New Build - SFF Lian li v300

[woogie221u]

Hey how's it going everyone. I'm planning to build a new rig in June once I find out Intel's price drops.
I want a semi SFF... so I've chosen a Lian Li V300... I just like the styling of Lian Li... sleek and simple
I'm probably going to go with a E6400 or E6600 depending on price in June.
Need some advice on a quiet PSU though.
I'm thinking of Antec Neo 430 cause its modular and relatively quiet but reviews say Nexus has a good quiet PSU.
I'll probably put a 8800 GTS too so I need some power... though I only play Battlefield 2 and my 7800gt is sufficient
also I have the WD Raptor 160 gb (the dell rebranded one... i'm sure some of you guys ordered it and had to wait like a month for it about a year ago)
Gonna buy a sata dvd rw
Since it's cramped space, i'm choosing intel since they run at lower watts... not gonna overclock. Only air cool
Any suggestions on making the my rig quieter...??? AnyaAftermarket GPU and CPU coolers that are small that is better than stock. Was thinking Blue OrbII. I have a scythe katana now but i don't think it will fit well in the new case.
The case doesn't support 120 mm fans nor do i want to mod much. Just gonna use a dremel to cut part of the case to fit a video card longer than 8 inches.
Also does any one know if Lian Li is gonna release a revised sff case... its been over a year since the v300 and i'd rather not cut it up if another is coming soon.

Appreciate any help you can give me... my last rig is decent but noisy and somewhat bulky...

 

[billdcat4]

What type of PSU does that SFF case use? If it uses standard ATX power supplies you have a lot of choices for PSU.

CPU: Any C2D or AthlonX2
Motherboard: this is one of the hard parts: you need an MicroATX motherboard. For Intel, get a P965 or G965 based board, for AMD a 690G or 6100 or Radeon Express. I DO NOT know of any recommendations for this part.

Ram: if you are not going to OC you should definately get this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134046

great ram, I have a friend who recently bought it for $106. The price has since dropped to $80. Only 2 mos ago it was $170, and that was mad cheap! Wow, i just checked again, and its at $70!!

you should use your 7800GT.

Make sure to get a SATA DVD Burner (better airflow) from Sony Optiarc, Lite-On, or Samsung.

PSU: Either get the Seasonic S12 E+ 550w or the Corsair HX520. Freakin amazing silent PSUs. Many swear by them. they are nearly the same except for cable management.

I would recommend the corsair for a SFF PC because it has modular cabling: the only cables you need to have in your case are the ones you need.

understand that if what you are looking for is low power requirements, an Athlon X2 may be better because it seems that they use much less power on idle. If you arent going to OC, they also hold quite good value.


Check out the deals on my thread here:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1664322#1664322

 

[woogie221u]

Well I'm not gonna OC, and doesn't the E6600 consume less power than a X2 5600+. They haven't made a smaller core for those x2's yet.

As for the PSU, a normal sized one can fit. Is 400watts enough... or is that too little? I think if should be fine.. but i don't know.

Thanks again

 

[billdcat4]

Well I'm not gonna OC, and doesn't the E6600 consume less power than a X2 5600+. They haven't made a smaller core for those x2's yet.

As for the PSU, a normal sized one can fit. Is 400watts enough... or is that too little? I think if should be fine.. but i don't know.

Thanks again

Its not the wattage its the amperage that matters. Will you use your 7800GT or will you get an 8800GTS? Please give the manufacturers product page for your 7800GT.

The 2 PSUs that I mentioned are very quiet and provide enough power for an 8800GTS. A good cheaper PSU is the Antec TruePower550. You can get it at frys for $65 shipped. It has just about enough power for a GTS, yet is not modular and not nearly as quiet as the Corsair and Seasonic. Another good choice is the Enermax Liberty 500w. It is modular and can support the 7800gt for $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003

I would still recommend the Corsair though

 

[woogie221u]

Yeah i'm still going through the reviews for the Corsair but it looks like a good choice.

