Cases Silverstone FT03 build (now turning into post your pics of FT03 builds thread)

With my back up card in, i've got my 580 installed again now.







Parts - Asus P8P67M-Pro, 2500k, GTX580, Vertex 2 120GB, Venomous X, 8GB Hyperx Genesis Grey, Silverstone Strider Gold 750w.

 

Hey, in case you haven't already figured it out, the Asus p8p67-m pro does not have a usb3 header. The only way to get more than two usb3 ports is by splitting the ones already on the back.

 

Okay, here's the thing. I like it, but I think I like some of Lian-Li's mATX cases more. I would love to get one to try out, but I'm not convinced about it. I think if I'm going to build a small gaming system (tbh I've been considering building myself a new LAN rig and starting to attend UK LANs again) I want it to be a little more... well just a little more than the FT03 offers. I'm just not sure about it When I saw it for the first time I thought I loved it, then I decided that the layout was too weird and that I didn't like it, and some of the plasticy bits put me off too. Now I'm stuck somewhere in between loving it and disliking it, and can't decide whether to get one or not

 

I have only built one PC before, a Shuttle with intergrated MOBO and PS in 2005. Ready for something more and this thread convinced me the FT-03 is what I needed.

Ordered from Amazon last weekend:
Silverstone FT-03B, $166.80
Strider 75W Gold, $161.20
CL-CAB40022 SATA to Mini SATA Cable, $2.10

Ordered from MicroCenter last night, will pickup at Houston location today:
Intel i5-2500k Boxed, $179.99
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $59.00 (limit one per customer)
Samsung Spinpoint F3R 1TB $79.99

Will start ordering more items again next weekend, only buying what we can afford out of pocket each week. Here's what I'm planning and questions.

1. Plan on using ASUS P8P67-M PRO
2. Memory, want to use 4ea 4GB, probably from Newegg, considering G.SKILL. More interested in quantity than speed. Will be using with Photoshop Element and Lightroom 3.
3. Want a third Hard Drive. First for OS/programs, second for folders (my documents, ect.), third for my pictures. Any advice? Really want an SSD, but they are still pricey and I'm NOT interested in being totally consumed by keeping tabs on SSD memory size. Are at least I've been led to believe OS likes to store than is needed on boot drive. Any problem with my purchasing a 500GB HD for OS/Programs? Then swapping it out for SSD in another yr or two when price might be better. Have been considering 480GB VelociRaptor for OS/programs, but it would be wastefull to purchase at $199 and then scrape it in another yr or two. Thinking a tradtional 7,200 rpm drive is all I need at the moment.
4. Does PP05 short cables come with Strider 750W Gold PS? If not, then need to order it.
5. Will use Sony or Panasonic slim CD/DVD/rw. No blueray at this time.
6. Any advice for video card? Not a gamer, just want effeciency with no glitches. Running a 23" HD monitor connected via HDMI, and plan to add a second in the near future.
7. CPU heatsink, might dabble at OC in the future. I've been intrigued by the 4.3+ ghz and thinking that 4.3 is what I want to reach. What heatsink, cooler, etc., should I consider?

Great thread you guys have going.

 

Hey,

Got a Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced (bit-tech review ) fitted in my FT-03. Installation was a breeze (at least once I figured out the push/pull direction!) At idle, spins at approx. 480rpm, making it as good as inaudible... at full load, spins up to approx. 1450rpm and that you most certainly can hear. Idle temps of approx. 28C at 18.5C ambient, up to high 60'sC under full load (small FTT test Prime95). Love PWM fans! oh, and I should add I'm running a standard clocked 2600K (office PC, so cool & quiet is the name of the game).

No clearance probs with Corsair Vengeance (i.e pretty darn tall) ram either.

Basically, ypfwyg... Not the cheapest cooler out there but this thing is solid, beautifully made (looks pretty good too!) and fitted with a great fan. Love it.

