Project: 'Small but Mighty'.

Boomstick777 · 2 Aug 2015 at 11:52

Mini PC just isn't cutting it lol, so plan to build a small but powerful system.

I have some parts to re use, and some other parts that were bought for different systems.

Final Spec:

Intel Core i7 5930K
ASUS GTX 980 Ti
G.Skill 32GB DDR4
Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSD
Seagate 2 x 2TB SHDD
Gigabyte X99M Gaming 5 Motherboard
Fractal Design Node 840

Boomstick777 · 2 Aug 2015 at 19:30

TechMinerUK said:
I'm looking forward to see this build, it should be interesting to see how this will turn out as I've seen no X99 MATX builds

Brian18741 said:
Nice case, will be interesting to see what you can do with it!

Cheers, yeah the case was hard to choose, needed something smallish but big enough to accommodate all my parts including a 280mm AIO. The H110 should fit on the right side with changing the HDD bay config.

Hopefully get started on Tuesday.

Boomstick777 · 2 Aug 2015 at 19:54

skaif said:
Come on Boom, go the whole hog and get an x99 itx!

Ha, if I didn't have this memory to use already I would have done bud. The ITX mobo only supports dual channel x2 sticks total. I've got 4 x 8GB sticks here already.

Trying to make use of parts I have already. So had to be MATX.

Boomstick777 · 3 Aug 2015 at 00:10

savagesam117 said:
Didn't you just split your PC because you don't game enough and it's not needed?

Still, never seen that case before so it'll be interesting to see.

Yeah I don't game much on PC these days, I was set on using a Mini PC but it's the CPU that is to lackluster (Dual Core, 4 thread) the GPU (860M) was pretty good for the odd game.

Out of all the parts I sold I had some left, so thought I would put together something small but more powerful for video encoding etc.

The Mini PC I was using is going in the lounge as HTPC where it belongs lol.

Boomstick777 · 5 Aug 2015 at 20:08

Getting started..

Boomstick777 · 5 Aug 2015 at 20:25

Boomstick777 · 5 Aug 2015 at 20:32

Boomstick777 · 5 Aug 2015 at 20:33

Boomstick777 · 5 Aug 2015 at 20:45

wazza300 said:
looking good boombaby

glad you went gigabyte again,so much want

Cheers bud, love Gigabyte mobo's lol.

The 970 ITX was out of stock so I have borrowed a 960 from other PC. Don't know what GPU to go with now.. I want something fairly cheap, but if I do get the urge to have a blast on Witcher 3 etc can at least cope at least on medium / high settings..

Can't make up my mind lol..

Boomstick777 · 5 Aug 2015 at 22:58

BigDools said:
Small but mighty indeed this looks cool, Gibbo has mentioned that there is going to be a deal on a 390 at £239 soon might be worth waiting and hope its the msi

Cheers, yeah the case isn't actually as small as I thought it would be lol.

It's much more stylish than my old one though, liking it. Got it sat next to my subwoofer it's about the same size haha.

Thanks for the heads up on the 390, the AMD card I would really fancy would be the Nano, the styling and lower power use would be ideal for this build. That or a 970. Got a feeling the Nano is gonna be way to pricey for me to justify though as I don't game on PC often enough tbh. MOst used for video encoding / edition, web stuff. X99 is beastly for this.

If a 970 can run Witcher 3 pretty well, than that card will do me. Just need to find a decent price on one.

On the rest of the build, really impressed with H110, keeps this 5930K at around 28C - 30C @ desktop use, browsing etc. Max temps I've seen have been around 50C, and it's whisper quiet.

Got a weird issue with the BIOS, I literally cannot enter it, just shows a black screen. So on boot up I get the Gigabyte LOGO, press DEL to enter BIOS then screen goes black, have no idea why this is because the PC is running totally fine in Windows etc, just no BIOS...?

Boomstick777 · 8 Aug 2015 at 14:34

Ironically been gaming on PC a fair bit this past few days, and am now wishing I had something more powerful to really play Witcher 3 lol.

Thinking about which GPU, can't me head around the 970 mem config, will effect future games etc.. I def want a blower card to exhaust the heat out of case.

The 980 just seems underwhelming having used a 980 Ti.. I think I may just jump back in with a blower style 980 Ti.

Yeah I know I've gone full circle lol..

Boomstick777 · 8 Aug 2015 at 14:47

wazza300 said:
Could be BIOS bug with that card,not showing BIOS screens

Any beta bios's on tweaktown?ask stasio

Cheers bud, yeah I put some posts up at Tweaktown.

Last night I was able to get into BIOS and change settings with the SHDD's plugged in. Not sure why it worked, but was able to change settings and save them. Booted into Windows no problem after. I don't know if going into the BIOS the first time (Without SHDD's) enabled something. I did that by unplugging the SHDD's and that worked fine.

Not sure if the drives won't allow enter BIOS post from COLD Boot, but work fine when restarting from Windows so drives are already powered if you get what I mean. With the drives unplugged there are no issues whatsoever so it's def them, happened on GA-X99-UD4 before BIOS update as well, a BIOS update fixed the issue altogether on that board, hopefully this mobo will get fix soon as well.

Boomstick777 · 8 Aug 2015 at 16:26

wazza300 said:
Anything for legacy USB devices? Try disabling that,also try enabling hotswap for the ports they are on,still might need a BIOS fix though

I'll look for these, nice one.

Twirlywoos said:
Just a thought if you're after quietness you could always get a GPU bracket like the:
- Pulse Modding Corsair H40 H50 H70 & Antec Kuhler GPU Conversion Mounting Bracket
- NZXT Kraken G10
- Hydro Series HG10 N980 (Not sure about compatibility with this one)

Then chose a card that allows cooler removal, has the best warranty, overclockability and depending if you have room in your case wack a H70/H55 (older models) or H75, X31 on it.

Gone for the Ref ASUS 980 Ti, might look into adding water in the future but will keep stock for now.

At IDLE the ref cooler will be ideal, and exhaust the heat during games usually got the volume pumped anyway. But the water cooling bug might get me later

Funny had really convinced myself I didn't need high end GPU. Then fired up Witcher 3 on a 960 and yeah I need something better. Even if I don't game as much these days at least when I do get the chance I can have it running nicely.

Boomstick777 · 9 Aug 2015 at 11:45

Dayum this is fast !

Boomstick777 · 9 Aug 2015 at 12:20

GSXR Gaz Mc said:
got any pics which aint close ups ?

Poor lighting, should have opened the curtains

Next to Subwoofer and that's the PS4 far right for idea of the size.. Not so small after all lol. I like the styling though.

Boomstick777 · 9 Aug 2015 at 12:24

GPU installed, build is finished !

Boomstick777 · 10 Aug 2015 at 20:28

Brian18741 said:
Looks great, how are the temps?

GPU tops out at 83C, 'Ref cooler'.

CPU temps are really good in this build:

At stock the CPU is around 28C > 30C IDLE / Desktop, and 50C LOAD. Fans on lowest setting (Silent) in BIOS.

Overclocked with 1.4V and 4.6Ghz my 5930K doesn't go past 79C. (Fans on High).

I_am_not_Carabia83 said:
Nice build.

Cheers