My first build - sg07 (SFF)

[CEEREAL]

Hi everyone, site lurker here just asking for some feedback or suggestions on my first build before I checkout. Just to let everyone know, I'm new at this and not very good at it yet. Buying most of this stuff at newegg and directcanada.
I plan on using this build for gaming and XBMC/HTPC for movies and retro gaming via emulators.


[ UPDATED 11/24/2011 ]
CASE- Silverstone Sugo SG07-BW
PSU- 600w 80+ Bronze INCLUDED
CPU- Intel i5-2500k
MOBO- ASRock Z68M-ITX
GPU- HIS IceQ X Turbo Radeon HD 6950
RAM- G.SKILL Ripjaws X 2x4gb
SSD- Crucial M4 128gb (os, programs)
HDD- Seagate Barracuda 2tb (other files- bare)
OPTICAL- Panasonic UJ240 Drive (drive only)

HS/F- Scythe Samurai Zz CPU Cooler, Enzotech NB & VRM Copper HS x1each
others- Win7 64bit Home OEM, DIGISTOR Slimline SATA to Standard SATA (Power) Adapter (for slim optical drive), +1 extra SATA cable


Added aftermarket HS&F. The 2500k is on sale so I'm grabbing that instead of the non-k version, and am planning on learning OC'ing eventually anyways. Changed the MOBO to the Z68 and GPU to 6950 as recommended. RAM changed from 2x2gb to 2x4gb just because. Picked Crucial M4 as main drive, and Seagate Barracuda as storage drive (I believe this Seagate is a new 7200rpm type). Slim blu-ray for optical drive is expensive .

Reason for linking almost everything is to help out other newbies and alike that are interested in SFF builds and don't know where to start (like me). These picks have top reviews from other consumers on newegg and has been fixed with the advice from some knowledgeable people on this forum. Granted, it adds up to a very high amount so feel free to tweak and adjust as you like.. If you grab the SG07 case you may want to start by getting a slim DVD optical drive instead, much cheaper. =P


Thanks to everyone for all the help.

 

[Zap]

1) Yes, it will fit. The SG07 fits quite large graphics cards. It is the smaller SG05 and SG06 that have problems fitting larger cards.

2) Yes, cases normally come with all the hardware necessary to install components.

3) Drives usually do not come with software unless explicitly specified. This means no software to play back Blu Ray movies, and no software to burn Blu Ray discs. The screws should come with the case. Cables... I'm not sure. Some come with the case (such as the Antec ISK series) and some do not. I do not know if the SG07 comes with it or not. I do not recall my SG05 coming with it. If it doesn't, then the Digistor adapter you linked to is the proper power adapter. You would use a normal SATA data cable.

I have some suggestions.

The SG07 can handle a much higher end graphics card. If you will be gaming, you should consider something like a Radeon 6950.

For motherboard, consider something with the H67 chipset for SATA 6G, because the better SSDs will take advantage of it. Alternately you can go with the Z68 chipset, but that jumps up quite a bit in price. There's a cheap Foxconn H67 ITX board but it only has three SATA ports. Dunno, you'll have to think about this.

For the WiFi, some ITX boards come with one built in, albeit at a higher price. Alternately, consider an adapter that does 300Mbps instead of 150Mbps like the one you linked. For instance, one of my favorites is this one because it has a stand.

Your HDD choices need some serious work. Notebook drives are a horrible choice for mass storage. This 3TB 7200RPM 3.5" HDD will be fast and hold 3x the data. Alternately one of the 2TB "green" drives are the best bang for the storage buck.

Instead of the VelociRaptor HDD, consider an SSD. I'm guessing you choose the VelociRaptor for performance. Well, SSDs are much, much, much.... much faster. Catch my drift? Also, the 300GB VelociRaptors are slower than the 450GB and 600GB versions.

 

[CEEREAL]

First of all, thanks for answering my newbie questions, and welcoming me here earlier on a different thread.

consider something like a Radeon 6950.

You know, I might just do that. But now I have a few questions in regards with this:
1) Will it fit? .. although I assume it does since you mentioned it.
2) Which manufacturer? On newegg the top 2 ratings are for SAPPHIRE and HIS IceQ x Turbo. HIS has a higher 4-5 egg count total %, and a lower 1-2 egg total %. I also like that the HIS is slightly overclocked already but I still want to know your opinion.
3) How's the heat and noise on these things?
4) Is the 2500k still a good pairing with the 6950?