Hope that helps. As for the your HD conundrum, all I can add is that there's one additional advantage to SSDs other than speed.... q u i e t! While i was waiting for my OCZ Vertex 3 to ship, I was using a Samsung Spinpoint F3 as the boot drive. Swear to God it was the noisiest component in there. I wouldn't even consider a velicoraptor (yesterday's tech). Keep your money in your pocket until you can afford an SSD. Prices are falling all the time, and as a boot drive you could easily get away with a 60GB or 80GB model.

Other than that, solid build. Oh, & yup, you'll be needing to order the Silverstone short cable set as an additional item. Adds up, eh? Happy building!

 

Have more information concerning 1) and 3) in my post just up from this one.
1. Motherboard - waiting two weeks, then will purchase Z68 chipset M-ATX MOBO available. I want SSD Caching with the HD I have already purchased.
2. Harddrives - will use the two 1TB Spinpoints I have purchased and procure a 64GB for SSD caching. This seems like the best use of my money for a non-gamer.

Any recommendations for a Micro ATX MOBO?

 

Help needed

My Dell XPS M1730 gaming laptop is getting a little dated and I've had to bake the 8800m GTX GPU once too many times so I have decided to move back to desktops.

After shopping around online I decided on the Enix from DigitalStorm, which is based off the FT03 case, and configured the following:

Buy specifications:

• Chassis Model: Black OPS Enix Edition Exterior Finish
• Paint Chassis Vents and Grills (Red)
• Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz
• Motherboard: ASUS P8P67-M PRO
• System Memory: 8GB DDR3 2000MHz GTX-8 Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
• Power Supply: 1000W Corsair
• Hard Drive Set 1: 300GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series SSDSA2CW300G3K5)
• Hard Drive Set 2: 1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache)
• Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (Slim Slot Loading Edition)
• Video Card: 2x CrossFire Dual (ATI Radeon HD 6990 4GB)
• Extreme Cooling: Asetek Liquid CPU Cooler (120mm Radiator)
• Boost Processor: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz
• OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
• Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

The base system came to a reasonable $4,147, but then to ship the unit from California to Japan, where I live, cost a ridiculous $1,640 - including a wooden crate, custom's duties and insurance, for a total price of $5,787!

To add insult to injury DigitalStorm would not refund shipping or even pay for the return of the unit if anything was faulty, even immediately upon arrival! Given this I can't buy from DigitalStorm...

I have never built a PC before, taking apart the M1730 to bake the GPU is about the limit of my technical experience! So, my first question: do you think I'd be capable of building a system based off the TH03 case - or should I start with something simpler?

Assuming you do, perhaps you could help with some more questions? Getting parts in Japan could be tricky as I don't speak Japanese. Looking on Amazon, however, I was able to put together the following build:

Build specifications

• Case Silverstone FT03
• Fans 3 x Zalman Performance Fans ZM-SF3
• CPU Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz
• H/S Corsair CWCH50-1
• MB ASUS P8P67-M PRO
• Mem CORSAIR DDR3 2000MHz 8GB 2x240 DIMM
• HD 1 300GB Solid State Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW300G3K5
• HD 2 1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache)
• Optical Sony Optiarc Blu-ray SATA BC-5600S
• GPU 2 x ATI Radeon HD 6990
• PSU SilverStone STRIDER PLUS GOLD 1000W SST-ST1000-G
• Cab 1 SilverStone (SST-PP05) Short Cable Set for Silverstone Strider
• Cab 2 3 x 15cm SATA cables
• Adapt Startech Female Slimline SATA to SATA Adapter with Power
• Other Silverstone SST-CLEARCMOS

The total price for this build is $4106 and that's without Windows O/S - so basically I save nothing on the base price by building it myself! That's the problem with living in Japan and not being able to take advantage of the strong yen by buying from the US.

However, I do save $1,640 on shipping and I have the chance to learn something!

Please could you have a look at the build above and give me your thoughts - is there anything I have missed out or anything I should change?

Also, does anyone know of any good guides I should read that might help me in putting this all together?

