Advice on first mini-itx build (around a Strix 970)

[Cauli]

I want a secondary gaming machine which is relatively compact & easier to move (than a loaded Carbide Air 540). Atm I'm trying to decide between a laptop, which would be convenient & a mini PC which should give more bang per buck. I have a spare Strix 970 (OC) gfx card for the PC option.

I've not build a PC recently & have always gone with ATX so I'm naturally concerned I maintain adequate cooling. To decide between laptop & desktop I figured the easiest way is to first spec the mini PC, so that's my main reason for posting.

Any advice on the following speculative build? Dang, can't post an url (been here, albeit infrequently, for decades but just lost access to old email account so had to create a new Hexus account).
My component list is in a scan.co.uk saved basket. Add to that domain /savedbasket/29ffed95-6fef-4ac8-af95-92c8ddf3a844. Sorry for the inconvenience.

It might not be needed, but it would be nice if the spec would also be beefy enough to make good use of a 1080Ti should the 970 end up being retired in a couple of years & I decide to swap components around.

[Cauli]

Dang, can't post an url... My component list is in a scan.co.uk saved basket. Add to that domain /savedbasket/29ffed95-6fef-4ac8-af95-92c8ddf3a844

I meant to come back & add the following. I can't seem to edit my previous post though so:

• 650W Corsair CS650M, Hybrid Modular, 80PLUS Gold, 1x120mm Fan, ATX v2.92, PSU
• Fractal Design Core 500 Mini-ITX Cube Case with ATX PSU Support, Black, 1x Silent Series R3 140mm Fan Inc
• 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LED, PC4-24000 (3000), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 15-17-17-35, White LED, XMP2.0, 1.35V
• Intel Core i7 7700K, S 1151, Kaby Lake, Quad Core, 8 Thread, 4.2GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo, 8MB Cache, 1150MHz GPU, 91W, CPU, Box
• 240GB Corsair Force MP500, M.2 (22x80) PCIe 3.0 (x4) NVMe SSD, MLC NAND, Read 3000MB/s, Write 2400MB/s, 250k/210k IOPS
• ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING, Intel Z270, S 1151, DDR4, SATA3, M.2 (PCIe/SATA), Intel GbE, acWiFi, USB 3.0 A+C, Mini ITX
• Corsair Hydro Series H115i All-In-One Extreme Performance CPU Cooler with 280mm Radiator, 2x 140mm Fans, Intel/AMD, TR4

[Pob255]

The biggest headache with mini-itx, is ether part selection (ie making sure things fit) or cable management.

If you don't mind making/adjusting psu cables that is a good way to go, if not modular psu and short cable kit is good, although not getting an insane wattage psu with reasonable length cables is also good.
The good old seasonic m12ii is a good option here https://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w...ze-atx-psu?v=c
oh never mind I see that the CS650M is on sale, nice spot.

[Pob255]

Also watch the ram height.

Using an All-in-one cooler means ram is less of an issue than air cooling but still be aware of it

All told that looks like a good build, might be a bit pricy and over spec'd, but not massively over spec'd.

Do you plan to overclock? if not heat really shouldn't be that big an issue.

[scaryjim]

I'm going to throw you a curve ball.

Cooltek Coolcube Maxi

https://www.cclonline.com/product/22...lack-/CAS2924/

It's a cube mATX case that's actually smaller than the Core 500 in 2 dimensions (it's 280x240x280, vs 250x203x367).

The case still takes a standard ATX PSU, but because you can use mATX mobos you get a much wider choice with much cheaper options. The only downside with that case is that it doesn't have a 120mm fan mount, so you'd have to abandon the AIO cooler, but as Pob says, if you're not overclocking heat shouldn't be an issue.


Personally, with a GTX 970, I'd be buying a Ryzen 5 1500X and an mATX B350 motherboard. That should give you a well balanced system at a much lower cost than the Intel mITX build. The 1500X is a 65W CPU but it comes with the 95W-specified Wraith Spire cooler, which is a really good piece of kit for stock air cooler. Choosing a B350 motherboard will let you overclock if you want to. Or if you can hold off for a month or so, AMD will be releasing the 2nd Gen Ryzen CPUs, which should offer higher clock speeds plus minor performance tweaks...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Just use an SFX PSU like an SF450 with an adaptor and cable extensions like I do in my mini-ITX system,and it means less cable mess. You will need to carefully choose the case too - graphics cards can be long,especially cards like a GTX1080TI in their aftermarket versions and you will also need to consider there needs to be space for things like the power connectors,especially if they are at the front of the card,and OFC you need space to be able to insert the card. So I would ideally look at a case which can support around 280MM~300MM cards if possible. My Cubitek Minicube for example can support upto 280MM cards,but even though the GTX1080FE I am using is just under 270MM in length,its still a bit fiddly if I want to take the card out for example and it has top mounted power connectors too.

[Pob255]

If you really want to go small then the sliverstone SG05 might be a good option to look at http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=413
Does require a SFX psu and watch the cooling, if you don't mind getting a little creative you can do a lot.
eg remove the drive cages and you should have room for a 120rad based all-in-one in the front.

[scaryjim]

If you really want to go small then the sliverstone SG05 might be a good option to look at http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=413 ...

Ah, now that *is* a nice mITX case...

[wazzickle]

PCPartpicker.com is a fairly useful site that will throw up any glaring (but not necessarily all) compatibility issues, both physical and logical, as well as find the cheapest deals, with some useful features such as parametric filtering (whereby you set it to find you a component that fits particular categories like 4 or 5 * rating | 2 * 8 gb ram | not amazon, etc etc). Though again it doesn't list all the suppliers, your best bet is usually to do some googling around as well. And can then output the list in forum-friendly code, such as the following:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£251.95 @ AWD-IT)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£114.97 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z270i GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (£167.35 @ More Computers)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LED 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£183.59 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Corsair - Force MP500 240GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£127.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design - Core 500 Mini ITX Desktop Case (£51.97 @ Box Limited)
Power Supply: Corsair - CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£65.47 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £963.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-27 09:33 GMT+0000

In terms of mini itx cases, I was looking at Silverstones myself for my mini itx build but instead ended up going with a Streacom, which certainly aren't available on pcpartpicker. They're expensive and small but very well-made and stylish (assuming you're not an RGB fanboy, I'm talking old-school style). You'd probably struggle to fit your 970 in any of them though unless you can magically make it low profile so probably ignore all that.

Regarding the coolcube maxi, the maximum gpu length it seems to support is 260mm and your strix looks to be 280mm - if it does fit it'll be tight as hell.

I like the look of the fractal design node 304. Pcpcartpicker is throwing up a compatibility issue with the length of the radiator for your h115i, but I think that's assuming it's in a fixed position, where the radiator can in fact be moved, within reason.

[krazy_olie]

I did mine several years back (2014?) in an rvz01, not the super easiest case to build in but everything went fine. An option if you like the form factor.

I used a 970 and an i7. Used a low profile cpu cooler (the temps are fine), an stx psu. I would probably recommend low profile ram, or at least something not extra chunky. The gpu fits in to a riser making it much narrower than most other itx cases.
I can dig out exactly what i have in there if you wish to know.

[CodeMonkey23]

just make sure the STRIX fits in the case, I have the same card and it's quite large

[peterb]

just make sure the STRIX fits in the case, I have the same card and it's quite large

18 months on, I hope the build is finished!