SFF and heat

[blueacid]

Hi everyone,

Since my first PC build back in the early 2000s, I've built full ATX towers. Only, I've never made use of the full space; I've typically had one or two system drives and one graphics card.
I'm looking at building a new computer and am wondering about building a Mini-ITX build for ease of moving it between my office and the living room, for normal gaming or VR.

Is there much of a concern with heat? Especially packing a big-ish GPU into one of these smaller cases?

If so, would I be better off going for Micro-ATX? Or is full-fat ATX the only real sane choice?

Thanks!
Blueacid

 

[McPhee]

GPU temps aren't, generally, a problem. The GPU is often located next to a perforated side panel, and therefore has direct access to cool air.

The CPU can be more tricky, particularly in "sandwich" style cases. The Dancase A4, for example, has very limited CPU cooler compatibility. But that's a problem specific to certain cases. The Loque Ghost S1 has a similar layout to the Dancase, but can be expanded to fit a 240mm AIO (pretty much fixing the CPU temps issue), while the Ncase M1 (which is a bit bigger) doesn't use a sandwich layout, and can therefore fit a half decent air cooler (Noctua D9L) or 240mm AIO out of the box.

ITX is as difficult and expensive as you want to make it. Check out Optimum Tech on YouTube for some really good ITX videos.

 

[blueacid]

Thanks for your advice! Optimum Tech was a really helpful recommendation, thank you!

 

[DJai]

So how did the build go?

 

[blueacid]

Oh wow, I completely forgot this thread - apologies!

My eventual choice became the Sliger SM580 with the grille sides (see pictures on the manufacturer's website: http://sliger.com/products/cases/sm580/ ) - if you aren't familiar with their cases, the 550/570 allow only a dual-slot GPU, 560/580 a triple-slot. With GPUs generally getting chunkier, it was one of those. The 570/580 add additional height to leave room for a radiator. I chose the 580 therefore to allow myself some room to add watercooling later if I needed.

I am currently using the Cryorig C7G cooler, and have added a noctua exhaust fan at the top of the case just to encourage some of the warm air out! Overall, temps stay fairly low, and the machine is reasonably quiet at idle. Gaming I can definitely hear the fans, simply because there's nothing between me and them. The GPU stays steady at around 75c when gaming, and the CPU is pretty damn cool too - don't hear its fan spinning too loudly that's for sure! This is a 3600x and a 970gtx (planning to wait for the new AMD cards later in the year and then maybe upgrade that).

I'm happy with this - the initial need to move it around is definitely easily managed - my computer is the size of a generous shoebox, so I can carry it to wherever I want. When life goes back to something resembling 'normal', I'll be able to go to a LAN easy enough as well!

 

[DJai]

Sounds great, love the case. I didn't know LAN parties were still a thing, unless you are a pro gamer?

 

[blueacid]

Sounds great, love the case. I didn't know LAN parties were still a thing, unless you are a pro gamer?

Well not in the traditional sense, it's far more a case of 3 or 4 of us meeting in the same house for some games, beer, pizza etc. But most of my gaming friends live a long drive away, so it's still a case of putting the computer in the car for a long trip, so being closer to a shoebox in size is definitely useful...!

 

[DJai]

Well not in the traditional sense, it's far more a case of 3 or 4 of us meeting in the same house for some games, beer, pizza etc. But most of my gaming friends live a long drive away, so it's still a case of putting the computer in the car for a long trip, so being closer to a shoebox in size is definitely useful...!

That sounds really cool! It's amazing to think even with there being no limitations with the internet now and facilities like teamspeak and discord that people still travel to play in proximity. Do you just play each other or team up against others on the internet?