Which mATX mobo & cooler for a QX9650 in SG03?

[SpoonDogSVT]

With the frustrating performance, stability, and NOISE I'm experiencing with my current SG33G5+QX9650 combo, I have taken the "extreme" measure of ordering an E6850 as a replacement processor.

This brings the "necessity" of building another system around the QX9650, and I am contemplating abandoning Shuttle in favor of a mATX setup in a Silverstone SG03 case. I like this case because it looks as the dual 120mm fans should be able to provide great cooling at a minimum of noise (until the GFX cards spool up anyway).

For this build, I would be bringing over the QX9650 processor, both hard drives, and quite likely the X-Fi card as well (the SG33G5 would then get an Audigy2). I would also love to run 2 8800GT cards in SLI, but if I am limited to a single card then I would get a G92 8800GTS-512. I also would like to use SpeedFan (it crashes this Shuttle) to control the case fans again.

Unfortunately, having limited myself to Shuttle boxen for so long, I am out of touch with the general motherboard and CPU cooler availability, and am seeking recommendations. I am aware of the Silverstone NT-06 Lite cooler being a great match for the SG-03 case, but am concerned about it being able to keep up with the processor.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you all for your time and advice!

[MrbLOB9000]

no SLI or Crossfire mATX boards were ever released to support LGA775, the only one is the eVGA socket 939 board that's been discontinued.  As for motherboard, I'd probably suggest looking at G33 boards from Gigabyte.

The NT-06 Lite may not be able to keep up with that CPU, you're right...

have you looked at the NZXT Rogue? http://aberrantech.com/?p=195  it's bigger and may be better for housing a cooler that's powerful enough to cool that beast well.  For more pics check out craigbru's blog at http://aberrantech.com/craigbru

[hugh]

the silverstone sugo cases are typically limited to the nt-06 or a heatsink with a lower profile and are generally just crap if you're after putting some really high end stuff in them (cpu wise)

motherboard, i'd go for a gigabyte g33m-ds2r as mrblob sais, it's a cracking board with great overclocking.

i would personally look at a case that can either hosue watercooling (dual rad minimum) or take a normal sized heatsink rather than something that is either low profile or dependant on the psu fan like the nt-06 is as these two types of coolers are generally geared towards low power cpu's such as dual core chips rather than quad cores (my quad was hitting 70+ with the nt06 in an SG01

[Maturin]

I agree about the nt-06 probably not doing well with a Quad.If you are set on the sg-03 though, I would say either watercool it or squish the Enzotech Ultra-X a bit so it will fit. There was one other heatsink i was looking at, I'll post back here when I find it...

[kenyee]

If you're going back to a tower, also look at the TJ08.  Not as sexy as the SG03 or as small, but you can put a bigger cpu cooler (bigger = quieter) in.  As others have mentioned, no SLI mATX boards though, so if your heart is set on that, go to a mini-tower ATX case...

[hugh]

or get modding  :coolsmile:

[g30rg1e]

i have two gigabyte ds2r mobo's and im happy with those, temps from the zalman super flower coolers are ok and theres margin to overclock with them i use the 8700LED though the 8700NT would be the better because of the 4pin fan connector i just couldnt find any when i was looking for one and opted for the 3pin LED version as a result.

incidently the ds2r will do xfire of a fashion because of the open backed x4 pcie slot on the bottom of the mobo but i wasnt blown away by the experience so removed both 3870's and used them elsewhere.

[hugh]

off-topic

@ g30rg1e

3.75ghz on that cooler.. to quote "how to lose a guy in 10 days"

Bullshit

[g30rg1e]

off-topic

@ g30rg1e

3.75ghz on that cooler.. to quote "how to lose a guy in 10 days"

Bullshit

just cause you aint doing it dont mean its not possible, if you look through this thread you'll find several people including myself pushing there systems to the max just for fun, so lighten up not everyone you encounter on your travels talks out there arse

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=25995&page=119

[hugh]

you'll have to forgive my cynisism

but it really does look like utter BS without that screenshot to back it up

i cannot mentally fathom how you're hitting that speed with that hsf though, what are your load temps? as most people are hitting 70C wiht a 120-extreme

and i push my system too just unboxed my new tripple PA and just about to mod a double rad into the roof of the case as well

[g30rg1e]

sorry guys bit off topic

you'll have to forgive my cynisism

but it really does look like utter BS without that screenshot to back it up

i cannot mentally fathom how you're hitting that speed with that hsf though, what are your load temps? as most people are hitting 70C wiht a 120-extreme

and i push my system too just unboxed my new tripple PA and just about to mod a double rad into the roof of the case as well

no worries, on the face of it, it sounds a tall order and yes temps are ridiculously high, i have every fan spinning flat out  and temps will still reach 85 with all 4 cores fully loaded i find 3.6 is a better balance of noise , heat and performance the extra voltage required to get to 3.75 is causing concern but i will investigate that if my system should suddenly become unstable, or die LOL

always fancied experimenting with water cooling rads and stuff just never got round to it, perhaps i should give it a whirl, what system are you using your kit with