I have been reading this thread with interest and I am hoping that you can help me build my first PC!

Thanks for your help

Tom

 

Hey tripntx. And I thought the State of Texas was famous for its good old fashioned manners... where's that thank you?!

Anyhoo, you might want to take a look at this bit-tech article on Z68 implementation of SSD caching (Intel Smart Response) and Lucid Virtu (enabling switching between the Sandybridge onboard graphics and a discrete GPU). Whether this is down to early BIOS versions, I have no idea - but it raises some interesting questions on the utility of both. So, personally not convinced (yet) that Z68 delivers on the promised 'P67+H67 best of both worlds' scenario.

If you're set on Z68, might be worth waiting to see what Asus come up with: as far as I know, the only matx boards currently announced are the MSI Z68MA-ED55-B3 and Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3.

 

Keep an eye out for Asus' Maximus IV Genie-Z :



The Genie-Z is due out sometime in May with the Full size ATX Maximus IV following in June
I think I can just about wait myself for the centrepiece of a sandy bridge FT03 build...
... pricing around 151 Euros... and hopefully £132 in the UK

anyone from Asus wish to comment on Availability and pricing -- particularly for the UK faithful ?? Rich??

 

Hey Jonnym, you're right, thanks for info. After thinking about it, have to agree about velociraptor being old tech. Z68 SSD caching all the way for me. Looking at the Crucial M4 64GB SSD on Newegg, currently will only cost $115.

Thanks to specialworks I now know what my MOBE will be, Maximus IV Genie-Z. Hurry up ASUS and get those MOBO's to distributors.

 

A couple of more questions on the build above:

1. Could I fit a Corsair H70 it the case instead of the H50 or is there not enough room?

2. In addition to the Corsair, does anyone have any recommendations regarding the number of fans I could fit and which I should go for?

3. For the SSD, what's the difference between the 320 series and the 510 - which would you recommend? Or should I go for OCZ's Vertex 3?

4. I want to use this system for gaming on a 30" monitor at 2560x1600 - for the GPU should I go for 2xGeforce 590, 2xReadeon 6990 or 2xGeforce 580?

5. Do I have all the cables I need listed above?

6. Does the ClearCMOS fit in the TH03 case?

Thanks a lot for your help

Tom

 

Did you upgrade your fans? What did you go for?

I will either be running 2x6990 or 2x590 so I think I'll need the most powerful fans possible

 

Ordered the components:

Case Silverstone FT03
Fans 3 x CoolerMaster 120mm & 2 x Zalman 80mm
Processor Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz
Cooling Corsair H70
Motherboard ASUS P8P67-M PRO
Memory CORSAIR DDR3 1600MHz 8GB 2x240 DIMM
HD 1 250GB Intel SSD 510 Elmcrest series
HD 2 1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache)
Optical Sony Optiarc Blu-ray SATA BC-5600S
GPU 2 x ATI Radeon HD 6990
PSU SilverStone STRIDER PLUS GOLD 1200W
Cables 1 SilverStone (SST-PP05) Short Cable Set for Silverstone Strider
Cables 2 3 x 15cm SATA cables
Adaptor SlimlineS-ATA cable

Can anyone see anything missing?

I am going to be running a 30" monitor at 1600p, what GPU should I be looking at:

2x6990, 2x590, 2x6970 or 2x580?

Also, what's the best 30" monitor out there (for gaming)

Cheers,

Tom

 

Going to be a nice build taveston. You have all the normal stuff plus the slimS-ata cable.

 

How do I tell if a video card vents to outside or inside?
Looking at this ASUS GTX 550i on Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121435
Interested in Nvidia offerings, and while it might not make any difference, I simply thought I would intall an ASUS video card on an ASUS MOBO (Maximus IV Genie-Z).
Will continue purchasing components for my build while waiting for the MOBO to be released.

