Thinking about switching to an SSF

mugglemind · 4 Jan 2007 at 20:20

Atm I have a pretty high end gaming computer, with a huuge case (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-TT ) I do a lot of LANing at a friends house, and moving my case around is a pain in the neck. So I was wondering about buying a new SFF Case and Motherboard, for practicallity and because they look damn cool

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Firstly Id like to confirm that all I need for the change to SFF is a Micro-ATX motherboard, and the case its self. All my other copmonents I can keep and put in the shuttle case (if I get a case that will fit an ATX PSU) am I right?

Secondly I want to confirm everything will fit in an aspire Q-pack, which is the Case Im looking in to buying.The specs of my computer atm are :
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz
2GB Corsair XMS2 (2x1GB)
Western Digital Caviar 250GB S-ATA
Hitachi Deskstar 320GB S-ATA
Nvidea 7950 GX2 1024MB

The Graphics card is my main worry, its about as deep as an 8800, but not as long. I Already know I cant use my soundcard just from looking at pictures of the mobo I'm going to get (Asus P5B-VM) Does anyone know if this set up will all fit in the Aspire Q-pack?

Thirdly I was wondering if the 420w PSU that comes with the Q-pack would be enough for my pc? I do have a 600w PSU at the moment obviously but its pretty old and possibly in need of a replacement.

Also I was thinking about getting a Zalman CNPS7000B (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-017-ZA ) as I thought Cooling may be more of an issue then in my current case. I was also thinking about getting a Cooler for my Graphics card, as that runs pretty hot atm. Are there any Coolers that are compatible with the 7950 GX2 and will fit in the Q-pack?

Any help would be much appreciated :>

EDIT: Anyone know a good place in the UK to buy the Q-Pack?

Tosk · 4 Jan 2007 at 20:49

i cant see you having any graphics card thickness problems as the X-QPACK as 4 slots for extra card, that including the gfx slow as well

as for the gfx card length im not sure on that 1

WJA96 · 4 Jan 2007 at 21:03

mugglemind said:
Firstly Id like to confirm that all I need for the change to SFF is a Micro-ATX motherboard, and the case its self. All my other copmonents I can keep and put in the shuttle case (if I get a case that will fit an ATX PSU) am I right?

Close enough

mugglemind said:
Secondly I want to confirm everything will fit in an aspire Q-pack, which is the Case Im looking in to buying.The specs of my computer atm are :
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz
2GB Corsair XMS2 (2x1GB)
Western Digital Caviar 250GB S-ATA
Hitachi Deskstar 320GB S-ATA
Nvidea 7950 GX2 1024MB

The Graphics card is my main worry, its about as deep as an 8800, but not as long. I Already know I cant use my soundcard just from looking at pictures of the mobo I'm going to get (Asus P5B-VM) Does anyone know if this set up will all fit in the Aspire Q-pack?

I seriously doubt the graphics card will fit. I'd also body-swerve the motherboard as it's megabucks and, quite frankly, carp. It's outrageously expensive and doesn't clock, plus it has all sorts of 'characteristics' that sensible people wouldn't find acceptable. The Intel P965G chipset is not the same as P965, so don't be fooled!

Get an ASRock 945G-DVI, save big and smile. Then when a decent overclocking motherboard comes out - buy that.

As for telling you where to buy an X-QPack, I can't do it and you can't ask it - doubtless a don will be along any moment to ask you to read the rules regarding OcUK competitors. If you are seriously looking at an X-QPack then do have a look at the ready-to-go water cooled ones from Alphacool, I think. They are quite incredible. Froogle.co.uk will find you both.

Also have a look at the Lian Li V300 and the Silverstone SG-01 Evo (aka Sugo). These are both only a few pounds more expensive than the Aspire X-QPack, but make it look like a piece of carp in terms of build quality (unless it's all bolted up really tight the Aspire has all the structural rigidity of a marshmallow).

mugglemind said:
Thirdly I was wondering if the 420w PSU that comes with the Q-pack would be enough for my pc? I do have a 600w PSU at the moment obviously but its pretty old and possibly in need of a replacement.

It's OK - but please bear in mind that all these cases are very short and that they are all constrained in terms of PSU size. If I recall correctly you need a Seasonic PSU as then the power cables come out the correct side so they don't foul the optical drives.

mugglemind said:
Also I was thinking about getting a Zalman CNPS7000B (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-017-ZA ) as I thought Cooling may be more of an issue then in my current case. I was also thinking about getting a Cooler for my Graphics card, as that runs pretty hot atm. Are there any Coolers that are compatible with the 7950 GX2 and will fit in the Q-pack?

All these cases are very tight on headroom and width for the CPU cooler. Any cooler that overhangs the motherboard will almost certainly touch the sides of the case. As I said before - you can avoid all the case cooling issues by using a water cooling system like the Alphacool Ready-to-Go. In that case you can buy a GPU block for the graphics card and the cooling issue disappears. The Pre-modded water cooled case will set you back about £235 or £335 with the GX twin cooler. If that sounds like a lot, then do think about how much processing power (and heat) you are trying to squeeze into a box that's not quite 12" square.

mugglemind · 4 Jan 2007 at 21:32

Thanks for the responses, theyve been very helpfull.

How much of a difference in performance is the ASRock 945G-DVI to the Asus P5B-VM? Baring in mind I have little to no intention of overclocking. And would it be a huge drop in performance from my current Asus P5B Deluxe?

I mentioned the Zalman because I saw a picture of one in a Qpack, so thought it would fit quite safely.

Also can anyone confirm the graphics card not fitting?

WJA96 · 4 Jan 2007 at 22:04

mugglemind said:
How much of a difference in performance is the ASRock 945G-DVI to the Asus P5B-VM? Bearing in mind I have little to no intention of overclocking. And would it be a huge drop in performance from my current Asus P5B Deluxe?

I don't really know, but the P5B-VM gets panned everywhere. The ASRock has the massive advantage of being cheap. I doubt you'd see much of drop in performance.

mugglemind said:
I mentioned the Zalman because I saw a picture of one in a Qpack, so thought it would fit quite safely.

All motherboards are a little bit different. In a big case, it makes no odds if the CPU cooler hangs off the edge of the card, but in an mATX case, it makes a huge difference. The 92mm Zalman will almost certainly fit, but if you can get it in, the 12" Zalman is going to be even better. The Silverstone Nitrogon NT-06 is also a great cooler.
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mugglemind · 4 Jan 2007 at 22:42

Ok, cheers for the help. Does the 92mm Zalman come with the clip that allows it to fit over a socket 775 mobo?

WJA96 · 5 Jan 2007 at 00:18

No, it's an extra. Not massively expensive, but extra.