Anyone research SFF cases for APU (NO GPU)?

Snowdog

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It seems everyone is concerned about stuffing the biggest GPU into the smallest case, but I am thinking I might be able to get by with AMDs new Raven Ridge APUs coming later this year.

If you ditch the GPU card, it seems a lot smaller options should be available.

So has anyone researched any cool APU case options.
 
My thoughts towards an APU-specific chassis would look towards using the volume that would otherwise go towards a discrete GPU for fitting a 140mm AIO instead…

I would envision ITX MB in the horizontal position, with the AIO above…

The back of the chassis would (of course) have the MB I/O; but the front & sides would be ventilated to pull in fresh air for the AIO, which will exhaust up & out…

PSU coulld be all internal with an AC-DC unit next to the AIO & PnP DC-ATX feeding off of that…

If M.2 only for boot/storage drive, then the only cable needed would be the CPU (or, in this case, APU…) power coming off of the DC-ATX plugged into the MB 24-pin…
 
ISK 110? I have an A10 7800 APU in one. Pretty tiny little case. There are a lot of options if that's what you're going for. The m350 is also popular. Mini-itx.com has a sortable list by volume which is handy.
 
I like the look of the In Win Chopin. It has the layout of its older BQ line of SFF cases but with the styling of the more enthusiast focused cases. It comes with its own 150W power supply too so it should be able to handle the higher end 95W APUs that AMD is bound to have.
 
Thanks guys.

ISK 110 and In Win Chopin look pretty good. I prefer the built in PS on the Chopin.

I would be interested in a external brick only if going to some kind of fanless system, probably in a streacom case, which I like the idea of, but 65 Watts is likely the real upper limit on their passive cooling solutions.
 
In that case, why not use a NUC, Alienware Alpha, or similar?
If you aren't using a discrete graphics card, ITX is way more bulky than you need.
 
In that case, why not use a NUC, Alienware Alpha, or similar?
If you aren't using a discrete graphics card, ITX is way more bulky than you need.

ITX isn't really that bulky (<7"x7"). It's the GPU card that really drives case size.

For an APU, I am only potentially interested in new AMD Raven Ridge successor to the A10-7850 or similar, but with Zen CPU cores and Vega GPU. Something that will be a much better light gaming solution than Intel NUCs.

Why not an Alpha? I expect much better value from Raven Ridge, and better connectivity, and choices about different connectivity from different ITX MBs. I read that Alpha only has one HDMI output, so only one display.

Basically. I think AMD Raven Ridge will be potentially great solution, and am looking for a case to house it, if it turns out to be as good as I think it could be.
 
The big winner in this space will be the ASRock H110-STX MXM when it releases finally: MXM format graphics card in a sub 2L case. The entire motherboard is smaller than Mini ITX at 5.8" x 7.4" and obviously an LGA 1151 CPU and a GTX 1060 or 1070 will pwn the hell out of any APU.
 
FYI, there are a lot of cases available that are similar to the Antec ISK110 and In-Win BQ series.

If you go with thin-mini-ITX form-factor boards, they can be even smaller (e.g. Silverstone PT13B) and have the benefit of not even needing an internal PSU because the DC-DC part is built into the motherboard.

BTW, I have an Intel Skull Canyon and it's pretty darn good at light gaming. Not cheap, though. If you're really set on Raven Ridge, you could wait for somebody to put a Raven Ridge into a NUC form factor. It will happen, and probably fairly quickly after launch. The final product will be MUCH smaller than mini-ITX. Connectivity might be more limited than mini-ITX, but probably only in the number of USB ports.
 
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Silverstone PT13 - thin ITX (won't fit AM4) - 1.41L
Silverstone VT01 - mini STX (won't fit AM4) - 1.53L
Mini-Box M350 - standard ITX (will fit AM4) - 2.5L
Antec ISK 110 - standard ITX (will fit AM4) - 3.7L
NFC S4 Mini - standard ITX (will fit AM4) - 4.5L (can fit 1070)

Nice link: http://www.mini-itx.com/store/categ...over-0&drive-bays=over-0&sortby=volume&page=1


There is also the rumor that socketed raven ridge won't be out until 2018 to consider. It is possible that only BGA/embedded raven ridge will be available this year.
 
