Starting a new SFF build and I have a few questions...

CompuG##K said:
Haven't ordered the GPU quite yet. Sucks that I won't be able to use the onboard and video card together with Hybrid SLI/Geforce Boost, but oh well. I'll probably stick with the GTS 250 anyway since the chipset is also made by Nvidia.

I know a 4850 would probably work, but Vista wouldn't play nice with two separate display drivers. That is unless of course I could completely disable the onboard video and opt out of installing the drivers for it in the chipset driver pack. That would be kind of a waste though if I ever wanted to..say... have the onboard video drive another display or something...

The GTS 250 1gb is pretty much on par with the 4850 isn't it?



EDIT:

Well I finished the drive bracket replica. It isn't 100% exact, after all it is bendy cardstock that's taped together, but it should get the job done. :D

snip



So basically what I'll do is start chopping off bits of this replica to make it fit. Since it gives me a good idea where all the mounting holes for the optical drive will end up, I'll have a much easier time with modding the mock-up and getting it right rather than screwing up the real thing through trial and error.
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Brilliant idea. My modding skills must be weak because i never once considered make a replica. I rely too much on calculation and visualization. :(
 
I like to work with both since they compliment each other very nicely. :D Like with the replicas. I drew out their exact dimensions in Photoshop (with Units and Rulers set accordingly) using a number of well-placed guide lines to keep the scale in check. Printed them out on cardstock paper, cut out pieces and holes, folded angles, taped pieces together, etc... Was actually quite fun!

Well, I've been spending the last hour or so butchering my drive bracket replica and I think I've come up with a winner!






During testing I added a few pieces of polystyrene square tubing to add stability while I rested the test optical drive on it.








The dark pen marks at each corner mark where I need to make new brackets for the mounting screws. The dark printed lines mark the top-down layout of the 2.5" hdd bay. The dark pen line near the top is where the back of the test optical drive used to come to.



Here's the test drive in position.








Just enough room to for the plugs. I was going to use an IDE BluRay slim optical drive with something like this IDE Slim Optical to SATA adapter, but there simply isn't going to be enough room for one of those boards on the back of the drive. The power supply is still too close for any plugs to fit. Perhaps if all the plugs on the IDE to SATA adapter were on the right, I'd still be in business. All of this is of course based on the length of my test drive, which is a few years old. Would newer drives be any shorter perhaps? My other alternative is to use a slim optical SATA drive with an adapter like this instead.








Anyways, modding the real drive bracket should be easy. Dremel tool + cutting disc + straight lines on masking tape = simple as that.

Only thing I will have to do is reconstruct the front side of the 2.5" hdd bay. I'll have to cut out the front wall and empty area so it'll clear the intake fan when I move the whole bracket forward.
 
CompuG##K said:
The power supply is still too close for any plugs to fit. Perhaps if all the plugs on the IDE to SATA adapter were on the right, I'd still be in business. All of this is of course based on the length of my test drive, which is a few years old. Would newer drives be any shorter perhaps?
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Well if the new drive is a single platter or of low storage compacity (around 160GB and below), they will probably be thinner. However new drives are still about the same length as older drives.

Have you thought about just getting a laptop hard drive? Or if you don't mind voiding the warranty and want high performance, you can just use the newer Velocirpator drives without their heatsink/icepak/module thingy. That should be pretty small.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well if the new drive is a single platter or of low storage compacity (around 160GB and below), they will probably be thinner. However new drives are still about the same length as older drives.

Have you thought about just getting a laptop hard drive? Or if you don't mind voiding the warranty and want high performance, you can just use the newer Velocirpator drives without their heatsink/icepak/module thingy. That should be pretty small.
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It isn't the hard drive that I'm having the length issue with, it's the optical drive. The amount of space that I have between the back of the optical drive and the power supply is keeping me from using a slim optical IDE to SATA adapter board. Are newer slim optical drives any shorter than ones from a few years ago?

Though, I do plan on getting a laptop drive like you said. The hard drive will rest mounted sideways, neatly in its little bracket hanging under the optical drive and out of the way of pretty much everything.
 
Ah, ok then. Thanks for the info. :) Guess I'll just have to use a slim optical SATA drive then. I know for sure I can get one of these to fit since the plug will be on the right of the drive.
 
Nice, I was looking into the zotac board myself people are saying its as good as the intel counterpart etc I like the looks of it also seems like they have their sh*t in a pile as far as little motherboards. I was planning on building my own case though as I have a laser engraver and I want to try and make it all from 1/8" thick acrylic. Looks like you knew what you wanted and pretty much got it. I have am antec Basic power 350 watt supply lying around new, I wonder if that would work with about your same setup. I never knew there was a gts 250 what is the power req? my gtx260 is 36amps i think.

Nice little rig you have going there.
 
ghost2501 said:
I never knew there was a gts 250 what is the power req? my gtx260 is 36amps i think.
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That 36A rating is for the entire system + the video card. Even then it's a bit overboard to account for the thousands of shitty PSUs out there.

