Help me build a MAD BOX

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khan613

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Jun 6, 2010
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Hey Guys,

I'm trying to build a killer gaming machine in my "Da Box" but I need some assistance with cooling and PSU requirements.

Can anybody recommend a good PSU that would run the below machine? Preferably modular and somewhat quiet. :) I've learned going through the forums that dimensions of the psu are important. So small would be good, but beefy as I have 2x 5970's to run.

Also need a CPU cooler that will go well with it. I'm new to noctua producs, but quickly learning to love their stuff!

Looking at the parts I have below, I'm guessing a 1KW minimum right? Various PSU calculators state I need around 950W, I couldn't believe it! :D

I already have:
2x 5970's (Gigabyte)
i7 930 (will be overlocking this pup)
Asus Rampage II Gene
6GB RAM (would 12 be overkill? even with the 2x 5970's?)
BD/DVD Burner
2x SSD's
2x 3.5" hard drives - these are connected via eSATAP so will draw from the PSU as well - these two drives are not important, just nice to have connected.)

I have not yet seen one of these cases in the flesh, so I'm not sure what do with cooling. I would like something to work well with the fans and airflow already in place in "Da Box".
Has any found any issues with the included fans, or replaced any of them for after market products? I was thinking of replacing the included fans with Noctua equivalents if the standard stuff is loud.

The only other problem I think I'll have in the future is graphics cooling. Any suggestions in the department would be welcome. :D
Thanks
 
If you weren't going to OC, I would have recommend a 1000W PSU minimum. But since you're overclocking, I recommend a 1200W as a minimum.

I recommend waiting till Corsair's 1200W PSU hits the market as that should be small enough to fit inside the Da Box.
 
You won't be able to fit 2 5970's in the Box. The one in the first slot will run into the cables of just about any PSU. However, I am running 5970 and 5870 in trifire, with a BFG EX-1200. To my knowledge it is the highest wattage PSU anyone has been able to fit into Da Box. A 5970 in the first slot would block all the appropriate modular connectors.
 
Thanks Catcherintherye!

Your sig was pretty much the inspiration for my build btw.

I have the option through a friend of mine to swap one 5970 with a low spec nVidia (for phsyx) or a 5870 such as your own and get some $$$ back in the process. I was hoping for quad sli. Oh well.

Any other gotcha with cooling? Or with building that system in general? Happy with the system in general?

*Edit: So there are no problems having the lower spec card in the first slot? I always believed you needed the best card available in the first slot.
 
As someone mentioned earlier in the main Da Box thread "X58 provides maximum bandwidth on both x16 slots, so performance should be unaffected. It's P55 users who may have a problem, due the PITA mobo designers insisting on the upper slot be the x16 and bifurcating the lower slot bandwidth to x8 + x8 or x12 + x4."
As for cooling...truthfully it has been quite a challenge, to say the least. Despite being the best possible cooler one can fit into the Box (better than H50, haven't seen watercooling yet, waiting for Zurginator and the legendary mod he had been talking about) the NH-D14's cooling results on a 930 on a 4.4 overclock has been ok, at best. The heat really builds up after a certain amount of time, up to 50c on idle. Also, the NH-D14 doesn't slide quite right into the board, and sort of hits the side of the case. You have to sort of have to do a little wedging to slide the mobo tray in and out, and if you take the mobo tray in and out constantly it can be a pain. I had a Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme in there before and it fit better, with similar cooling results.
Heatwise the 5970 and 5870 get into the 70's and 80's while gaming, respectively. The chip and gpus get so hot I am sweating in my own room and have to open the door to dissipate the heat. Truthfully, I am thinking of just replacing it with a full tower, but I am not giving up on Da Box just yet, because the challenge has been part of the fun. To my knowledge there aren't any aftermarket coolers that are better than the stock coolers for the GPUs that can fit, because of the height restriction. Anything taller than the stock card will hit the cooling fan over the top of the cards, which is important for cooling in and of itself. I am talking about the Scythe Setsugen in particular, it was the only single slot GPU cooler with a fan that I could find, and it was too tall. But, good luck on your build and let me know if you have any more Q's.
 
Motherboard and power supply selection are critical. As will be the cooler. I just test fit a bunch of my spare components in my Box and things are definitely tight and I'm only running a single GTS-260 in that rig. Cable management is CRUCIAL here and i recommend a 100% modular PSU so you only have what you need. My box actually came from somebody whom couldn't make a 2x5870 CF setup work in it. But I believe the problem there was PSU cabling.

All that said I'm not sure id be overclocking in this thing without water. And for water you'd need to be fairly creative on construction of the loop. But i do have a few theories ;) But unless somebody wants to send me free cooling gear that's not in the cards as of yet. I'm going to be running a Noctua NH-U12p and have had no fitment problems and could even put a push-pull fan setup on it if needed.