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Thanks Guys. I never even heard of thin-mini-ITX before. I really like the idea of getting rid of giant desktop power connector, which is overkill if you aren't powering any card slots.

But I am not that obsessed with slimness. Just getting some reduction, from ditching the GPU card.

I am really not interested in NUCs. They tend to be limited to 35-45 Watt CPUs max, and often kind of noisy with super thin blower coolers (EX: Skull Canyon NUC).

AMD has traditionally had APU with up to 95 Watt TDP, so need enough thickness to have a desktop capable cooler. Say something like the Zalman’s CNPS8900, which seems to have one of the best combos of noise vs performance vs price in a low profile cooler.


Note: A couple of people have suggested mini-itx.com search by volume. I checked, but that is like searching for a needle in a haystack. I am more interested in research people have already done, to a arrive at a few top case options.


PS: Yes bummer if rumors are true and socket Raven Ridge won't be out till 2018. :(
 
The SilverStone VT01 is a solid choice if you're looking for a smaller DeskMini 110.

ASRock's new motherboard standard (Micro-STX) that incorporates an MXM GPU will certainly beat everyone in performance-per-liter, and I hope SilverStone will make an aftermarket case for it that's smaller than ASrock's own, which seems to be a bit bulkier than it needs to be. I don't think you can put anything more powerful than a 1060 in it though, as the DC-DC PSU is integrated into the motherboard and can only handle up to a 120W card I think.
 
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A couple of people have mentioned ASRocks new standard with MXM GPU. Way too niche for me (not even available?).

Heck it's going to be hard enough finding a decent Ryzen ITX MB, let alone some ultra niche product.

Plus how do you think you are going to cool 120W GPU, and say 65w CPU right next to it. Plus what actual MXM GPUs are available, and for what price.

Interesting in theory, but I can't see owning one in practice. I doubt it will really get off the ground.
 
You can cool the 65W CPU with any cooler that fits in the case. I suspect ASRock will provide the MXM cards and respective coolers. I'm curious to see it, but I agree that it's niche. It's basically a laptop with better cooling and a socketed CPU. We don't know the price yet.

DeskMini 110 is quite popular though, if you just need a 65w CPU with integrated graphics. The pricing is very competitive. If you wanna go smaller/better looking, build it yourself in the SilverStone VT01 case for ~$50 more. That's what I would do if I was building an iGPU system.
 
IMO ASRock will have to provide everything, so it is kind of pointless to offer this as builder parts since there won't really be any choices. They may as well just offer it as a custom pre built. In which case they could just well integrate the GPU into the MB as most laptops do.
 
IMO ASRock will have to provide everything, so it is kind of pointless to offer this as builder parts since there won't really be any choices. They may as well just offer it as a custom pre built. In which case they could just well integrate the GPU into the MB as most laptops do.

I think they will offer it as a prebuilt, at least the GPU part. And yeah, I agree. It's like a modular NUC. It is tiny though for how much power it offers. And it will be quieter than laptops. MXM cards are hard to find, but not impossible, and will probably get easier over time. Most modern gaming laptops use MXM, so you can upgrade those too, tho it can be tricky.

All of those options only exist for Intel boards though, and you requested AMD. I doubt Mini-STX will come out for AMD, unless ASRock decides to push it. You may be limited to Mini-ITX, in which case you can go with one of the ITX options danger mentioned.
 
MXM has been around for a lot of years , and card availability is still quite terrible. Building a small NUC like computer with MXM is going to be even more niche than Laptops. So that isn't going improve availability.

Since it is niche, I also think STX +MXM will be expensive and a poor value.

My only interest in going smaller is for Raven Ridge APU, for the value it is likely to represent, and not an obsession with small size. If I go for a separate GPU, I will go with a traditional full size card slot and GPU, and the choice and value that represents.

