Mini ITX Setup

[cam1986]

What PSU would you guys recommend? I really want something very small and Modular. I just received the Raijintek Metis case and it is stunning! Such quality! I want the smallest, quietest PSU i can get for it with the CPU i have chosen.

[peterb]

Seasonic do a couple of SFF PSUs that seem good. I have used a couple in builds. Not modular, but for small PSUs not really a problem.

Pico PSUs are good for low power systems, but have limited connection and the spec recommends some forced air cooling when operated close to Max power outputs.

[cam1986]

Seasonic do a couple of SFF PSUs that seem good. I have used a couple in builds. Not modular, but for small PSUs not really a problem.

Pico PSUs are good for low power systems, but have limited connection and the spec recommends some forced air cooling when operated close to Max power outputs.

I quite fancy a Pico PSU. With the spec i am looking at putting together i cant see me reaching a high wattage need.

I have decided to take the advice here and get DDR3 2133 ram. 8gb should be more than enough.

Cant decide on PSU at the moment. I been told that a 160W Pico with the right Power brick would more than run the system i have in mind.

A10-7870K
ITX Mobo
500GB SSD
8GB DDR3 2133 Ram
Couple of 120mm fans
No Dedicated GPU.....

[Bonebreaker777]

If you are set for the configuration you have and no immediate upgrades in the near future (dedicated GPU or so) I would go for the picoPSU.

Edit: you know that you case could take a standard PSU, right? The be quiet! 300W PSU is very cheap (for a new model), very efficient and whisper quiet. Use it in NAS builds and the running HDDs are always louder. Plus with a standard PSU you don't have to worry about the brick to be dragged about (would slightly bother me).

[cam1986]

If you are set for the configuration you have and no immediate upgrades in the near future (dedicated GPU or so) I would go for the picoPSU.

Edit: you know that you case could take a standard PSU, right? The be quiet! 300W PSU is very cheap (for a new model), very efficient and whisper quiet. Use it in NAS builds and the running HDDs are always louder. Plus with a standard PSU you don't have to worry about the brick to be dragged about (would slightly bother me).

Is that PSU modular?

Short cables?

[peterb]

Is that PSU modular?

Short cables?

Few small/lower power PSUs are modular as it is usually unnecessary because the range of output connections tends to be limited. you are more likely to need adaptors if you are connecting several peripherals. If you do have un-needed cables, you can either fold them up out of the way with a cable tie, or you can cut them off and seal the cut off ends with heat shrink or insulating tape. If you know what you are doing, you can unsolder them from the PSU internally - BUT only if you are entirely confident with high energy circuits and competent with a soldering iron. Any modification is at your own risk and will invalidate the warranty.

Best solution is just to tuck any unused cabling out of the way.

[cam1986]

Few small/lower power PSUs are modular as it is usually unnecessary because the range of output connections tends to be limited. you are more likely to need adaptors if you are connecting several peripherals. If you do have un-needed cables, you can either fold them up out of the way with a cable tie, or you can cut them off and seal the cut off ends with heat shrink or insulating tape. If you know what you are doing, you can unsolder them from the PSU internally - BUT only if you are entirely confident with high energy circuits and competent with a soldering iron. Any modification is at your own risk and will invalidate the warranty.

Best solution is just to tuck any unused cabling out of the way.

Cheers.

[cam1986]

Just wondering about motherboards again and would this one be a better bet than the MSI A88XI AC V2

Gigabyte F2A88XN-WIFI FM2+

I am almost done selecting components now. Just PSU and motherboard now!

[DanceswithUnix]

Just wondering about motherboards again and would this one be a better bet than the MSI A88XI AC V2

Gigabyte F2A88XN-WIFI FM2+

I am almost done selecting components now. Just PSU and motherboard now!

IMO, no.

I have ITX an uATX boxes which both have Gigabyte motherboards, and both have awful fan control. If you like your fans running full speed all the time, they are good value.