For motherboard, consider the H67 chipset / Z68 chipset

Any specific recommendations on H67 or Z68 chipset? =)
I can also probably deal with the 3 sata ports if I take up the one 3.5" mass storage and one SSD suggestion you gave me.

For the WiFi, . . . an adapter that does 300Mbps instead of 150Mbps

Ahh, thanks for catching that.. I just recently picked a different wireless adapter and didn't notice that. My first pick was the ASUS USB-N13 just because it got pretty good reviews and is small. I'll consider one with a stand.

HDD choices need some serious work . . . This 3TB 7200RPM 3.5" HDD will be fast and hold 3x the data.

Instead of the VelociRaptor HDD, consider an SSD. I'm guessing you choose the VelociRaptor for performance.

OH, okay for some reason I was stuck in the mindset that the 3.5" HDD should be my primary. -_-" And SSD's can fit properly in a 2.5" bay?
I definitely think the performance of the VR's is a plus, but I just like the fact that it's an HDD rather than SSD.. I've read so many comments on different SSD products in newegg where most of them are DoA or fail right away. And they can get very expensive. AFAIK, it's still relatively new technology, I think? If you know a SSD that is known to be stable and quite popular, please let me know. Thinking about 300gb but I'm afraid of the price haha.

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks very much for all the help!

 

[Zap]

1) I think it will fit the SG07, though you should do some more research on that. I believe Silverstone's product page will have information either on what cards fit, or dimensions of what fits.

2) I have no opinion on those cards because I don't own one. My most recent purchase was a GTX 560 Ti, so if you want a recommendation on that I can.

3) The heat output isn't too bad. The actual temperatures depends on how effective the cooler is. Noise depends on how effective the cooler is. I see two choices. One would be the "blower" style fan at one end, pushing air out the other end. The pro is that you force all hot air out of the case. The con is that these usually are noisier. The other choice is one that uses two (or more) fans. The pro is lower GPU temperatures and noise. The con is that heat stays in your case, so you end up relying on case ventilation.

4) The 2500K goes well with everything.

I don't have a specific H67 recommendation because frankly I'd get the Z68, though that costs even more. For mini ITX I would get the ASRock Z68.

Yes, majority (but not all) SSDs currently on the market are 2.5".

You should look at HDD reviews - plenty of those mention DOA too. With SSDs, the problems usually turn out to be firmware issues - which doesn't help when it doesn't work. The older Intel G2 drives are considered very reliable, but are now considered on the slow side for an SSD (but they still are a LOT faster than a HDD). Also, Marvell controller drives (Crucial/Micron C300/RealSSD, Crucial m4, Intel 510) seem fairly reliable and are really fast with SATA 6G. Samsung branded drives seem reliable. Their older model 470 is available now, and their new model 830 will be available soon. The 830 is SATA 6G and reasonably fast but others are faster.

If you have the budget, I don't think you can go wrong with a Crucial m4. They even seem reasonably priced!

Consider this. A single Crucial m4 can outperform VelociRaptors in RAID0.

 

[htwingnut]

That looks like a nice build. I've used SFF machines for a long time, usually Shuttle, but have an SG01 as well.

Regarding SSD's pretty much any SSD will be a marked improvement over pretty much any hard drive configuration you use. I have a Western Digital 256GB that I got for $200 from Newegg during a promo, but I've seen it for $250 frequently too.

In any case for a boot drive, go with a 120-128GB SSD for Windows and apps, and then use hard drives for everything else. Most games don't see any benefit from an HDD except for faster level load times, maybe in some games where the textures load real-time as you move through it, but even then a 7200RPM desktop drive should be adequate.

 

[CEEREAL]

Kk, thanks for the replies! I will try to go through more options and then update hopefully during the weekend, maybe even earlier. Right now am thinking about switching the 2.5" notebook HDDs with a 256gb Crucial M4 as a start with tweaking the build.

 

[CEEREAL]

Hmm, according to this site (and picture included below), I also need a right angle SATA power connector for the 2.5" drive. Okay sure, I found some on newegg.. but none of them say SATA III, only SATA II. I assume I'm supposed to use a 90° SATA II power cable like this, and a separate SATA III data cable and will still work properly with the performance of up to 6gbps? :S

The SSD is hiding in the middle left side of the case.

 

[Zap]

All SATA power connectors are the same. No such thing as SATA II or SATA III power connectors. Also, it isn't SATA III, but SATA 6Gbps (I shorten it to SATA 6G). That is because SATA II is SATA 3Gbps, so there is already confusion.

