MITX Gaming Build

[Sprite]

Hi all,

A few months ago I decided I wanted to build a mITX gaming computer.

It started off with the following spec:

Intel Core i3 530 CPU
4 GB DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte H55N USB3
Old XFX 8800GT 256MB
FSP 1U 250W PSU
500GB SATA HDD

I spent a lot of time deciding on a case and went for the Silverstone PT09 (http://www.xtremehardware.it/images/...stone_pt09.jpg) as I liked the brushed aluminium looks and its size.

Fitting everything in was a bit of a nightmare and took a while but I was eventually succesful. I removed the stock PSU from the case and fitted the FSP PSU to the right hand side (I will post pictures later when I'm home if anyone's interested).

The system ran fine and as I had a 12cm fan attached to the top mesh intake, everything ran pretty cool as well.

However I wasn't happy and wanted a better graphics card than my old 8800GT. I also had the Silverstone case on my desk but it didn't fit in well standing next to my Xbox. So I decided upon a new case - the Trendsonic Shadow, also known as the Chieftec BT-02B and the A-Plus CS-102B.

I liked the new case and it offered a bit more room than the Silverstone, it was also a LOT cheaper I removed the original PSU and fitted my FSP PSU in place, this allowed for a dual slot graphics card. I originally went for a HD5770 but found it to be too long by literally 1cm or so. Looking around I decided upon the Gainward GTX 460 "Green Edition" as it has a shorter PCB (around 19cm as opposed to 21cm for the HD5770). I was initially worried about the power draw but I fiddled around with the setup and now the max power draw I have seen whilst running furmark is around 175W. One drawback I found is that both PCI-E 6 pin power connectors need to be hooked up otherwise you get no display. I also overlooked the fact that the top of the card is pretty much flush with the side panel when everything is put together, this meant I had to shave down the PCI-E connector so everything would fit. In the pictures below you can see where I have done this and attached black insulation tape to hide the exposed wires.

So the final spec is:
Intel Core i3 530 CPU @ 3.4GHz and 1.1V
4 GB DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte H55N USB3
GTX 460 768MB Green Edition @ 650/1296/850 and 0.9V
FSP 1U 250W PSU
500GB SATA HDD

The next step is to RMA the GTX 460, as unfortunately it seems a bit of a mongrel, as I said in my other thread it combines the worst specs of both GTX 460 and GTX 460 SE. I'm considering another GTX 460 however with the side panels on it does run quite hot (around 75 degrees max), so I now have to decide whether to:

1) Buy a GTX 460 and replace the heatsink with something more adequate. The current Gainward card has a very simple black aluminium heatsink, if I went for something like the Palit Sonic GTX 460 it has a more substantial copper heatpipe and aluminium fan design which should keep things running cooler.

2) Downgrade to a HD5770 again. It would have to be a specific Powercolor HD5770 with the shorter PCB though, and the minimum price I have seen these for is around £110. Seeing as I bought my GTX 460 for £115 it seems a bit of a waste.

3) Downgrade to a GTS450, these can be overclocked to reach similar speeds as the HD5770 and are also relatively cheap at around £80.

I'm also considering a Scythe Shuriken to replace the stock heatsink which has a VERY annoying fan, and also an SSD. The top shelf in the case is for a 3.5" drive, if you use a normal size drive there will be no extra room, however I have one of the slimmer 500GB HDDs so MAY be able to squeeze the SSD on top of it, I will double check this later though (one thing I have learned from this build is to double check everything haha).

Pics:









Apologies for the poor quality, they were taken with my phone as I still don't have my camera back.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This HD5770 1GB appears to be short:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/263648

This HD5750 may also do the job:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/245511

The HD5750 and HD5770 at load consume mess less power than the GTS450.

[Sprite]

Ahhh you found the Powercolor one, thanks. I'm not 100% sure it will fit because of the stacked DVI connectors though.

I got in contact with ebuyer about the GTX 460 and they were happy to accept an RMA so I just need to worry about what to upgrade to now.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This HD5750 1GB seems to also have a shorter PCB and is cheaper than the single slot one I mentioned earlier:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/257145

[scaryjim]

What about this Powercolor 5750: single slot backplane (although it looks like a dual slot cooler) and a short (182mm) PCB...


EDIT: lol, should've known CAT would beat me to it...

[Sprite]

Thanks guys, I think the HD5770 would be the minimum card I would go for though.

[walibe]

I really like what your doing here. I was once a massive fan of shuttles, but builds like this are far more interesting now. Some of these MITX motherboards that have come out are just too tempting to not try something like this.

Well done! Hope your choosen graphics card works out.