PC4Free Goes Small

[PC4Free]

So I am going to uni next year and fancy a smaller system than the Fractal XL I have at the moment; I'm thinking either Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX.

Current build:
Asus M4A89GTD PRO
AMD 1090t
2x2gb Kingston HyperX 1800
Huntkey X7 900W PSU (I know, I know - but it is fantastic whatever anyone says )
XFX 6870 Black Edition
Fractal Design Define XL
Samsung Spinpoint 500gb
Crucial C300 RealSSD 64gb

Im leaning to one of the smaller Micro-ATX cases at the moment due to the ease in finding motherboards; I'm thinking of maybe this:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-8...oard-micro-atx

Basically, what I'm trying to do is get a SFF(ish) PC. I've been looking at Silverstone/ Lian Li - big fan of the minimalist look.
Ideally I just want to be able to sell my existing parts that I need to and replace them; however I am happy to spend some money.
Parts that need sidegrading:
Case
Motherboard
PSU?
Potentially CPU???

Any suggestions would be fantastic - Thanks

[Pob255]

Case, look at the Silverstone TJ08B-E http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...usb-30-w-o-psu or Fractal design Arc mini http://www.scan.co.uk/products/fract...-black-w-o-psu they are the two best mATX cases, steel not aluminium but both well under £100, very good cooling and capable of being stuffed with high end hardware.

If you don't mind spending a bit more then the Lian-Li PC-V354 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...atx-itx-no-psu or Silverstone fortress are also worth looking at http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...r-case-w-o-psu

If you want smaller then look at mini-itx http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...%28atx-fits%29 or even http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...%28atx-fits%29 (which will take your gpu but be warned that getting a full set of high end kit inside is tricky due to the lack of space)
The other serious contender for a case you can pack with high end kit is the silverstone sg07 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...nd-side-window

These will require a change in cpu because mini-ITX am3 or am3+ motherboards are very thin on the ground, an i5 and h67 or z68 mini ITX board would be very nice
If you want to overclock then an i5 2500k and a zotac z68 board is the way to go not going to be cheap though http://www.scan.co.uk/products/zotac...16%29-mini-itx due to the socket location cooler size can be an issue on both the H67 and z68 mini-itx boards, the cpu socket is next to the pci-e and ram slots
however the Lian Li PC-Q08B case has a top vent that can take a slim rad and fan so the Corsair H60 or antec Khuler 620 will fit and still be clear of the psu.

[PC4Free]

Case, look at the Silverstone TJ08B-E http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...usb-30-w-o-psu or Fractal design Arc mini http://www.scan.co.uk/products/fract...-black-w-o-psu they are the two best mATX cases, steel not aluminium but both well under £100, very good cooling and capable of being stuffed with high end hardware.

If you don't mind spending a bit more then the Lian-Li PC-V354 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...atx-itx-no-psu or Silverstone fortress are also worth looking at http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...r-case-w-o-psu

If you want smaller then look at mini-itx http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...%28atx-fits%29 or even http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lian-...%28atx-fits%29 (which will take your gpu but be warned that getting a full set of high end kit inside is tricky due to the lack of space)
The other serious contender for a case you can pack with high end kit is the silverstone sg07 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...nd-side-window

These will require a change in cpu because mini-ITX am3 or am3+ motherboards are very thin on the ground, an i5 and h67 or z68 mini ITX board would be very nice
If you want to overclock then an i5 2500k and a zotac z68 board is the way to go not going to be cheap though http://www.scan.co.uk/products/zotac...16%29-mini-itx due to the socket location cooler size can be an issue on both the H67 and z68 mini-itx boards, the cpu socket is next to the pci-e and ram slots
however the Lian Li PC-Q08B case has a top vent that can take a slim rad and fan so the Corsair H60 or antec Khuler 620 will fit and still be clear of the psu.

Thanks very much
I love the look of the Fractal and the Silverstone - the Lian Li Q11 might be a bit too expensive, but is gorgeous all the same.

I might have to switch to Intel and sell off the 1090t; only problem being that i dont have the box as I picked the processor and the motherboard up for £110 of ebay

I'll have a little think and a browse of ebay - I'll post my results.
Most likely to do this after christmas when money is a little more plentiful 8-)