My 7800gt is an EVGA 256-p2-n518-ax
http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/N518.pdf
that's the product manual but it doesnt give much info...

I think i corsair you recommened should be fine... even if i get an 8800gts later. I'm never gonna SLI so i won't need much more... anyway... thanks again... now i just gotta wait til June to see the new prices.

 

[PLei]

Hey there, I just recently transferred all my components to this case from my bigger coolermaster case and I really like how it turn out.

As you can see everything is tight fit, and yes I have to use a Dremel kit to cut out a piece of 3.5 slot and part of my hard drive space.

The power supply I have is Corsair HX620W, it will fit just really tight, and really quiet.

The cpu cooler is from Zalman, and the rest of fans and mods are mostly Artic Cooling

Well here some pics, sorry didnt have any step by step installation pics, only the finsh pics.

Also its surprising the case is very quiet, only the cpu fan were louder than other fans I have in there. I recommend Artic Cooling for mods, very quiet fans.









===============================================
Case: Lian li V300B
Motherboard: Asus A8N-VM CSM/NBP
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ socket 939 with Zalman cooling mod
GPU: Asus ATI 1950XTX with Artic Cooling mod and a Antec blower
PSU: Corsair HX620W
Sound: N/A Stock
RAM: 2 gig Corsair 3200CPT (1gig x 2)
HD: 320 gig Seagate sata 3.0 and external 750 gig HD
Stereo: Logitech premium headset
Mouse: Logitech G7
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Monitor: Acer AL1916W 19 inch LCD
===============================================

 

[billdcat4]

Hey there, I just recently transferred all my components to this case from my bigger coolermaster case and I really like how it turn out.

As you can see everything is tight fit, and yes I have to use a Dremel kit to cut out a piece of 3.5 slot and part of my hard drive space.

The power supply I have is Corsair HX620W, it will fit just really tight, and really quiet.

The cpu cooler is from Zalman, and the rest of fans and mods are mostly Artic Cooling

Well here some pics, sorry didnt have any step by step installation pics, only the finsh pics.

Also its surprising the case is very quiet, only the cpu fan were louder than other fans I have in there. I recommend Artic Cooling for mods, very quiet fans.









===============================================
Case: Lian li V300B
Motherboard: Asus A8N-VM CSM/NBP
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ socket 939 with Zalman cooling mod
GPU: Asus ATI 1950XTX with Artic Cooling mod and a Antec blower
PSU: Corsair HX620W
Sound: N/A Stock
RAM: 2 gig Corsair 3200CPT (1gig x 2)
HD: 320 gig Seagate sata 3.0 and external 750 gig HD
Stereo: Logitech premium headset
Mouse: Logitech G7
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Monitor: Acer AL1916W 19 inch LCD
===============================================

did you just buy a new socket 939 cpu and mobo?
I hope not

 

[PLei]

Nah, all the stuff bought last year, just transfer to this case becuase it look really to nice to me

 

[billdcat4]

Nah, all the stuff bought last year, just transfer to this case becuase it look really to nice to me

in that case... SICK!!!!

looks great... umm why did you buy a mATX mobo originally? Well, it worked out well didnt it?

My main concerns with mATX mobos are:

1. What kinds of temps are you getting with such a small case with only a couple little fans?
2. was it difficult working inside the case... I hope for your sake that it comes with a mobo plate? does it?
3. what kind of fans does it come with? can you replace them?

also, is the optical bay open on the right side of the case??

 

[woogie221u]

Thanks for the info.
Did you have any problems with the modular cabling on the PSU?
I heard some people did.
Also what temps are your running? and is it loud?

I'm gonna go with a dual core once the price drops in June, probably a E6600. Then again, my 3800 x2 suits me fine right now so do you think I should just by a mATX board, and use the same chip?

Also for the previous post, you can choose to use the drive bays on the left or right side of the case (but not both), the optical ports showing the fans is considered the front.

