Honey, I Shrunk the PC

TheAceOfSpades · 6 Jun 2020 at 15:59

I've been wanting to do an ITX build for a while, and a country-wide quarantine was the perfect excuse to finally go through with it. The previous iteration of my PC was housed in a Coolermaster MasterCase Maker 5 - a capacious ATX case that was really too big and bulky for my needs. I'd had my eye on the Lian-Li TU150 since it launched last year for three reasons: it looked fancy, had a snazzy handle, but most importantly, it had 3 PCI slots (I wanted to transplant my Asus Matrix Platinum 980Ti to it, which is a 2.5 slot card).

As I did not have the budget to build an entirely new PC, I was going to be reusing as many parts from my old build as possible. This turned out to be the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, fans, and (initially) my old air cooler. I decided not to opt for a custom water loop for simplicity and transport convenience. This may be something I explore down the line.

The new components I had to purchase were the case, an ITX motherboard, and an SFX power supply. I've listed my original components, and what they have been swapped out with below;

CPU: i5 6600k (Reused)
GPU: Asus Matrix Platinum GTX 980Ti (Reused)
Mobo: Asus Z170A -> Asus Strix Z270i Gaming
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 16GB 2400MHz (Reused)
Cooler: Custom water loop -> bequiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
PSU: EVGA Supernova G2 750w -> Corsair SF 750w
Case: Coolermaster MasterCase Maker 5 -> Lian-Li TU150 (Silver)
Fans: 3 x Noctua NF-A14 PPC, 2 x Noctua NF-F12 PPC (NF-F12's were reused)

Below are some images of the MasterCase build, and one of it with the ITX case for size comparison;

How's it all going to fit in there!?

N.B: I started this project at the beginning of April, but haven't been able to post the log until now. The ITX system has been up and running for a little while now, but I still have more changes to make (hint - it involves a Ryzen 3600)

Updates detailing the progress I have made so far to follow shortly - stay tuned!

TheAceOfSpades · 13 Jun 2020 at 13:42

Here are the PSU and motherboard I used for the build

Comparing the motherboard with my GPU. I didn't expect it to be that small...

I took the opportunity to reapply the thermal paste on my GPU. This is what it looks like when you leave the factory stuff on for 4 years. Oops.

That's better.

It turned out that the Dark Rock Pro 3 cooler I wanted to use wasn't exactly compatible with the Z270 socket, so I had to make a few modifications. Firstly I had to drill three holes in the backplate to provide clearance for the socket mounting screws. Then I had to trim down some of the component legs because they were preventing the edge of the backplate from sitting flush.

Starting to put it all together. The tiny motherboard creates the illusion that the case is bigger than it actually is in this photo.

Adding the graphics card fixes this

Here it is with the cooler installed. The Dark Rock Pro 3 is difficult to install in the best of conditions. In this small case, it was an absolute nightmare. If I had any other cooler available at the time, I would've gone with that.

I didn't spend very long on cable management. There weren't many cables, and the was plenty of space for them behind the back panel.

This case has a cable management space in the roof. I only used it for the SATA power in the end as most of the cables were too short to take the detour, but could be useful in conjunction with cable extensions.

Here's the final result. Mug for scale.

I couldn't get any better shots of the inside with the side panel on because it's slightly tinted and very reflective (being glass). It ended up looking fairly neat as there is a cutout in the side panel that hides the power supply area and the rats nest of cables.

Still to come: cooler swap out and Ryzen upgrade.

Sam__ · 13 Jun 2020 at 16:04

I love a good Terry's chocolate orange.

Also, nice PC.

Relentless81 · 13 Jun 2020 at 16:16

I really like the TU150 but 2 things put me off, no filter on the floor and no white but silver isn't too bad

Nice build btw

pugheaven · 14 Jun 2020 at 14:07

WOW, how the heck you got that lot to fit in there... I've just shown the picture of the motherboard and GPU to a mate... that's amazing.. In the end though mate, loving the tony form factor, but not sure on the cooler in that case rofl rofl rofl... it's 50% of the case hahaha. Nice work though and kudos for manaully amending the stuff to fit as well!¬ Nice work!

TheAceOfSpades · 14 Jun 2020 at 16:03

Sam__ said:
I love a good Terry's chocolate orange.

Also, nice PC.

I only realised it was there after I took the picture, wondered if anyone would mention it

Thanks.

TheAceOfSpades · 14 Jun 2020 at 16:20

Relentless81 said:
I really like the TU150 but 2 things put me off, no filter on the floor and no white but silver isn't too bad

Nice build btw

I found building in it very easy considering it was my first ITX case experience, and it really does look great. So I would definitely recommend if you can get past those issues. You could always add a few of these to the bottom https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alumino-fan-filter-120mm-silver-cm-007-oe.html. As for the colour, painting it white might be a bit more involved

Thanks

TheAceOfSpades · 14 Jun 2020 at 16:26

pugheaven said:
WOW, how the heck you got that lot to fit in there... I've just shown the picture of the motherboard and GPU to a mate... that's amazing.. In the end though mate, loving the tony form factor, but not sure on the cooler in that case rofl rofl rofl... it's 50% of the case hahaha. Nice work though and kudos for manaully amending the stuff to fit as well!¬ Nice work!

It's pretty crazy right? Glad you liked it.

Yeah, I really wasn't happy with the cooler, but I didn't have an alternative at the time. I ordered a much more reasonable one shortly after finishing the build. I'll have images of that in an update soon.

pugheaven · 14 Jun 2020 at 19:56

Yeha be interested to see the new piccies with a different cooling solution. I still can't get over the size of the mobo lol... I'd swear that was photoshopped hahaha

Gepetto · 16 Jun 2020 at 18:22

Kudos for getting that cooler in there. :eek:

I really like the SFF builds, my wife currently runs a Sugo SG05 and I like the case you have used. Would an H80i fit in there? The front looks too tight due to the GPU, but, the fan looks to be higher up on the rear.

TheAceOfSpades · 18 Jun 2020 at 13:37

Gepetto said:
Kudos for getting that cooler in there. I really like the SFF builds, my wife currently runs a Sugo SG05 and I like the case you have used. Would an H80i fit in there? The front looks too tight due to the GPU, but, the fan looks to be higher up on the rear.

Thanks

. I don't think a H80i would fit in the front, as the power supply would probably obstruct the top of the cooler - otherwise it might have just squeezed in, especially if a more sensibly sized GPU was used. It probably would fit in the rear though as there's nothing to block the top of it, and the fan position is adjustable (~3cm vertical travel) unlike the front.

TheAceOfSpades · 18 Jun 2020 at 15:11

Cooler Upgrade: I had initially hoped that I could get away with reusing my old Dark Rock Pro 3, but quickly realised that it wasn't going to work out. I was getting worse than expected temps, which I suspected was due to poor airflow. The cooler originally came with two fans, but I had to remove the front one to squeeze it into this tiny case. I think the massive chunk of metal was providing too much resistance in the confined space for three fans to handle.

Also, as pugheaven pointed out, it did look a bit ridiculous taking up 50% of the case

So I ordered a Noctua NH-U12S. As you can see, it's a fair bit smaller than the Dark Rock.

I think that looks much more reasonable.

I'm surprised by how well this little cooler performs. My 6600k OC'd to 4.5GHz @1.31v idles at 35 degrees C, and reaching 70 degrees C under max load - all while staying whisper quiet. Looks great in the build too.