VaporX Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Welcome to the joys of ITX building. Heatsink selection is a big deal and fans can be a bear if you try to plan before seeing the case. Since you are not overclocking the stock cooler should be fine. I would have used the savings with a stock cooler (with that case would have been my first thought) and gotten a Silverstone SFF 450 watt PSU. Would give you more room in the case and the modular cabling is short, specifically for ITX builds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewr05 Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 If I could start over I'd definitely get a slightly larger case, this one fit everything fine but it'd be nice to have more space. The heatsink issue is probably more of an oversight on my behalf anyways Does anyone know if all ITX motherboards have the PCI-e slot directly next to the CPU? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewr05 Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 BUMP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporX Posted March 24, 2014 Posted March 24, 2014 The designs vary a bit but in essence all ITX boards are very close to the same layout due to the limitations on the board size. With the case you choice you are a bit limited on cooler choice. I found I like using AiO coolers for ITX builds but the case you chose would make this a bit harder since the front is the only air intake. Could be done, just not sure of your temps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewr05 Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 I was really thinking about an AIO water cooler, perhaps I will in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporX Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 My own system is a little big for an ITX, however because I show off video cards with it I need the layout it offers. I am using a Caselabs Mercury S3, this is a seriously AWESOME case. For cooling my 4770K I am using a Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme in the front with 4 fans, push/pull. The Extreme software is set to silent mode and this makes the front fans uber quiet. At the top I have two Fractal Design 140mm fans, this fans are quiet even on high and I then have a 3rd 140mm fan in the rear. The top two are intake and the rear is exhaust. With no overclocking my 4770K never breaks 50C when gaming, gonna push the overclock a bit some day and see what I can do and stay silent. The best part however is the fluid temp in the radiator which is never over 29C under heavy gaming load, this means the intake air from the front is still reasonably cool. The video card I have is a 290X Tri-X and the side panels on the case are both sealed. Window on the video card side and solid on the other. The internal positive airflow effect is crazy, even with the exhaust fan off the case feels like a small box fan coming out of the rear. The result however is exactly what I was looking for. The case shows off the video card perfectly, it almost fills the side window. The air flow means nothing in the case ever gets over heated and even under intense gaming the system is all but silent. All this in a reasonably small and light weight build that is easy to transport. if the system was never moving this build would still be awesome but a bit bigger than I would need. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewr05 Posted March 29, 2014 Posted March 29, 2014 Yeah, next time I'll go with a bigger case for sure... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
panjang110 Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 If I could start over I'd definitely get a slightly larger case, this one fit everything fine but it'd be nice to have more space. The heatsink issue is probably more of an oversight on my behalf anyways Does anyone know if all ITX motherboards have the PCI-e slot directly next to the CPU? i remember the only 1155 Mitx board with cpu socket not sitting next to the pci-e slot is the evga z77 stinger and asus p8z77i deluxe. both of which overpriced and have awkward sata port placement. I was really thinking about an AIO water cooler, perhaps I will in the future. i think you can if you stick to 120mm aio see here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewr05 Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 That sucks, I know space is limited but it really doesn't make sense to put it there. ...and yeah, I think I'm just gonna go ahead and get an AIO as my next upgrade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporX Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 In a case that small I am not sure how big of a deal the AiO would be. The case is so small that there is not really a lot of room for air flow. Since you are not getting a decent amount of fans to move the air well the use of the AiO as an intake could be an issue, especially if overclocking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazwegion Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 Well done Andrew sure looks restrictive inside, messed around with a QBiC from Soltek back in the day but have settled on the mATX format myself for the moment, SFF PC's look like an interesting challenge... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandoPatriot Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 I just built the wife a mini ITX computer as well. I went with a little bit bigger case with the Corsair 250D. I did that so I would have plenty of room to route cables and it allowed me to go with the Corsair H100i. Add in the new A10-7850k APU and it is a nice little PC and it fits in a nook on her desk, under a shelf! Very nice build, and now you see why I decided to go with more expensive/bigger parts - easier to work with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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