Need help interpreting advice from Silverstone Tech guy

[PaulRB]

Hi all,

Having read other threads on this part of the forum, I've started thinking about building my next PC using an SG01. I want to go SFF but most other cases look cheap & nasty.

I would also like to build something that's quiet and power efficient, but has some grunt there when I need it.

One of my main decisions is Dual or Quad core. At the moment I'm not much into gaming or video work, just general stuff, but want to keep my options open.

Anyway, here's the e-mail I sent to Silverstone tech support:

Hi,
I have a question about SST NT06 Lite cooler.

Your website suggests use of this cooler in SG01 enclosure, with a PSU that has a 12cm fan, such as ST50EF-PLUS:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_spec.php?pno=nt06-lite&area=usa

My question is, what CPUs would be suitable for this set-up?

For example, would an Intel Core2Quad Q6600 be suitable, or would it get too hot? If not, what if the Q6600 were to be overclocked to 3.0GHz, would this overheat?

If the above would overheat, would a lower power CPU like Core2Duo E8400 be more suitable?

Can you give a Thermal Design Power figure which would be the maximum in this set-up?

Many thanks,

And here's the response I got:

Thank you very much for your interest in SilverStone.

 

Want over clock to propose using PSU of the above fan of 13.5cm size (such as ST85F, ST1000)

C2D E8400 will not be hotter, but I propose , E8400 is too expensive at present, not so good as using Q9300

 

Thanks

Dennis Chen

Technical Support

SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd.

I would describe that response as somewhat enigmatic... What do you think?

Both the PSUs he recommends seem far too powerful for the setup I was thinking of! The power usage is likely to be less than 100W at idle, maybe twice that under full load, especially because at first I will just use the integrated video on the motherboard.

Both the PSUs are 80% efficient, but the 80% figure only applies above 20% load. So for example, with the ST1000, you only get 80% efficiency above 200W - who know's how much less eficient if only drawing 100W?

Cheers,

P

[kenyee]

I think most Athlon and Core2 CPUs would be fine in this case IMHO unless you go nuts overclocking...

[hugh]

i had 2 at the same time so maybe i can help

firstly, emails from reputable companies should not read like that

the sg01:

as stated, the only real option for cooling the cpu is the stock intel cooler or the nt06, there are a few other zalman ones etc but we'll ignore those for a second.

the nt06 itself is a bit crappy but it can handle the q6600 (i had a 105w B3 not a 95w G0) mine was reaching about 70 full load which was high but acceptable, if you wanted to swap out the psu fan which barely spins with my silverstone psu (st50-e plus thingy that you mentioned). the setup handles a dual core cpu beautifully however. i had an e4300, hd2600, 2gb ram and some hdd's and the only fan in the system was the psu fan, everything ran well, cpu loaded at 40C etc, very nice setup.

my advice, get a dual core cpu, the sugo can handle the Q6600 but right now there are few compelling reasons to buy quad over dual. unless you run loads of apps at the same time, or run SMP applications, then the added speed you can gain from overclocking the dual core would be of much more use than the 2 added cores and no headroom to breath

[Maturin]

I think the Silverstone rep was trying to tell you to buy one of the better psus because they have larger fans that spin faster, which would be better for an overclocked quad with the nt-06lite.
I am very happy with the PSU I chose, it is a Gigabyte Odin 550w with a 140mm fan that can be adjusted to spin faster or slower with the included software

[PaulRB]

@kenyee: I have been an AMD man for several years, but they seem to have got so far behind, I have to defect now...

@hugh: thanks, some v good advice there, good to know someone has tried a few of these things. 70 degs sounds too warm for me, even if it is within allowances. What other coolers have you come accross that would be low enough?

@Maturin: I don't know if the fans in the larger PSUs would spin faster, but they should move a little more air at the same speed, being larger. But think of all that wasted power! A 1000W PSU might be only 60 - 70% efficient at < 100W, wasting 30 -40W as heat the whole time. That's probably a third of all the power being used at idle, which is what most PCs spend most of their time doing (unless folding, I suppose). Is that Odin PSU rated 80%+ efficient?

[Maturin]

Yes its 80plus certified.
If you are interested, be sure to get the model with the temperature monitoring and fanspeed control. Newegg link here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817233002
Another good thing about it in the Sugo is that it uses modular cabling, saving space and providing overall better airflow.