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So I've been trying to get my gaming system as small as possible for a long time now. I think i have finally found the perfect case. Now it does need a few mods, but I'll first explain what perfection is to me.
1) ITX Haswell motherboard
2) Up to a 10.5" long graphics card
3) 25mm thick 120mm fans
4) internal PSU
With those parameters, this case fits perfectly:GA-620
Total volume of the case is 5.3 liters.
First off the dimensions.
HEIGHT: It has 5mm high standoffs, with .8mm thick panels. A NH-L9i heatsink is 23mm tall, with a 25mm thick fan over it. Motherboard and CPU socket is around 8mm, which is 63mm, the total height of this system is 65mm.
WIDTH: there is space for a 10mm thick fan next to the motherboard, which won't be used. So the motherboard will be shifted 10mm towards the edge of the case. In addition the expansion slots will be flipped with the use of a flexible shielded riser cable. 170mm for the board, 127mm from the top of a graphics card to the tip of the bracket, .8mm thick panels gives us 298.6mm, the width of the case is 300mm
DEPTH: i want an internal PSU, not a DC/DC board and a brick. I found a 400w flex atx PSU that is 81.28 x 43.18 x 152.4mm. The width, plus the motherboard, and 19mm for the front USB ports is 271.88mm, total depth is 273mm. With 273mm depth, 267mm (10.5") long graphics card will fit.
PSU: Athena Power AP-MFATX40P8
Now this is the only part I'm not 100% sure about. I don't know how thick the front panel is, or exactly how deep the USB socket is. Worst case scenario i can't use the stock front faceplate and USB headers, but the PSU will definitely fit.
Now i am going to mod the PSU to remove the 40mm fan, wrap it in some Modders mesh in replace of the stock covering, and mount the power plug so it faces towards the back of the case so i won't need a 90 degree bending power cable. Also so i can keep it further from the graphics cards. PSU cables will also be cut to custom lengths.
I also plan to cut out the sides and put in Modders mesh to increase ventilation. In addition a pair of 120mm fan holes will be cut over the motherboard and GPU sections of the case. 2x Gentle Typhoon fans will be utilized to cool everything. Stock fans on the GPU will be removed so the GT fan will fit which will cool the graphics card. The fan over the motherboard will be positioned to keep the PSU in front of the motherboard cool as well.
There will only be 2 fans in the entire system, both 120mm GT's. Mass storage will be via a single SSD, so the 2 fans will be the only sources of noise. I'm going to try to use AP-12's, but if the system doesn't stay stable i might move up to AP-14's.
While i want the capability to hold a 10.5" card, I'll likely be going with a short GTX 660 from Zotac, paired up with a 35w TDP Intel i5. Total system power consumption will be under 200w.
Now there is a limitation to what cards i can fit in this case because of the PSU. The 12v rails on it are split up weird, and there is only enough power for 2x 6pin PCI-e power connectors. For now this won't be a problem for me, and hopefully before it becomes an issue i can find a replacement flex atx PSU to alleviate this problem. The fastest Nvidia card you could power with this PSU right now is a GTX760. If someone knows of a flex atx PSU with a single 12v rail that has at least 29 amps, let me know.
Haven't bought anything yet, still waiting on a paycheck. I just wanted to get feedback about any potential pitfalls that i may have overlooked.
I do have 2 questions if someone knows the answer. Exactly how long does the riser cable have to be to orient the card the way i want, and where can i get a power cable that will mount to the rear panel of the case and plug into the PSU. I'd prefer not to have to make the cable myself.
1) ITX Haswell motherboard
2) Up to a 10.5" long graphics card
3) 25mm thick 120mm fans
4) internal PSU
With those parameters, this case fits perfectly:GA-620
Total volume of the case is 5.3 liters.
First off the dimensions.
HEIGHT: It has 5mm high standoffs, with .8mm thick panels. A NH-L9i heatsink is 23mm tall, with a 25mm thick fan over it. Motherboard and CPU socket is around 8mm, which is 63mm, the total height of this system is 65mm.
WIDTH: there is space for a 10mm thick fan next to the motherboard, which won't be used. So the motherboard will be shifted 10mm towards the edge of the case. In addition the expansion slots will be flipped with the use of a flexible shielded riser cable. 170mm for the board, 127mm from the top of a graphics card to the tip of the bracket, .8mm thick panels gives us 298.6mm, the width of the case is 300mm
DEPTH: i want an internal PSU, not a DC/DC board and a brick. I found a 400w flex atx PSU that is 81.28 x 43.18 x 152.4mm. The width, plus the motherboard, and 19mm for the front USB ports is 271.88mm, total depth is 273mm. With 273mm depth, 267mm (10.5") long graphics card will fit.
PSU: Athena Power AP-MFATX40P8
Now this is the only part I'm not 100% sure about. I don't know how thick the front panel is, or exactly how deep the USB socket is. Worst case scenario i can't use the stock front faceplate and USB headers, but the PSU will definitely fit.
Now i am going to mod the PSU to remove the 40mm fan, wrap it in some Modders mesh in replace of the stock covering, and mount the power plug so it faces towards the back of the case so i won't need a 90 degree bending power cable. Also so i can keep it further from the graphics cards. PSU cables will also be cut to custom lengths.
I also plan to cut out the sides and put in Modders mesh to increase ventilation. In addition a pair of 120mm fan holes will be cut over the motherboard and GPU sections of the case. 2x Gentle Typhoon fans will be utilized to cool everything. Stock fans on the GPU will be removed so the GT fan will fit which will cool the graphics card. The fan over the motherboard will be positioned to keep the PSU in front of the motherboard cool as well.
There will only be 2 fans in the entire system, both 120mm GT's. Mass storage will be via a single SSD, so the 2 fans will be the only sources of noise. I'm going to try to use AP-12's, but if the system doesn't stay stable i might move up to AP-14's.
While i want the capability to hold a 10.5" card, I'll likely be going with a short GTX 660 from Zotac, paired up with a 35w TDP Intel i5. Total system power consumption will be under 200w.
Now there is a limitation to what cards i can fit in this case because of the PSU. The 12v rails on it are split up weird, and there is only enough power for 2x 6pin PCI-e power connectors. For now this won't be a problem for me, and hopefully before it becomes an issue i can find a replacement flex atx PSU to alleviate this problem. The fastest Nvidia card you could power with this PSU right now is a GTX760. If someone knows of a flex atx PSU with a single 12v rail that has at least 29 amps, let me know.
Haven't bought anything yet, still waiting on a paycheck. I just wanted to get feedback about any potential pitfalls that i may have overlooked.
I do have 2 questions if someone knows the answer. Exactly how long does the riser cable have to be to orient the card the way i want, and where can i get a power cable that will mount to the rear panel of the case and plug into the PSU. I'd prefer not to have to make the cable myself.
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