The 2010 PC build
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Case: Silverstone Fortress FT01B
Psu: Enermax MODU82+ 625W
Mobo: Asus P6T SE
Cpu: Intel socket 1366 core I7 920
Cpu-Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P Se2
Memory: DDR3-1600 Corsair Dominator 6Gb TR3X6G1600C8D
Gpu: Club3D HD 5750 1 GB GDDR5 PCI-E Passive
Sound: Asus Xonar D1
Hd1: Solid state disk Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2C1 80Gb
Hd2: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS, 1Tb
DVD-Rom: Sony Optiarc DDU1681S-0B
DVD-Ram: Sony Optiarc AD-7240S-0B
My previous case was a noisy negative pressure or under pressure case, which had also a serious dust problem costing me 3 burners in 6 years. For these reasons I decided the new case had to be a silent case of the positive pressure type. The Silverstone Fortress FT01B came closest to my demands.
This rig will not be used for serious gaming and therefore does not have a power consuming video card. In fact, it is build to consume as less energy as possible apart from the energy consuming I7. A PSU should be able to cope with the max needs of the PC without troubles, whilst not using energy when on idle. This Enermax Modu82+ 625W should do well.
Having good experiences with Asus regarding reliability in the past made me favor the brand. However; The prices of the Deluxe version and up were way beyond my budget, forcing me to take a closer look. The Asus P6T SE would do everything I need. (I don't plan to use SLI and I can live without those few extra ports. The performance should be almost the same as the luxury versions.
With the 1366 generally being thought the best option for the future, my budget does not allow me to go any faster than the I7 920 at the moment. Regarding the cooling, I seriously doubted between the Prolimatec Megahalem and the Noctua NH-U12P Se2. The latter winning in the end because it comes equipped with good fans.
Not knowing much about memory, I had to go for what others use on the forums. Though there are a few brands that should perform equal at lower cost, I finally choose the DDR3-1600 Corsair Dominator 6Gb TR3X6G1600C8D because it would be very stable and overclockable.
My budget did not allow heavy duty gaming cards or SLI / Crossfire setups. Also on my last PC the video card fan made a lot of noise. When I learned that the Ft01 case would do specially well with passive cooled GPU cards. The search for the best passive card was on. The choice was Club3D HD 5750 1 GB GDDR5 PCI-E Passive though there were no tests yet available since the card was brand new. Time will tell whether this is a correct choice.
Regarding the hard disks, the best solution at the moment seems to be an 80 GB SSD disk to which my Windows 7 Professional and programs are loaded, whilst a large but slow and stable Western Digital Caviar 1Tb disk will hold the data. Mounting this Solid state disk Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2C1 80Gb disk will certainly be an interesting experiment and time will tell whether this is the good choice for both a fast and stable system.
 01 Components arriving |
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 07 |
 08 waiting for the case.... |
 09 Starting with removing surplus cables (original is at the top, result is at the bottom) |
 10 |
 11 Last parts arrived! |
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 14 Whilst inspecting the case, I had trouble opening the left panel. This will have to be modified later. |
 15 Note that the power supply does not match with the intake grid at all! |
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 19 The top disk cage was not needed and thus removed. This did not release without trouble, leaving some irritating scratches at the one below. |
 20 The bottom PSU filter can not be cleaned like this and will have to go. |
 21 Thinking about a workable solution. |
 22 The top filter can not be taken out for cleaning like this. Fortunately I found a mod for it here: http://www.modders-inc.com |
 23 |
 24 Starting work on the bottom intake by placing 5mm rubber strips. |
 25 An air filter for kitchen use came closest to my needs. Also note that the remaining part of the intake is covered with a 5mm rubber plate. |
 26 |
 27 Though not an ideal solution, the filter can now be removed for cleaning. I will have to look for a better filter in future since the threads on this one make it difficult to place after cleaning. |
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 29 Airflow should improve after placing this 5mm rubber, which positions the psu 5mm backward. |
 30 The bottom rubber and filter have been modified a bit for better fit and easier removal. |
 31 For work on the top filter, we have to start with removing the bars holding the side covers. |
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 35 Since I want my connections at the front of the case, the top ones can be removed. Not so easy since they were glued... |
 36 And a reference picture for the original situation since these cables might be taken apart later. |
 37 Removing the top fan. |
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 41 Marking the material to be taken out. This can be don with a flex, but the good old file will do fine also! |
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 43 In order to be able to rotate the construction 90 degrees, some holes will have to be repositioned. This is easily marked by holding the top grid rotated 90 degrees to the part. Just make sure you rotate it to the correct direction! |
 44 |
 45 The original fixation points for the fan can no longer be used to fix it with screws. I left them cut away half, so they will still hold the fan in position in the new situation. Only this time no screws are needed. It is not completely fixed and therefore it might be cause for vibration later. If so it can be easily remedied. |
 46 |
 47 Disaster struck! the reset switch is missing because of holding the case upside down during work. |
 48 Pffffft - Found it again in the garage. Be warned that this gets lost easily! |
