Habey EMC-800B custom build log

1

1_legged_sheep

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 20, 2010
Messages
397
So in my old age (mid-30's now) I've realized I'm doing less and less gaming but more streaming. With this in mind I've decided to do the following build. Some of the parts are already on order, others I'm monitoring for deals. Luckily I'm in no hurry for this build, so I'm hoping if I'm patient I can score some good deals. I'll be sure to post pics as this progresses. I'll post some benchmarks when I'm done.

Parts:
Habey EMC-800B mini-ITX case = Smallest case I could find that would fit a decent heatsink
Mini-box picoPSU-160-XT + 192W Adapter = CPU is 95w + mSata + fan.. I should be okay
AMD A10-7850K = Most powerful on-board APU to date
ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ = has the socket away from the PCI-E slot if I ever want to add a video card (with a different case) later on
G.SKILL Ares Series DDR3-2400 = Low Profile to fit under the heatsink
Cooler Master GeminII M4 = 2.3 inches, should barely fit
Plextor M6M PX-256M6M mSATA 256GB = lower voltage and to allow more clearance

Plan of action:
* Remove the hard drive cage from the case, with the cage gone the GeminII should barely fit
* Either going to cut a vent pattern into the top of the case directly above the GeminII or mod a window into the top of the case which will have vent holes for the GeminII
* Overclock the video as much as I can
* Overclock the CPU as far as I can without much of a voltage bump

Misc
I've done a lot of research on this build. I'm fairly certain that EMC-800 is the smallest case available that will still fit a decent heatsink under it.
I'm putting a lot of faith in AMD here but I've seen the benchmarks and how well the 7850k scales with higher clocked memory and considering the most demanding game I play currently is WoW, I think I'm safe.
When I sold my most recent build I sold the monitor along with it. This build will go under my television in my open air entertainment stand hooked up to Vizo's new E600i-B3 60" LED.
The only game I really still play actively is WoW. I may look into switching to a more Xbox 360 controller friendly MMORPG though.
 
Does the ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ have a msata socket? I know it has a slot for the wireless card but just curious if that will run a ssd. Other than that it looks like a very fun build. I had the smaller version of the Habey with an AMD e350 and that was pretty rock solid.

Also according to this article the oc wattage on the 7850 should be sub 140W so you should be good with your power.
 
The FM2A88X-ITX+ does have an mSATA slot but it's occupied by the WiFi card. I'll be removing the card to put the SSD in. It is a full sized mSATA slot and many people in the reviews have done what I'm planning with no issues so I think I'll be okay.

I'll lose the WiFi but it will be hard wired anyhow so no real loss.
 
Thinking of swapping out the GeminII for the DEEPCOOL Gamer Storm GABRIEL. I can't find a review that directly compares the two but I think they are somewhat equal. Thoughts?

Update: After a day or so of reading review after review I think I've decided to go with the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev. B. It offers great CPU cooling for it's size and also has decent VRM cooling.

Also the Case, PS, and MB should all be arriving Friday :)
 
Last edited:
Okay so new update:

I went with the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev. B. Rather than cut a fan hole pattern in the top I'm just going to cut out a big circle. I ordered a fan grill to place over the hole so it doesn't look like crap.

I also ended up going with the Plextor M5M instead of the M6M because it was considerably cheaper and near the same speeds.

I think all the parts will be in Friday so I can enjoy my 3-day weekend with my new puter :)
 
The case and MB arrived today. I'm not putting the MB in until I get the heatsink so just picks of the case gutted for now.

Here's a zoomed out version of the gutted case:


Here's the case height measured from the floor of the case to the upper lip. The top actually sinks in a bit so you'll need to subtract about an eight of an inch.

 
I got everything in and assembled and it powers on! Installing Windows now but here's some pics of the build while I'm waiting on the installer to download (putting 8.1 on it).

Here's a zoomed out pic of the build. Notice how clean the build is? The only cables are the 4pin CPU power and the cable connecting the pico-PSU to the power supply brick.


The lid fits with about .0001 mm to spare lol! I haven't demel'd the hole in the lid for the heatsink to pull in fresh air yet, that's a project for tomorrow.


The pico PSU is really close to the RAM but it fits. Hopefully the airflow from the Big Shuriken will help cool it some.
 
Stress testing now.. 4.1 OC on the CPU and 1086 on the GPU. Currently at 62C after about 5 mins of Prime 95.. not too bad. No vid benchmarks or stress tests yet, still waiting on downloads.
 
1_legged_sheep said:
Stress testing now.. 4.1 OC on the CPU and 1086 on the GPU. Currently at 62C after about 5 mins of Prime 95.. not too bad. No vid benchmarks or stress tests yet, still waiting on downloads.
Click to expand...

stoked, that looks really nice man, but jeez you cut it close with the cooler!

i have the GS Gabriel in my Lone Industries L2 and it performs very well with an i3 on it, have barely seen temps over 50C yet.

glad the uSFF works for you as it has with me
 
Unofficial results: Plays Skyrim with the high rez pack at 1080p on medium settings. Plays Terra at 1080p on medium settings (Already uninstall it though.. not a fan). Plays WoW at 1080p on high but that's no shock. Streams movies and TV shows for hours with no issue.

If I get time I'll install Thief or Metro LL to get some official benchmarks mainly for my own curiosity as I've already discovered it plays everything I need it for.

I also haven't had time to dremel the lid yet.. it's on my "to do" list.
 
this looks great! im looking to do something like this for a living room steam streaming pc. any pics of the top?
 
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