That is one of the reasons I suggested the Asrock, they usually have good bios options for controlling the fan, and controlling airflow is important in a SFF box. The uATX box went through a couple of heatsinks including a switch from a decent ATX psu to a Silverstone SFX using the adapter plate just to make more room around the pretty big CPU heatsink for better airflow, then tried several fans on the heatsink until I found the quietest. If only really got quiet when I plugged in a graphics card to give the APU less work to do. In all, it would have been much cheaper to have just ditched the Gigabyte motherboard after you add up all the "oh just try another tenner on this". That case is the same as I used on my wife's PC which has a 125W Phenom II 965BE in it, but the ASUS AM2+ motherboard made that pretty easy to silence.

The ITX box I gave up on, in the end I slapped in a cooler from my FX cpu (so lots of heatpipes and OK fan, but didn't cost me anything) and it is a spare PC if someone in the family has a problem. One day I might feel flush enough to try buying a new mobo, but that APU is socket FM1 so the whole lot needs replacing.

Edit to add: Never used an MSI board, so can't give an opinion on them.

[cam1986]

That Asrock one has the ram etc in different positions which doesnt suit the case i have bought. Cable positions are not great.

As for fan management with Gigabyte, one could use fan speed reducing cables, quieter fans or a bit of software like speed fan?

[Bonebreaker777]

Is that PSU modular? Short cables?

I tucked away the unwanted cables in smaller cases too (Elite 110 with 3 x 3.5" HDDs for example). A bag of cable ties for £0.50-1.00 does magic to the interior.

Anyway, soo how you would like your memory slots orientated?

Connection on boards tends to be different with each manufacturer. Should make little difference in your case.

You can use 'fan control' cables (with an integrated resistor (£1 from eBay), or simply get a molex-to-3pin and wire to your liking (12V,7V or 5V) with no soldering required, or get a backplate fan controller (can even have multiple fans controlled at the same time).

I had BioStar,ASUS,MSI and AsRock motherboards and I managed to get a finely tuned fan control every time. You could always try the motherboard before resorting to additional hardware.

[cam1986]

I tucked away the unwanted cables in smaller cases too (Elite 110 with 3 x 3.5" HDDs for example). A bag of cable ties for £0.50-1.00 does magic to the interior.

Anyway, soo how you would like your memory slots orientated?

Connection on boards tends to be different with each manufacturer. Should make little difference in your case.

You can use 'fan control' cables (with an integrated resistor (£1 from eBay), or simply get a molex-to-3pin and wire to your liking (12V,7V or 5V) with no soldering required, or get a backplate fan controller (can even have multiple fans controlled at the same time).

I had BioStar,ASUS,MSI and AsRock motherboards and I managed to get a finely tuned fan control every time. You could always try the motherboard before resorting to additional hardware.

Cheers.

I like the layout of the Gigabyte board

[DanceswithUnix]

As for fan management with Gigabyte, one could use fan speed reducing cables, quieter fans or a bit of software like speed fan?

I can't imagine using speed reducing cables on a CPU fan. You are going for a 95W device there, it will sometimes genuinely want the fans going flat out so you have to allow for that.

[cam1986]

I have used speed reducing cables on a cpu fan in the past. Plus, i cannot see that board not having the ability to control a fan.

[DanceswithUnix]

I have used speed reducing cables on a cpu fan in the past. Plus, i cannot see that board not having the ability to control a fan.

I didn't say it *couldn't* control a fan, let's face it Gigabyte would have to be pretty incompetent for that to be the case which they clearly aren't! Both boards I have had just weren't very good at it.

I will also admit that I am very unforgiving with machines that make a lot of noise under general use. I don't mind when gaming, I can't hear fan noise over explosions etc coming out of the speakers, but the likes of youtube shouldn't have the fans working hard at all IMO.

The only way I got it really quiet was using a Zalman CNPS2X (this http://www.zalman.com/global/product...ad.php?Idx=790) + MX-2 thermal paste that it turned out wasn't up to the job for a 100W 3870K APU despite the 120W rating suggested by Zalman so I had to swap it out to get back to sane temperatures. That was the point that I gave up, went back to the previous uATX case for my home server and slapped an ASUS motherboard in there which has been doing a lovely job ever since.

On a 65W APU that Zalman would be awesome, so I don't think the money is wasted it will probably get used on my next APU build.

[cam1986]

Yes, i see. I love a quiet PC too. Always strived for silence! Not built myself a PC for a few years though. So out of touch!!