Mini ITX help please

Usual Suspect · 23 Jun 2009 at 16:27

Hi,

Im struggling to totally understand the power rattings of these ITX MB's.

Im looking to get the Zotac 9300 ITX board an E5300 intel chip and then harddrive (not sure size dependant on case), DVD ROM, 2gig RAM, Case + PSU.

Ive read the few builds but im not totally sure what sort of PSU i will need/be able to fit. Also the cases available are poor and some seem to be the size of a large micro ATX anyways so seem pointless.

Can someone suggest a nice Case + PSU for the above system. I don't want the system to blow me away.. i just want it to be able to run low spec games reasonably but i need the machine to be as small as possible.

Any links to complete builds of similar systems? (ive seen the cubits. Nice case. Shame you cant seem to buy them anymore)

Much needing advise.
Usual

mcwildcard · 23 Jun 2009 at 16:54

That will all run in this:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-006-OP

It has an internal PSU which is up to the task of running all that stuff.
Mine runs a treat with a similar spec.

Stonedofmoo · 23 Jun 2009 at 17:27

I'd get the Sugo case with the 300w PSU personally. A 120w PSU is a bit weedy for any Core2 setup, plus the Sugo case has an 80Plus PSU which means it will also be more efficent and draw less power.

mcwildcard · 23 Jun 2009 at 18:29

Stonedofmoo said:
I'd get the Sugo case with the 300w PSU personally. A 120w PSU is a bit weedy for any Core2 setup, plus the Sugo case has an 80Plus PSU which means it will also be more efficent and draw less power.

I disagree about your weedy comment, on that PSU I'm running:
E6300 @ 2.1GHz
2 x 1GB PC6400 CAS4 2.1v
1 x 3.5" 320GB SATA2 HDD
1 x 5.25" DVD RW

No probs whatsoever.

The system spec stated in the OP would be more than happy with that PSU.
Plus the case is much smaller.

Black Hat · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:20

Stonedofmoo said:
I'd get the Sugo case with the 300w PSU personally. A 120w PSU is a bit weedy for any Core2 setup, plus the Sugo case has an 80Plus PSU which means it will also be more efficent and draw less power.

A 120w psu is more than enough to be running the above config, i bought an energy meter for mine and with a 3.5" disc and virtually the same spec above i couldnt get it to draw more than 81w no matter what i did, thats with prime and ati tool runing.

The sugo is one of the biggest mini itx cases ive seen so doesnt really suit what the OP is looking for, if i were you i would probably end up going with the Inwin posted above or take a look at something like the A+ Cupid cases.

mcwildcard · 24 Jun 2009 at 00:08

If you do go for the In-Win case suggested, bear in mind that the fan on it is like a jet engine, so you'll need to invest a little extra in a high grade 80mm fan to replace it.

betaspin · 24 Jun 2009 at 08:28

Black Hat said:
The sugo is one of the biggest mini itx cases ive seen so doesnt really suit what the OP is looking for, if i were you i would probably end up going with the Inwin posted above or take a look at something like the A+ Cupid cases.

The Sugo SG05 is, indeed, bigger than some other mini ITX cases, but it is also quiet and can be made even quieter. The size allows for a silent 120x25mm fan on the front (not the stock one though!), and leaves enough space for a bigger and quieter cpu cooler (e.g., a Scythe Shuriken). The PSU is also reasonably quiet (80x15mm fan). As a rule, smalller cases come with PSUs with 40mm fans which cannot be made quiet.

So, if you are after a quiet mini ITX case and are not willing to spend time and money experimenting and modding with 1u cpu coolers and pico PSUs, the SG05 is the only real choice (at the moment). The Lian Li PC-Q07 also looks interesting, but it is not available anywhere in the UK at the moment.

pennywise · 24 Jun 2009 at 09:21

mcwildcard said:
If you do go for the In-Win case suggested, bear in mind that the fan on it is like a jet engine, so you'll need to invest a little extra in a high grade 80mm fan to replace it.

