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Hi, I'm looking to build a Micro ITX machine, and I'd love some feed back on the best cases to get. I currently have a Lian-Li PC-Q11B and it's a very simple design, however the cooling isn't the best, and it can only hold a 9 inch graphics card. I'd like something that can hold the newer cards, like the 7850 or 670 cards. I've heard tons about the Bit phoenix and the case looks great, don't know much about it, and I really really like the Sugo 08 from silverstone, but I don't need the power supply. I also really like the Fractial design 304 node. I'm pretty much going for that kind of look with the ITX, something long like a shoebox, instead of tall. Here's my current build idea

Intel 3770s
any mobo from h67-z87 (though I do like asrock)
Gskill 1600mhz 8gb
any newest gen graphics card
any psu above 450w
x2 agility 3 in raid 0
a tb HHD from western digital
cd-rom is optional and not really required.

anyways, this is my build idea. Any thoughts or help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

$210¼ -15MIR or $200 Silverstone Sugo SG08 mini-ITX case
This small (14.8 liter) mini-ITX case accepts dual-slot gaming graphics cards up to 12.2" long. It includes an 80+ bronze power supply rated at 46 A on the +12 V rail and a huge 180mm AP181 fan. There are a couple of USB 3.0 ports on the front. You won't find better cooling in a Mini-ITX case.

Select a graphics card with a "blower" style cooler like this 10½" long GeForce GTX780, this 10.6" long GeForce GTX770, this 11½" long Radeon HD7970 or this 11.6" long Radeon HD7950 for $219 so that the air intake matches up with the dedicated holes and the included filter. With this type of graphics card cooler, nearly all of the heat from the GPU is exhausted out of the card slot without affecting the motherboard or CPU. Note that AMD's next-generation Hawaii GPUs are due in October, so you may want to soldier on with your existing graphics card for a couple more months until the new hotness is available.

$165 ASRock Z87E-ITX mini-ITX LGA1150 motherboard
This motherboard includes an Intel i217V NIC, Realtek ALC1150 audio, a half mini-PCIe slot with an included 802.11ac WiFi/Bluetooth 4.0 module and a another available mini-PCIe slot.

$115 2x8 GiB PC3-12800 Crucial BLS2K8G3D1609ES2LX0 (DDR3-1600, CAS 9, 1.35 V, low profile)
Here's some good RAM for your SFF PC build.

$135 3.0 TB Seagate ST3000DM001 Barracuda 7200.14
Western Digital's Caviar Black drives haven't been price-competitive with Seagate's offerings since the floods in the Fall of 2011. Since your case can hold only one internal 3½" hard-drive, you might as well make it a decently-sized one.

Slim-line optical drives aren't too hard to find and they won't break the bank. These laptop-oriented drives do tend to be a bit slower than regular half-height drives.
$59 or $98 Slim SATA tray-load Blu-ray burner
or $148 Slim SATA slot-load Blu-ray burner
or $29 Slim SATA tray-load DVD burner
or $69½ Slim SATA slot-load DVD burner
$8½ or $6½ or $8 Slim SATA to desktop SATA data+power adapter


Carefully follow Silverstone's included assembly instructions. The order of assembly matters!
Here's a video review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhGcipEyIK8

This one has excellent video of the SG08's features, but it lacks English sub-titles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhjOFhZs79M

Here's Newegg TV's Paul showing the highlights of a similar older Sugo SG07 model:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXXMNucladE


P.S.: I used my SBA forum moderator powers to update your thread title.

for the Asrock mobo, is there a verson of the 87 that does have switchable graphics? I'm thinking about getting the haswell 4770s and it has 4600 onboard. I love these suggestions, I'm doing pretty much everything you're telling me to = )

Also is there a different brand low profile low voltage you would recommend other than crucial? Like Gskill or Corsair? Which do you feel will work best for the asrock?

Crucial is the only memory manufacturer offering those low-profile DIMMs. Memory from Kingston, AMD, Corsair, G.Skill etc. should be fine. Just don't get something with huge decorative heat spreaders (Corsair Dominator or Vengeance Pro, G.Skill Trident X, etc.), something that requires more than 1.5 V, something that runs slower than PC3-12800 (DDR3-1600) or something with CAS latency higher than 9.


P.S.: Note that Silverstone says that your CPU cooler must be less than 117mm tall. They recommend their $58 NT06-Pro which is only 82mm tall when the fan is mounted to the underside of the cooler (presumably making it 102mm with the included 120x20mm fan on top or 107mm with a standard 120x25mm fan). I'm certain that there are other CPU coolers that would fit. The NT06-Pro is sufficient for moderate overclocking if you get a Core i7-4770K or Core i5-4670K processor. At stock speeds, its six heatpipe design will run quieter than the stock Intel CPU cooler does.


P.P.S.: You can save some money with combination deals:
$25 or $28 savings for motherboard and processor together.
$28 savings for memory and graphics card together.
$15 or $13 savings for hard-drive and Blu-ray or DVD burner together.

