New Mini-ITX Gaming Build

kbc · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:46

I'm planning on putting together something like this, what do you guys think?

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz Processor
Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 Mini-ITX Motherboard
Corsair Memory XMS3 8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 RAM
Scyther Shuriken BIG CPU Cooler
Lian-Li PC-Q11 Case
Gainward GTX 560Ti Phantom Graphics Card
Already Have: Corsair HX 520W Modular PSU
Already Have: SATA-II Hard Drive somewhere?

All in all, it will cost me about £670 (inc+del).

Will this be any good?

SouthEastBlue · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:59

I don't know much about ITX rigs, but that should still smash through pretty much every game on DX11 highest settings.

icysniper · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:00

what hdd/ssd are you going to use??

.Max. · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:09

Swap the 560 for a 480 SOC (Better performance, cheaper price, although more power and heat)? Also... What PSU?

kbc · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:12

Almost forgot to mention some of the components I already have! Edited original post.

I actually would have liked to have an SSD drive, but a 120GB SSD brings the price up by another £150-£175!! This would have been perfect for such a small case, but I can't justify the price..... brings my budget out of line...

Will my current PSU be OK with all this? If I run 1600MHz RAM on a 1333MHz supported board, will it just operate at a lower speed? - this should be fine right?

powelly · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:15

kbc said:
Almost forgot to mention some of the components I already have! Edited original post.

I actually would have liked to have an SSD drive, but a 120GB SSD brings the price up by another £150-£175!! This would have been perfect for such a small case, but I can't justify the price..... brings my budget out of line...

Will my current PSU be OK with all this? If I run 1600MHz RAM on a 1333MHz supported board, will it just operate at a lower speed? - this should be fine right?

it will run fine or you can set it to 1600mhz in the bios iirc

your current psu should be ok to run it all too, probably would be fine for a 480 as well

kbc · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:20

The GeForce 480s uses the long PCB and would not fit in the Lian-Li PC-Q11 case I believe...

I also deliberately opted for a the "Gainward" 560 because it was one of the very few 560s which uses the short PCB and its power connectors on the side.

Good to know my existing PSU will be fine!

panyan · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:53

with all that power in a small package, you had better plan for the best air-flow and cable managment system

kbc · 24 Apr 2011 at 19:03

Thought I'll post an update on what's happened since I bought the items.

Turned out that I made a mistake in purchasing the CPU cooler, the Scythe Shuriken was too large and it effectively covered up the PCI-E slot for a graphics card installation. I ended up using the stock Intel heatsink instead.

The system proved to be a challenge to put together, everything was pretty tight and as a first Mini-ITX builder, everything seemed very small!! :eek:

The Lian-Li PC-Q11 case was tiny too. Even with a modular PSU - cable management was almost impossible. One thing I was happy about was the graphics card, I ended up buying the Gainward GTX Ti 560 2GB - the card uses a short PCB and with the power sockets on the side, installation was a breeze. I also used a 2.5" 750GB WD7500BPKT hard drive instead.

Below are some pictures for anyone interested in building a small gaming system.

Runs pretty warm.

dan1903 · 24 Apr 2011 at 22:27

Nice rig, looks like a pretty beefy little system! What's the performance like? I'm planning on ordering a very similar spec on Tuesday once everywhere reopens ( i5 2500k and the GTX560 ti phantom). I'd also be interested in seeing any more pictures you have of the phantom.

Reaper 392 · 24 Apr 2011 at 23:23

since the cooler you bought couldnt fit, do you think a H50/H60 would fit, if you stick the rad in front of the fan thats in there already?
(and be better than the stock intel cooler in this setup)

also, would something like the akasa system exhaust fan be useful? i dont know if you have an expansion slot free in that case or not

kbc · 25 Apr 2011 at 02:36

dan1903 said:
Nice rig, looks like a pretty beefy little system! What's the performance like? I'm planning on ordering a very similar spec on Tuesday once everywhere reopens ( i5 2500k and the GTX560 ti phantom). I'd also be interested in seeing any more pictures you have of the phantom.

Here's more pictures of the phantom, the performance of it is pretty impressive! Ran Black Ops on it no problem with 8x AA/AF @ 1920x1080. Source-engine games run without problems on max settings. It's also not very loud. My 2.5" hard drive is probably the loudest of all components. But after long periods of gaming, the system tends to warm up quite a bit. When you touch the side of the case (PSU side) - it feels HOT - not warm. I'm still unsure which is the best position to install the PSU. It's installed as it is in the photos at the moment.

Reaper 392 said:
since the cooler you bought couldnt fit, do you think a H50/H60 would fit, if you stick the rad in front of the fan thats in there already?
(and be better than the stock intel cooler in this setup)

also, would something like the akasa system exhaust fan be useful? i dont know if you have an expansion slot free in that case or not

Are you talking about this? I think it would be tight but I cannot guarantee this. Anything which is slightly bigger than the stock Intel HSF may block the PCI-E slot, if you're going to be using something similar to the Gigabyte layout. It was extremely tight to bend the PSU cables around to plug into the motherboard. The metal bracket at the back of the case - I don't think its removable. My PSU is modular and even that didn't help. It's a very fiddly installation and a lot of tension has to be applied to the cables.

I did use one of those Akasa exhaust blowers in a PC I built 3 years ago. I don't think they helped much apart from adding more noise. The case will support dual height graphics cards, but that's your slots done. The PCI-E slot on the board is matched with the first slot on the case.

DIABLO · 25 Apr 2011 at 03:05

might also be better to rotate the PSU so it's not fighting with CPU for air, looks like there is just enough room between the SPU and the side of the case if you did rotate it for the PSU to breath.

Methanoid · 26 May 2011 at 13:42

Perhaps better to fit a non modular but PS3 PSU like the VR400A. Its smaller. How's the noise too?

Pete1989 · 27 May 2011 at 07:34

I've just done almost the same build as you (different case and gpu though). I got a Shuriken Big aswell, nowhere near fitting

I cant really find anything that would fit except a H70 etc. and that would be very hard in my case.
Let me know if you find something different.

Methanoid · 26 Jun 2011 at 15:25

Any owner able to confirm how much space is BEHIND the 3.5" HDD when fitted in the tray at bottom of case. I've seen people have squeezed some mATX boards (some will fit) in the case and wondering if that prevents use of a HDD.

Alf1900 · 15 Jul 2011 at 16:42

Hi!
@ kbc:
I am planing a system in the same case you are using.

Is it possible to use a standard 3,5 inch hdd in combination with the Gainward 560 Ti Phantom?
In some review I read that the cooler uses 2,5 slots. Can you tell me how much 2,5 slots is in cm? It should be 5cm (2cm for one slot).

Greetings...