Anyway, a system with the GTS250 requires at least 24A on the +12V rail according to eVGA:
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=512-P3-1150-TR&family=GeForce 200 Series Family

Apparently the GTS250 uses up 150W of power by itself:
http://www.gpureview.com/GeForce-GTS-250-card-606.html
 
I went back into Photoshop and revised the layout to include the modifications that I made to the first mockup. I printed out the design and proceeded to construct a cleaner, less butchered version of the final design.










As you can see, with the 3.5" hdd bay gone and the 2.5" hdd/slim optical drive bracket slimmed up, there will be a lot of room for airflow from the front intake to go directly into the ram and cpu heatsink. Even with the cables installed, there will be minimal cable clutter because of clever routing and shortening of cables.





With test hard drive installed...









Of course the mockup is slightly warped and out of shape when the weight of the drives are on it it, but the dimensions of it are perfect and it should give you an idea of how things will be laid out when I finish modifying the drive bracket.
 
Good news, the power supply arrived today!



It wasn't long before I had the cover off of it...



Marked the center of the power supply cover...



The Beast...



The aftermath...


120mm? Yup.


The test fit...


Checking the offset between the hole and the cpu fan. Looks good...


Took the fan grill from the front intake fan on the SG05 and used it for the grill on the power supply hole. I cut off the screw holes because they wouldn't let the grill rest perfectly flat against the hole. The grill is supported from the inside by the four posts where the screw holes were. I used JB Weld in each corner to tack it in place. I may or may not add a second coat of JB Weld depending on how strong the first coat is...






Now on to the next task which is cutting the drive bracket to the right size.

My weapon of choice...



I used masking tape on the drive bracket and traced my cutting lines onto it. Silly me forgot to take a picture before I started chopping though...

After the chop...


The 2.5" drive mount is now free hanging on the front side. I cut off the plate that it used to be supported by in the front and I'll re-engineer it to be mounted in the new position.


I still have a lot of filing and cleaning of those cut edges to do. Stay tuned!
 
Update time!

The system is very very close to being finished. The only thing that remains is to extend the front panel audio and usb cables. I'm waiting for the extension cables to arrive so I can do just that. I haven't been taking as many pictures during the construction as I would have liked, but I plan on documenting all of the completed modifications thoroughly within a couple days.

Until, here's some pictures of the first assembly in action. :D











These pics were taken a couple of days back while I was testing the system for stability and making sure my shortened/spliced cables worked properly. This was before I even made a secure mounting system for the optical drive. I had it taped in place. :D

Since then, I've greatly reduced the amount of cable clutter in the front by sleeving the front panel wires and routing them around the perimeter of the case. Also I have developed a completely tool-less and screw-less system for securing the optical drive in place.

As far as performance and temps go, everything is looking excellent. The Q6600 is overclocked to 3ghz at stock volts and idles at 35-39c and loads at around 53c after an extended session of Prime95. The GTS 250 idles at 34c and loads at 50c after a few loops of 3dmark. The only game I've tried so far is Left 4 Dead and it runs as smooth as butter with max AA/AF and the highest graphics settings. I know it's not the most demanding game out there, but to see it running this good on such a small system is nothing short of impressive in my eyes.

I'll have some more pics up soon. Stay tuned!
 
awesome work man and well documented to boot. I mcguyvered mine together, but yours seems professionally planned and implemented by comparison.:) By the way what did you use for spacers between the fan and heatsink? (so the fan blades don't catch on the heatsink.) How is the overclocking on that board?
 
Danny Bui said:
I really like the look of that case!
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Exocet956 said:
awesome work man and well documented to boot. I mcguyvered mine together, but yours seems professionally planned and implemented by comparison.:) By the way what did you use for spacers between the fan and heatsink? (so the fan blades don't catch on the heatsink.) How is the overclocking on that board?
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Thanks :)

Oddly enough, I didn't need spacers.:confused: There is just enough clearance for the fan to spin freely without making contact with the heatsink fins...

I'm running my Q6600 at 3ghz with stock volts right now with no problems with stability or heat. Haven't tried to go any higher, but I've seen some reviews that got the board up to 375 fsb which is pretty impressive.

I've tried Left 4 Dead, GTA4, and Crysis so far and they all run excellently with maxed settings. I was especially impressed that GTA4 seemed to exhibit none of the lag and stuttering that my more powerful main pc has when using high quality textures. I'm using the C.U.D.A.A.T.S [CCC] v2.21 config on Crysis with the Level 5 option which contains settings equivalent to DX10 Very High. It may not blow it away like my main pc, but it averages at around 30fps which is very playable. Left 4 Dead of course runs like butter with every setting completely maxed out. To be fair, I'm running it on a 19" CRT at 1600x1200 as opposed to 24" 1920x1200 on my main pc, but still I'm very impressed with this system. :D

My extension cables arrived today! I had to modify the audio extension cable as it was made for AC '97 and not HD audio, so there was a missing wire. I took one of the unused wires from the USB extension cable and used it on the audio extension. Sleeved both cables up and installed them in the case. The Screamin' Midget is pretty much done!

I'm planning on taking lots of pics of the finished build so stay tuned!
 
