mATX/uATX - Spec Me..

[dynamoboy]

Hi guys,

As I found it immensely diffcult choosing an ATX case, I've decided to explore the mATX/uATX route as I am very attracted to the small size of these sexy little things. - which is the reason I wasn't happy with most of the full ATX cases.

So I'm interested in basing a system around the Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R.

Case-wise, I liked the look of the SilverStone SUGO SST-SG03-S Silver and the Silverstone TJ08B uATX, but as ever, I am open to other suggestions.


I still want to retain my initial setup, as I already have the parts.. The Intel Q6600 95W GO stepping SLACR OEM, Scythe Mine, ATi HD 3870, Crosair 2x 1GB RAM XMS2 4-4-4-12 and two 120mm Sharkoon 2000 golf ball fans and Corsair 550W VX series PSU.


I also bought the Giabyte DES3R, but will be selling that, if I decide to go te aTX/uATX route.


Please let me know if you guys think this will work. I still crave a powerful machine, but again, I game hardly ever and doubt I'd ever overclock any of the components.


Thanks!

[dynamoboy]

My question is - will these components perform as well in an mATX case as they would in a standard ATX case? Are there any real cooling issues with this proposed setup?

[Jay]

I am also looking into the SUGO as well. It looks very very good.

[dynamoboy]

Yeah it certainly is a very nice case. but to be honest, I prefer, aesthetically, the Silverstone TJ08B uATX as I am not fond on those side I/O panels on the SUGO.

What sort of building you thinking of, spec wise?

[Jay]

probably a Asus M3A78-EMH HDMI Motherboard with AMD 4200+ X2, 2GB Corsair DDR, small SATA Drive (all storage on the network), Bluray drive.

I currently have a Coolermaster Case under my TV with a Biostar mATX motherboard, 2GB Corsair DDR, Bluray / HD-DVD multireader, AM2 3800+ X2, ASUS Silent 8500GT, Jantek PSU and a mCubed T-Balancer

[dynamoboy]

Any reason AMD over Intel for this specfic build? Just curious..

As you have experience with mATX factor - do you think my proposed setup would fit and be adequately cooled?

[Biscuit]

the 780G has a much superior media featureset than any of the intel offerings and there would be no need for an additional graphics card.

Personally if its to go underneath a TV i would prefer this case, fits in with the whole livingroom hifi feel but might be a bit of a sqeeze for a 3870 as i think they are fairly big cards.

The only issue with using an uATX over ATX would be cooling i think but even then you should still be able to get good airflow so i wouldnt worry

[Webby]

This is what a TJ08 looks like with a G33m-DS2R, A Thermalright Ultima 90, 2GB of Corsair XMS oh and a 3870



Only thing to note is that the north bridge cooler on my board is a Thermalright HR-05 IFX not that standard heat sink.

My System currently running at 3.5GHz is running at ~58°C under full load running Orthos after 4 hours and at slightly higher voltages than are probably needed (just playing with the overclock at the moment).



Anyway if you have any questions about the case or any of the common components then ask away

[dynamoboy]

Dude, thats so awesome, you've almost got the identical setup to what I wanted! Except, I was gonna go Q6600 and different coolers.

Whats a northbridge cooler btw? Scuse my ignorance.. I bought a CPU cooler - Scythe Mine - tats not a nb cooler though isit? And would the Mine fit in this case??


And dude, thanks a million for the photo and I'd definatel appreciate a few more. Perhaps one of the front?

[DDY]

NB (Northbridge) is the largest chip on the motherboard, its also got the largest heatsink (already fitted) on the motherboard, hard to miss .

Northbridge (computing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

It's not really necessary to replace the NB heat sink unless your doing some moderate to heavy overclocking.

I used to own a TJ08 too, here are some photos:

[Webby]

As DDY says you don't really need to change the northbridge cooler unless you are heavily overclocking, I decided that for the £10 it cost to change it over I would rather have lower temps as it was getting quite hot.

Since you have a Q6600 (266MHz FSB) you will not be overclocking the northbridge until the CPU is at 3GHz anyway with my 333MHz FSB chip I was OCing the northbridge from the start.

As to the Scythe Mine you will fit it no problem at all

If you want more pictures then shout and I will take some, worth noting that my Hard drives are mounted backwards so the cables come in from the front of the case makes it neater for the cabling but that required a bit of modification i.e. I cut a hole in front of the drive cage to pass the cables through

[Mullet]

How small do you want the case? The Mini P180 takes a m-atx board....not as "mini" as the name suggests but the cooling performance would deal with high end componentry without issue....

[dynamoboy]

Hey, another SS TJ! Mind providing the specs of your comp?

And whats with the side-fan? You install that yourself? and why?

[dynamoboy]

As DDY says you don't really need to change the northbridge cooler unless you are heavily overclocking, I decided that for the £10 it cost to change it over I would rather have lower temps as it was getting quite hot.

Since you have a Q6600 (266MHz FSB) you will not be overclocking the northbridge until the CPU is at 3GHz anyway with my 333MHz FSB chip I was OCing the northbridge from the start.

As to the Scythe Mine you will fit it no problem at all

If you want more pictures then shout and I will take some, worth noting that my Hard drives are mounted backwards so the cables come in from the front of the case makes it neater for the cabling but that required a bit of modification i.e. I cut a hole in front of the drive cage to pass the cables through

i see what you mean. i didnt even realised you could get specific NB coolers tbh.

How are the stock fans that come with the case? I have 2 Sharkoon golf ball fans, which im hoping to utilise.

and yeah, i'd love to see some more shots of the system, inc. the front exterior.

How small do you want the case? The Mini P180 takes a m-atx board....not as "mini" as the name suggests but the cooling performance would deal with high end componentry without issue....

Didn't like the look of it tbh. Much prefer the SS ones.

[DDY]

The fans that come with this case don't shift that much air but sure are quiet, a stock Q6600 won't be a problem with the stock fans.

I installed the side fan to cool the 7800GTX which was heavily overclocked.

The TJ08 pics are almost two years old, specs then were: E6600 @ 2.8GHz, 2GB PC2-5400, ASRock 945G, 7800GTX, 200GB Spinpoint, Akasa 460W PSU.

[staffsMike]

Oh the mine will fit if the ninja does



The fan had to go that said as I was out of right angled sata cables..not the end of the world though.. you can still fot a normal graphics card in there if need be

Runs at a very faint whisper and is such good quality for the measly £40 I paid