2 Builds Pick One

[Major_A]

Got it built, minus the extra 120MM fans. Man the stock HSF for the A8-3850 is dinky! I bet the stock fan for my Athlon 64 3000+ back in the day was heavier duty.

Lessons learned in this build.
1) You can't install Windows 7 from a thumb drive on the USB 3.0 port (maybe if you loaded the drivers 1st?). Fought with this for 30 minutes until I put the drive in a USB 2.0 port, duh.
2) I really miss having a quiet computer. This thing hardly makes a sound and I'm jealous.
3) The UEFI BIOS on the ASRock board sucks. It's supposed to be more user friendly, I don't really think so. Plus there are some options in the BIOS I don't know off hand and the description for them tells me nothing. Hey ASRock how about a description of what the BIOS setting does.

As promised here are some pics of the build. I had high hopes for this case. But then I tired to put the back panel on and the tucked wires were too thick. If I had an extra half inch it would've been all good.

Build Pics: Click the picture for a larger resolution.

Here's the specs on the included fan with the case. At full tilt it's extremely quiet and still moves some air. Pretty much what you'd expect from a stock NZXT fan.

Picture of the included fan with the flash.

Picture of the included fan, no flash. Kind of a moot point. I have since cut the LED wires.

Top panel of the case. Two USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port and the front audio ports.

Front of the case, minus the cover.

The front panel connection cables.

Here's a pic to show how long the front panel connections are.

Rear of the case.

Interior rear of the case. Wasn't deep enough for routing all the wires.

This is the rear side of the front of the case. Behind all the expansion slots and in front of the intake fan there is some dust catching material. It really isn't secured in there with anything. If you took an air hose to it the pressure would probably blow all that stuff out.

Front panel design.

Everything installed in the case, minus a rear 120MM fan. Unfortunately I couldn't install the hard drive the other way for better cable management. I would've put in my GTX 260+ card but I have it installed in my HTPC for the time being. Just by eye-balling it the GTX 260+ would be really close (probably within an inch or so) of the hard drive rack.

Where I had to tuck the rest of the wires that weren't being used.

[Major_A]

Quick onboard video performance question. What amount of RAM should I dedicate to the onboard GPU? Right now I have it at 512MB.

The options are...
64MB
128MB
256MB
384MB
512MB

I'm asking if while doing your reviews if you played with this and found a "sweet spot". I'm not worried about losing RAM, the machine has 8GB. Just wanting to find the best option.

[lordvic]

Quick onboard video performance question. What amount of RAM should I dedicate to the onboard GPU? Right now I have it at 512MB.

The options are...
64MB
128MB
256MB
384MB
512MB

I'm asking if while doing your reviews if you played with this and found a "sweet spot". I'm not worried about losing RAM, the machine has 8GB. Just wanting to find the best option.

In my opinion, since you have plenty of RAM, might as well dedicate 512MB to the GPU side of the AGPU. Better to have some left over then not enough. It's not like it is a lot...like 2GB.

Btw, I love how you stuffed all the cables into that drive bay .

[Major_A]

In my opinion, since you have plenty of RAM, might as well dedicate 512MB to the GPU side of the AGPU. Better to have some left over then not enough. It's not like it is a lot...like 2GB.

Btw, I love how you stuffed all the cables into that drive bay .

Pretty much what I figured, the more the merrier.

Thanks. That was the only place I could stuff those wires and it not look like total crap. Originally I had all of those running to the back but the damn panel wouldn't go back on.

At this point I'm tempted to tell him to pick up a new aftermarket HSF. The one on there is craptastic. Sitting idle in a 74 degree ambient temp room the thing idles in the high 30s. Do a little bit of CPU intensive stuff and the cooler spins up quick. Plus I know where he's going to put the case and it doesn't have a lot of airflow.

[lordvic]

In my opinion, since you have plenty of RAM, might as well dedicate 512MB to the GPU side of the AGPU. Better to have some left over then not enough. It's not like it is a lot...like 2GB.

Btw, I love how you stuffed all the cables into that drive bay .

Pretty much what I figured, the more the merrier.

Thanks. That was the only place I could stuff those wires and it not look like total crap. Originally I had all of those running to the back but the damn panel wouldn't go back on.

At this point I'm tempted to tell him to pick up a new aftermarket HSF. The one on there is craptastic. Sitting idle in a 74 degree ambient temp room the thing idles in the high 30s. Do a little bit of CPU intensive stuff and the cooler spins up quick. Plus I know where he's going to put the case and it doesn't have a lot of airflow.

I feel your pain; had some cases before where the back panel won't close with the wires routed to the back. You force it and the pnael warps...

High 30's doesn't seem to be too bad if the load temp isn't too high. Ask if your friend can put the computer in a more...open area, haha. I know some people who stuff their systems into a "computer self" with a door kept shut at the front; not good.

[Major_A]

After I get the extra 120MM fans and can close the case up I'll see how the temps are. If they are still higher than I like I'll have him pick up a HSF from BestBuy. He can swing it, after all this is a work related purchase. So it should all be tax deductible.

[lordvic]

Looking at BestBuy Canada, there isn't a lot that they sell for HSF & case fans; just a small handful. When I look on BestBuy USA, WOW! They have everything; Cooler Master R4 case fans, HSF like the Cooler Msster V8, TX3, H60, H70, H80, H100....

A decent cooler for that system shouldn't cost a lot, so even if it isn't dedectible, it's not a large sum. Anyways, the APUs aren't that warm, so no need for a expsenive cooler. By the way, the Rocketfish "Universal CPU cooler" is a rebranded Cooler Master Hyper TX3/TX2.

[Major_A]

I saw a Corsair A50 in my local Best Buy a few months back. I think it was $20. That should be more than enough for this machine.

[Major_A]

*SOB Update*
I got the case fans earlier. Installed them in the rig. I sat down and started installing the apps for the machine. Mid-install the machine turns off. Check the connections everything's good. Go grab my Coolmax PSU Tester... nothing. Pull the power supply, jump the green and and ground flip the on switch, nothing... So the power supply decided to die, with about 4 hours on it. I don't have a spare PSU so now I don't know if the motherboard is working or not.

[lordvic]

Have read some reviews on NewEgg about the CX430 failing couple hours/days in or DOA, but wow...seems to be a really common issue for the CX430. Wasn't expecting Corsair products to be like this...
Let's just hope only the PSU is down & not any other components.

[Major_A]

Now I'm aggravated. Corsair refuses to send a prepaid return label. I've dealt with Corsair a few times and they always did me right. This time I'm more aggravated since it's not my computer.

[Major_A]

Minor Update

Last night I decided to try the power supply with my tester again before I boxed it up. This time I tried a different power cord. Plugged it in and it worked. Put it back in the PC powered up got into the BIOS and started making changes and it died. Shipped it off this morning for $16.50. The power supply was $44.99 with a $20 MIR. Won't be buying the CX line any more.