Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

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Vspec
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Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:41 am
Location: NB, Canada

Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:20 pm

*** See update in post below

Long time reader, first time poster!

A little back ground first to better explain what I am looking for in my new pc. We had in the office a desktop (circa 2004, xp, p4, very loud, very hungry) and an HP laptop (circa 2007, Vista :cry:) Couple of months ago I decided to re-os the desktop because I was getting very slow, long story short, because MB decided not to support SATA2, XP does not detect drive. End results, big tower got disconnected and put in a corner. Main computer has now become the aging HP laptop and a replacement is needed before it decides to bite the dust.

Replacement PC has the following requirements:
-Fit on the desk, (dept and with 300 mm max with height 200 mm max
-Real USB 3.0 pm on front panel
-One visible external bay (I hated the empty bays on Big Noisy)
-Quiet enough at idle/low cpu usage

Usage will be web browsing, video chat, dumping photos from digi cam and some gaming. On the gaming front, I don't game a lot on the computer (PS3) but I want to be able to run upcoming games (Skyrim) and some olders ones. Bottom line it is not a gaming machine but it needs to be able to game.

After searching this place for while and looking at a couple of Lian Li, I stumbled on the Shuttle XPC SH67H3.

Image

Notice the case accept double wide graphic cards

Reduced Specs as follow:

PROCESSOR Intel next grneration Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 processor LGA1155 socket
95w max. Support CHIPSET Intel H67 MEMORY DDR3 1333 MHz support RAM Socket * 4, Dual channels support up to 32 GB total (8GB*4)
STORAGE INTERFACE (2) SATA 3G (2) SATA 6G
DIMENSIONS 323(L) x 208(W) x 196(H) mm (w/ foot rubber)
POWER 80 Plus 300W power supply Input:100 - 240V AC Support 80 PLUS Bronze There is an optional 500w one
EXPANSION SLOT (1) PCI-E X16 slot (1) PCI-E X1 slot (mechanically compatible with PCI-E x4 card) (1) Mini-PCIE socket

Full specs here

NCIX is actually nice enough to build it for me. I am not against building it myself but if I don't have to, I'll spare me the hassle.

I am planning on running an i5 2500K with 8GB DDR3, Blue Ray reader w/ DVD writer. Drive wise I am hesitating between a Caviar Green 1TB or an SSD, I don't plan on storing a lot on the drive (I have usb drive that I use to store my media that I want to playback on the PS3) but the price of the SSD would really increase the final price. Graphic card wise I would like something quiet, low on power and performing. I know I can only get 2 of the three so I can take a hit on power hungryness.

Now here is my question(s), if you were building a medium gaming machine starting with a barebone SH67H3 what would you fill it with? Which ram, GFX, drive etc?

If I don't plan on OCing is it worth to get the low power 65w i5 2500?

Here is the list of supported CPU, Memory, Graphic Card and a nifty Power Supply Calculator Power Supply Calculator.

Thanks for listening.
Last edited by Vspec on Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:35 am, edited 2 times in total.

dragmor
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by dragmor » Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:52 pm

Go for the SH67H7 over the H3, its the same internals with a much nicer case and should only be $20 more.
http://au.shuttle.com/products/products ... uctId=1549

As for components, get a normal 2500 or 2400 (K's will not work on the H67 chipset), 8GB ram, a 120GB+ SSD and a 2TB green drive that the system will put to sleep. Then wait for the new less power hungry / higher performance 28nm GPUs that will come out in Jan-Mar time frame. Until then you can survive on the Intel IGP.

Vspec
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Wed Oct 26, 2011 3:22 pm

SH67H7 not available in the Great White North and the SX58H7 PRO only runs i7 which I do not need. As for the Intel IGP, I don't think its gonna be up to par for my gaming needs.

dragmor
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by dragmor » Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:45 pm

The SH67H7 is not officially available in Australia either, however they are still easy to find if you go away from the major retailers. Most computer stores around here seem to be gray importers direct from Asia. I would be seriously surprised if you couldn't source one. You really don't want the SX58H7 as its the older socket.


The point I was trying to raise re the IGP is that it will get you buy until February when the new Radeons and Geforce cards are released. No point buying at the tail end of a generation.

Scrooge
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Scrooge » Sun Oct 30, 2011 7:23 pm

dragmor wrote:As for components, get a normal 2500 or 2400 (K's will not work on the H67 chipset), 8GB ram, a 120GB+ SSD and a 2TB green drive that the system will put to sleep. Then wait for the new less power hungry / higher performance 28nm GPUs that will come out in Jan-Mar time frame. Until then you can survive on the Intel IGP.
Ks absolutely will work on H61/H67. You can't overclock it on them, but you will be able to boot, the graphics will work, and it will be just as powerful as on a P or X chipset. Now, I will say that if you're not going to overclock, and you're not going to use the onboard graphics, there's no point to the Ks, but they'll work.

CA_Steve
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:16 pm

Can a quiet PC be built in that shuttle case? That tiny PSU fan looks deadly.

Vspec
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:04 am

The price difference between the 2500 and 2500k is under 10$. Let's just call it insurance in case I want to move the guts into another case with an mobo that will let me OC. For reliability sake, I will opt for the 500w PSU.

For my gaming needs I don't think the IGP will be enough if I want to enjoy the game to its fullest. Yes I could wait for the better stuff to come on the market but that would be the same story as to wait for Ivy Bridge to show up.

On the subject of GPUs, I am leaning toward an MSI GTX560ti has it seems to be on the quiet side (read the threads here). The Twin Frozr II OC or the Hawk OC both are pretty much the same price but the Hawk has the Twin Frozr III which should be more quiet. I might run into space issues with the Hawk as it is a bit taller then the Twin Frozr II OC. Shuttle does give some dimensions for the GPU but it is a bit misleading as even the recommended nVidia GTX560ti would not even fit.