 

Not sure quad-sli is a good idea on a mATX board, how is the frontmost GPU on the first card going to get air? And don't you run into a performance bottleneck when 2 GPUs share a single 8x slot as opposed to a 16x. I would go 2x580 vanilla and overclock a little (or 6970 if you prefer AMD, perhaps check out how they compare on heat output).
And maybe think about finding one of the rare CPU coolers thats small enough for the GPU exhaust bracket to fit, since that is gonna be the hottest part of your system..
Unless you can water cool the first gtx 590 on the CPU intake bracket, however not sure a 120mm radiator is gonna cut it for a gtx 590.

I would wait a bit longer and buy a Z68 board instead (I'd choose gigabyte, but thats just me)
Then use most of the SSD for windows, programs and games and use the rest as cache for your HDD. You could use the Lucid Virtu on Z68 to idle your cards when not in use, would save power, but also take away some performance.

I have a Dell U2711 which is awesome, 6ms input lag if I remember correctly, think all the 30" ones are twice as slow, but I might be wrong.

With memory, buy something with low heat spreaders

 

Are you SURE you'll fit a 1200W PSU in there? Remember that case is not particularly high airflow and it'll be a kilowatt hotbox - especially around the GPUs which get little extra air! Not to mention the anticipated driver limitations..

Personally I would see how you go with one, or maybe even just a 6970 before dropping in another.

The Max 4 Gene is due within weeks too It's official announcement is Computex at the very start of June.

 

No worries man - you are very welcome! And I agree - the Asus board looks the way to go for sure... worth the wait.

 

Oh dear guys! Everything was ordered before I saw any of these replies (including 2x590). I'm not very patient I'm afraid.

So, this is going to be interesting...

If anyone can point me in the direction of further cooling options I be most grateful

Cheers,

Tom

 

hey everyone. having finally got my FT03 build sorted, I thought it time to post some pics.

Mobo: Asus P8H67 M-EVO (rev.B3)
CPU: Core i7 2600K
Ram: Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 8GB (2x4GB kit)
Boot drive: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
CPU cooler: Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced
PSU: Enermax 500W EMG500AWT Modu87+
120mm fans: swapped out original fans for 3x Sharkoon SE Quiet fans
DVD: ASUS SDRW-08D1S-U Slim DVDRW

A few notes on the build. The FT03 was always destined for the home office, so cool and quiet the name of the game. H67 fitted my needs perfectly as I had no intention of overclocking the 2600K and wanted to use the onboard GPU.

Boot drive: while waiting for the Vertex 3 to ship, I was using a Samsung Spinpoint F3 as the primary hard drive. As I mentioned in a previous post, the switch to an SSD was huge - not only in terms of performance and general system responsiveness but also noise... spinning up and that HD 'click clack'. There may well have been objectively louder components in the case but noise 'quality' is, IMO, more important. And the HD bugged me to hell. I'm lucky in that i don't need a secondary storage device as downloads, etc. are routed through to a NAS box in the cellar.

PSU: quite a saga! I was initially convinced by the attraction of using the Silverstone PP05 short cable set, so ordered a compatible Silverstone 500w ST50F-P Strider. That went back the next day due to a really noticeable electronic buzz (again, may not have been particularly loud but something about the 'type' of noise was irritating as hell). So, going to the other extreme I then ordered a Seasonic SS-460FL FANLESS psu. Hit a major snag in that the psu is covered in warnings that it should be installed in only one direction - yup, the opposite direction to that allowed by the FT03. So that went back too (big up to Scan at this point!) So, having used a 1kw Enermax in my gaming rig for the last couple of years, I came across a well-reviewed gold rated 500w modular unit (EMG500AWT Modu87+). Bullseye. PSU is effectively silent. And, it's worth saying, that I personally didn't find that the PP05 made a huge difference to the ease or tidiness of the build: not enough anyway to make a compatible Silverstone PSU a no-brainer. For my money, there are better PSU manufacturers out there.

