SG09 Micro Atx Build/upgrade

[panjang110]

after 4 year of abuse i think my Phenom ii 550 is getting old and seriously affecting my gaming session especially in hitman absolution where i get average 25-35 fps with a 7970 so i decided to switch to team blue ( i haven't had one since pentium iii ) and the reason i go with micro atx is i wanted a small system that pack a punch,

my first idea was to go mini itx but the bitfenix prodigy is too big for mini itx in my opinion and even bigger than silverstone SG09, node 304 is nice case but unfortunately it's not available here so i decided to scrap the itx project and go for micro atx.

this is the part i already got for the build

i5 3570k
( this is a gaming only rig so i don't need a 3770k)
Asrock Z77 pro4-m
(i know it's a cheap board, just trying to save some $$ for other stuff)
Silverstone SG09
(in the web the front panel look odd for a silverstone case, but after seeing it in person i think it's kinda cool)
Kingston V300 120GB SSD
(the cheapest 120GB SSD, just normal use nothing hardcore)



old part that is going in the rig

reference Gigabyte HD7970
(running a modest oc of 1050/[email protected])
Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB 1600mhz
(i was going to buy vengeance LP but they run out stock at that time)
Cooler Master V8
(since asrock board got 775 mounting hole i can skip buying a new cooler for now)
Enermax NAXN 82+ 750w
(what the hell is naxn? i'm still trying to find out what it mean)
WD Caviar Black 1TB
(4 year old drive, sata 2)
 

 

 

first up is table bench, i need to test it before it gets in the case... i don't have a single link dvi cable so i have to use the gpu, and lucky me the board posted on first try

 

 

 

The casing is pretty small for a micro atx, i suggest that that the top fan removed prior to installation for easy assembly

, sorry for the poor pic, i have no digicam picture is taken with my phone camera. for a casing this small i think silverstone should have use a shorter usb 3.0 cable, the cable in the picture is about 500mm. i basically have to tie up the cable or i'll have it dangling inside the case, another thing that should be considered when buying this case is psu power plug orientation, lucky for me my power plug is vertical. i've seen some other build where the power cord goes the other way around like the second picture

 

 

 

cable management is great in this case, there is a lot of space behind the motherboard to tuck in the wire. the only fixed cable on my enermax that i didn't use is the 4+4 cpu power. i highly recommend a modular/ semi modular psu for this build.

 

as with hdd placement, i think it's genius and there is airflow from the top ap181 fan to cool down the drive

 

 

everything in place right now, the v8 is slighty tilted due to offset on the 775 mounting hole but nothing is touching the cooler so i think it's going to be fine

 

 

the casing next to my old haf 922. it's just amazing how small this thing is

 

 

finished build on my desk, now i have more space

 

 

still doing some testing right now, and some overclocking.. i will post an update on cooling performance later.
 

[Black64]

You should keep that HAF 922, it's got to the best cooling case I've ever used. Plus it can be custom painted very well. And you mounted your SSD the same way I did!  I also didn't feel like using the special mounting kit, and because there are no moving parts it can be loose.