SFF system build complete! *pics*

[{DOU}cHiCkEn]

So I completed the build with my SFF (small form factor) case. For those of you who have never built a SFF unit before, I thought I'd share some pictures from my build. You can see how really tight it is in there, but the finished product is great! What I have done is gutted two mid towers to create this one machine. You pretty much have to install everything in a specific order to get it all to fit properly.

Step one was to remove the cover and install the ATX MB/Proc from my gaming rig.



Next, pop in the PS. I used my existing hardwired 550W but in retrospect should have followed the advice to get a PS with short modular cable support. But I was doing this on the cheap, so.....



Next is my slimline CD-RW/DVD w/ floppy. This is nice as everything is installed using only 1 bay.



Next I added 2 hard drives to the HD assembly with cooling fan and slid that in place.



It had 2 cooling fans built in, but I added another to max it out. Really good airflow throughout.



Now I transfer my GeForce card over and pop it in the PCI slot.



Because my MB is designed for using SATA drives, I had to install a IDE connector card to add my third device as the board only had one IDE slot. My drives are IDE and the cost of buying new or converting them was much higher than this route.



Now you're left with this mess of cables and wires to plug in and route. This is where those short PS cables would have been nice.



Now to plug it in and load the IDE controller drivers and finish bench testing it.



Route the wires so they don't bother anything important in there and replace the cover. FINISHED!



I can really recommend this Silverstone case. Sturdy, good airflow and looks nice.

[{DOU}The Jargonaut]

Excellent job, Chicken! Do you have heat problems due to the wires cutting off the air supply?

[{DOU}cHiCkEn]

Excellent job, Chicken! Do you have heat problems due to the wires cutting off the air supply?

Not at all. Even with the bulky PS wires I had to deal with I was able to keep them in areas that would not imped air flow. I do recommend adding the one extra fan on top, which is basically between the fan cooling the vid card and the one cooling the HD's, but I feel it would be ok without it. I just prefer the extra cooling. Main thing was keeping them off the fan on the heatsink over the processor. As I pointed out though, a PS with short cords is much preferable and would have made wire routing much easier. It really is a well designed case considering the space restrictions.