SA76R4 Build

[VFR]

Hiya XPC supporters!

Its been many years since I put together these XPCs - the last one was s SN41 some nearly 10years ago

Anyway, looking at Shuttle's website, I see that their newest XPC to support AMDs processors is the SA76R4. Question is this, does it support the outgoing (in many ways by the looks of things) Phenom II X4 processors like AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition as this processor is not on shuttle's processor support list http://global.shuttle.com/news/productsSupportList?productId=1556 and secondly, if I was thinking of putting in a gaming card like an AMD HD 6870, can I and will the standard 250W PSU do?

Many thanks for any feedback you guys can give.

BTW I know that the SA76R4 is dated ie using the 760chipset but its the only  new AMD XPC

Cheers,

     VFR

[Salamander]

You already got that x4 960T black edition?

But IMO, get a nice SUGO SG08 (with an inbuild 600w PSU) http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=317&area= with a mini (yea intel) motherboard with usb3/sata600.

Enough juice for whatever videocard, cool and a sexy case!

___

I guess going small with AMD these days is just not great lately.

But if you want a shuttle, better get an intel version?

Sure you could get that SA76R4 but if you buy a new computer, it feels like buying and old 1 (no usb3/sata 600 for example) and I'm not sure if that 250w is enough.

[jrturbo]

Hi there

I would have to agree with the last post, that it doesnt make any sense purchasing an outdated product, at present a intel solution will give you better performance, with a lower comsumption,less noise and all the new bells and whistles, sata3, usb 3, etc.

The 250 watt pasu is marginal to power  a 6870, more so with a 960t cpu, you stand a better chance with an intel cpu wich have a lower tdp and as a result consume less power.

I appreciate your like AMD but a present I couldnt recomend your choice.

[Gungel]

If you already have the 960T go for it, it works flawless. I did build a couple of SA76R4 systems in December and used the 960T with 16GB DDR3 memory (overkill I know, but they where so cheap I couldn't resist) and a Radeon HD6570 (PowerColor AX6570) I bought for cheap on Black Friday. Both systems are configured with OCZ Vertex 3 SSD on a ASMedia ASM1061 SATA III Controller (SYBA SY-PEX40039) that is plugged in to the PCIe1x slot. The system performs surprisingly well, WEI is 7 or higher for all components. Here is a list of pros and cons:

Pros:
Support for older Phenom II CPU's
Support for 16GB Memory
USB 3.0
PCIe 1x and PCIe 16x
miniPCIe slot for WiFi card
Very quite PSU
Overclocks to 3.4GHz and stays cool and stable, same for GPU with CCC or AMD Overclock Utility.
Overall good built quality

Cons:
older chipset does not support FX CPU's
no support for SATA III 6.0Gb/s
only one 5 1/4" drive bay
power button right next to DVD eject button = confusing
no overclock features in BIOS
miniPCIe slot only v1.2 (2.5Gbs)

Bill of material:
SA76R4 $195.99 superbiiz.com ($215.99 coupon code SANTA -$20)
G.Skill 16GB DDR3 8500 F3-8500CL7Q-16GBRL newegg.com $53.99 ($73.99 MIR -$20)
SYBA SY-PEX40039 SATA III overstock.com $16.49
PowerColor AX6570 newegg.com $49.99 (black Friday)

Total new parts: $316.46

From old system:
Phenom II X4 960T
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G SATA III
Samsung F3 500GB SATA II Harddisk
ASUS DVD drive SATA II


Also see my earlier post about the miniPCIe slot and SATA III controller. I'm still trying to get it to work with help of the manufacturer. They are going to send me a newer firmware that should solve the compatibility problems.

[VFR]

Thank you all for your informative replies.

Yes I realise that I am getting outdated components even starting with the SA76 but the problem is that all these processors like the phenoms are already outdated and they are so powerful compared to the thunderbird that it will replace.

No I haven't got any of the components yet but the amd procs are already out of date and hard to buy now so I thought I grab a bargain. Intel chips are expensive - don't spark a Intel/AMD fight here

I was just hoping to build a low'ist end amd system that cost not much. The amount of processing power that the phenom x4 can give will last another 10years or so

Will see if wifie let me have about build yet another machine