To the OP,
Is this going to be your main gaming rig? If it is I would suggest a Case that supports a 120mm AIO water cooling radiator Like a Corsair H-80i or a noctua ND14 dealio, then I would get a 4770k so you can get a decent overclock since future/some current games will run better with a overclock then the lower speed 4770s.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... isNodeId=1 List all the case colors ETC at Newegg. I suggest one without a window for extra airflow instead of a window.

If you do not like the case then move on ....but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. JustAnEngineer Has great part suggestions, Like I said I would want more cooling and overclocking without worry of overheating if it is going to be your main rig.

So i would suggest a BitFenix Prodigy case for many reasons.Price around $79. It comes in black, white, red etc. It Has better cooling capacity Intake and exhaust and tons of different configurations. It supports a full sized PSU...so you can get a seasonic/corsair GOOD BRAND 600-700 watt modular PSU that will help clean up the install since you only install the cables you need. This case will let you overclock without worry of overheating. As long as you have a good cooler.

I highly rec you watch this video before you pull the trigger on any case. It will show you all the different configurations possible
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOi_vbyKLik

vargis14 wrote:

I would suggest a BitFenix Prodigy case...

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=88627&p=1171123&hilit=#p1171118

Chrispy_ wrote:

I never recommend the BitFenix Prodigy as an mITX option. You don't get the benefit of "small" that you're supposed to from mini-ITX.

Mini-ITX BitFenix Prodigy = 32.6 liters
Mini-ITX Silverstone SUGO SG08 = 14.8 liters
Mini-ITX Lian Li PC-Q11B = 16.4 liters
Mini-ITX Fractal Design Node 304 = 19.6 liters
Mini-ITX CoolerMaster Elite 120 = 19.9 liters
Micro-ATX Silverstone SUGO SG10 = 23.0 liters
ATX Rosewill LINE Glow = 35.6 liters

You could literally stack a Lian Li PC-Q11B on top of a Silverstone Sugo SG08 and still take up less volume than the BitFenix Prodigy does.

For what it's worth, I'm really looking forward to the Coolermaster Elite 130, which is a revamp of the Elite 120 with some nice new features:

*Can fit an all-in-one cooler in the front without any modding.
*Can fit basically any graphics cards.
*Pretty small (though a bit wider than a Sugo).
*Lots of drive bays, considering.
*ATX PSU.

There's a thread on Overclock.net about it that's got some nice info. Post 10 has some installation videos to give ideas.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1416252/cool ... e-130/0_50

Due out at the start of September apparently, in the low-$40 range (Amazon have it for $42)

If you have to replace the original power supply, it appears that the SG08 will accept an ATX or Micro-ATX power supply that is no more than 140 mm (5.51") deep with the standard ATX 150 mm (5.91") width and 86 mm (3.39") height. I'm not sure how the orientation of the wiring (or modular connectors) may factor into that compatibility.

For example:
$110 -20MIR Antec EarthWatts Platinum EA-650
$66 Sparkle R-SPI650ACAG
$76 SeaSonic SSP-450RT
$81 SeaSonic SSP-550RT
$90¼ FSP Au-500
$92 FSP Aurum S 500
$96 SeaSonic SSP-650RT
$116 -15MIR Silverstone ST55F-G
$122 Sparkle R-SPI750ACAG
$131 Silverstone ST65F-G
$45 -20MIR Corsair CX430
$60 -20MIR Corsair CX500
$66 SeaSonic S12II-430B
$71 SeaSonic S12II-520B

Mentawl wrote:

I'm really looking forward to the Coolermaster Elite 130
*Can fit an all-in-one cooler in the front without any modding

I like that it's got room for a 120mm radiator (e.g.: Corsair Hydro H60 or H80i). Putting your radiator on the case inlet will keep the CPU very cool. It will let you mount a filter and it will maintain positive case pressure to keep out dust. This arrangement does have the undesirable side effect of dumping the CPU heat onto the rest of the components in the case. I expect that you'd have to go to something larger to accommodate a 120mm exhausting radiator along with a higher-volume 120, 140 or 180mm filtered inlet fan somewhere else in the case.

Fortunately, CPU power consumption has declined with Ivy Bridge and Haswell, so we're more worried about heat from the power-hungry GPUs in our gaming PCs.

I'll post pictures of the build after I get everything today = )

JustAnEngineer wrote:

I like that it's got room for a 120mm radiator (e.g.: Corsair Hydro H60 or H80i). Putting your radiator on the case inlet will keep the CPU very cool. It will let you mount a filter and it will maintain positive case pressure to keep out dust. This arrangement does have the undesirable side effect of dumping the CPU heat onto the rest of the components in the case. I expect that you'd have to go to something larger to accommodate a 120mm exhausting radiator along with a higher-volume 120, 140 or 180mm filtered inlet fan somewhere else in the case.