[hugh]

not so much a system atm



just took delivery of a new motherboard though so just waiting on some odds and sods

but it will be

gigabyte X38-DS5 (have an asus p5n32-e plus on the floor but the asus 680i boards wont let you take a quad to 3ghz)
q6600 (b3 :S)
2gb HZ
albatron extreme 8800gt
tj07
PA120.3
120.2 stealth GT
d-tek fuzion with nozles
mcp-665
yate loon fans

that about sums it up, just got to work out where to mount the 6 hard drives that have been removed

[chaoswynd]

Damn Hugh, every time you take some pics, you've got your nasty ass feet in them  And trim yer damn nails!  rofl

[phinix]

Damn Hugh, every time you take some pics, you've got your nasty ass feet in them  And trim yer damn nails!  rofl

hehhe.. see Hugh! I TOLD YOU!!!  :lol:

[SpoonDogSVT]

Thank you everyone! (except for pointing out hugh's feet, ugh )

So, I'm now thinking Silverstone SG-03 with the Zalman 8700NT cooler.
Recommended mobo is the Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R, but anycomments on the Asus P5E-VM

Now to work on the rest of the parts...

[g30rg1e]

i looked into the g35 asus board but i was concerned about the buzzing audio and some blank screen issues that had surfaced, hence opted for a second ds2r since the asus was reported to be no better an overclocker either and that was my only interest

[SpoonDogSVT]

Finally got back to Fry's, and was able to bag a SG-03, ASUS P5E-VM, Thermaltake Blue Orb II, and Antec NeoPower 550 from store stock!

There are still some more accessories I'd like to pick up in the near-ish future, like the Silverstone cross-flow fan and replacement 120mm fans, but I will begin the build tomorrow and likely have a barebones SG33G5M-Deluxe for sale shortly...

[illy]

so Spoon, how is this build working out for you? how are the temps in the case with the blue orb? any o'cing? done any other modifications to it? let me know cuz i am building an sg-03 with a q6600.

[SpoonDogSVT]

Other than the task of putting the thing together and reformatting, this "tower" has been an absolute pleasure to work on. There is known an issue with this board and the XFi, but it can be easily worked around and should be addressed in a future BIOS upgrade.

The Blue Orb has been a great cooler, except that it is only a 3-pin fan connector vs. the 4-pin PWM header on this board. This means that SpeedFan can't control a 3-pin connected to the 4-pin header, and thus I am running the CPU fan off the Chassis fan header at the moment. My "fix" is on its way though, as I have a Zalman CNPS8700 NT on the way, along with 2 Scythe 120mm fans (1 68cfm @ 24db, and 1 100 cfm @ 37db). The Zalman and the 110cfm Scythe will be controlled via SpeedFan and blowing through the top/cpu part of the case, with the other Scythe running on constant power on the lower half. I will save my overclocking tests for once these upgrades are installed to help with any heat issues.

Currently I am running CPU temps of ~36C at idle with the Orb running at a silent 70%, with temps never surpassing ~52C during gaming sessions on Crysis, TF2, COD4, etc. I can start pushing the ~62C-ish thermal envelope for this CPU with Prime95, but I had not suffered a crash or freeze with extended torture testing yet. However, this is yet another reason for the additional fans mentioned above. Case temps have never exceeded ~43 during testing with the single included 120mm fan (running on 4-pin molex) in its stock location.

Bottom line, I am very very happy with this build. This is the type of performance and noise level I had been expecting with the SG33 since my previous SN95G5 + FX-60 ran like a dream. I'm now even contemplating getting another SG-03 to replace our home server!

[illy]

awesome to hear man. i actually just gone done with my SG03 build this weekend. i ended up going with the Zalman 8700 also. Works decently on my q6600. i haven't done too much clocking on it yet, but @2.8ghz, it is seeing temps of 35-idle and 55-60 load. i'm thinking about taking off my cpu cooler and lapping it with some fine sand paper. i've read about people lapping their chips also and seeing amazing temperature decreases, an average of 10 degrees in most cases. wow. but, that's a bit intimidating for me.

may i also suggest you take advantage of the little pci cooler slot on the top rear of the case? just get a small 80mm slot cooler fan like such:http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/vir/listproduct.asp?id=107. that's the fan i used, but i had to take off the pci metal plate and flip the fan to get it oriented to suck the air from the bottom up and out. i feel tons of hot air being exhausted directly from the zalman and psu, so i'm sure it helps out plenty as this case is lacking any other exhaust.

i too am loving my sg03 build so far. only complaint is the damn cable management and not blocking the 120mm fans in the front. besides that, this case rocks.