Keep us posted on your build.

Shane
 
Shane's writing about me. ;)

I tried to make a Crossfire 5870 setup fit but couldn't do it. I'm not one who enjoys the challenge of tackling difficult case modding so I basically ran out of patience after a weekend of trying. I just wanted to build an SFF that's a damn good gaming machine. I was directed to a QMicra V2 and the task was easy. It's not much bigger than Da Box but the extra interior space made all the difference. I was playing Mass Effect 2 two hours after starting the build.

Good luck! :)
 
This was my attempt to fit 2x 5870 (standard + XXX) Crossfire into Da Box. I tried 3 different configurations before deciding to get the QMicra. Do yourself a BIG favor and pick up the short modular cable set from SilverStone. For $20, it's an SFF's best friend.

IMG_1123.jpg


:p
 
Wow - after looking at the above mess I almost went shuttle (the x58 based J3) but it wont take my 5970, now I'm considering selling the ati and going GT480.

I really would love to have a neat SFF box. But I'd prefer it to be mATX, not shuttle - lack of oc ability concerns me. Not to mention downgrading my video card!

I'm going to put just a single 5970 in the case and I'm so close to finally splurging on this case (or shuttle) but I need some help with this decision. :) The QMicra is too expensive to have sent to Australia, the "Da Box" is worse. shipping is $320, the case is $200.
I emailed them to make sure I wasn't reading that wrong! :D

Does anybody else have some pics of a completed "Da Box" with the 5970 (or additional) graphics card?

EDIT* Already found a Silverstone short cable set and a BFG 1200 PSU which is ready to order.
 
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khan613 said:
Already found a Silverstone short cable set and a BFG 1200 PSU which is ready to order.
Click to expand...

Those may not work together. PSU cables tend to be proprietary. Silverstone's short cable kit is designed for Silverstone's power supplies.
 
khan613 said:
EDIT* Already found a Silverstone short cable set and a BFG 1200 PSU which is ready to order.
Click to expand...

As funklizard noted: They're not compatible. That short cable set is only compatible with Silverstone PSUs and even then only certain Silverstone PSUs.
 
Sorry, just to clarify: I didn't mean to use them together, they're just two possible purchases depending on which SFF I go with. :)
 
Sent Lan-gear another email trying to confirm shipping costs to Melbourne.

$200 case with $300 shipping costs is a bit of a joke.
 
khan613 said:
Sent Lan-gear another email trying to confirm shipping costs to Melbourne.

$200 case with $300 shipping costs is a bit of a joke.
Click to expand...

It was only 16 bucks for my shipping to Melbourne......................................................Florida that is :p Sorry man, I had to.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
This was my attempt to fit 2x 5870 (standard + XXX) Crossfire into Da Box. I tried 3 different configurations before deciding to get the QMicra. Do yourself a BIG favor and pick up the short modular cable set from SilverStone. For $20, it's an SFF's best friend.

IMG_1123.jpg


:p
Click to expand...

I don't see the problem. Looks great. How about a window? ;)
 
ninjai123 said:
nice are you planning to watercool that beast?
Click to expand...
Nope. It's running very nicely with the Noctua air cooler and 3 120m fans... at least so far. The 5870 cards are quite cool for all the graphics power they pump out.
 
I heard back from Lan-gear, they want an EXACT address so they can figure out the cost of shipment to Melbourne (AUSTRALIA!! :p )
I sent two replies....haven't heard back

So far customer service sucks. May be early warning signs to steer clear.

Looking at the Lian-Li V351 and the Silverstone SG07 (matx vs itx)
Not sure if I'm going to kick myself if I only go ITX. But the SG07 is a LOT smaller! :)

I like the Asus Rampage II Gene for mATX. Can anybody recommend a good ITX board?
Is there anything with USB 3.0??
 
khan613 said:
I like the Asus Rampage II Gene for mATX. Can anybody recommend a good ITX board?
Is there anything with USB 3.0??
Click to expand...

Nope, no ITX mobo has USB 3.0 now. A good ITX mobo would be the Intel BOXDH57JG mITX mobo.
 
Yeah the Gigabyte one that just came out has USB 3. It's an interesting looking board, I might buy one at some point, when I do my ITX build.
 
Just googled it. Interesting. the cpu sites a bit to the left. Wonder it will interfere wtih my Noctua cpu cooler that I had in mind.

As for mATX and the Rampage II Gene. Can anybody recommend:

1. A cpu cooler to go on an i930? (Prefer noctua)
2. a PSU that would fit in the LianLi V351? Silverstone would be good - so I could invest in those short cable kits if required.
 
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