Mini ITX gamer!

Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
26
Zotac 9300WIFI
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2
HD4850?
Q9400

Main questions are, this will be a mobile gamer. Is there any case I can run that is smaller than the SILVERSTONE Sugo SG05-B Black ?

What heatsink should I run? Also would a SSD small hd for running my os be alot quicker than just running a laptop or standard hd?

Any idea how the built in wifi is for this board, as well as audio?

Or should I just go Matx and get a vinister [email protected] for the price of whats above and the size it seems like a good decent pc. Able to run anything thats out there at this point.
 
Well, I ran mine with a 90 degree PCIex16 slot adaptor, and a 4670(error, see below) (small PSU).

It was a slim 2.7" case, that is tiiiiny (morex case).

I had a Celeron e1500, with a low profile socket 775 cooler.

Bought all this off of ebay, so I know it can be done, but with any case smaller then the sg05, a decent PSU becomes the primary issue.


EDIT: I had this case, except in black
http://www.morex.com.tw/products/productdetail.php?fd_id=103

Also, this:
http://www.morex.com.tw/products/productdetail.php?fd_id=64

I made an error, I meant to type 4650...
 
Last edited:
Seperate post, as stuff is different.

yes a decent SSD (new generation, don't get saddled with the bad ones) will destroy most desktop (fastest of the mechanicals) HDD units in sheer speed. Even the 10000 rpm units.

The WiFi is connected (IIRC) to an internal USB header.

Audio, is handled by:
the card you choose (ATI is better for this, as I remember this board not having a S/PDIF header - feel free to correct me on this)

or the nVidia chipset, which has audio built-in.
 
thanks, so so far it sounds like I have good components. Seems like once the only thing that would hold it back is the ram...ddr2.Esp running quad, ssd. Im also considering getting this case. Seems like then I wouldnt have to worry about heat as much and its pretty cool looking (and tiny). Any idea on what gfx card I should get? That case says "1 half-height expansion slot" though.

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjEwMg==
 
That case is has a 90w adaptor...
It cannot really run anything. Any CPU/motherboard/HDD setup is going to push that to it's limits. (before the graphics card).

My setup was wierd, and has a low end card (mid range, but once the 5870 came out, this was history...), and a 150W power supply.

DDR2 is the best there is (well, there is a i7 (I think) ITX with DDR3 if you really want) is for this size, at the moment.

Gaming on slim ITX cases is even more [h]ardcore then gaming on other SFF systems (mATX setups included).

The best (easiest, actually) for ITX gaming, would be the SG05.
 
yep, seems like thats the only real case I can find. Would you recommend this or should I just go the matx route and run i5 with ddr3, and actually have room.
 
Well, I recommend the matx route for gaming.

I'm sorry, but I have discovered (I only play CoD4, so maybe your case is different), an ITX setup is not going to be scaleable to many future 'gaming' upgrades.

The first issue is the PSU. That is basically the only issue. We can get around space, heat, and others. But PSU is just a hard wall we cannot get by. There are too many differing ITX PSU standards, and too few good PSU.

With the SG05 (300w included, dunno about it's quality [someone has an issue with it], but it is documented to support [officially, too] a gts250),
a Zotac 9300 ITX, and a gts250 (based off of numbers, you can go with a 5850 or 5770 from ATi), you can get a decent gaming rig for the size.
 
I wont mind hacking up the inside of the case to get a 500w+ to fit either :-p

The problem is, you'll have to hack that 500w, not just the case :).

My ITX case is about as big as a 12.1in laptop, and just a little bit thicker, so please note, it is a tough fit. (and costly)

However, if you have a will to do this, then ask for help from the Case Modding catagory. There are some truely talented people there.

ITX systems cost a far higher premium for any sort of performance, so it isn't cheap at all.

If you could fit a 500W (heck, with the low profile reqirement, you can fit a Sparkle 270 w (no hacking, and find it in the HP Slimline thread, first post has data on this near the middle for it), and a low profile 9800gt! (that is, if you are still going for the Antec case).

