MITX downsize

Mudslide Slim · 5 Sep 2014 at 10:28

I need to downsize my system to something portable. I've always wanted to go ITX and this seems to be the perfect opportunity. It needs to be powerful enough to game for long periods both at home and away.

My ideal case with PSU http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-188-SV

Sugo SG08B

I want to reuse most of my rigs current components:

I5 3570K [OC 4.5 Ghz]

16 Gb ram

SSD OS/Game drive and standard storage drive.

GTX780 Palit Jetstream.

So I need to get the case, LGA 1155 Z77 MITX motherboard, and a suitable cooler to get a 4.2Ghz overclock. I would like to use a single loop sealed cooler such as Antec, Corsair etc. Hopefully this will negate problems trying to use some of the available 1155 motherboards with low profile air coolers.

Sadly Overclockers no longer stock any suitable motherboards [I think]. I would really appreciate any suggestions for motherboard/cooler options, and experiences building in this case.

Thank you.

danewesley · 6 Sep 2014 at 08:30

Couple of z77 boards still on there, evga one is pretty nice...

Gigabyte

Evga

Bane · 6 Sep 2014 at 13:32

Worth researching the EVGA Stinger first if decide to go with it.

EVGA released 1.24 BIOS in February, but prior to that people reported memory problems (can't remember specifics) and this BIOS update doesn't mention anything about fixing memory compatibility.

Edward78 · 6 Sep 2014 at 16:33

people reported memory problems (can't remember specifics)

Do you see how that's funny?

Anyway, I would have went mITX, but the cases that can take my duel width GPU didn't seem much smaller than my SG01 & what's the point if case sizes are so close. I hope Silverstone's 600w SFX PSU allows for smaller mITX cases to come out.

Voodle · 6 Sep 2014 at 22:58

I've got effectively the same setup - it's in an SG08B-Lite (which I prefer the front design of) along with a Seasonic S12G-550 because it's one of the few higher end PSUs that actually fits in this case because 140mm PSU depth is the limit to fit a decent video card.

It works perfectly with an Asrock Z77E-ITX motherboard and a Corsair H90 which only just fits in this case but the backplate for the H90 had to be cut up quite a lot to fit the motherboard without crushing motherboard components. It's set up as an exhaust otherwise the GPU gets too hot. The CPU went up to 4.5GHz with little trouble.

It was really nice taking this along to a LAN party instead of my old FT03, much more portable

Here are some pictures of it before I put the optical drive in: http://imgur.com/a/F1stn

Mudslide Slim · 7 Sep 2014 at 09:16

Thanks for all the input, much appreciated.

@Voodle Lovely rig. I've been researching the Asrock board and delighted it has worked out so well for you. Did you use a craft knife to trim the backplate?

It looks like you are using just the Silverstone case fan reversed so it pulls air from the case?

Voodle · 7 Sep 2014 at 13:18

To modify the backplate I had to use a dremel, it needed quite a lot of material ground off including 1mm around the 775 and 1366 hole fittings to avoid destroying little SMT components.

The black fan on there is the fan that comes with the H90 with the radiator above it and it narrowly avoids hitting the hard drive with 90 degree sata & sata power connectors.
The SG08B-Lite doesn't include the 180mm fan but it's got fittings for fans between 120mm - 140mm - 180mm so the radiator just screws into the fan fittings.

almighty15 · 8 Sep 2014 at 00:00

Why not check out the EVGA Hadron Hydro Case?

Mudslide Slim · 8 Sep 2014 at 07:51

almighty15 said:
Why not check out the EVGA Hadron Hydro Case?

It's a great case, and probably slightly easier to build in. That being said I prefer the SG08 look, and it's shape makes it easier to travel with. I can shove it in a bag with a couple of bits of foam when I need to take a train to visit family in Cornwall.

Edward78 · 8 Sep 2014 at 15:07

I guess it is just me, but I don't think it is worth it. The cases are almost the same size, if you want a 2 sloter. I want a case like a 2 slot Element Q (without modding), Why not?

EVGAdominik · 10 Sep 2014 at 09:57

Bane said:
Worth researching the EVGA Stinger first if decide to go with it.

EVGA released 1.24 BIOS in February, but prior to that people reported memory problems (can't remember specifics) and this BIOS update doesn't mention anything about fixing memory compatibility.

About the Mem Issue with the stinger, there you just need to put a little bit more voltage on the RAM controller then it is no problem to go 1866MHz. With some models XMP is not working 100% because of this and you will then need to enter speed and timings manually