Hi, I need to buy or build a couple computers for work that must be as small as possible with these specs: * Quad-core CPU * At least 4GB RAM * At least NVidia 285GTX or 570M with 1GB vram (Must be NVidia because I'll be running Linux on it) It would be great to pack all this into one of those 3-inch-thick mini-itx cases, but I don't know if that's possible yet. Last time I built anything SFF was 5 years ago. Does anyone have any insight or suggestions on this?
Came up with a basis. If you like it you can fill in the blanks. Case is a bit big, yes. But with requirements for a big gpu thats about as good as you can get. YOUR BASKET 1 x Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £155.99 1 x Lian Li PC-Q08B USB3.0 Mini-ITX Case - Black £84.98 1 x Asus P8H61-I Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £69.95 1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.99 1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1333C9DC) £37.99 Total : £413.90 (includes shipping : FREE).
Hi, Thanks for the input. I do vis-sim programming at work, which is why I basically need a gaming machine. I had also narrowed it down to a mini ITX machine after doing more research the last couple days. I was looking at the sg05 case http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-127-SV The PSU is less powerful, but it's enough to power a GeForce 560 Ti. Are there any other big advantages to the Lian Li case?
Mini-itx is the way to go. The Sg05 is a great looking case, yeah 450W is enough should be perfect. To be honest im just a fan of Lian li's style but for me the small silverstone cases come a very close second. The only issue is the depth. Just make sure the GPU will fit.
I guess a GT430 wouldn't be powerful enough? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-011-ZT&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071 Also the SG05/06 are really good cases, used to have one and really miss it! A suggestion, how much money are you wanting to spend!? YOUR BASKET 1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £189.95 1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 560TI FPB (Free Performance Boost) 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express graphics Card (01G-P3-1561-KR) £164.99 1 x Asrock Z77E-ITX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £119.99 1 x Silverstone Sugo SG05 with 450W Power Supply - All Black ( SST-SG05BB USB 3.0) £114.98 1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £53.99 1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £43.99 1 x Scythe Samurai ZZ Quiet Top-down CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1155/6/LGA775/AM3/AM2+/AM2/754/939/940) £24.98 Total : £817.86 (includes shipping : £12.50). A standard 560Ti is 9", the case can take upto 10" GPUs.
a sg05 will fit and power a 560Ti (have to jiggle to fit the power connections on it, but doable). The sg05 needs slimline optical drive (slightly more expensive, and make sure its sata). Also, in terms of hard drive spaces, the lan-li will win, as it can hold 6 3.5 in drives, whereas the sg05 will only hold 1. One aspect is that I think the sg05 will end up being slightly louder than the lan-li just because of the smaller everything and how much faster those fans have to get to get the same amount of cooling. dunno if that is a big factor for you or not. also, please check max cooler height on the sg05- http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=210 its only 82 mm, so the scythe samurai zz quiet top down above isn't going to hack it. i got a zalman 8900 cnps ultra quiet in mine, but its a very close fit (where cpu is in relation to sides of case), and I lost 1 ram slot from spacing too.
That's not entirely correct. When airflow is compressed into a tighter space, it flows faster so the potential for better performance is there (or same performance with less airflow) assuming the fans used in both cases have similar characteristics. The reason we often get the impression that smaller cases are louder is due to smaller sized fans used. With the SG05, this isn't as much of a problem because it uses 120mm fan, which is common in bigger cases. Quietness aside, I think the biggest difference between the two cases considered in this thread is the size. Below are their size volume: Lian-Li PCQ08 - 21.3 liters SilverStone SG05 - 10.8 liters If you are willing to go up to 20 liters in size, there are some Micro-ATX cases that you can consider as well such as our SG01 and SG02, which are 22 liters.
Yeah, I always try to build computers as quiet as possible. In this case, though, I'm building it for my employers and not for me, and they only seem to be interested in keeping it as small as possible. So the SG05 is the way to go. I hadn't realized it was such a big difference in volume.
Huh- I didn't realise there was a SS rep around I'll clarify my experience: the 120mm in the Sg05 doesn't make much noise at all, the zalman cpu cooler and the 560 ti that i have running at 40% fan speed are the ones contributing to the noise. I have the same 560 ti in an Sg01 but I guess I don't really hear that one revving up because there are other smaller "silent" noctuas in that case already droning away.
It's cool to have reps from the manufacturers here. Some of those Apex cases look good for another project--I was thinking about building my wife a computer with a new Ivy Bridge CPU with Intel graphics. Now that could fit into a *really* small case.
