bgears b-envi SFF case and 58 in 1 card readers...

[Am Yisrael Chai]

I am thinking about building a SFF hackintosh with the gigabyte P55M-UD2 motherboard. Over at zipzoomfly they are selling the bgears b-envi case for $39.99 with free shipping. It seems like a really good deal. My question is does anybody have any experience with these 58 in 1 card readers? From what I can gather it is connected via a USB header. Will this type of reader work with Mac OSX? All of the reviews read did not mention having to install any drivers for the card reader.

Overall the case has received very favorable reviews. I was originally thinking of an aerocool m40 case; however, for the price that zipzoomfly is selling the b-envi case I can afford to buy the case and power supply for what it would cost me to buy the m40 case.

I really like the slide out motherboard and removable 2.5" HDD enclosure that it comes with.

http://www.bgears.com/b-envi.html

 

[thelostswede]

The card reader is most likely USB and it should work with OS X, as my generic card reader works just fine.

Can't see any reason why that case wouldn't do the job, just be aware that it'll be a bit fiddly to build.

 

[Am Yisrael Chai]

Thanks for the info about the card reader. That puts my mind at ease. I did not want to buy something just to have to dump it.

I do not mind that the case is a bit "fiddly." I would much rather have a compact case that does the job rather than a tower with a bunch of wasted space. I can't stand computers that have large footprints if a smaller form factor would do the job just as well. Other SFF cases might also do the job; however, most are larger and do not offer more features for the price.

I think the power supply I would like to use will be the bgears b-tarantula 550W.

http://www.bgears.com/b-tarantula.html

The features and price are also quite nice. It is being sold at zipzoomfly for $49.99. I do not normally shop at zipzoomfly; however, the prices they are offering on these items totally kicks the pants off of the prices offered by other online retailers. Newegg doesn't even carry them. I looked there first.

Another thing I forgot to mention about the case is that bgears sells removable washable filters for this case and its fans. That is a big plus.

If anybody has a better idea for a a SFF case please pipe up.

Thanks again.

 

[thelostswede]

I wouldn't use their PSUs, they look **** imho and I know a thing or two about PSUs. The wise move is to spend a bit of cash on a PSU, as the higher quality really does make a difference.

What gear are you going to be running?

 

[Am Yisrael Chai]

I don't know where you gather that the b-tarantuala power supply line is cheaply made. They actually used to be priced upwards of $100, but zipzoomfly seems to be running a sale. The reviews I have read have given this line extremely good ratings and their approval to buy. Here are a few:

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/ ... ndex.shtml

http://hi-techreviews.com/index.php/rev ... ply-review

http://www.modders-inc.com/modules.php? ... y&reid=187

I agree with you that using a good PS is an absolute necessity.

As far as the rest of the hardware that I intend to use, here is a list of potential parts I have put together:

GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

GIGABYTE GV-N250-1GI GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 - Retail

(2) Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM

bgears b-envi case

bgears b-tarantula 550W PS

MAG GML2226 Black 21.5" LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor DVI 1080P Ultra Slim (<1") - Retail

And of course I will have to acquire a $25 snow leopard dvd from amazon.

I am not committed to buying all of the parts from any single online retailer. I am more inclined to order from different retailers to take advantage of sales.

Thank you for your feedback on my build exploration.

 

[thelostswede]

Well, those reviews made it even more obvious to me that they're crap PSUs, sorry.
I don't care what they used to retail for, but let's just say that I have a lot of experience with computer PSUs and when a PSU can't deliver it's rated power when you combine both rails, then you got a bad sign. The high rating on the 3.3V and 5V are also a bad signs and so is the lack of a UL number as it means that this PSU might very well not have been tested by the Underwriters Laboratories which does a lot of safety checks. It's required that the number given by them is printed on the PSU, but it's missing on the units tested. There's no way that unit has an efficiency rating of 86% either and it doesn't appear to carry any 80plus rating.

Also, there's no reason to get a 650W for that system, you should manage more than well on a 500W unit. Can I suggest something like this instead?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017

Not because I'm an OCZ fan, but they appear to have a good special on with Newegg at the moment and they're vastly better PSUs.

 

[Am Yisrael Chai]

Great! Thanks for the information. The OCZ ModXstream Pro line looks like it would do the job nicely. It is modular and has all of the standard suggested specs for a great price. I noticed that the manufacturer was responsive to customer complaints in the review section, so that is a good sign. I will see if I can find a better price, but newegg may be my best bet. I will also have to look at the PS physical dimensions to make sure it fits without a problem. I hope it will pan out.

 

[thelostswede]

They're standard ATX units, just like the one you looked at getting.

Otherwise I'd look at Cooler Master or Corsair, both have modular units with flat cables which I think would work nicely in that small case, albeit both would be more expensive.

 

[Am Yisrael Chai]

The only reason I mentioned checking the physical size is that some of the reviews mentioned restrictions. I am sure it will fit fine. It is not as restrictive as the M40 case that has a restriction of 140mm for PS depth. I believe it allows for 150mm for the b-envi.