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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Systems > Homebuilt > [Solved] Small Form Factor (SFF) Gaming PC Suggestions?

[Solved] Small Form Factor (SFF) Gaming PC Suggestions?

Forum Systems : Homebuilt [Solved] Small Form Factor (SFF) Gaming PC Suggestions?

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I was thinking of building a new gaming PC but wanted to go with a SFF build. I traditionally have done a new rig from scratch every couple of years, but it has been a while since I've built anything and I haven't been keeping up to date on the latest technology.

My biggest concerns are overheating in an SFF case. I am hesitant to use any elaborate liquid cooling and really prefer to go with a decent HS/F combo (plus it keeps the price down).

My first attempt at a build is a Core i7. Can't get the NewEgg wishlist to be public for some reason so I'm just going to list everything out:


SilverStone FT03S
Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z Z68
eVGA GTX 560 Ti
Core i7-2600 3.4Ghz Sandy Bridge
2x4GB GSkill Cas 7 DDR3 1600 Anything more than 8GB seems overkill for gaming.
Seagate 1TB 7200 RPM 3 SATA 6.0Gb/s HDD for file storage.
Intel SATA II 120GB SDD for my OS and applications.
LiteOn Blu-Ray / DVD Drive
Cooler Master 520 N 92mm HS/F. Was going to apply some Arctic Silver to this.


I already own a modular 850W Silverstone Decathalon that I was going to use. Note that it is an ATX PSU but the FT03 case I picked should fit it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817256022

Overall this will run me about $1500.

Ideally I would like to stick with a Core i7, however it is 95W and as I mentioned my biggest concern is overheating, especially if I am going to OC a bit. The FT03 apparently handles airflow well, although at the cost of being a bit bulkier than a traditional SFF case.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
Is the i7 really worth it or am I better of squeezing speed out of an i5. This may help with heat issues being that I could get a 65W chip.

Thanks

Reply to Cuitarded
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Best answer

You don't need 850W. You can save by going lower.
Don't think you need to worry about overheating with sb. If you really are worried, wait till ivy bridge? Lower tdp.


Message edited by Anonymous on 11-15-2011 at 02:37:28 AM
Reply to Anonymous

I agree with bear95 on the cooling. You're probably fine there, but I think he missed the part of you already having the PSU.

The only other concern I have is it looks like you need a slot loading optical drive rather than an open tray design drive. Looking on Newegg, briefly, I didn't see one.

-Wolf sends

------------------------------ All Purpose System Specs: GA-H55M-S2V Intel CoreI5 760 8 Gig RAM NVidia Geforce 8800GTS-640 Windows 7
HTPC System Specs: ASRock 760GM-GS3 AMD Athlon II X2-240 G.Skill 4 GB (2x2GB) Radeon HD4670 Ceton InfiniTV4 TV Tuner
Reply to Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw wrote :

I agree with bear95 on the cooling. You're probably fine there, but I think he missed the part of you already having the PSU.

The only other concern I have is it looks like you need a slot loading optical drive rather than an open tray design drive. Looking on Newegg, briefly, I didn't see one.

-Wolf sends



Augh. *facepalm*
*deletes*
What'd you say i missed? :whistle:


Do you need a dvd drive? Install windows with usb. I find no use for a dvd drive.

Reply to Anonymous

Thanks for the feedback!

I still use a DVDs / Blu Rays on occasion. Kind of a nice to have..


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