Silverstone SST-FT03-Mini (Mini-Itx)

I, on the other hand, have slowly become annoyed by my 2nd Antec Kuhler 620. The first one was just plain loud at the pump, couldn't get it to shut up, returned it. The 2nd one was quieter, but it emits a constant wavering noise that reminds me of the old boat in Jaws after it had been damaged by the shark... It just doesn't sound smooth, rather cheap. It's making me consider putting the stock Intel cooler on. My room is quiet, and the Kuhler is starting to eat at me.

In other news, I couldn't justify a 670 for my game preferences (Battlefield and the like), so I have a Galaxy 660 Ti GC 2GB in the mail for Tuesday. If the Galaxy is quieter than the 620 Kuhler, I will once again tear this thing down and start from scratch.

Update: It's Saturday, so I have the time to tear it down. I will be putting the stock Intel cooler on to see what happens to temps/noise. Depending on that, I may continue the search for a closed loop pump that's quieter than the stock cooler, which seems like an absurd thing to have to do.

Update 2: Well, that went as expected. It's louder, idle temps went from 26C to 32C, Prime95 mixed load temps from 57C to 77C, and gaming temps from 45C to 50C. So I've been hunting for a new closed loop. I've noticed the Thermaltake units are produced by Asetek and look identical to the Antec units. I wasn't so interested until I read up on the Thermaltake, hoping it was a newer revision somehow. Turns out, it is. The Thermaltake pumps are the 3rd generation pump from Asetek and claim to have reworked voltage regulation or something that should result in smoother/quieter operation. It'll be here Tuesday.
 
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nameBrandon said:
A few of us have crammed normal sized PSU's in there, but it's not designed for them. At the very least you'll have to bend back some of the case framing to make it work.
Click to expand...

awesome thanks! I have a hx650 sitting around and would like to use it if i can :)
 
Vestito said:
awesome thanks! I have a hx650 sitting around and would like to use it if i can :)
Click to expand...

Yep, that should work.. It's smaller than the X-560 I've got in mine.. There's part of the case where the PSU goes that'll need to be bent upwards, so it's parallel to the bottom of the case, but that was about 30 seconds with some pliers on my end. It jacks up the difficulty with cable routing quite a bit, but it should go.. You may have some issues if you have RAM with heatspreaders rather than low-profile, not sure.
 
Can I fit...

Seasonic 860
Corsair Dominator Plat
GTX 670

...in this case?....I wont have any watercooling
 
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http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1039077180&postcount=407

All of the necessary measurements are also in this thread within the last 10 pages, but I'll let you hunt them down. The RAM may fit, but those modules have unusually tall heat spreaders, so who knows. If you also use an ATX PSU, the RAM will pretty much create a huge wall to block airflow from the bottom of the case. You can fit any GTX 670 that is 2 slots thick and no longer than 10.3". That means no ASUS DCII, no Gigabyte Windforce (unless you're willing to cut its fan shroud), and no ZOTAC AMP! Edition.
 
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nameBrandon said:
Yep, that should work.. It's smaller than the X-560 I've got in mine.. There's part of the case where the PSU goes that'll need to be bent upwards, so it's parallel to the bottom of the case, but that was about 30 seconds with some pliers on my end. It jacks up the difficulty with cable routing quite a bit, but it should go.. You may have some issues if you have RAM with heatspreaders rather than low-profile, not sure.
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ty still planning the build looking through this thread i'm really liking what i see :D
 
For anyone else out there who has the ASRock board and is hating their weird WiFi setup, I replaced it with this $20 USB one. I had it laying around from when I went through a hackintosh phase (works in Snow Leopard), and it's much smaller (and less annoying) than the ASRock antenna/cables. I had to use the dock, if I just used the USB stick, the case still degraded the signal somewhat, at least in my setup. Not sure if I can reclaim that mini-PCIe slot now, something to look into down the road, along with that m-sata connector.

http://www.amazon.com/Medialink-Wir...7292693&sr=8-1&keywords=medialink+usb+adapter
 
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To those of you using this FT03-mini with a Kepler GK104 card, i.e., 680/670/660 Ti with any style cooler, will you please let me know what your gaming and/or Furmark temps are?