SSD vs Caviar Green, still on the fence. I really wonder if I could get by with just a 120GB SSD. At this point I have already blown my budget and there is a ~100$ difference between the two.

Vspec
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Tue Nov 01, 2011 8:28 am

I have hit a bit of a snag with this build, snag being budget. Big ticket items being the GTX560ti ~240.00 and the SSD ~145.00. Replacement PSU is also driving the price up. With shipping I am looking at ~1300.00 before taxes.

That being said if get all the same components except for case, mobo and psu I am still looking at ~900 which doesn't give me much room.

Vspec
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Location: NB, Canada

Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:02 am

Here is a bit of an update:

I settled on the H67H3 because the Silverstone SG08 has yet to arrive on the market and could not wait to play Skyrim.

Final specs:
-Shuttle XPC H67H3, 300W PSU, Shuttle mobo (some sort of mITX hybrid based on a H67 chipset), Shuttle I.C.E. cooling
-Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600 XMP Dual Channel 8G
-W7 HP 64b
-i5 2500k (as said by many others before, non-k was negligibly cheaper)
- 120 GB SSD Mushkin Chronos

On hold:
-500w PSU (currently BO)
-MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC

Initial comments do far: SSDs are fast! Even if mine is just SATA3, it was delight to see a install progress bar barely have time to show up on screen. I almost went on an install spree just to giggle at the amazing speed. Quiet too! On the quiet front, well the whole silent thing kinda backfired on me, I can hear both the PSU fan and case cooling fan. She-who-must-be obeyed denied my request to remove the optical drive because it is "too noisy" :lol: Because the replacement 500w PSU, I cannot report if it physically fits (fingers crossed) but will do a full report once it is installed.

Overall, I am quite satisfied with the case, its size, looks and "silentness". Cable routing is pretty good, keeping everything from the airflow path Since I got the system built (which I would not recommend since a kit like the Shuttle XPC, is like building a Lego set) I was not able to measure the fan size.

Vspec
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Location: NB, Canada

Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Fri Dec 02, 2011 9:55 am

Update #2

Replacement 500W PSU was finally delivered yesterday so I installed it last night, I also installed the MSI GTX560 TI OC at the same time.

I was afraid the GPU would not fit but it does, barely, but it does with no width to spare. It also takes the entire fresh air intake on that side of the case. On the other side is the PSU which also take good chunk of the fresh air intake. Things are definitely running hotter in there and noisier. That being said I can hear the new PSU more than the GPU.
My wild guess is that in a case with better ventilation and sound proofing the GPU would be very quiet. Keep in mind all my observation are subjective in nature.

I am considering removing the 3.5" bay cover to help fresh air intake but before I do that I will be logging some monitoring data. I got a very nice surprise when Skyrim told me I should run in Ultra High mode. I was expecting a reduction in frame rate but I did experience any degradation. Sadly, I forgot to launch MSI Afterburner to monitors things but I got 2h of flawless gaming in Skyrim. I get a nice 25C at idle.

Will get back with some graphs and data!

Vspec
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:55 am

Quick update

After some time and my only benchmark being Skyrim at Max settings I came to the conclusion that the gtx560 might be a bit too much temperature wise for this case. With cover on I hit max GPU temperature of 69C with average at ~60C where as with the cover off it does not go pass 47C and averages 42C. I have yet to try with the 3.5" cover off (its just easier to take the cover off, otherwise I would need to take the drive bay off). Keep in mind I did NOT change any setting for the GPU nor did I DC it.

Since I wont be gaming much once I am done with Skyrim (when hell freezes over), I can live with my current compromise of taking the cover off to keep things cool.

CA_Steve
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by CA_Steve » Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:09 am

GPU temps of 60C idle and 69C while gaming are ok and there is no need to worry about it. Yeah, cooler is optimal, but the GPUs are specified to run hotter than CPUs.

Vspec
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:55 am

I may have max'ed at 72C while gaming.

Is there any value in letting the temps (GPU, Internal) cool down to <40C before shutting down?

Sizzle
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Sizzle » Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:18 pm

I just completed a new bedroom, Windows Media Center build with this and I am happy with it. I chose the box for the size and inclusion on the board and PSU already. I got a good deal at Best Buy and had some RewardZone points so I could not pass.

I put a Core i5 2405S CPU in there with HD 3000 video. I picked up a brand new one on eBay for $138. Big savings over what retail was going on it.

I put a Pyro SE SSD in for the OS and apps $119 after rebates.

8 gigs of memory.

My old 1 TB Seagate for Recordings.

Hauppauge 2250 TV Tuner.

LG Blu-Ray burner.

I was worried about the 40mm PSU fan, but it's not noticeable.

The included 92mm AVC case fan is not very good. It's got horrible bearing noise. I replaced it with a 92mm Scythe KAMA PWM and it's much better.

Middle of the night slience the fan is noticable but not loud. With the normal noise of our house it's not noticable.

I have the machine set to sleep, it wakes up for Media Center to do recordings or when the X-Box makes a call for Extender duty.

Vspec
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Vspec » Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:27 am

Sizzle wrote:The included 92mm AVC case fan is not very good. It's got horrible bearing noise. I replaced it with a 92mm Scythe KAMA PWM and it's much better.
Good to know the case fan can be replaced.

Out of my previous comments, I have nothing to add except that the OD is redundant and should have gotten an external one.

Dub Corleon
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Re: Quiet-ish build with a Shuttle XPC SH67H3

Post by Dub Corleon » Wed Aug 01, 2012 1:10 pm

Can I put 4 8GB Memory on SH67H3? How can I transform this SH67H3 to gaming PC?, is it possible?

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