[Official mITX Build Discussion Thread]

[LiLAsN]

Recent update to my Fractal Design Nano S

Minibricks dragon assembled
(Thanks Corbell/MSI), unfortunately not a lot of space left inside the case

Super nice... Maybe you'd have to buy the new metallic white mercury keyboard and mouse Razer products to complete it?

 

[Encrypted11]

Thks....your water cooling itx build is nice too and yes the stock 1700 fan was overlaid on to the aio with zipties lol... to help with vrm and board cooling plus it's quiet and looks good too.

Functional and aesthetically pleasing... Prus huan for new cabinet as usual

 

[limjialok]

Likely he got a 1tb 2.5" hdd instead of the 3.5"

PM me if you need help with building PC HardwareZone Forums app

I am still waiting for him to reply HAHAHA. Cos I have a spare 3.5" hard drive and doesn't wish to waste money to buy a 2.5". I tried putting my 3.5" near the gpu component but it doesn't seems to be enough screw holes and screw

 

[MaoZeDuo]

Super nice... Maybe you'd have to buy the new metallic white mercury keyboard and mouse Razer products to complete it?

Is the mousepad from razer as well?

 

[thegamer1907]

recently downsized my ATX rig to mini ITX, using the corsair 250D.
Not the best cable management, but the best i could do in this small case.

 

[Shahmatt]

Anyone know when the X300, A/B300 boards will start to become available?

I read somewhere that the X300 maybe crossfire compatible with igpu, i.e. APU + dgpu can push better graphics.

So curious to know about the timing of APU and these other chipsets.

 

[wkweksl]

Trying AMD again since Athlon days

CPU | Ryzen 7 1700
Mobo | Asrock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming ITX/ac
GPU | EVGA GTX1060SC
Memory | Crucial DDR4-2400 8GB
Storage | Intel 530 240GB
Case | Fractal Design Nano S
PSU | Silverstone SFX600 80+Gold
CPU Cooler | Corsair H115i + Thermalright TY-143 SQ
Bottom and Rear Intake/Exhaust fans: Gentle Typhoon AP15

Currently running mild overclock of 3.6Ghz@1.1V

 

[rvyne7]

recently downsized my ATX rig to mini ITX, using the corsair 250D.
Not the best cable management, but the best i could do in this small case.

I have same keyboard and mouse hehe glad someone else like this razer model haha

 

[glacieraze]

Anyone know if Phanteks Evolv ITX Tempered Glass is available in Singapore? Don’t see it in the price list of PC Themes

 

[benedium]

Any set up suggestions for small HTPC with hdmi 2.0A output to place at TV console? Will use with wireless keyboard and mouse while sitting at sofa. Buying and building from scratch everything new so hope to get latest tech and best value components of cos.

 

[hawthorne]

I have same keyboard and mouse hehe glad someone else like this razer model haha

I have the same Keyboard too

 

[dorabee]

you more power.... build one ITX for one game nia.... lol

jokes aside, what you mentioned in bolded is the crux of mITX build....balance is the key... for my build i didn't cater much for noise as i go for power and minimum cables hence might not be so balanced...going to fine-tune it further after initial start

Sorry bro, I just stumbled on this thread. Wanna ask where you get your Jonsbo VR1 casing. And is it heavy after installing all the components? Cos I wanna put it on my suspended study table instead of on the floor.

 

[Encrypted11]

Most powerful itx yet, there's even a bitspower monoblock for the asrock mobo!

 

[Kijana]

I decided to spruce up my 5-year old PC up with some rabid downsizing.

Stuff used:
Case: Silverstone SST-SG13B-Q ($79) and SST-PP08B ($15)
Power supply: Seasonic SS-350SFE (Hiding under my bed since 2013. )
Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI ($120 from Amazon)
Fan: "Ducted" Corsair 0.28A 120mm (Reused - Duct was used for noise reduction with old case due to fan blades causing noise with the fan grille, and I didn't want to cut the grille off)

Initial run in: System was bloody loud and idles at 60 deg.Celsius. Somehow, the heat was constantly trapped inside the case despite having a clear path from fan to back.

Other reused stuff
AMD A10 5800K (Turbo Core disabled)
Palit Geforce GTX 750Ti
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 Kit
Hitachi 1TB 7.2k rpm 2.5"

 

[Kijana]

Thermal problems of the SG13B-Q Part 2: Somehow, trapped heat was constantly trapped inside the case despite having a clear path from fan to back.