Galaxy 660 Ti GC 2GB (fans are factory settings/auto)

Furmark 15 minute 1920x1080 preset test = 97C max. If I crank my case fan, 92C max.
Furmark w/front panel removed: 72C max
Gaming temps w/panel on: 72-80C

Idle with panel on: 32-33C
Idle with panel off: 27-28C

I appear to be getting some terrible numbers under Furmark. Perhaps I was wrong and I should return this to get a blower style card? What are your temps?
 
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Over the weekend I've done a dB measurement at home with a Voltcraft SL-300 dB measurement device and my FT03-mini with ST45SF-G PSU.

Settings:I configured the dB measurement device for the range: 30~80 dBA; measurement time was set to slow=1s (optimized for continuous loudness measurements); background noise level about 26 dBA; standard office temperature around 22°C;distance from device to the FT03-mini was 50cm while the device was located on the left site. The PSU was installed as intended from SS - fan to the side wall of the chassis. I measured the loudness shortly after boot up Windows 7. Before I took the first measurement point I pre-heated the CPU with 1 minute full load, using Prime95s "In-place large FFTs) for it. While measuring the PC was idle, only Win7 background services were working. I checked the power consumption continuously to confirm the PC was idle while measuring (using Voltcraft Energy check 3000).

Measurements: Than the first measurements taken place while the PC was idle. I started the whole measurement on Saturday around 8:00 AM, prepared everything, boot-up, pre-heat with Prime and noted the first loudness level at:
8:04 (38,2 dBA @ 61,9W)
8:05 (37,3 dBA @ 61,9W)
8:06 (36,6 dBA @ 62,0W)
8:07 (38,0 dBA @ 62,1W)
8:08 (38,2 dBA @ 62,1W)
8:09 (38,7 dBA @ 62,3W)
Average idle noise level: 37,83 dBA

I left the PC running on idle and wait approx. 0,5h until I noted 5 more measurement points:

8:35 (40,1 dBA @ 63,1W)
8:36 (40,0 dBA @ 63,0W)
8:37 (40,2 dBA @ 63,2W)
8:38 (40,1 dBA @ 63,1W)
8:39 (40,3 dBA @ 63,1W)
Average idle noise level: 40,14 dBA

After that the pc keeps running idle for ~50 minutes...
9:30 (41,0 dBA @ 63,3W)
9:31 (41,0 dBA @ 63,3W)
9:32 (40,9 dBA @ 63,4W)
9:33 (41,3 dBA @ 62,6W)
9:34 (41,0 dBA @ 62,6W)
Average idle noise level: 41,04 dBA

After that, I'm not really sure how I should proceed with my FT03-mini built. The idle noise level is too loud for my ears and during full load (while playing a game) it becomes even worse.

Any hints? Maybe also for a silent mini-itx case or do I have to use a different case in a somewhat bigger form-factor?
 
That's why some of us are using ATX power supplies, instead of the recommended SilverStone unit, and a closed loop water cooler instead of stock air coolers. The use of an ATX PSU will not allow you to have a DVD/CD/BR drive, though. My SeaSonic power supply is dead silent. I've had my X560 for 2 weeks now and its fan has never turned on under any gaming or stress test loads. It is silent. I don't overclock my Ivy Bridge i7.
 
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SalemSwift said:
To those of you using this FT03-mini ... with any style cooler ... Galaxy 660 Ti GC 2GB ...I appear to be getting some terrible numbers under Furmark. Perhaps I was wrong and I should return this to get a blower style card?
Click to expand...

This is the worst thing about the FT03-mini. On the box it says "Super mini footprint design with no cables and vents on four sides" but that's nonsense. There are no useful vents at all. There should be a big warning on the box saying that it's going to melt your GPU unless you have a blower style reference card. Hiding that information on page 26 of the manual which you only read after you've chosen your GPU is neglectful of Silverstone.

mcschneid said:
Over the weekend I've done a dB measurement ...
After that, I'm not really sure how I should proceed with my FT03-mini built. The idle noise level is too loud for my ears and during full load (while playing a game) it becomes even worse.
Click to expand...