^This, although I replaced mine with some Akasa one and it's still like being in a wind tunnel :eek:

I think it might be something to do with the grille on top of the case, but I dunno. Otherwise, it's a superb little case.

betaspin · 24 Jun 2009 at 09:26

pennywise said:
^This, although I replaced mine with some Akasa one and it's still like being in a wind tunnel I think it might be something to do with the grille on top of the case, but I dunno. Otherwise, it's a superb little case.

The grill is not the problem, as a rule to eliminate turbulence one needs less than 1000 rpm on the fan.

Stonedofmoo · 24 Jun 2009 at 14:41

mcwildcard said:
I disagree about your weedy comment, on that PSU I'm running:
E6300 @ 2.1GHz
2 x 1GB PC6400 CAS4 2.1v
1 x 3.5" 320GB SATA2 HDD
1 x 5.25" DVD RW

No probs whatsoever.

The system spec stated in the OP would be more than happy with that PSU.
Plus the case is much smaller.

Fair enough and that's impressive, however it doesn't leave room for an upgrade from the onboard graphics to say a Geforce GTS250 or the like.

mcwildcard · 24 Jun 2009 at 15:37

Stonedofmoo said:
Fair enough and that's impressive, however it doesn't leave room for an upgrade from the onboard graphics to say a Geforce GTS250 or the like.

No that's right, if you want to add a graphics card to it, then you'll need additional power for sure.
I *think* Black Hat has a 9300-itx running with a 9500GT on a 150w PSU though, which is pretty awesome.

Usual Suspect · 24 Jun 2009 at 16:31

Thanks for your help chaps. The In Win seems the best solution I think.

What sort of CPU cooler could I expect to get away with in this?

mcwildcard · 24 Jun 2009 at 16:42

It's pretty tight in there with the 9300-itx, I know for definite that this fits:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-054-AK

But if you had a slimline DVD drive, then maybe you could squeeze in something bigger.
Also in regards to the noisy case fan, someone is currently selling a few 80mm Sharkoon SE 1000s on the members market, so if you nip in there quickly you might be able to get one on the cheap.

Black Hat · 24 Jun 2009 at 16:56

mcwildcard said:
No that's right, if you want to add a graphics card to it, then you'll need additional power for sure.
I *think* Black Hat has a 9300-itx running with a 9500GT on a 150w PSU though, which is pretty awesome.

Thats right and theres plenty of headroom too currently max ive seen it use is 112w, as for CPU coolers OP do you know what the height restriction is on the case? Could possibly fit a Scythe shuriken in there but i know that cooler is abit hit and mis with these boards as sometimes it touches one of the chokes next to the cpu socket causing it not to make proper contact with the cpu.

mcwildcard · 24 Jun 2009 at 18:18

Black Hat said:
Thats right and theres plenty of headroom too currently max ive seen it use is 112w

So I might be able to get away with one on my system if I grab a wolfdale CPU and a lappy HDD?
Cripes!

Black Hat said:
as for CPU coolers OP do you know what the height restriction is on the case? Could possibly fit a Scythe shuriken in there but i know that cooler is abit hit and mis with these boards as sometimes it touches one of the chokes next to the cpu socket causing it not to make proper contact with the cpu.

The shuriken *might* fit if a 5.25" drive isn't installed:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13763677&postcount=15

Black Hat · 24 Jun 2009 at 18:33

mcwildcard said:
So I might be able to get away with one on my system if I grab a wolfdale CPU and a lappy HDD?
Cripes!

Cant see why not just got to watch the efficiency of the psu.

mcwildcard said:
The shuriken *might* fit if a 5.25" drive isn't installed:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13763677&postcount=15

Hmmm didnt relise it was such a tight fit, maybe a 1U heatsink of some kind, theres quite a decent one made by Gelid about 28mm tall :

http://www.gelidsolutions.com/products/index.php?lid=2&cid=12&id=40