 49 The new fit is much better. |
 50 |
 51 The mod blends in well with the case. people don't notice it at all. This work could have been done by Silverstone whilst building the case without any extra trouble or cost. |
 52 The use of the flash made the rubber stand out, whilst in real life it is nearly invisible, blending in with the case. |
 53 |
 54 The filter protrudes an extra 5mm to enable easier removal. |
 55 The case comes supplied with one quick connection bracket for a hard drive. I tried it, whilst I don't really need it. After first boot there was a connection problem, so I removed it then immediately without having a closer look at possible cause. The bracket may be ok after all. |
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 58 Before placing the Mobo, be sure to mount the CPU brackets since there is no hole in the mounting plate to do it afterwards. |
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 61 Whilst trying to keep cables tidy on the other side, the ones on this side will not be visible. Just tried to make sure they don't press to hard against the cover. |
 62 As mentioned in the manual, I placed a 4 - 5mm drop of thermal paste on the CPU before mounting the Noctua cooler. |
 63 |
 64 Note that the Top intake fan cable is mounted a bit peculiar now. It is to short for a perfect fit. I should have rotated the actual fan on it's mount back to the original position! |
 65 With those large fans, the system would probably run fine without the cooler fans mounted. I decided to place them for testing at first. |
 66 A reasonable airflow is expected around the video card, so the passive cooler should do well here. |
 67 |
 68 Finally fully equipped |
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 72 At first the WD hard disk was not detected, so I connected the sata cables directly to the disk. Then it was OK. |
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Not exactly:
- I was surprised to find the PSU air intake so far off from the one in the case.
- There is one fan connector short on the Mobo. There is the CPU and three case fan connections. However: I have the CPU, three case fans and the PSU fan to monitor.
For the time being I connected the rear case fan to power directly, excluding it from monitoring.
- The big case fans are running at 700 rpm but, though not noisy, can be heard at this speed. Through the Mobo, 550 rpm is possible and desirable.
- The CPU fans are running at a constant 1400 rpm at the moment (38 degrees temp) Though not noisy at all, this should be much lower rpm.
- The Mobo comes equipped with a program called Asus probe. This looks very nice, but I get a constant alarm because of the PSU fan running at 550 rpm. The alarm minimum set point is 600 rpm.
- The Conceptronic front panel card reader connection unit was a disappointment. Probably this could have been prevented if I had taken more time for research. If you ever want such a unit, you should consider what cables are used to connect it. This one expects the user to plug cables into the rear of the PC and then lead them through a back plate to the device. That might work for a large number of people, but I don't want that. Also to consider is that these devices combine several cables to a single plug into the device. The Silverstone connection unit at the top has a similar problem, making switching from one unit to another very difficult.
At the moment, I am considering a combined card reader / fan control, but have to do more research before ordering.
- For some reason the Xonar D1 connection to the front panel is not recognized. Plugging it in to the Mobo connector works, but that means I can't instantly switch from speakers to headphone. A quick search revealed that I am not the only one having this problem. It's no big deal so it will have to wait until it can be given more attention.
06-01-2010 update:
Regarding the fan control, I decided to order an NZXT Sentry 2. This one can handle not only five fans, but also can handle big powerful fans. The fans to monitor / control for me: CPU, PSU (monitor only), 2x 180mm case fans and the 120mm exhaust fan.
Spent some time on the Xonar D1 and found that if the Xonar device is used, both Windows device manager and Xonar drivers need to be set. This still needs some time to get the sound working with best quality. I am confident that it will work out in the end. In the mean time I did use the on board sound for some time and found that is also of good quality, so may be I should not have bought the Xonar in the first place. (On my old machine the extra sound card made a huge difference.)
The Conceptronic panel may be used after all, but then with internal connections only. I will have to study the options for changing the external cables to internal ones before proceeding. If I can get that panel to work properly, it should make a nice combination with the Sentry controller.
Also a remark regarding the noise produced by this machine: For the time being I have it next to me on the desk and in a silent room every tiny noise will stand out. First it was the fans I heard. The Mobo does not control the PSU fan, so I placed the extra connectors for lower speed there (1100rpm), whilst also enabling control to the big fans (500 rpm). I would like to see the CPU fan run on Auto control, with the 180mm fans at about 550 rpm and the rear fan also lower than max. Anyhow, in the current situation, noise is reduced to near inaudible with the exception of the WD hard disk which is now producing irritating sounds when reading. I will need to do some experimenting to find how to reduce this noise best. (My wife found the best way to describe the noise - "It sound like the case is hungry, with the stomach rumbling"). I am currently thinking about two very different solutions to the problem. One would be to mount the drive completely in rubber, whilst it might also work to postition it in a very heavy solid steel frame. Experiments are definitely needed here!
You can contact me here about this build: rob (remove this and join) (at) panzerbasics (dot) com.
