What Case do you suggest ????

FriendlyNameMan

FriendlyNameMan

FriendlyNameMan

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Hi

I want to build a SFF media type PC using the Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX motherboard, I have my processor, memory, extra graphics card, hard drive and blu ray player all covered but am stuck on which case and PSU to use.

It doesn't have to be tiny, but quiet and with a PSU powerful enough to run all
the above ( the extra graphics card is a 9800GTX )

Any suggestions ?

Thanks
 
FriendlyNameMan said:
Hi

I want to build a SFF media type PC using the Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX motherboard, I have my processor, memory, extra graphics card, hard drive and blu ray player all covered but am stuck on which case and PSU to use.

It doesn't have to be tiny, but quiet and with a PSU powerful enough to run all
the above ( the extra graphics card is a 9800GTX )

Any suggestions ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Personally, I have fallen in complete love with the Aplus Cupid 3, and am very tempted by an identical setup to yourself. I've priced it out and can get the case, the mobo (PCB4) and an E5300 for £230 delivered, I have ram and HDDs already. :)

Check a review of the case here:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1797/a_cupid_3_mini_itx_htpc_chassis/index.html
 
Thats superb EvilGrin
I've decide to go with this case also, looks very stylish.

With luck all my parts will arrive by the weekend and I can start building. I had to order from 3 different suppliers for my bits and pieces, bulk including OS from OcUK as its very hard to locate those new PC04 boards, and OcUK have no eta on stock.
 
I have this case, superb case and very well built. has gret features and lots of room for its size.
current set-up in it is

Asus AT3GC-I ATOM 330 MOBO
2Gb DDrII 800
1x 40gb ide drive, i want to replace this with some sort of ide flash drive.
1x terra byte drive
have an extra gigabit lan card in it as i plan on it having a dedicated seperate internet connection to the rest of my network.

the psu is very quiet, biggest noise in this case is the cpu fan. like i say the allu front is of gret quality, gona get mine anodized black though, think it will go so much better with the shiny door on the bottom.

future plans are to gut the dvd rom mount assembly and fit a 3 drive hard drive rack, so 4 drives in totel , the room is there once the dvd rom mount is gone and ill swap the gigabit card for a wireless n card and dedicate n+ wireless bridge for the modem.

so as you can see, lots and lots of room foe a small case and well worth the money!
 
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FriendlyNameMan said:
I want to build a SFF media type PC using the Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX motherboard, I have my processor, memory, extra graphics card, hard drive and blu ray player all covered but am stuck on which case and PSU to use.

It doesn't have to be tiny, but quiet and with a PSU powerful enough to run all
the above ( the extra graphics card is a 9800GTX )
Click to expand...
The best cases for the Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX are the closely related Silverstone Sugo SG05 http://silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG05&area= and SG06 http://silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG06&area=. They come with a 300W PSU and can accommodate almost any 9" graphics card, but the 10.5" 9800GTX will not fit in (it will be difficult to find a mini-ITX box that will take it).
 
betaspin said:
The best cases for the Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX are the closely related Silverstone Sugo SG05 http://silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG05&area= and SG06 http://silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG06&area=. They come with a 300W PSU and can accommodate almost any 9" graphics card, but the 10.5" 9800GTX will not fit in (it will be difficult to find a mini-ITX box that will take it).
Click to expand...

Well, "best" is a very subjective word. Really depends on what you intend to do with the box, personally the onboard graphics of the Zotac 9300 are part of the reason I want the board, as the system will be a pure Home theatre PC, no gaming. So for me, size/aesthetics and functionality for what I intend to use it for are the most important factor, and for me, in the mini-itx range, the Aplus Cupid 3 comes up trumps.
 
EvilGrin said:
Well, "best" is a very subjective word. Really depends on what you intend to do with the box, personally the onboard graphics of the Zotac 9300 are part of the reason I want the board, as the system will be a pure Home theatre PC, no gaming. So for me, size/aesthetics and functionality for what I intend to use it for are the most important factor, and for me, in the mini-itx range, the Aplus Cupid 3 comes up trumps.
Click to expand...
I wholeheartedly agree. Still, the original poster was asking about a case that would accommodate a powerful graphics card. Also, the Aplus Cupid 3, which is a generic case with a nicer-looking front, has very limited space for a cpu cooler, which can prove to be a problem.
 
betaspin said:
I wholeheartedly agree. Still, the original poster was asking about a case that would accommodate a powerful graphics card. Also, the Aplus Cupid 3, which is a generic case with a nicer-looking front, has very limited space for a cpu cooler, which can prove to be a problem.
Click to expand...

Yikes, I guess I didn't read the op correctly! You're right though, the Aplus Cupid 3 is certainly not suitable for a more powerful gaming graphics card. I really like the Silverstone Mini ITX offerings, especially in silver, although combined with having to get a low profile dvd/bluray drive, the price mounts up well beyond anything I'd want to spend.
 
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If you would like to have a look at an impartial review of the generic case on which the Aplus Cupid 3 is based, see the Apex MI-008 review at http://www.silentpcreview.com/apex-mi008. It may prove interesting to compare this to their more recent Silverstone Sugo SG05 and SG06 review, see http://www.silentpcreview.com/Silverstone_SG05_SG06. The SG05/SG06 are far from perfect, but apart from the fact that they have space for a powerful graphics card, they can also be used for building an almost silent system, which requires the use of a bigger cpu cooler (could be even passive, e.g., a GeminII), a replacement psu and, eventually, another front fan. Of course, all of this would push the overall cost up.
 
I have a sg05 its an awesome little case that you can fit good components in :-)) got a zotac mobo and E8400 @3.6 and a 4850 and 4gigs or ram. I use mine as a media centre hooked up to HD tv and as an extra pc to keep the missus off mine lol. win win!! the Alpenföhn Panorama 'Low Profile' CPU Cooler is pretty silent and cools really well - way way better than stock!
 
I just did a build using the Aplus Cupid 3.
It looks lovely, but word of warning, space is tight, cable control is the main issue, I'd no problems otherwise, but may have had major issues if I'd planned to use a GFX card other than the onboard.
All will fit with a squeeze. Its very sturdy, and looks well, the PSU fan has a little whine when it is first turned on.

If people are considering building this with a big GFX card simplist thing to do would be switch out the PSU and use a pico instead., removes all noise, and gives incredibly easy access to follow.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
I just did a build using the Aplus Cupid 3.
It looks lovely, but word of warning, space is tight, cable control is the main issue, I'd no problems otherwise, but may have had major issues if I'd planned to use a GFX card other than the onboard.
All will fit with a squeeze. Its very sturdy, and looks well, the PSU fan has a little whine when it is first turned on.

If people are considering building this with a big GFX card simplist thing to do would be switch out the PSU and use a pico instead., removes all noise, and gives incredibly easy access to follow.
Click to expand...
At the moment, the picoPSU's go up to 150W, which is not enough for a Zotac 9300 ITX equipped with a half-decent graphics card. If the aim is to build a reasonably powerful miniITX system, then there is really no substitute to the SG05/SG06, especially when Silverstone release the new 450W psu next month.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
I just did a build using the Aplus Cupid 3.
It looks lovely, but word of warning, space is tight, cable control is the main issue, I'd no problems otherwise, but may have had major issues if I'd planned to use a GFX card other than the onboard.
All will fit with a squeeze. Its very sturdy, and looks well, the PSU fan has a little whine when it is first turned on.

If people are considering building this with a big GFX card simplist thing to do would be switch out the PSU and use a pico instead., removes all noise, and gives incredibly easy access to follow.
Click to expand...

Got any build pics you can up, mate? :O)
 
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