I've built a few rigs with the info I've read here and thought I'd pass along my latest build experience.
I try to learn from my mistakes and am sure to remember this one.
Friend wanted a basic computer for internet, streaming movies, office tasks etc. No gaming.
He didn't need even an i3 but wanted an SSD and it be small and quiet as possible due to apartment size and he had this case that would fit the shelf:
http://www.jj-computer.com/Products/Cases/Mini_pc/Nu0528ib/
That's a tiny case: 254 x 218 x 88 mm ( smaller than an Antec ISK-300 ) and he already bought it from someone off craigslist for $50.
The PSU in the case ( FSP170-60SI ) measured 10.8v on the 12v rail that dropped to 9.3v with one case fan attached as a test.
I gutted the case and used my grinder to trim where needed to fit a Seasonic SS-300TFX PSU. He didn't want a Pico PSU.
It fits. The top left lip on the case, the lid clips and the inside bracket were trimmed and painted.
Parts Ordered:
Seasonic SS-300TFX PSU
ASRock H67M-ITX
Intel g620t
Muskin Ram 4 Gb
Samsung 830 128 GB Sata 3 SSD
I bread boarded the system, Installed W7 64 bit from a flash drive and was really impressed. On board video looked fine for streaming. Speed was plenty fast for daily usage and it was quiet.
Unfortunately I heard a small rattle coming from the CPU fan when first starting up: it disappeared after a few minutes.
I've put an after market cooler in most rigs , but not all. I'm not a fan of Intel's snap-in CPU cooler clips, I prefer screw on or AMD style.
Assembled the system in the case, spent time on the wiring, everything as neat as possible, everything is fine except - the rattle from the CPU fan is getting worse.
So I get to spend 40% of the CPU cost on a new cooler ( Intel should do better with this ) and got a SilverStone NT07-1156.
So now the question is: Do I do this the proper way and take everything out of the case to make sure and get a good seat on the new cooler or try to replace the cooler with the board in the case.
Temps with the stock cooler were 32 idle and 62 stressed. I decided to avoid work and just pop on the new cooler without removing the board. Cleaned the CPU, applied new thermal paste and snapped in the new cooler ( or so I thought ).
Booted up and it was quiet as a mouse. Two fans in the rig, CPU and PSU and need to put ear to case to hear any fan noise.
However, the temps started increasing, was 60 on idle. So I removed the new cooler and discovered that it didn't come close to touching the CPU. The paste was still in a rice size ball. It must have had at least 2-3 mm space between the cooler and the CPU.
Inserted cooler again and this time felt a more significant snap so I guessed it was ok. Still prefer doing this out of the case so as to apply pressure from both sides of board or better yet a screw in style.
Fired it up and all temps are low again 30 idle - 55 stressed and whisper quiet.
Lessons learned:
A rattle from a fan will not get better and will not go away. I've oiled fan motors in the past but this one was sealed and I didn't want to drill it.
Make sure you're satisfied with everything prior to installing in case, especially noise from fans.
Intel CPU fan attachment system is lacking in design.
Intel CPU fans and motors are sub standard in quality. How can they put such crappy fans on such great processors?
Intel G620t maxed out around 78 - 80 with no cooler attached ( touching ) and no lid on case.
He's very happy with the system. It isn't the best budget system since the PSU and the CPU cooler needed to be replaced but it's fast, small, quiet and should last him several years.
I try to learn from my mistakes and am sure to remember this one.
Friend wanted a basic computer for internet, streaming movies, office tasks etc. No gaming.
He didn't need even an i3 but wanted an SSD and it be small and quiet as possible due to apartment size and he had this case that would fit the shelf:
http://www.jj-computer.com/Products/Cases/Mini_pc/Nu0528ib/
That's a tiny case: 254 x 218 x 88 mm ( smaller than an Antec ISK-300 ) and he already bought it from someone off craigslist for $50.
The PSU in the case ( FSP170-60SI ) measured 10.8v on the 12v rail that dropped to 9.3v with one case fan attached as a test.
I gutted the case and used my grinder to trim where needed to fit a Seasonic SS-300TFX PSU. He didn't want a Pico PSU.
It fits. The top left lip on the case, the lid clips and the inside bracket were trimmed and painted.
Parts Ordered:
Seasonic SS-300TFX PSU
ASRock H67M-ITX
Intel g620t
Muskin Ram 4 Gb
Samsung 830 128 GB Sata 3 SSD
I bread boarded the system, Installed W7 64 bit from a flash drive and was really impressed. On board video looked fine for streaming. Speed was plenty fast for daily usage and it was quiet.
Unfortunately I heard a small rattle coming from the CPU fan when first starting up: it disappeared after a few minutes.
I've put an after market cooler in most rigs , but not all. I'm not a fan of Intel's snap-in CPU cooler clips, I prefer screw on or AMD style.
Assembled the system in the case, spent time on the wiring, everything as neat as possible, everything is fine except - the rattle from the CPU fan is getting worse.
So I get to spend 40% of the CPU cost on a new cooler ( Intel should do better with this ) and got a SilverStone NT07-1156.
So now the question is: Do I do this the proper way and take everything out of the case to make sure and get a good seat on the new cooler or try to replace the cooler with the board in the case.
Temps with the stock cooler were 32 idle and 62 stressed. I decided to avoid work and just pop on the new cooler without removing the board.
Cleaned the CPU, applied new thermal paste and snapped in the new cooler ( or so I thought ).Booted up and it was quiet as a mouse. Two fans in the rig, CPU and PSU and need to put ear to case to hear any fan noise.
However, the temps started increasing, was 60 on idle. So I removed the new cooler and discovered that it didn't come close to touching the CPU. The paste was still in a rice size ball. It must have had at least 2-3 mm space between the cooler and the CPU.
Inserted cooler again and this time felt a more significant snap so I guessed it was ok. Still prefer doing this out of the case so as to apply pressure from both sides of board or better yet a screw in style.
Fired it up and all temps are low again 30 idle - 55 stressed and whisper quiet.
Lessons learned:
A rattle from a fan will not get better and will not go away. I've oiled fan motors in the past but this one was sealed and I didn't want to drill it.
Make sure you're satisfied with everything prior to installing in case, especially noise from fans.
Intel CPU fan attachment system is lacking in design.
Intel CPU fans and motors are sub standard in quality. How can they put such crappy fans on such great processors?
Intel G620t maxed out around 78 - 80 with no cooler attached ( touching ) and no lid on case.
He's very happy with the system. It isn't the best budget system since the PSU and the CPU cooler needed to be replaced but it's fast, small, quiet and should last him several years.
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