I think you need to send those measurements to Silverstone and RMA the ST45SF-G. Someone else did this (you can read it on OCN: user ElevenEleven) and Silverstone offered a new unit, but since it was declared faulty, the customer could also get their money back from the reseller.
 
I'm on vacation the next 2 weeks, but I'll try to RMA it when I'm back and will see what happens. From my opinion it's not a big benefit to use the ST45SF-G because of the cable management - I only disconnected one line off. On the other hand the modular cables are more inflexible because of the connectors.
 
Could it be that the batch sent to North America has problem with the fans, while the Europe and Asia batch is fine? Does anyone from NA have a quiet fan, or anyone from rest-of-the-world with noisy fan?

Maybe I'm looking for a too simple explanation ...
 
WiSK said:
Could it be that the batch sent to North America has problem with the fans, while the Europe and Asia batch is fine? Does anyone from NA have a quiet fan, or anyone from rest-of-the-world with noisy fan?

Maybe I'm looking for a too simple explanation ...
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It seems that's not the case - I'm from Germany.
 
Okay, I'll admit it was a bit of a simplistic theory :D

So it's just bad luck who has a noisy fan and who doesn't? There's someone posted on OCN that his fan was quiet then he came home yesterday it was suddenly noisy.
 
SalemSwift said:
That's why some of us are using ATX power supplies, instead of the recommended SilverStone unit, and a closed loop water cooler instead of stock air coolers. The use of an ATX PSU will not allow you to have a DVD/CD/BR drive, though. My SeaSonic power supply is dead silent. I've had my X560 for 2 weeks now and its fan has never turned on under any gaming or stress test loads. It is silent. I don't overclock my Ivy Bridge i7.
Click to expand...

Yep.. it was a PITA getting the ATX PSU in there and the cables run (especially with the stiff H80 radiator hoses), but it's very quiet even when I've OC'd the CPU. Under load I still can't hear it over my wife's laptop at our dining room table (ft03-mini sits under the table, about 3 feet away [I can kick it with with either foot]).

Just something to consider if silence is a priority. I think the X560 was only ~$30 more than the gold rated PSU from SS.. and the X560 is still gold rated / modular.
 
Well, I've already hit the return button on this dual fan Galaxy card. Even after maxing my case fan, Furmark temps are poor and the Galaxy fans are working so hard that it rattles its own heatsink fins. So, I am defeated in both sound and temperature, haha. The card has received high marks in professional reviews and seems well received by consumers, but I'm submitting to the fact that this case requires a blower design.

I'm going with the EVGA 670 FTW b/c I've read it uses the blower off their 680, while the other 670 models do not. Fingers crossed...
 
SalemSwift said:
To those of you using this FT03-mini with a Kepler GK104 card, i.e., 680/670/660 Ti with any style cooler, will you please let me know what your gaming and/or Furmark temps are?

Galaxy 660 Ti GC 2GB (fans are factory settings/auto)

Furmark 15 minute 1920x1080 preset test = 97C max. If I crank my case fan, 92C max.
Furmark w/front panel removed: 72C max
Gaming temps w/panel on: 72-80C

Idle with panel on: 32-33C
Idle with panel off: 27-28C

I appear to be getting some terrible numbers under Furmark. Perhaps I was wrong and I should return this to get a blower style card? What are your temps?
Click to expand...

Furmark 1920x1080 (EVGA 670 (non-FTW)) maxed at 89C here.

Idle with panel on is ~35C.. Gaming temps usually get me to mid-to-high 70's.. I've never seen gaming push it into the 80's (BF3 is probably the most intensive game I play though).

Ambient this morning was 71F / 21.7C
 
Thanks man, I think it's good to have some of these numbers on record here for the future builders. The open air fans on the Galaxy are pro reviewed as being among the quietiest, but b/c the design heats up so much, the fans run way too fast to be remotely quiet.