 

[PLei]

Billdcat4 to answer your question,

1. My previous case was a Coolermaster Centurion, thats why I have mATX mobo in the first place. It is a good case till I saw V300B ;p

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119088

2.My temps for the case not really sure, need to buy a temperature sensor. But my ATI catalyst sensing my graphic card is mostly around 43 to 45 Celsius most of the time. When I play games ex. battfield 2142 is around 50 to 52 Celsius.

3.Yes, it was difficult to work inside the case since I have big hands. The graphic card with modded cooling fan had to go in by the side of the case, and go upward, then down to connect the card while the mobo inside the case.

The Zalman cooler you have to close the cooling fins up to slide the mobo tray into the case.

4.Yes, you can replace the stock fans. I replace the stock fans with Artic Cooling 8L fans. There are 3 80mm fans but I only can put 2 in the front and the side have no space since Zalman cpu cooler is taking up all the space. So the side fan hole is acting as a exhaust port for my cpu.

My fans are exhaust fans so im exhausting all the hot air in all directions. There are 2 40mm or 60? fan slots back of the case, but I don't want to add more noise.

The PSU with modular cabling like KINGWIN or HIPER does not fit. I had no problems with the modular cabling because I connect the cables first then put the PSU in the case, if you put the PSU in the case first you will have a hard time to connect them since you only have about half a inch of space.

Lastly, noise well let say I only can hear the cpu cooler. Artic Cooling is known for their silence. I have an Antec 2 slotted fan blower, low and medium speed barley any noise, only hear it when its in high mode.

 

[PLei]

Woogie up to you man, I am AMD fan so I would buy the AMD 6000 x2 since its cheap right now. Your 3800 x2 is better than my 4000. Go buy E6600 and give me the 3800 x2 ;p

 

[billdcat4]

Thanks for the info.
Did you have any problems with the modular cabling on the PSU?
I heard some people did.
Also what temps are your running? and is it loud?

I'm gonna go with a dual core once the price drops in June, probably a E6600. Then again, my 3800 x2 suits me fine right now so do you think I should just by a mATX board, and use the same chip?

Also for the previous post, you can choose to use the drive bays on the left or right side of the case (but not both), the optical ports showing the fans is considered the front.

wow, im sorry I thought that it was the OP that got the new case...

now to answer the op's questions:
I would stick with the cpu that you have... for the main reason that you cannot overclock a cpu on a microATX mobo very heavily. The X2 3800 will be just fine for what you need it. Is it socket 939 or AM2? Do you have the ram for it?

more info, more answers

 

[woogie221u]

Well I have a socket 939, and i wanted to upgrade anyway... have 2 gb of OCZ ram already.
If I have to get a new motherboard, i figure i should just upgrade to a newer platform... still debating AMD or Intel. I mean i'm not gonna overclock or don't even care about my pcmarks and things like that. Still want something fast.
I don't know if i should wait or not now. I heard the intel price drops are gonna be on July 22nd, but they haven't announced how much lower the e6600 is going to be.
Lets see
$100 for case
$80 for motherboard (overestimate)
$30-40 for sata dvd burner
$180 for PSU - HX620W (ouch)
gonna use my 7800gt since its fine...
don't know if my scythe katana will fit the case... also don't know if i can fit it on an Intel
transfer over my WD raptor

if i don't buy a chip it'll cost that much... i figure i might as well an upgrade since they're at a good price now... but then I'd have to get new ram which is always expensive. I'd like a 2 gb single stick so i can upgrade if I choose to use ddr2.
what u guys think? waste of money to upgrade or not

 

[billdcat4]

meh, dont upgrade.

and if you are sticking with your 7800GT, or even upgrading to a 8800gts, downgrade the psu to the Corsair HX520. Its got MORE than enough power for either card.

If you already have a dualie, there aint much in upgrading.
If you have a mATX board, properly socketed cpu, some ram for it.... why upgrade... its a neglibible performance difference for a LOT of cash.

i wouldnt

 

[PLei]

I agree with billd, upgrading takes too much money. It's not like your comp is slow....

And yes HX520 is more than enough for the graphic card. I just bought the HX620 becuase is on sale, but I don't really need that much power lol.