Discovery: Due to the SG13B-Q's faceplate, there is no way air can easily flow into the fan. If you like the mesh look of the SG13B, go for it - less headache for fan airflow choices.

The NZXT DF1202512RFLN was very quiet, but with the design of the case, the airflow was scattered immediately after the fan, which meant it was cooling the case and HDD more than pushing air straight to the processor/board area.

So, the ducted Corsair fan went back into the case with one additional accessory: An honeycomb fan grille. Obviously it's not as good as an actual laminar air flow straightener, but it made a small difference between the airflow spread with the fan grille in place.

I built a simulated SG13B-Q intake with a box 15mm in front of the fan. The quiet NZXT fan was terrible in that position, and the duct, even though it helped, didn't really improve the airflow of the airflow-bias NZXT. The pressure-bias Corsair pushed more air with the duct. The grille, helped to focus the airflow a little bit better, I can feel more warm air being pushed out from the rear vents.

With the Corsair running at approx 1600rpm (about 300-400rpm more than the NZXT) to the on Gigabyte standard fan control profile, temperature readings at idle are now lower by 5-6 degrees according to AOD and HWMonitor. Still gets bloody noisy at full load, but I'm pretty sure a bigger heatsink will help with that. At least the airflow problem is solved!

 

[noinimod]

Nice write-up and report! Always fun to read such user reviews. Yea, my main beef with itx.. has always been that air flow issue which is not always so straight forward to solve

 

[akagi07]

hand itchy, wanna doing something on a smaller built with itx with my current Z77 MB having power feed issue.

my current ongoing strong rig based on full tower, already downsized till now with i5-3470, 16GB ram, 2 SSD and 2 HDD(Raid), 1 HDD(dumping)

I might be bit off topic but I have limited LGA1155 MB in the market now.

Potential new rig
looking at 1151 it-6400T + 2 DDR4 dimm 8GB + a iTX MB + a Seasonic 80Plus Gold G360.. i'm also looking to reduce my power footprint.

haven been reading with processor, an old TDP 77W vs a 35W, 6400T will be a more efficient processor, is my target gonna be a low powered rig?

I do not game, at most 4K videos and photo editing. I have my HD7700 and 16GB which are all sufficient.

 

[Kijana]

Nice write-up and report! Always fun to read such user reviews. Yea, my main beef with itx.. has always been that air flow issue which is not always so straight forward to solve

I think I may have solved the problem.

Firstly, I ordered an ID Cooling IS-50, because big fan = less noise = better cooling?

Annoyingly, the IS-50 came bent downwards out from the box. Oh well, it's a $25 Chinese hsf... Wooden ruler and some wedging of plastic cards below it to spread it back to even level.

And installed, and since the mounting system is so flimsy, I managed to dodge a fitment issue with my extremely tall Corsair rams.

By pushing it all the way to one end of the mounting holes, I managed to achieve 0mm clearance between the heatsink and the ram.

Initial test: Horrible. The IS-50 fan was silent, but the Corsair continuously ran at high speed and the temperatures were almost the same as using the stock cooler.

And just to experiment with a reverse airflow: I flipped the fan and added 1mm metal shims to lift the fan from the heatsink to avoid the blades rubbing the heatsink

And boom, this weird configuration strangely worked wonders. With ambient at approximately 25 deg.Celsius, it can sustain full load for one hour+ without the case fan ramping to full speed.

IS-50 fan speed: 600-1575RPM
System fan speed: 500-1997RPM

AOD Thermal margin: Idle - 51 deg.C Load - 24 deg.C
HWMonitor: Idle - 29 deg.C Load - 59 deg.C

Satisfied. Stupid 100W ITX build, complete.

 

[noinimod]

Nice! Coincidentally, i bought an IS50 also, from taobao. Works brilliantly in my ft03 mini. I think the IS50 is one of the most bang for buck itx-friendly hsfs

 

[Kijana]

Nice! Coincidentally, i bought an IS50 also, from taobao. Works brilliantly in my ft03 mini. I think the IS50 is one of the most bang for buck itx-friendly hsfs

I bought mine from Laser @ SLS because I'm impatient, still paid less than $50. Finally my first "aftermarket" cpu cooler after 5 years

Did you configure your fan to blow into the heatsink or suck hot air out of it?