So, at least I tried it hands on and know for sure, blower it is.
 
PSU is here at last but mods are need.

8 pin to be cut down by 6'' and 24 pin by 5''. Reason being just to allow for neatness

4AA12147-4F57-4610-9332-6B96C0AAA3B0-11714-00000F68E973D9EF.jpg


6DA73355-ADB2-493E-A270-D20F9491FB28-11714-00000F68EF38D9C9.jpg


EABACB23-4751-4C99-A83F-9A0DD13F663B-11714-00000F68F61F7AAC.jpg


26E1B4AD-E6DF-4B49-84E2-85D4D3BD75CD-11714-00000F68FBD2A24D.jpg


6A798A64-93D1-4FAD-843A-B13FD1E3B313-11714-00000F690797920F.jpg
 
Pjalchemist said:
8 pin to be cut down by 6'' and 24 pin by 5''. Reason being just to allow for neatness
Click to expand...

I was planning to do the same. However, the ATX24 is reversed compared to the motherboard socket. So the wires that start on the right will end on the left and will need to be longer. So I am going to make some calculations for lengths of each wire. I guess that pin 1 will need to be ~20mm longer than pin 24.
 
WiSK said:
I was planning to do the same. However, the ATX24 is reversed compared to the motherboard socket. So the wires that start on the right will end on the left and will need to be longer. So I am going to make some calculations for lengths of each wire. I guess that pin 1 will need to be ~20mm longer than pin 24.
Click to expand...

The measurement was as is along it's current length
 
Pjalchemist said:
The measurement was as is along it's current length
Click to expand...

Yes sorry I wasn't clear. I understood what you meant about your plan for your cable: same design but shorter. But I am thinking of doing something different where the wires are bunched up around pins 1/13 instead of bunched in the middle of the connector. I would make a drawing to explain, but I opened Windows paint and then it got all messy. Once I've crimped the wires I'll post a photo.
 
WiSK said:
Yes sorry I wasn't clear. I understood what you meant about your plan for your cable: same design but shorter. But I am thinking of doing something different where the wires are bunched up around pins 1/13 instead of bunched in the middle of the connector. I would make a drawing to explain, but I opened Windows paint and then it got all messy. Once I've crimped the wires I'll post a photo.
Click to expand...

make a paint drawing, it's ment to be messy
 
Pjalchemist, I am interseed in your build. I have this case and modular PS arriving Tomarrow, the rest of the parts for my build will be bought over the next few months. I would like to shorten the cables to keep down the case clutter but have not done this before. Is there a guide somewhere you could direct me to? Or just give a short explaination of the procedure. Can you reuse the connector and crimp on new individual ends? What are the wire ends called that I will need? Thanks.
 
Blower card solved my furmark temps. Furmark never went beyond 83C with the panel on. Gaming temps should be even less. Idle temp is 35C, a bit warmer, but still cool overall. The funny thing is that it's quieter than the open fan Galaxy card b/c the fans were working SO hard on that card to keep up.

I'll post some pics later. It was a very tight fight. When I clicked the fan filter onto the bottom of the case, the clip pushed the card. (EVGA GTX 670 FTW, barely squeaked in)
 
Glad to hear that helped. The 670 FTW has the longer 680 PCB doesn't it?
 
SalemSwift said:
Blower card solved my furmark temps. Furmark never went beyond 83C with the panel on. Gaming temps should be even less. Idle temp is 35C, a bit warmer, but still cool overall. The funny thing is that it's quieter than the open fan Galaxy card b/c the fans were working SO hard on that card to keep up.

I'll post some pics later. It was a very tight fight. When I clicked the fan filter onto the bottom of the case, the clip pushed the card. (EVGA GTX 670 FTW, barely squeaked in)
Click to expand...

Nice! You hit only 83C in furmark?! Wonder why mine ended up getting to 89C.. :( Either way, gaming temps don't even get that close, so I'm not concerned, just curious.

