Thinking of shrinking - could use advice :)

Soldato
Joined
26 Jan 2007
Posts
2,541
Location
Leeds
Hey folks,

Cutting a long story short, my rig is currently this:

mWonDAL.jpg

...and I feel like I want it to be smaller.

That's an Aerocool DS200 case measuring approx 52cm high by 49 deep. The motherboard is a Gigabyte AB350M and it is either defective or just plain crap. It certainly has major design flaws and I wish to swap it, but I'm foiled by the utter and total lack of X470 mATX options. As in, there isn't a single bloody one.

So, half way through my second dark beer of the night, I am tempted to throw away my preconceptions and learn about ITX. I don't really need the Soundblaster Z, having swapped my 5.1 speakers for a cheap set of 2.0s, seeing as I only seem to listen to youtube and podcasts now anyway. I can also discard one SSD and one HDD.

What I would like to build is:
  • Either 2700x or 8700k, overclocked as far as it'll go. I'm on the fence and at this point, and the motherboard and it's features might sway me.
  • Significantly smaller than the DS200.
  • With enough airflow to keep whatever's in it cool.

What I need to fit in it:
  • Mid-range GPU. Currently I have that dinky little EVGA 1060 Superclocked and it is quite enough for the sort of games I play at 1440p. I will always aim for this tier of performance and size with each generation.
  • 2x16gb set of DDR4 (pictured)
  • 1x m.2 slot for a Samsung 960 Pro (extra m.2 slots welcome!)
  • 1x 2.5" SATA SSD
  • 1x 3.5" HDD (gotta store those old Doctor Who episodes on something...)
  • Some mechanism for controlling fan speed (currently the silver thing above). Maybe this can be software based now, but I'm an old-school guy with a 20 year history of making my PCs run quiet and that little doohickey has always done the job :)
  • Enough of a CPU cooler to handle a top end CPU with grace. Currently have a 240mm AiO that does a fine job, but willing to consider other not-too-noisy options.

What I don't know:
  • Whether this is at all practical... i.e:
    • Will an ITX board handle a top end processor like the 2700X or 8700K, with overclock?
    • Are the limited VRMs up for it, or am I asking for overheating and throttling?
    • What of "next gen"? Both brands seem likely to be more demanding in 2019.
    • Will ITX boards suffocate my 960 Pro? The current board stuffs it next to the GPU heatsink, where it throttles during gaming, and I'm concerned about boards that put drives on the back side due to zero airflow.
    • Are there cases that are small yet have enough ventilation to do this job without being loud?
    • Are there SFF power supplies for this job or do I need to stick with my big Seasonic?
I would love to hear some suggestions for cases and motherbords. Small and presentable is good, window is optional. Window on the right side would be optimal, but again, optional :)

Ultimately, if this whole thing turns out to be impractical... I'll stick with the case I have. I'd rather be told it can't be done without sacrificing performance or acoustics than end up with a small box that either throttles or screams under load :)

Appreciate your thoughts!
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Sep 2010
Posts
7,146
Location
Stoke-on-Trent
For the Ryzen, Asus Strix X470-I is what you want. It is not limited in any way by its size, and the primary SSD is wrapped up nicely in a proper heatsink. There is the Intel equivalent Strix Z370-I which is also beastly. Essentially the Asus ROG Impact line have been replaced by these brutal Strix units, so you're getting top-tier boards.

SFF power supplies are also plentiful for beastly performance. Corsair and Silverstone do SFX units in 450W and 600W which is enough for any single card setup even with overclocking. Silverstone also have SFX-L units (bit longer) that go up to 800W.

Ignore "next gen" thoughts, especially for Intel. If you wait for the next thing you'll never buy anything. At least AMD have committed to socket AM4 until 2020 so you could drop a new CPU into the Ryzen Strix if you went that route.

"Loud" systems are nothing to do with cases, it's the fans, although you do have to consider the size and amount of fans you're using. Same goes for the CPU cooler. If you want to clock the bejesus out of the CPU then you need some beefy cooling, and that's not really in keeping with going ITX. I personally don't see the point in going ITX if your chosen case is the same size as mATX just to accommodate a massive air cooler.

Hardware is not an issue for ITX, it can do the same thing as its big brothers and sisters. Your main focus and concern should be the case because that will dictate your available space and cooling potential.
 
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