Otherwise, the sg05 (ITX case box case for LAN parties) will do just fine, with anything you can throw at it (bar extremely highend graphics cards).
 
hm. now you got me looking at the hp slimline. Its actually smaller than the vinister m@x, except for being 1.5" taller. I guess this case also runs matx. Would the 9800gt be the largest gfx card that would work. Again, the best I can fit the better.
 
i loved having a mini itx for the size of case and well everything fit in the sg05 however due to the motherboard choices and powersupply limitations i am going back to matx case .

i will state a 430 nexus powersupply can fit the sg05 with some modding and a short heatsink . the wires on the powersupply would have to be shortened as well due to how long they are


Jen
 
@Jen, yeah, me too. For gaming, the ITX 'slim' form factor (and my affection for slimmer cases, not boxy) just isn't enough for hardcore gaming.

@OP I still recommend the SG05 if you want to stay with ITX, as the case can fit big, dual slot cards, upto the GTS250 level (the probable specs for the 5770 can work, too). But mATX is just so much more capable, on the LAN party level.
 
The HD 5770 will be fine for the SG05. HD 5850 would fit physically, but would probably be too much for the standard PSU to handle when paired with a decent CPU (although it would of course also depend on the rest of the system components). At least I seem to recall it drawing as much 180W maximum?
 
The HD 5770 will be fine for the SG05. HD 5850 would fit physically, but would probably be too much for the standard PSU to handle when paired with a decent CPU (although it would of course also depend on the rest of the system components). At least I seem to recall it drawing as much 180W maximum?

Yes, the 5850 is listed at about 151W, the 5770 is at about 108W (similar to a 9800gt, by the way).
 
Oh, it's only 151W? Hmm... I seemed to recall 190W for 5870 and 180W for 5850. But at 151W it actually could/should work fine with SG05's PSU.
 
Oh, it's only 151W? Hmm... I seemed to recall 190W for 5870 and 180W for 5850. But at 151W it actually could/should work fine with SG05's PSU.

The max stated by the actual developers of this case are GTS250, which uses about 145W...

hmmm/

I hope it fits?
 
A few watts here or there is not that critical. Don't the HD 4870/4890 take more than 145W anyway? And people have used those with the standard PSU.
 
Greetings,


since i could not find anyone with experience on the HD5850 & Sugo SG05, i did try it by myself, and glad to share with all of You, that I have a Sapphire 5850 running w/o hiccups with the default 300W FSP PSU in an SG05 case at home.

The card fits nicely in the case, but i had to plug in the two 6pin power cables into the card, prior to installing the card in the pci-e slot. (molex-to-6pin adaptor was included with my vga)

My system consists a zotac 9300itxWifi mobo + E8400cpu(stock cooler) + 2x2GB Kingston HyperX ram, WD Velociraptor hdd, NO ODD, USB soundcard (asus xonar U1).

I've checked the power draw of the above system, it is usually between 54-70W idle / downloading; and 170W typical gaming / 192W peak, excluding monitor of course, and EIST is on.

the rig runs fine with all games i have installed, though i have not yet tested it with aggressive test programs like cpu burn (after all, i'm gaming, not testing at home :p )

rgds,

Attila
 
Thanks Attila for putting forth the effort to give some actual testing to end speculation.

I so want to try your exact build. Will conquer any game on a 30" except for Crysis. But, for now I'll have to settle for my slightly larger mATX build.
 
Greetings,


since i could not find anyone with experience on the HD5850 & Sugo SG05, i did try it by myself, and glad to share with all of You, that I have a Sapphire 5850 running w/o hiccups with the default 300W FSP PSU in an SG05 case at home.

The card fits nicely in the case, but i had to plug in the two 6pin power cables into the card, prior to installing the card in the pci-e slot. (molex-to-6pin adaptor was included with my vga)

My system consists a zotac 9300itxWifi mobo + E8400cpu(stock cooler) + 2x2GB Kingston HyperX ram, WD Velociraptor hdd, NO ODD, USB soundcard (asus xonar U1).

I've checked the power draw of the above system, it is usually between 54-70W idle / downloading; and 170W typical gaming / 192W peak, excluding monitor of course, and EIST is on.

the rig runs fine with all games i have installed, though i have not yet tested it with aggressive test programs like cpu burn (after all, i'm gaming, not testing at home :p )

rgds,

Attila

So if @ peak that combo only draws 192W, wouldn't then be possible to use the q9550 instead, since its tdp is only 30W higher?
 
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