That's funny the blower ended up being quieter.. :) Glad it worked out for you!


WiSK said:
Glad to hear that helped. The 670 FTW has the longer 680 PCB doesn't it?
Click to expand...

That's what the stats online say, and why I passed on the FTW version and went with the EVGA reference card. The standard 670 was tight enough for me, it took me several tries to get it in.
 
Abbett said:
Pjalchemist, I am interseed in your build. I have this case and modular PS arriving Tomarrow, the rest of the parts for my build will be bought over the next few months. I would like to shorten the cables to keep down the case clutter but have not done this before. Is there a guide somewhere you could direct me to? Or just give a short explaination of the procedure. Can you reuse the connector and crimp on new individual ends? What are the wire ends called that I will need? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I hope to update soon if she gives me 5 mins to do.

Im going to get new conections and do the cut down my self. Briading i want someone to do for me
 
nameBrandon said:
Nice! You hit only 83C in furmark?! Wonder why mine ended up getting to 89C... I passed on the FTW version and went with the EVGA reference card.
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I believe it might because the 670 FTW not only has the 680 PCB but also the 680 heatsink and blower.
 
I was able to make the 24pin ATX connector clear the optical bracket with the PS fan facing the MB with a couple of simple mods. I used a razor blde to shave off the plastic clip on the 24pin cable it was dead simple took 2 seconds. I can't imagine this will create any issues for me as the cable is still a bear to remove from the PS. This alone will make things fit but the large oval opening on the top of the optical backet has a rolled lip that pushes on the 24 pin connector. I used a dremmel to shave down the lip where in touches the 24pin connector, all fits good now. I will test the fan in the PS and if it's loud I will replace it with a NMB 80x15 which is lower rpm.
 
Monday i will start to setup my own WC kit that i will be making into a sealed system hopefully, no res.
 
Pjalchemist said:
Monday i will start to setup my own WC kit that i will be making into a sealed system hopefully, no res.
Click to expand...

ive thought about this a few times. will you be running the pump with the open ends in a bucket of water to get the air bubbles out, and then put the hose on the barb under water? that's how i would do it, and i dont see why it wouldnt work.
 
Beat ya to it, Pjalchemist :p

Case:




Quick disconnects for radiator:




The quick disconnects had to be raised up slightly so that they clear the fan:




These quick disconnects are on top of the case for the pump + res:




45-degree fittings for the CPU block:




One of the tubes runs out the back side of the card:




My modified Silverstone PSU with a Noctua fan:




The pump up on top of the case:




And with all the cables in:




Note that although the cables look very messy, once the case door is closed, they just sit vertically against the door, leaving very little impedance for the push-pull fans to blow air up through the case.


Parts list:

CPU waterblock is a EK Supremacy Acetal + Nickel
GPU waterblock is a EVGA Hydro Copper GTX 680, with backplate
Pump is a Swiftech MCP350 with a XSPC res top
Lots of Koolance fittings, especially quick disconnects (and two 45-degree Bitspower fittings, because Koolance doesn't make 45-degree fittings)
1/4" ID Tygon tubing


Lessons learned:

1. Be very careful what size radiator you get. My first one, a Black Ice SR1, was too big to line up with the screw holes on the bottom of the case. I composed this short list of 120mm radiators and their sizes:

Code: 
                  L   W   H  (all in mm)
EK Ultimate:	  160 130 64
Alphacool UT60:   157 124 60
Coolgate:	  170 124 60
XSPC RX120:       162 125 58.5
Black Ice SR1:    157 133 54
Black Ice GTX:    157 133 54
EK Coolstream XT: 154 119 47
Magicool Extreme: 156 120 46
Alphacool XT45:   160 125 45
Corsair H80 rad:  152 120 38
Swiftech MCR120:  158 128 34

The width is more important than the height because the width determines whether the radiator can be shifted enough to line up with the screw holes without hitting the frame. The Black Ice SR1 had a width of 133mm, which was too wide. I wanted something that had enough height (and thus thick enough fins) to cool both a CPU and GPU, but that would also fit. The EK Coolstream was the only one that really fit the bill because anything above 54mm or so in height would make mounting a 120mm fan nearly impossible without interfering with the 24-pin ATX power connector on the motherboard.

