New SFF build.

[mac124]

Just though id share this new build of mine with you, don't know if anyone else is interested in this type of thing but i quite like to see what other people are upto regarding new builds / projects etc. Anyway this is what i have been upto these past few days.

Well after much deliberation i decided to transfer my internet pc into a SFF case complete with water cooling, bit of a task but hey i thought it was worth it.
The pics :-

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1457.jpg
Checking to see if the res will fit.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1458.jpg
Res from front.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1459.jpg
The mobo i have used.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1460.jpg
Mobo in, psu removed as its so much easier to work on with it out.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1462.jpg
My mobile cpu, my dad is going to have this now as it doesn't work in this mobo :evil:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1464.jpg
Just a couple of my tubes of thermal paste, any guesses on which i used?
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1465.jpg
The cpu block fitted
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1467.jpg
The case comes with 2 temp sensors but no way of fitting them so i just put a small anount of thermal paste on it and taped i to the cpu block.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1470.jpg
Rad had to be fitted externally.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1473.jpg
Topped up and leak teasting with external psu.

This is where it went horribly wrong, i got it all together with mobile cpu powered up and no post. Hmm i thought ok maybe it doesn't like mobile chips, fair enough removed and replaced with sempron cpu, powered up but didn't notice pipe half off cpu block 1 soggy mobo, bother i said (let you imagine actual statement).

Dried it off and replaced pipe powered up pump with spare psu as i had previosly done to check for leaks pump doesn't appear to be pumping arrrggggg check pipes for kinks and one on cpu block flies off and covers me with green stuff, getting a bit annoyed by now, redry mobo and myself carry on and prett much the same thing happens again getting SERIOUSLY p!ssed off now, then find pipe nearest res has got a twist in it un twist and fluid is flowing again, all over mobo COS THE ****ING PIPE HAS COME OFF THE CPU BLOCK AGAIN!!!!!! At this point i lose my rag and rip water cooling out and put stock cooler on, dry mobo and cpu and case off with hair drier power up but its dead nothing nil zilch did power up once and worked for a few mins whilst i tried to remove all the old drivers but then it powered its self down and hasn't worked since.

I left it over night \"just in case\" but nope it still didn't work in the morning, then it struck me to try a different psu and it fired up :shock: it looks like the psu was fubar IT LIVES!!!!!

Ok now onto the \"working\" pics after i spat the dummy out and went back to stock cooling.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1475.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1476.jpg
New psu is a tight fit...
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1477.jpg
...and has shed loads of excess cables.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1478.jpg
Lid on, there is a bit of wind noise and i think its the case fan as it does shift alot of air.
End of part

[Anonymous]

[Removed at the request of the author]

[mac124]

Cheers mate though im afraid it's not a happy ending, not yet anyway, i just realised half the post is missing.

Part 2 of the drama

Everything seemd to be going fine so i left it powered up for a while whist i went to watch some tv and about an hour or so later i hear a THUD THUD THUD coming from my room so i go and see whats going on and when i get into my room im greeted by the foul stench of fried electronics and the pc powering itself on and off. I pull the plug and upon further investigation i fin the following..

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1486.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1487.jpg

I can safely say this has been the worst experience of building pcs in my life, now i have a dead cpu, ok may only be a sempron but it was a good one, and a dead 2 day old mmotherboard.


However every cloud and all that............

Well after the first attempt went up in smoke, litterally, i decided to take this opportunity to upgrade as the mobos for 754 and 939 are pretty much the same price and a 939 was only around £25 more than a sempy so it would have been stupid to go back to 754. Anyway this is the new improved spec, new mobo, cpu and window purchased from Aria of course

Cpu :- A64 3000 939
Mobo :- Asus A8N VM CSM (http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=0&model=1127&modelmenu=1)
PSU :- I managed to squeeze my Thermaltake 600watt in there, just not going to be able to use the top drive bay, meh doesn't bother me though.
Case :- Well thats still the Aspire X-QpacK.
Drives :- DVDRW and 80gb hdd
Memory :- 1gb OCZ value(single stick for now) , does 250mhz though :wink:

[mac124]

Part 3 the rebuild...