CPU cooler: gave an awful lot of thought to this, in terms of size (with the CPU fan bracket fitted there isn't a great deal of space to play with), cooling ability, fan quietness, Ram clearance (Corsair Vengeance are not exactly small), etc. Eventually I settled on the Be Quiet! dark Rock Advanced. Super, super happy with it. Great cooling, effectively inaudible at idle/moderate CPU usage on PWM, hassle-free installation and beautifully made. Worth the cash, no question. And allows for fitting of Ram in the first and third slots, no dramas (can't see me upgrading from 8GB but always good to know I can.)

DVD: The Asus model is an external USB drive. I went for this because as, software installation aside, I very rarely use a DVD drive and they can be noisy as hell. Also, I am in the middle of swapping my gaming rig to a new FT02 (the limited edition WRI - sweet, sweet case!) and didn't want to 'spoil' the clean look of the case front with a DVD drive (quick rant: as a recent convert from Lian Li cases, my only quibble with Silverstone is why the feck do you not make a blank DVD bezel!?) Anyway, just to say that I am super pleased with this solution. At least on the Asus EFI bios, the drive was id'd within the bios and windows installation was no different than with an internal drive.

120mm fans: spent a lot of time researching 120mm fans but all the online 'mega reviews' (Custom PC/SPCR/X-bit labs) are 2-3yrs out of date. Having had good experiences with the Sharkoon 120mm 1000 Silent Eagle golf balls on previous balls, I opted for the newer SE version. One of the main attractions was that the fans have modular connections, with 4-pin PWM, 3-pin (12v/ 9v & 7v) and 4-pin 12v connections supplied. This is cool, and allowed me to experiment with different voltage settings to find the best combination of performance vs noise without cluttering up the case. After a lot of playing around, I have the top exhaust fan and the CPU fan sharing the 4-pin PWM mobo connector (using one of these), the CPU bracket fan on 9v and the GPU bracket fan on 7v (in all probability, I will remove the GPU bracket entirely as it is not making any tangible difference to my build). As far as CPU temps are concerned, the top exhaust fan is the one that really makes the difference: at idle, the exhaust fan and CPU cooler fan spin at around 480rpm - effectively inaudible - increasing to approx. 1500rpm (cpu fan) and 1000rpm (sharkoon exhaust fan) at full load (noisy but I've only ever approached anything like those rpm in stress-testing). All in all, I am super happy with the CPU cooler & fan, 7 moderately happy with the Sharkoon SE. I'll certainly take a good look when one of the reputable sites does it's next fan mega test (bit-tech/Custom PC, hint hint!)

Overall comments on build: first off, I have to say that I'm happy with the FT03. As some reviewers have noted, there are some build quality issues (the side panels don't sit completely flush, nor does the top grill; the bottom filter mesh has a habit of falling off; there could be a few more cut outs for cable tidying; the internal PSU cable should be 'integrated' into the design, and there is little to no noise insulation. There are also quite a few compromises to made in terms of component choices. Personally, not that I have any experience of this, I do not think this case is suited to a 1kw+, 2x high spec/high-heat GPU, heavily overclocked mini-monster gaming rig. I just don't see the cooling capacity. You also need to make sure that the shape and 'peculiarities' of the case (I suspect the cooling ability would be severely affected if the r.hand air intake mesh was blocked) are suited to your set up and available space. never have I had to re-jig so much stuff (desk, monitor, etc.) to make this work! I also wish i had bought the black version (vetoed by the boss!) but there you go.

However, if like me and I suspect many others, you fell in love with the design and 'cleverness'of the FT03 you will be prepared to make these compromises. About a month after starting the build, I can say that I am happy (although on the look out for 120mm fan recommendations!) This is probably as close to heaven as a 'pro-Apple hardware/design + rabid anti-Apple proprietary software' PC freak like me gets. Sorry for the length of the post - I hope some of it is of interest. Anyone needs further info on anything, just let me know.

Hmmm. Maybe being a complete idiot but doesn't look like I have sufficient privileges to post pics! I will try to figure something out.