2. Get quick disconnects if you can spring the cash for them (around $30 for one, $15 for the male and $15 for the female), and use them on every connection. Given the limited amount of space in the case and the way that components have to go into the case in a certain order, you'll be in a world of hurt if you have to remove something once it's filled with water. They're expensive, but totally worth it for the modularity. If you get the N version, they also don't leak at all when you disconnect them. It's really quite amazing.

However, they're not all roses. The male connector has a black o-ring that plugs into the female connector. The force required to push the two connectors is surprisingly strong, and if you're not careful to insert it and remove it straight, the female connector can cut the male o-ring off. Without the o-ring, the connector leaks like crazy. If you buy the quick disconnects, I strongly suggest you pick up some spare o-rings. The part number for the o-rings is ORG-S8E.

3. I put the pump on top (and ran the hoses through the PCI bracket slot) because it's too large to fit inside the case. The Swiftech with the res top is a rather large pump, but if you want to put the pump inside the case, the only choice is really just the Alphacool DC-LT. I have it and I don't like it; it's very cheaply made, you have to tighten down the fittings EXTREMELY tightly (to the point where you feel like the acrylic should have cracked long ago) in order to stop it from leaking, and it's fairly noisy to boot. Putting the pump up top gives you a ton more options of which pump to use. Another decent, quiet one is the XSPC X20 450, but the way the pump was designed (inside the res) makes it hard to put a kill coil in it.

4. Be careful of what fittings you try to put on the EVGA Hydro Copper. The Koolance fittings would fit, but the Bitspower 45-degree ones wouldn't.

5. Try to use 45-degree fittings where appropriate (like the CPU block). It makes it a ton easier to connect it to stuff without bumping against your RAM or risking kinking.

6. There's just enough room to fit a 90-degree fitting behind the graphics card. This allows you to mount a 120mm fan on the rad. You can actually put the fitting on the front of the card, but it's a really tight fit against the 120mm fan. Might as well use all that room that's behind the card. Alternatively, you can get a GPU waterblock that doesn't have fitting holes so far apart from each other. For example, the Heatkiller waterblock has the fittings much closer to the top of the card.

7. Be careful working inside the case. Although they smoothed the outer edges, the inner edges are still very sharp. I've cut myself at least a dozen times moving cables around and plugging/unplugging stuff.

8. Fan grills are a very good idea.

9. I modified my PSU fan with an outside-mounted Noctua fan. Of course this means that the airflow has been reduced, but this is the 3rd PSU I've modified to use a slower fan and I'm of the opinion that PSU fans run much faster than they really need to, so I view this mod as safe. You may not feel the same way though.

10. Don't worry so much about flow rate or tube size. There's a post out there somewhere where someone tried different tube sizes to see the temperature difference. The temp diff between 1/4" ID and 1/2" ID was 1 degree. Also, flow rate doesn't matter very much, just as long as you can ensure that you actually have a good enough flow rate. Even the dimunitive Alphacool DC-LT on 7 volts was able to keep the liquid flowing across two blocks and a large rad.

11. Compression fittings are both easier and harder to work with compared to barb fittings. On one hand, they don't require any tools and make it easy to quickly disconnect a hose for cutting and swapping. On the other hand, as you screw on the nut that clamps down on the hose, it will twist the hose as you screw it in. This means that the hose can end up curving in the wrong direction than you wanted it to, which means you have to unscrew the nut and try again. Be prepared to have very sore fingers after you're done with everything.

12. Don't get the Koolance black fittings. The black is painted on, making the fitting slightly thicker and making it much harder to screw on the nut and, in the case of the 90-degree fittings, much harder to swivel. The chrome ones are fine, get those instead.
 
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ranma, whats it look like with all the panels on and the pump/res sticking out the top? those QDs are awesome, like the rest of your build!
 
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