This is exactly what I was thinking. The main issue with an intake-mounted integrated water-cooler is that you have to try to 'match' intake and exhaust airflow to keep dust down from too much exhaust and to keep the intake air that's been warmed by the CPU from heating up the enclosure due to too little exhaust.

I much prefer to have all intakes being cold air, and all exhausts be warm air, with the volume of intake exceeding the volume of exhaust- i.e., positive pressure airflow .

Rageypoo wrote:

I'll post pictures of the build after I get everything today = )

Sweet - what did you get?

I built a PC with the SG08 + z87E-ITX + i5 4670K + a GeForce 660 Ti + 840 Evp and it's easily the best system I've ever assembled. Small, essentially silent, and cooler running than anything else I have it seems like a clever little thing.

If only I wasn't pushing to a 1600p panel... I could get away with the smallest of PCs. But alas, to make a dual-GPU system quiet, mid-ATX is as small as it gets. Got to have that slot in between the GPUs if you're not running a custom water loop, and I'm not going to be caught running a custom water loop. The cost/benefit advantage just isn't there (yet).

I ran into a tiny snag. I orderd a H55 to put in the system since it's a lower profile rad, but the mounts for 120mm holes require you to remove the existing fan, something I didn't want to do. So now i'm in the market for a new cooler. My current one is a Silenx low profile CPU cooler, but it doesn't do a very good job despite the reviews, I'm running at around 70c under prime95 load.

http://www.silenx.com/cpu.coolers.asp?sku=efz-100ha1

Any thoughts?

Also, if anyone else is interested in getting the adapter for the slimline cd/dvd/br player then don't get the one suggested for this case, it's far too big. get this instead.

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-S ... B00A45JATI

Did you return the H55 because you couldn't set it up in push-pull config? An H55 with 1 fan should perform as well or better than most down-facing air coolers. Adding a second fan would decrease temps by 5C or less. Not a big deal IMO.

What do you think about these:
CM Geminii II for $40
Noctua HD-L12 for $70
How about a fanless cooler?

What case did you end up building in? Are there height restrictions?

I went with the following:

Sg08 and 600w PSU
Asrock Z87E-itx
Crucial ballistic sport low profile ram
AMD 6870
Silenx EFZ-100Ha1 low profile cooler
Phobya HeGrease thermal paste
Seagate 3tb
Samsung 840 pro
LG bluray slimline

I have 117mm clearance between the motherboard and the positive air 180mm fan on top.

I wonder if that AP180 would provide sufficient airflow to cool this guy without a fan. Point the thing so it's closest to the fan of course.

How much clearance is there for HSF height? (I'm wondering if you could similarly put a ~120mm tower-style heatsink in there without a fan and let the AP180 blow across it reference this thread)

I built a CM 120 porta-gamer last year, 3770k (microcenter pricing made this an automatic choice) on P8Z77i w/ thermalright AXP 100 and a blower-style 7970 (venting into tiny case = bad idea) its a great case at a great price.

The 130 is even nicer now that you can use a 120mm AIO cooler without having to hack up the insides. The price and parts compatibility without being retardedly oversized like the prodigy is great. Theres no contest with all the older designs anymore in my book, and a lot of those are north of $100 too.

My only real gripe is the vents on the side panels are pretty small, would be a lot nicer if they were a wide hex pattern or mesh windows. They fixed the stupid usb port assignment already

I'd do a CM130 + 4770k + z87i or maximus intense in a heartbeat if I was building now.

Rageypoo wrote:

If anyone else is interested in getting the adapter for the slimline cd/dvd/br player then don't get the one suggested for this case, it's far too big. get this instead.

The one that I linked didn't fit? My apologies.

Rageypoo wrote:

I'm in the market for a new cooler.

Some lunatic on 8/25 wrote:

Silverstone says that your CPU cooler must be less than 117mm tall. They recommend their $58 or $58 NT06-Pro which is only 82mm tall when the fan is mounted to the underside of the cooler (presumably making it 102mm with the included 120x20mm fan on top or 107mm with a standard 120x25mm fan). I'm certain that there are other CPU coolers that would fit.

At 105.4mm tall, the $40 or $33 CoolerMaster GeminII S524 that DPete27 suggested should fit. It's cheaper than the Silverstone cooler. The CoolerMaster GeminII S524 comes with a thicker 120mm fan than the Silverstone NT06-Pro and would even accept a 140mm fan if you swapped out the original, but the CM heatsink design has one less heatpipe and it won't let you mount the fan on the underside the way that the Silverstone cooler will.

I'm using a GeminII S524 successfully in my living room PC.

UPDATE: I have installed the GeminII and let me tell you, it's NOT simple putting this fan in this case. I elected to use a NOCTUA ULN 140mm fan, and with the Phobya HeGrease thermal paste and some really smart cable management, my ambient temp is 1 degree above the motherboard at all times. On Prime the heat never goes above 58c, no matter what test run I do. I'm very happy with the design of this heatsink. The computer runs great now.