Streacom FC7 EVO FM2 mini-itx build

[jimbouk]

Well everything arrived, then life got a bit busy. Part 1 of the build was more than a bit haphazard, so I'll start a fresh.

The parts:

• Streacom FC7 EVO case
• MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 motherboard
• AMD A10-5700
• Patriot Viper 3 Series, Black Mamba, DDR3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit
• Streacom Nano150 PSU
• TBS6280 Dual Tuner PCIe Card (pdf user guide)
• Nexus 80mm Real Silent Case Fan
• Streacom IRRC Remote & Receiver
• Streacom SC30 USB3.0 Internal Cable

The first motherboard was a ASRock FM2A75M-ITX, to say I wouldn't recommend it is an understatement:


My old, excellent, but rather huge case being replaced:

An Antec Fusion (non-remote version) bought of Hexus a good number of years ago!

Some boxes and bits:
Streacom bits and a case fan:


CPU, motherboard, RAM and CPU fan:


TBS TV Tuner:


Tiny PSU, huge powerblock!


Streacom remote, the TV card came with one but this works nicely with the case:


The build:
This is where is started going downhill. First up neither the case nor remote came with the screws needed to mount it - QuietPC to the rescue posted a couple straight out. Also lacking screws for the case fan (not standard case fan screws), I did have some the right size this time so that was ok.

The USB3 slot on the motherboard didn't have quite enough clearance around it (though does goes in well enough and I don't need all the SATA ports), but on removing it the port came with it. There didn't seem to be anything actually holding it in place...


Everything in the bottom, good:


Not the greatest of component fits. The motherboard IO shield didn't go in 'properly' as the case around it was too thick for it to clip in like on a normal case. It's held tight by pressure from the motherboard when screwed in correctly. Also the add in card slot doesn't line up all that well:


So everything in, then I try and add the top half (optical/hdd holder):


Without the IR board installed clearance isn't too bad. I wouldn't recommend a 3.5" hdd mounted on the bottom of the caddy though!


So, it was built. Cabling wasn't the neatest but I knew I'd be back and could zip tie some things together. Plugged in, pressed the power button and... not much. The CPU fan spun, the case fan wiggled and the hdd spun for a second.

Email sent to QuietPC, hopefully everything will be resolved before this becomes the longest build in history! I'm half tempted just to keep the TV card for my main PC, return the broken bits and sell the rest...

Not the neatest install(!) but I wanted to check that the TV card worked fine (it does) and that nothing had been fried by the poor power supply:


TBC

[jimbouk]

Component reviews...

[jimbouk]

Ebuyer
Ordered CPU, mobo and ram.

The ram turned out to be end of life, refunded very promptly.

Motherboard had a fault, RMA turned around with 3 days to confirm fault and refund issued.

However they only refunded the item cost and not the postage cost, something I only spotted when my credit card statement came through. When I queried this and was told I would have to provide a postage receipt. I explained that I had not kept this after the RMA was approved and refund authorised, but the value for postage was on the box and I could provide a credit card statement showing the cost. Neither of which was acceptable to them, just another inflexible big business which doesn't know how to compromise.

For £5 they have lost a long term customer.


Amazon
Nothing to report, item order and arrived as expected.

Scan
As above, I'm not going to judge a company simply on being able to put something in the post...

QuietPC
Posted out two screws which were needed for the build but not originally supplied without any hassle. An actual person with an actual email address responded quickly which is good. Less good was their standard response to returns for the PSU which I explained was faulty:

We have a one-month returns policy, so any Quiet PC product(s) which turn out to have problems with your system or with which you are unhappy for any reason, can be returned within one month for a refund or exchange. Responsibility for shipping costs when returning goods lies with yourself.

They quickly backed down and are now collecting the item once I stated I would like to return the item under the Sale of Goods Act rather than their returns policy, and would not expect to pay postage. A small hiccup in an otherwise smooth process, but I will put it down to a misunderstanding and give them the benefit of the doubt.