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1491.jpg
The mobo of choice, has vga and dvi outputs on board too :)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1492.jpg
Nice shiney new cpu, any idea how good this stepping is? Had a quick look myself and the 3200's seem pretty good.??
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1493.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1495.jpg
mobo in place
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1497.jpg
Psu back in
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1498.jpg
Few extra cables kinda tucked away, velcro cable wrap things courtesy of tagan, ta muchly.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/SFF%20build/DSCF1499.jpg
Pretty blue lights, some dinky 4\" tubes.

So far so good no smoke and it's still working pefectly.

[Robin]

All part of the fun building a PC. Superb post - thx for sharing your experiences :mrgreen:

[Barley]

Are you going to try watercooling again?

[mac124]

Probably not in this particular pc, but my main gaming rig is watercooled.

[mac124]

Any one who tells you water cooling is quiet is lying, at least performace water coolers aren't quiet they just cool better than heatsinks, remember the rads need fans on to cool the water down too. Pasive coolers are quiet like the Zalman Reserator but then you need 2 or 3 to cool a heavily overclocked system, one for each component, which is pointless imho.

[Barley]

Speaking of which, why do you have 3 PC's? :)

[mac124]

[quote:129ab98aa0=\"Barley\"]Speaking of which, why do you have 3 PC's? :)[/quote:129ab98aa0]

Well not quite the same reasons as Elrob but to cut a long story short when i originally had 1 pc (hmm maybe 5 or 6 years ago) i had a few problems (a couple of nasty viruses amoungst other things) which resulted in a format to fix, this was like 3 or 4 times in the space of a few months which really annoyed me as i lost all my games music photos etc etc so i decided to build a second pc and keep it well away from the net. So this i did for gaming and other stuff i didn't want to lose if the worst came to the worst. Over the years i have built and upgraded a few times to the current specs the 3rd pc, my review pc in my sig, is the pc i pull apart on a regular basis to review computer hardware for another website so i really don't mind if that goes pearshaped and i have to reformat, which i sometimes have to do if i review a mobo for example.

So there you go a pc for all occasions my net pc for well surfing the net sending / receiving emails etc, gaming pc for well gaming mainly though i do surf a little bit on it, infact i am on it now, and lastly my review pc that is for reviewing the hardware i get asked to test.

that make a bit more sense now? Oh and those are just mine the old man has one of my old pcs to surf the net / play chess online.

[Belso]

Is that the Bigwater SE Watercooling kit i see? 8)

One of the reason's im not to fond of Shuttles ect... is because there a right sod to work inside.

Especially when you have big hands like myself.

[Anonymous]

U can fit a full mobo and stuff into it, its a SFF case, but can handle any size board.

[mac124]

[quote:533def47d5=\"blaineoliver\"]U can fit a full mobo and stuff into it, its a SFF case, but can handle any size board.[/quote:533def47d5]

Not strictly true mate, the only mobos the sff cases i have seen will only accept matx or smaller.

[mac124]

[quote:c8eba5d60a=\"Belso\"]Is that the Bigwater SE Watercooling kit i see? 8)

One of the reason's im not to fond of Shuttles ect... is because there a right sod to work inside.

Especially when you have big hands like myself.[/quote:c8eba5d60a]

Well spotted that man it is indeed a big water se, not a bad little wc kit when i had it working in another pc.

[Barley]

[quote:9e1df782f0=\"mac124\"][quote:9e1df782f0=\"Belso\"]Is that the Bigwater SE Watercooling kit i see? 8)

One of the reason's im not to fond of Shuttles ect... is because there a right sod to work inside.

Especially when you have big hands like myself.[/quote:9e1df782f0]

Well spotted that man it is indeed a big water se, not a bad little wc kit when i had it working in another pc.[/quote:9e1df782f0]

I think you mean sadly spotted :P That's like those people who can identify a car just by seeing the bumper or mirror :)