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Well here we are, the debut of the Screamin' Midget! Why the odd name? Well it's quite simple. This system is most definitely a midget compared to the previous system's I've built. The powerful hardware inside it makes it scream in games like Crysis and GTA4. It may sound cheesy, but it suits it well. ;)

Final Specs:
  • Silverstone Sugo SG05 with 120mm Antec Red LED intake fan
  • Seasonic 350w SFX psu
  • Zotac Geforce 9300-ITX WIFI
  • Q6600 @ 3ghz stock volts
  • Coolermaster GeminII S cpu cooler with Yate Loon 120x20mm fan
  • 4gb Kingston low profile DDR2 800 1.8v
  • EVGA Geforce GTS 250
  • Silverstone SOD01 Slim Optical DVD +- R DL burner
  • Western Digital Scorpio Black 320gb 7200rpm 2.5" hdd

Picture time!









Time to remove the cover!









As you can see, cable clutter is pretty much nonexistant. :cool:







Out comes the video card.



Data / Power cable routing is quite non-obstructive. Having shorter power cables and only as many plugs as I need helps a LOT. The only cable that wasn't shortened was the 4-pin P4 cable. It was just as long as it needed to be to reach around the rear of the cpu cooler. Sleeving of most of the longer power cables helps a lot. Didn't bother with sleeving the shorter cables since the sleeving would have hampered the much needed flexibility of them.





Front panel cables and front intake fan power cable are routed along the perimeter of the case and under the corner of the motherboard to keep them out of the way and neat.




The slim DVD burner optical drive with SATA to Molex power adapter fit snugly beside it.



With the power cable unplugged, the tool-less, screw-less mounting system for the optical drive is visible.



To the left is the "keystone", which pretty much wedges the drive against the support piece on the right and locks it in place. This mounting system is one of the only things that I botched together with no prior plans and I must admit that it works quite well!



With the keystone removed, the drive slides right out of the bracket and allows the support piece on the right to be taken out.



The drive, the keystone, and the support. The support piece contours to the right side of the drive and keeps it from sliding back too far. It wedges into place between the wall of the drive bracket and the ears that the drive rests in between. Both the keystone and support were botched together with pieces of polystyrene and electrical tape...because I ran out of styrene hobby glue on my last project. :(



Here's a video of the mounting system in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsxDKngifpU

The shortened drive bracket outside of the case. I added electrical tape to the front to block a bit of light from the LED intake fan that was bleeding through the gaps in the optical drive bay.



Another benefit of the shorter drive bracket is that the optical drive now hangs over the back side, making it easier to plug/route cables into it.



With the shortened drive bracket came the need to re-engineer the font part of the 2.5" hdd bay. I had to cut out the whole front part of the 2.5" bay so it would clear the intake fan when the drive bracket was shifted forward. I reused the piece that supported the 2.5" bay in the front in the original setup and used JB Weld to make an "L" bracket with it and a piece of polystyrene. The piece was then JB welded to the drive bracket to create the new front support for the 2.5" bay.




Diagram of the airflow in this particular setup. It works quite well!



Back together again, and it lives!

Notice how bright the power and hdd activity LEDs are! :eek:

The red LED fan makes this pc look mean. :cool:



Thanks guys for all the helpful information and opinions you have provided me during this build. It helped out a lot!
 
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Very nice, CompuG##k! Thanks for sharing. It looks sweet. :)
 
That is one awesome build. Nice work man! I especially like the Seasonic PSU you have in there. :)
 
Very impressive work sir. Your skills are only surpassed by the creativity demonstrated.

Do you have a system temperature screenshot under load perhaps?
 
Thanks guys. :)

I don't have a screenshot of the temps at the moment, but I can say that the highest the video card has gotten is about 62c and that's after playing Crysis for a few hours. The cpu usually tops out at around 55c for the heaviest loads.

Now I'm looking for a good wireless keyboard and mouse for this system, as well as a quality 5.1 headset. Any recommendations?

As far as the keyboard goes, I'm good as long as it has a standard layout, low latency, and doesn't have problems with pressing multiple keys at once. As far as the mouse goes, I'm looking for something that has as little latency as possible and fits my hand well. I absolutely love the feel and button layout of the Logitech MX518, but I'm having trouble finding a wireless mouse that shares its qualities. It seems the wireless G7 is about the closest thing to it. It is severely lacking in the button department. Any other suggestions?
 
With that Seasonic PSU, can you fit a normal sized 3.5" HDD in that HDD bay?
 
It's hard to say. It may be possible, but significant alterations would need to be made to the 3.5" hdd mount on order to make it fit onto the modified slim optical/2.5" hdd bracket. There's also the main atx power cable to consider, as it's a major obstacle for a 3.5" drive.

Overall, the reduction in airflow and the increase in total weight caused by the bulky 3.5" drive are what caused me to go with a 2.5" drive only in the first place. For now, a 320gb laptop drive is more than enough for me. If I need more in the future, then I can always get an external SATA drive and make use of the eSATA port on the back of the motherboard.
 
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