Spec Check/ First SFF Build.

Azzy..

Azzy..

Azzy..

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Joined
18 May 2009
Posts
81
Location
WSM/Teesside
Hi im sure you have seen me posting in here before asking about a variety of different systems but i have reciently recieved the money i was owed and am now able to buy a system.

BeQuiet Dark Power Pro P8 650W Modular Power Supply
OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive
Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Mini-ITX Motherboard 30 2.93GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156)
XFX ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card
2x Corsair XMS3 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single-Channel Module
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM
Lian Li PC-Q07B Mini-ITX Case - Black
Samsung SE-S084D/TSBS 8x Slimline External USB DVD±RW - Black
Akasa Hard Drive Dampener 3.5" - 5.25" Conversion



Are there any improvements you can see.
 
Um yes....

I haven't got much time, but my first thoughts are how are you going to get 8 sticks of Ram into a board that has 2 slots? How are you going to fit that GFX card in, and why? Why not look at the 5000 series atleast.
Also that PSU is mighty powerful for that build?

O 1 more thing... Where's the CPU? :)
 
OOps lol. thats what happens when a housemate comes in and distracts you.

Its not 8 sticks of ram its two sticks of 4gb

Also the processor is Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156)

And i was limited in my choice of graphics cards as its only capable of holding a single slot card.. And would like to play some games nothing to demanding.
 
Right well -

Sorry, on the memory section I read it as 4x1 not 1x4. :( Thats a fair amount of memory - are you really going to use it all?
The graphics card might be an issue with the length (Power input at the end). Why not look at the PC-Q11B instead which will allow for GFX with dual slot and a little longer. Admittedly this might cost a little more, but will allow better components and should give you a little longer life out of it.

Buy 4GB memory and spend a little more on Q11 and better GFX is my suggestion - you can then have an internal optical should you want one.
 
I think you are right about the ram, so thats been dropped to 4gb, And i did go for the q11 which to be honest isnt too much bigger.. But like you said allows for dual slot graphics card.

So... 460, Q11B, and 4GB of ram are the changes i have made.
 
IIyama Prolite E2271HDS 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card A
Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Mini-ITX Motherboard
Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156)
Lian Li PC-Q11B Aluminium Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM
Pioneer DVR-S18L 22x DVD±RW SATA Labelflash ReWriter - Black

Ok so here is the spec that i have come up with following your guide lines, is there anything i am missing or am i just being paranoid. I checked the length of the card and there should be a little room to spare.. But im concerend about the height. As the hard drives are mounted at the bottom.. I also dropped the SSD untill a later date.
 
The cards dimensions are 241 x 119 mm

Im hoping its just about small enough to be able to fit in there. The case can take 260mm cards cant it ?

I really wanna buy it now, so it comes in a couple days so i have a computer up and running for when i start uni properly.
 
Ok so now i have switched to the palit, do you think the system will be ok to buy..

The only thing i am concerend about is clearance between the card and the hard drive.
 
Azzy.. said:
Ok so now i have switched to the palit, do you think the system will be ok to buy..

The only thing i am concerend about is clearance between the card and the hard drive.
Click to expand...

If you have problems you can always remove the hard drive tray at the bottom and just sticky pad or drill and mount the hard drive directly to the floor of the case using a water cooling pump instalation kit which is basically a section of rubber with threaded bar sticking out of each end.
These can be used to great effect to reposition and quieten hard drives in any build.

You're a bit of a guinea pig here, with the case being so new there are no build logs up atm and only 1 or 2 reviews,none of which reviewed the case with a gfx card in.

So it's a case of be prepared to improvise a bit.

/edit Looking at this pic it should be fine as you can clearly see a rather large gap between the bottom slot cover and the hard drive tray
innerbarecase.jpg
 
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Ok dude, ill keep that in mind.. I think im going to buy either tonight or tomorrow morning..
Im sure i will be able to pick up the bits i need if i have a problem.
 
Thinking about it... How quiet is the 460, as this is one of the main factors for me, i kinda want a quiet but mildly powerful system.

Only really ever play counterstrike source and emulators.

Im at uni doing computer games programming, and generally use my computer as everything. Will be getting a PS3 around christmas time
 
i have the gigabyte oc 1gb 460 and it is very quiet but has the big custom dual fan cooler on it, i have heard that the palits are almost as quiet though.
 
OK so i have ordered it today, it should come before twelve tomorrow... Wow im pretty excited.. Waiting untill the 25th of the month before i get the rest of the peripherals etc that i want..

Total cost of the components including delivery was 750..

Cost of the peripherals i wish to get is close on 700 pounds... Its just a shame i dont have a nice desk to make them all stand out really well, but thats what you get for being in a student house i suppose.
 
Ok well i didnt get the time to go out and buy a camera. But let me just say that this was possibly my most challenging build yet, but this was probbably due to the fact i didnt have the correct tools for the job, Only having a cheapo screwdriver resulted in some minor damage to three of the screws, but this isnt too much of a problem, as im sure i will be able to find similar at a later date and its all about the learning process.

Having completed the build i would just like to steer people clear of the powersupply i used, due to the fan guard it ends up being about half a mm too big for the slot you are supposed to be sliding it in to, resulting in some minor paint damage to the PSU, I will probbably end up buying another one at a later date to replace this.

As for cable management, While it was a squeeze, i was able to keep the main areas pretty much clear, nothing is blocking the front intake fan, nothing is blocking the GPU fan, and there is nothing between the powersupply and CPU Cooler, WHile its not ideal at the moment, im gathering things to make my life a little easier when i come to replace components... For now its running fine, havent been able to test gaming performance due to the router being foobared and my housemate being out... What a smart idea it was to have it in his room.. (im a digi distro only kinda guy) and cant really download much to my pendrive linux powerd laptop.

SO i suppose what i really wanted to say was thanks for your help guys, and allthough it was both frustrating and kinda painful im glad i finished the system and had it all running...

I suppose the next step is to get a slightly slimer PSU, i want to replace the HSF for an aftermarket one just for peice of mind, Better cable management and possibly an SSD.. Of course this will have to wait a few weeks untill my rent has been taken out and i have made sure i can eat untill the next 25th
 
Azzy.. said:
I suppose the next step is to get a slightly slimer PSU, i want to replace the HSF for an aftermarket one just for peice of mind, Better cable management and possibly an SSD.. Of course this will have to wait a few weeks untill my rent has been taken out and i have made sure i can eat untill the next 25th
Click to expand...

Happy to help,some suggestions if I may.

Psu= 450W Silverstone Tech. Strider PSU, SST-ST45SF

HSF= Scythe Shuriken if you just want something quieter and aren't looking to overclock.

Or Prolimatech Samuel 17 with a low rpm 120mm fan for even more quiet and a nice overclock.

SSD= OCZ Vertex 2E
 
Legion said:
Psu= 450W Silverstone Tech. Strider PSU, SST-ST45SF
Click to expand...

Um I get why you are suggesting a smaller PSU, but you've got to take into account that in order to fit this the OP is going to have to do some modding to get it mounted. Just thought he should know.

I've got the same PSU (OCZ 500W) in my V352 and yes it is a little annoying it lifts the PSU 1mm, but it doesn't affect the performance and to be quite honest for the cost of it you can hardly complain.. is it really worth getting a new PSU because of some minor scratches?
 
There's no modding involved with the SST 450,although in itself it's an sfx form factor psu,it comes with a bracket to drop straight into a full size atx opening.
While it's not modular this little beasty is so easy to keep tidy because of it's extremly small footprint which in these builds counts all the way.
 
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