SilverStone Precision PS07: Temjin For Less?
by Dustin Sklavos on January 3, 2012 12:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- MicroATX
- Mini-Tower
Testing Methodology
For testing Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in its stock configuration and a Zotac GeForce GTX 580 in cases that support it to get a feel for how the case handles heat and noise. Due to the power supply clearance constraints of the TJ08-E, SilverStone provided us with a slightly different PSU for testing.
| Mini-ITX/Micro-ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU | Intel Core i3-530 (73W TDP) |
| Motherboard | Zotac H55ITX-WiFi |
| Graphics Card | Intel HD Graphics (IGP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS8000A with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | Corsair AX850 80 Plus Gold Modular PSU |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the SilverStone FT03.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS8000A heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive and the optical drive.
- Thank you to Corsair for providing us with the AX850 80 Plus Gold power supply.
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MadMan007 - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
1) Noise levels versus the TJ08-E without a GPU (and especially a top of the like one like the GTX580) may be more representative of the difference between these cases - namely the open fan front panel on the TJ08-E versus the P180-like door and side intakes on the PS07.The noise level of the former changes very little with the GPU, the latter changes quite a bit. This tells me the GPU has more influence on the sound level of the PS07 making it a good candidate for quieter computing for those not looking to use monster GPUs or who might use quieter or even passive GPUs.
2) A reversal in the PSU type recommendation versus the TJ08-E. In the TJ08-E review you said "I also strongly suggest builders use modular power supplies wherever possible and here it might actually be a requirement. There's clearance behind the tray for routing cables, but unfortunately routing everything was just a little bit too fraught, and so our end testing build winds up feeling more cluttered than I'd like and I'm sure more than SilverStone would prefer." but in this review you say to avoid modular PSUs and that there is good space behind the motherboard tray for routing cables.
So which is it? I can see how a modular PSU might actually be worse when it comes to clearance for the optical drive because of modular connectors adding length, but the complete opposite statements and recommendation has me confused. Can you comment please?
Brutalizer - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
Micro-ATX bears to many compromises. I dont want to compromise. I need a ATX case. But the smallest possible ATX case, with just room for a few disks and a decent gaming graphics card. Todays disks are so large, 4TB that you dont need raid anymore. You also dont need the biggest gaming card to get decent performance.MicroATX does not have many expansion ports enough.
What is the smallest ATX case?
aesnt - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
This one's a decent size full ATX tower, but won't fit longer graphics cards:COOLER MASTER Elite 360
17.30" x 5.80" x 14.20" from Newegg
Death666Angel - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
What do you mean by expansion ports? Do you mean PCIe slots? Or SATA/USB? I can find enough mATX boards with 6 or 7 SATA ports, 16 USB ports and SLI/CF capability. Unless you really need 7 PCI(e) slots, I don't see what advantage ATX has for you :-).As for small ATX cases, the smallest I see unfortunately come from mediocre brands:
http://geizhals.de/?cat=gehatx&xf=534_ATX~550_...
and a lot of them get their smallish volume from being quite thin, so you would run into issues with large CPU heatsinks.
Brutalizer - Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - link
I am talking about at 4-5 PCIe slots or so. The mini/micro ITX cases I have seen, have room for 2-3 PCIe slots.I also suspect that when using such a small mobo and case, I must compromise. For instance, I can not any longer buy standard cpu coolers, nor power supplies. I must buy much smaller ones, costing more, and restricting the hardware I can use.
If you know of a small micro/mini ITX with Xeon cpus, ECC RAM, and 4-5 PCIe slots, and a decent graphics card - then I am happy to read more about that model.
somedude1234 - Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - link
Nearly every uATX board I've seen has 4 PCIe slots. MiniITX limits you to a single PCIe slot. Every uATX case I've seen also has room to support a motherboard with 4 PCIe slots. Now, if you're going to be installing a double-width GPU, then you're going to burn two of your slots.If you're looking for a great uATX board for a Xeon server, the SuperMicro X9SCM-F is a good choice. It's based around the C204 chipset for SB Xeons, so you get ECC support. You'll get two PCIe 2.0 x8 and two PCIe 2.0 x4 slots (four total). The "-F" version of the board also gives you an on-board BMC with full IPMI 2.0 support.
For uATX cases, they pretty much all take a standard PSU and offer four PCIe slots, the Antec NSK3480 is a nice choice.
Death666Angel - Friday, January 6, 2012 - link
There is mini ITX (mITX) and then there is micro ATX (mATX/yATX since there is no easy way to type the greek letter on a normal keyboard).mATX mainboards can have 4 PCI(e) slots. If you need 4, you can buy that. If you need 5, you can't.
mATX has no compromises when it comes to PSUs or CPU heatsinks, at least none that are special to it and do not pertain to smaller ATX cases as well. The TJ08-E can fit 180mm PSUs if you can cut off some space from the ODDs (but 160mm, even high powered ones for 2-3 graphics cards do not cost more! :D) and it has enough room to cool any CPU (even overclocked) quite nicely and silently.
Supermicro has a few mATX C204 Xeon Mainboards with 4 PCIe x8 slots. But mainboards do not come with graphics cards.
corrion - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
Take a look at the Antec Solo II, sounds like it's right up your alley.BernardP - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
The lenght of the PS07 is .6 inch more than the TJ08-EDeath666Angel - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
I have the TJ08-E since Christmas and am thoroughly enjoying it!This redesign looks very interesting, it opens up the possibility of getting high end 120mm fans, because 180mm fans are not so wide spread and they seem to have varying degrees of engine noise and other annoying small defects that result in additional noises according to a forum I visit. Although one 180mm can move more air at lower noise in theory.
It also changes support from 200mm radiator to 240mm radiator, again, opening up competition.
The missing external 3.5" bay won't be an issue I wager. I have thought about sticking a card reader in there, but nothing that goes in there will be a big deal if it's missing I think. 2 external 5.25" bay already provide plenty of options, only people with the need to copy DVDs on the fly seem to be stuck. :-)
$20 can give you an additional few GB of RAM or higher clocked RAM or give you a better custom cooled graphics card or a more silent CPU heatsink. If you are on a budget that money can be well spent I think. :-)
On an unrelated note: I would really like to see these gamer (performance) mATX chassis be tested with a more demanding set of components like the regular ATX chassis are. I understand the reason for a standardized test bed and only having 2 instead of 3, but it really is a shame not to be able to compare this or the TJ08-E with bigger chassis. :-)