AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

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Kaos Kid
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AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by Kaos Kid »

Anybody know of a good board still available for sale? I'd like to move the 1100T over to an mATX board with SATAIII so I can take advantage of my SSD's speeds and at the same time utilize a smaller case. Currently I have the 1100T in an ASUS 890GX ATX mobo in a monster CM Storm Sniper case, but I find I'm spending less time downstairs with it so I would like to move the X6 upstairs, hence the need for something mATX to fit into a smaller case. Did I wait too long to do this?
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Re: AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by lordvic »

Eh quite a few mATX AM3 / AM3+ boards, but most of them (like 90%+) uses the older 760G chipset...

It won't be easy finding a board with SATA 6Gb/s ports...

Using this AMD motherboard database as some sort of reference, I'd probably go for these:
http://www.overclock.net/t/946407/amd-m ... o-database

BIOSTAR A880GZ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... alParent=1
Not the best out there...
1) 4 SATA 6 Gb/s ports
2) mATX, 880G chipset
3) 3 +1 power phases (would advise that you DO NOT OC the 1100T)
4) 4-pin CPU power connector
5) Lower budget 880G based board
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Re: AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by Kaos Kid »

Thanks Lordvic, I'll go through that list and see if I can find any of those for sale. I've been passing by the 760G chipsets, wtf is up with that, putting old chipsets in an AM3+ board? :roll: I don't have any plans for uber OCing at the moment, since I want to move it into a smaller case I may get one of the single radiator watercooling solutions to save space and noise but won't extensively OC. I figure why do that just to get 4Ghz when the newer gen cpus already do 4Ghz stock plus turbos. I have found that the 1100T at stock turbo of 3.7Ghz does all I need at this time.
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Re: AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by lordvic »

No idea why they are using an older 760G chipset.

The main concern I was worried about was the lack of support for higher TDP CPUs. Many of them say it supports 125 W chips...but with a 4-pin CPU power connector and 3+1 power phase, I don't feel safe. 95W is fine but 125W and 140W...ehhhh.

There isn't a lot of mATX boards using the older chipsets have SATA 6 Gb/s ports.
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Re: AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by Kaos Kid »

I may as well give up on looking for a new mATX mobo w/SATA III ...especially since I probably won't find one as good as my ATX M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 it would be a downgrade. I figure these are my options:

1) Probably lowest cost is to use my existing Sonata One ATX case and mod it if necessary, the ASUS 890GX board should squeeze in there but only has USB2.0 in front (not a deal-breaker). It is 8 inches wide so it will definitely fit the x6 hs/f, it may fit my better air coolers, or I may have to get a watercooling solution that will fit where the 120mm case fan is in back. I see a few for sale on the egg for < $100. Downside is it only has passive intake in the front, and little holes that spell out "Antec" on the sides so a case mod may be necessary, don't know yet. Perhaps watercooling with radiator/push fan on the inside and a pull fan on the outside could cool radiator AND inside case at the same time? My hard drives heat up when the side panel is off due to no front fan so they would benefit from a 80mm front side panel mod. Currently my 555BE unlocked to 4 cores only gets up to 50C max in this case, but who knows what the x6 will do maxed. I don't plan on OCing it, but may have heat issues if I do need to max out all cores while videditing for extended periods.

2) ATX mid-tower cases that are 18.5" or less deep, I've seen some cheapies and some more expensive. Most I've seen have better airflow than my Sonata. Most of those though come at a further price--width is usually around 7 1/2 inches so I would most likely have to use the stock x6 heatsink fan or purchase a watercooler with a single 120mm radiator/fan.

Here is what my back panel looks like, it appears that a Corsair H80i or Ttake or Antec Kuhler 920 MAY fit where the 120mm case fan goes now.

Image

I have been jones-ing for one of those light watercooling setups anyway (leaning towards the Antec Kuhler 920 since Bubba likes those), maybe that should be my first priority and then see what it will work with as the second step?
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Re: AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by lordvic »

Yeah, it would be basically a downgrade...from an 890GX board to low-end 880G or 760G.

You could get a self-contained 120mm water-cooler (i.e. Corsair H50 / H60, etc), but since you don't have a lot of places to mount fans, probably better to have it exhausting air out the rear of the case. The radiators do stick about an extra bit so I'm not 100% sure either. You can drill a few more holes on the side panel for passive air intake, but I'd recommend that you put / make some sort of dust filter there. (I had to do that on an old POS OEM case)
Overheating HDD's is a concern...

Erm...now that I've looked around Newegg and thought about this (while typing this), another option is to just get a new case.
If you are considering on spending a tiny bit under $100 on a cooler, might as well
1) get a $40-$50 ish cooler (let it be water of air)
2) Get a more airflow "abled" case

Corsair H50 / H60
Zalman LQ-310 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835118134
Cooler Master Hyper TX3? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103064
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus / Evo

$30-$40 Thermaltake V3 / V4 chassis
$40 Cooler Master Elite 4310 Plus
$40 Rosewill REDBONE U3 (maybe the front LED fan is a bit too flashy)
NZXT Source 210?
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Re: AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by Kaos Kid »

I have scoured Newegg for ATX Mid-Tower cases and have found a few possibilities (my eyes are crossed right now). For the spot it has to fit in, I can have up to about 18.5" Depth, 19" really pushes it. I have already cut out the back of the computer hutch behind the cubby for max airflow, but only have right at 20" from front to back, anything over 18.5" leaves no room for wiggle. Unfortunately the width for most cases short enough is around 7.25>7.5" so makes it a tight fit for aftermarket coolers. I have 4 different air coolers to work with:

Zalman CNPS 11x Extreme -- 154mm

Arctic Freezer 13 Pro --159mm

Arctic Freezer 64 Pro -- newegg says 126.5mm but not sure, seems taller than that

Stock x6 hs/f
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Re: AM3/AM3+ mATX w/ SATAIII

Post by lordvic »

Oh right, I forgot about your 18.50" depth limitation. It narrows down the choices a little bit...

As for CPU cooler height, you should be fine. I mean 159mm equates to ~6.26". The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is 159mm (and it's $19.99 MIR right now).

126.5mm for the Arctic Freezer 64 Pro - I can believe that.
1) The heat pipes don't extend out as much (space between base + cooling fins)
2) It uses a 92mm (?) fan vs 120mm or 140mm
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