Please help

crazymilk

crazymilk

crazymilk

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Joined
21 Jun 2010
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169
I am in the middle of selecting my new gaming rig

I am down sizing from a silverstone tj07 and I would like a power full gaming PC with as small foot print possible--- and I need some advice.

I have narrowed it down to 2 cases that I really like:

The BitFenix Phenom or
The Silverstone Fortress FT03 Mini Case

Now I know I will have to go ITX with the silverstone but I really like the small footprint.

The other issue is I wanted to go with a R9 280 GPU (need to stick with AMD as have a Samsung 3D 120hz monitor so need AMD for 3d).

I think the max length for the Silverstone case is 10'' long - is there a 280 that is 10'' long? What ar emy other options?

Also I would like to fit a water cooler on the CPU so agian I am unsure of the limitions on each case.

Lastly is there any benfit in gaming performance of the MATX over ITX?

Thanks for your help as always guys
 
First question: aren't Nvidia better for 3D gaming?

First answer: from what I can find, the MSI Gaming is the shortest 280X, and it's 10.6" I'm afraid. I really loved the look of the FT03 Mini, too, but that GPU length restriction is very...well, restricting. If you want very small, have you looked at EVGA's Hadron Air? It's tiny, but will fit a 280X. And you get a gold-rated PSU with it. It will not, however, fit an AIO water cooler. Or for mATX: the Parvum Systems S1.0. Oh my God they're beautiful. It will fit an h100i with room to spare. The Phenom will also fit an h100i, but you'd probably be better off with an h80i in there.

As for mATX v ITX, there isn't much of a difference in gaming performance. What you tend to miss out on with ITX is features. The only really gaming-oriented ITX board is ASUS' Maximus Impact, which is on This Week Only at £185. The equivalent mATX from Asus, the Gene, is £150. You're also limited to one PCI-E slot (so no SLI/Crossfire) and 2 RAM slots.
 
ASUS do a 670 and 760 Mini that would certainly fit. I think most 670s/760s would fit, actually. Gainward's 760 Phantom is 247mm according to their site. It is a bit of a step down from a 280X, though. A 770 would be too big.

There is an OcUK competitor who modded the FT03 Mini to fit a Titan (10.5"). Might be something to consider if you're comfortable doing something like that.
 
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Have you considered the Cooler Master Elite 130 for an ITX build? You could fit in a longer card and should have plenty room for your watercooling
 
 
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