[hugh]

in response to lapping.

i was shit scared of lapping my cpu as i am not a rich guy and that q6600 cost me money, but it's pretty damned easy.

best to just find a nice guide but they tend to make it sound daunting

needless to say you don't really want to use anything over 800 grit, mirror finnish is not what you're after and going to finer grits has been proven to cackk up performance with 1200 grit putting in same temps as when lapped with 200

[SpoonDogSVT]

OMG, the Zalman CNPS8700 NT kicks the Thermaltake Blue Orb 2's keister to heck and back!

At stock speeds, this CPU is gives 30C temps at idle with the fan running at a silent 50%/1600 RPM via SpeedFan. After running Prime95 in-place FFTs for several hours, the 8700 cranked at 100%/2000 RPM is able to keep CPU temps under 60C and still remain very, very quiet.

I've tuned both Scythe "Slipstream" fans to run at their max silent speed (lower SY1225SL12M @ 1000 RPM via Zalman FanMate 2, upper SY1225SL12SH @ 70%/900 RPM via SpeedFan), with the upper kicking to a full 2000RPM if the CPU ever breaks 60C. Case temps stay in the lower ~30s C even with the CPU maxxed out on Prime95 (ambient temps are 70F/21C).

Thank you all for your suggestions! I am so very happy with this setup now, and I think I'm finally done with tweaking the hardware parts. I'll burn-in the CPU / AS5 / Zalman combo for a couple weeks or so, then try some overclocks.

@illy: I have one of those slot coolers, but (1) it's too loud for my taste, and (2) it uses a 4-pin Molex which isn't used by any other device in my setup, thus I'd rather not have to add that cable to my modular supply since we both know how cable management goes in this case.

[illy]

Glad to hear that everything is running awesome with your new Zalman 8700. I will post info if I ever grow the balls to lap my chip.

@Hugh: Thanks for that information. I'm still battling with myself whether i'm actually going to do it or not. But, i'm very very interested in the idea. But, like yourself, you know how the 'Damn... i payed good money for it' comes into play as I am not a rich mofo myself.

Well, there is something else I would like help on if you guys don't mind. I am actually looking for a fan controller to put into the 3.5" floppy drive area. Those of you familiar with the Silverstone SG03 will know that it is located on the bottom left hand side of the front of the case, but the thing that makes finding a controller difficult is that it is located behind one of the swinging flaps. Therefore, the fan controller would most likely have to have no knobs and would have to sit flush / flat against the flap. I've done some searching and i've found a couple that may work, but I just have no idea how well they would. Here are the two that I have found.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1310/cpa-107/Lian-Li_TR-03_35_Thermal_Monitor_and_Fan_Controller_-_Black.html
http://www.xoxide.com/lian-li-tr-03-thermal-monitor-fan-control-blk.html

If anyone has any other suggestions or finds, or even some opinion about either of the ones above, type away. It will be much appreciated.

[SpoonDogSVT]

the Lian-Li was the exact controller I was contemplating putting into this case if SpeedFan didn't work for me. I say go for it!

[darkdog]

Hello, new user here!  Lots of good information floating around here for building my first SFF computer.

I'm looking to put together a 6600 quad core system using the SG03.  Reading through the various posts, it looks like either the Enzotech Ultra-X or the Zalman 8700NT is the best bet for a quad system.  Here are some questions I have regarding this threads heat sink discussion...

1) Wouldn't using the Zalman 8700NT with the power supply directly above it end up with a fight for air?  With the power supply sucking the air out, and about an 1" below it the 8700NT sucking the air down toward the motherboard, you would end up with a vacuum in the middle, hindering both power supply and cpu cooler from doing their best?  I'm guessing you could modify the power supply to reverse its air flow and bring air into the case and supply the 8700NT with air.  Not sure how this would affect the power supply's cooling system, as well as worrying about dust and other fluff from entering the case.  You would also need to add a vent at the top for the air to escape the case...

2)  The Enzotech Ultra-X squished solution with the fan underneath looks like it would work well, but create a rather large blockage of space for any air to go by.  Does enough air get through the space between the CPU and the bottom fan to flow up and through the power supply?  Would an additional fan placed at the top of the SG03 case venting hot air right out the top of the case maybe be beneficial in this setup for getting all hot air out of the case?

3)  Out of these two solutions, which works best for a portable system?  Is the top heavy Enzotech Ultra-X more likely to cause damage to the motherboard compared to the Zalman 8700NT if this system is moved from place to place?

Thanks for the help!

Darkdog