Raven Ridge should enable a small simple enclosure, to house a very decent all around machine for value pricing.

Of the Options presented so far, I prefer the In Win Chopin, and if anything I would prefer more thickness to accommodate a better CPU cooler, so I am certainly not looking for Smaller cases than the Chopin.

I was just figuring without a GPU card in the picture I wouldn't a need a Fractal Designs Nano (my favorite ITX case for housing a GPU) to house an ITX + APU setup.
 
Small usually carries a price premium. The power supplies are more expensive, the boards are more expensive, the cases are more expensive. If you're going tiny ITX, you will likely be spending more for most parts over an mATX or ATX build.
 
Chopin includes PS with the case for an affordable price. MBs aren't that much more.
 
It's still more expensive. It's not the best value.

Chopin is $89 for a nice Aluminum and steel case + PS.

So step up to mATX for value? Like a FD Define Mini C: $89 for an empty case, and you still have to buy a PS. Is that somehow better value than getting a case and PS for the same price??

It's a wash.
 
I just went over to Newegg & looked over the Chopin, read all the reviews there; I know, thorough research for sure, but…

I would say that for an off-the-shelf (as it were) mass market chassis that also includes (what appears to be, going by my previously mentioned extensive research) a PSU; the Chopin would make an excellent pairing with an APU-specific ITX MB, looking at you Ryzen-derived (and hopefully Vega / HBM2 injected…?) Raven Ridge APU…
 
Chopin is my leading contender. So my Thanks for CC Ricer for recommending it. Though it looks like it will be quite a wait for Ryzen APU...
 
Yeah it looks like it will be H2 of 2017. But they will be quad-core and graphics performance is supposed to approach the 1050. So amazing value. I have a feeling ASRock will release an STX board/DeskMini for AMD, since the whole point of it is value. For $140 you get the case, motherboard, and power supply, that's really good. With that APU you can game on medium to high settings at 1080p. Pretty cool.
 
Chopin is $89 for a nice Aluminum and steel case + PS.

So step up to mATX for value? Like a FD Define Mini C: $89 for an empty case, and you still have to buy a PS. Is that somehow better value than getting a case and PS for the same price??

It's a wash.
$90 is not the starting price for mATX cases. That's a straw man. For mATX, you can easily find cases for $20-30 and good ATX power supplies can often be had for $30. I love ITX and my last three PC cases have been ITX, but to say they are the best value is just not true.
 
One thing to keep in mind, the question IS being asked here in the Small Form Factor Systems sub-forum…

Oh…! I just ran across this…



Seems AMD already thinks the Chopin is a fine choice for an APU build…
 
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$90 is not the starting price for mATX cases. That's a straw man. For mATX, you can easily find cases for $20-30 and good ATX power supplies can often be had for $30. I love ITX and my last three PC cases have been ITX, but to say they are the best value is just not true.

What kind of piece of shit, mATX case can you get for $20?

Yeah sure. I am interested in a nice Aluminum and Steel ITX case, but I should compare with the cheapest no name piece of shit mATX case. :rolleyes:

BTW, I went to Microcenter web page, and sorted cases by price.

The cheapest case that showed up was the CM Elite 110 at $36. An ITX case.

Also I never claimed ITX was "The Best" value. I was saying that Ryzen Raven Ridge APUs will likely be a great value.

Can we get back to discussing small cases for Ryzen APUs?
 
One thing to keep in mind, the question IS being asked here in the Small Form Factor Systems sub-forum…

Oh…! I just ran across this…



Seems AMD already thinks the Chopin is a fine choice for an APU build…


I wonder if they will update that for Ryzen and how pricing compares to building it yourself.
 
Streacom DB4 with the supplemental heatsink attachment. It's fanless!

I do love the idea of fanless and the The DB4 is cool, but it is quite expensive ($299 + $175 for PSU) and actually a bit big for an APU system.

I would prefer if they made something more like the In Win Chopin. A slim standing case, with one big wall, all heatsink. That should be sufficient to handle 65W CPUs, and 90W with a small desk fan...
 
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