Project: Less is more!

OracIe

OracIe

OracIe

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Joined
10 Jun 2013
Posts
1,135
So I was talking to my uncle today, he was saying how his computer was so slow so I took a look, he was right!!! He has a small ITX build that is several years old and is basically knackered so it got me thinking...bearing in mind he's a carpenter and only surfs the net, checks emails and does invoicing.

We came to an arrangement where I would build him a new PC - but using bits of my existing one (In my sig) and in the process upgrade my own so I decided I fancied a change and want to try SFF.

I'm keeping my Level 10 GT but am going to retire the case for a while and put it back in its box and keep it in the garage roof, I love the case but it loves dust!!

Anyway, I had a spare TT Level 10 GTS case, so he will be getting that along side my Z87X-OC, my 7850 my SSD and PSU and some spare 8GB 1333 RAM. I'll be adding the pics of the GT strip down and my uncles build to for those that are interested.

Right, back to SFF - so today I ordered the following:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI IMPACT Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £173.99
1 x Corsair RM Series RM 850 '80+ Gold' 850W Power Supply (CP-9020056-UK) £119.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian Series 250D Mini ITX Compact Gaming Case - Black (CC-9011047-WW) £71.99




I had to buy the mobo from a competitor as OCUK didn't have it in stock :(

I'm going to use my:

  1. Intel 4670K i5
  2. Corsair H100i
  3. RAM - 16GB Patriot Venon C10's
  4. 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
  5. Various other bits!

That should arrive Monday so I'll be starting the strip down then!!

Next month I'll then look at getting a monster GFX (That'll fit!)

Cheers :)
 
Last edited:
Not sure why you needed 850w psu there. It's way more than any itx build will ever use and psu is big, not sure how the case will take it.
I have a 1000w for 4770k and gtx 780 x2 and still plenty spare watts.
600-650w is max you'd need there, but I guess no point saying that if you bought it already? :)
Anyway, I like small builds so looking forward to see some updates.
 
Cheers, the case will take it :)

I always approach things from the perspective "Better to have enough and not need it, then need it and not have it" - besides, if I upgrade in another year or two and move away from SFF, the PSU should be fine!
 
OK, slight update!

Got home from work on Monday night to some goodies!

iqfw.jpg


I had booked the following day off (Yesterday) - to make a start!

This was my existing machine (Sig in title) which was going to be part donor for me and my uncles.

wh41.jpg


Unboxing of the Impact, can't believe how small it is, especially in comparison to my Z87-OC. (It maybe small but has some weight to it!)
43um.jpg


Let the strip down commence...*Gulp*
bw7s.jpg


phhp.jpg


rvar.jpg


What I need is a helper...Ahh Jemmy our 2 year old Springer to the rescue!
ewzw.jpg


Bad attempt at cable management (This case isn't great for it) and some group braiding, obviously going for a red/black theme
oi96.jpg


Picked up another helper along the way, cheers WALL-E!
This also shows how close a H100i is in terms of fans against the mobo, it does fit though, also gives me a chance to show off my Patriot Venoms!
yxye.jpg


Aha! It's alive (Running windows 8.1)
yipf.jpg


Close up of how it's been left!
hxwt.jpg


Got some more bits arriving today from OCUK so will finish it off tonight (I Hope) and then start on my uncles GTS build using my Z87OC-X :)
 
Forgot to mention, I'm having to send the mSATA back to OCUK, stupidly read it wrong thinking I could plug it into the MPCI-e slot on the mobo but I got confused. Instead it's a M.2 interface.
 
Well I realised that my uncle would need a cooler, so I decided that my while my H100i works fine, it's dirty and a bit run down so I would give that to my uncle (Who will never even see it!!) and buy myself a new one to install.

However I wanted to test this machine so crudely connected up the old H100i on top just to power it up to make sure it all worked :)
 
Soooo tonight I went a bit silly and ordered the following:

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780Ti Superclock 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (03G-P4-2883-KR) £539.99
1 x Cyberpower Professional Tower Series 750VA UPS (PR750LCD) £215.99
1 x Plextor M6e M.2 PCI-E 256GB Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £199.99
1 x Razer Taipan 8200 DPI Expert Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse £61.99
1 x Corsair Raptor K40 Gaming Keyboard (CH-9000051-UK) £52.99
Total : £1,070.95 (includes shipping : ).



Which means I also get:
Mouse cord bungy thingy for free
NVIDIA PROMOTION: DAYLIGHT PC Game - Email Download

Which is cool.
These bits should arrive Wednesday I hope, need to see if I can work from home to take delivery!!! :)
 
So the kit arrived today, I worked from home and then when fixed, got straight on it.
In my haste, I didn't take too many pics, but you get the idea.

EVGA GTX 780 Ti - Lovely piece of kit.
mwsm.jpg


Top shot:
ybrc.jpg


Power cables fitted to the 780, plus a xilence 80mm PWM fan - I also treated myself to a GTX back plate - you can see it fitted
xx9n.jpg


Close up!
kh5b.jpg


Night shot :)
19du.jpg


The eagle eyed among you will notice the Plextor 256GB SSD plugged directly into the motherboard by the MPCI-e/wifi/Bluetooth adapter.

Keyboard - Loving it so far
6o2c.jpg


Mouse (Note the free bungie thing OCUK threw in - cheers!)
5vda.jpg


A shot of how it sits in the office - still needs some adjusting but I'm tired.
quib.jpg


I've really liked working with the 250D - It's a great little case.

Stay tuned for my uncles build...starting this weekend :)

Cheers.
 
Bit of necro bump (saw the project log in your sig and had a look), but isn't that M.2 SSD getting a bit bottlenecked in the M.2 slot on the M6I? It only runs a PCI-E x1 (or x2, can't remember), so it's only getting SATA3 speeds. :(

Otherwise a great build! Love me a good MITX system. :D
 
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