if I wanted a DVD drive, SSD, 3.5 HD and a media card reader, would the card reader not fit? I can't tell from pics / reviews if the card reader would fit next to the SSD and still line up with the external flap.
 
or you can use this allowing the 5.25" optical drive bay to hold a slot load slim optical drive and up to 4 2.25" SSD's


YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone 5.25" Slim ODD Bay with Internal 2.5" Bay - Black (SST-FP58B) £12.98
Total : £15.96 (includes shipping : £2.48).



So then the case has room for:

1 x slim slot load optical
2 x 3.5" standard desktop drives
4 x 2.25" SSD/laptop drives

This was going to be my plan before selecting the SG05 case instead.
 
Interesting. The only problem I can see with that is the external DVD flap not being opened when you press the button, as there wouldn't be a DVD tray.
 
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