For SATA data cables, I know some are marked for the faster SATA 6G, but AFAIK there isn't actually any difference.

 

[Seferio]

SG07 supports graphics cards up to 12.2" in length. Any 6950 should fit. Reference cards tend to be the longest (around 11+") and the MSI Frozrs tend to be around 11" as well.

You will want at least a H67 for onboard SATA III ports. You can step up to Z68 if you want depending on how much you want to spend.

If you're not going to overclock or are getting a H67/H61 motherboard there is no sense in getting a K series.

Most newer motherboards tend to come with 90° SATA data cables. Check pictures of the included accessories to find out if that is the case or not.

The default PSU should already have 90° connectors. Pretty much all PSU's have 90° connectors except for the end connector.

Any SATA III SSD should work, especially if you're not going for top performance.

 

[Zap]

SG07 supports graphics cards up to 12.2" in length. Any 6950 should fit.

:thumbsup:

 

[Skott]

:thumbsup:

Get a card that has the power connections on the top and you are fine.

 

[CEEREAL]

Hi everyone. I'm finally back after delaying so long XD.
I updated my first post quite a bit with my changes I've went through today thanks from the help of you guys.

I have another question that seems simple but I can't wrap my head around it. How many more SATA data and power cables do I need to buy separately in total to complete the build? I assume the two that come with the z68 can support 6gb/s (I hope) so I'll put one of those on the 2.5" SSD and the other on the 3.5" HDD, then I'll get buy one of these BYTECC 18" SATA-3gb/s 90° for the optical blu-ray drive.
If that is correct, now what about power sata cables? Do I need to buy these or do they come with the PSU or something?

And, any other feedback before I give them my money? I'm trying to get this done before the black friday sales are done or sold out; till 27th I believe.

 

[Silverforce11]

I have the Asrock Z68 MB, it comes with 2 sata3 cables but they are not right angle ones. Two are all you need for the ssd/hdd. The dvd burner if you have one can use a regular sata cable.

I recommend you upgrade your cooling, the stock hs/f is complete utter batshit. Just a minute with prime95 and my stock 2500k was hitting 85C. Also buy some mosfet/vrm copper heatsinks and a northbridge copper heatsink to replace the crap one on the asrock mb. It should allow you to OC the cpu to 4.5ghz or so. There's currently no good mITX mb that can OC without these extra mods.

 

[CEEREAL]

thanks for the reply.

it comes with 2 sata3 cables but they are not right angle ones.

sorry, sata3 as in sata III (6gb/s) or sata3gb/s? the way they labelled these things is really confusing to me.
also, thats weird. I was looking at the last picture on here and one of them has a right angle at one end of it. =/

I recommend you upgrade your cooling, the stock hs/f is complete utter batshit. Also buy some mosfet/vrm copper heatsinks and a northbridge copper heatsink to replace the crap one on the asrock mb.

okay, hmm.. any specific newegg picks on the heatsinks and fans? and you're saying 2 different heatsinks for the mobo? I've not done this before so I'm a bit confused.

 

[Silverforce11]

SATA3 as in SATAIII 6gbps, there's 2 cables.

NB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835708002

VRM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835708011

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185097
This cooler keeps the stock 2500K @ ~65C on load (prime95) compared with stock intel @ ~85C. It's also inaudible.

With those VRM/NB heatsinks, i managed to get a stable 4.3ghz OC in prime95. But the scythe heatsink is not really meant for OC work and temps were pretty high.

 

[CEEREAL]

Awesome! I just added the NB and VRM heatsinks to the cart. As for the CPU cooler I picked this Scythe Samurai Zz instead, and found it for $5.00 cheaper and in stock at directcanada. Good stuff, I think I'm almost ready to go.

But about my other question, do I need to buy any power sata cables or is all of that already part of the PSU? =/ I really am a beginner at this but looking forward to putting this stuff together.

 

[Silverforce11]

Power cables are always part of the PSU.
The Samurai is better than Shuriken but its also taller, should fit easily in the SUGO7.

Good luck!

 

[CEEREAL]

ty.
I've noticed that these Ripjaws have the model F3-10666CL7D-8GBRH and it isn't listed in this memory support list. Is this going to be a problem??

 

[Silverforce11]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231314

I use those, works fine with MB, it detected all the settings on the profile. Should be compatible with all 1.5v ram i think.

 

[CEEREAL]

Done and done. Purchased on newegg and directcanada last night. Can't wait.
Thanks again.