The SFF and Mini-ITX thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The SFF and Mini-ITX thread

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

I thought about backing the DAN case, but I'd rather save money and get a N-CASE M1 much faster.

Speaking of the N-CASE M1, is there any sort of consensus as to what CPU fan to get? I'm not even sure if I want to go air-cooling or watercooling.

# ¿ Jun 8, 2016 16:15

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 17:44

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

El Scotch posted:

Same. The fan rarely even turns on. It's an amazing piece of kit.

Tom's Hardware reviewed the SF450 and the SF600 and found the SF450 to be incredibly silent, even moreso than the SF600.

SF600:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-sf600-power-supply,4537-5.html

SF450:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-sf450-power-supply,4512-5.html

Very tempted to pull the trigger on the SF450 if that's the case. I've been meaning to finally ditch my ATX PSU so I can inevitably upgrade to an Ncase M1.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2016 17:16

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Shanghaied posted:

I really liked the compactness of the A4, but I'm slightly concerned that in the a4 if you have one of those itx motherboards with a m.2 slot in the back, your red hot m.2 ssd will be sandwiched between the motherboard and gpu with no airflow. Plus I still use a 4tb mechanical drive to store decade-old data. And I still buy physical media, every now and then. So I picked up a ncase m1 instead. Now if they will only ship the drat thing...

Does anybody know if the DANCASE can fit bigger GPUs like the MSI GTX 1070s in them? A friend of mine made the mistake of getting a MSI GTX 1070 with Twin Frozr fans and it wouldn't fit in his M1.

# ¿ Oct 7, 2016 16:52

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Blinkz0rz posted:

I was just directed here from the computer building thread and I was wondering if anyone had feedback on this build?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-B150N-GSM Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: *Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($166.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: *Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($379.00 @ Jet)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: *Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1076.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-24 09:49 EST-0500

I'm thinking I might ditch the video card for something a little cheaper and drop down to the 256GB SSD. I've never heard of Team Dark for memory. Are they reputable? Are there any other cost savings here?

Get one of the Corsair SFX Power Supplys - they're quiet and better.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2017 21:26

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Palladium posted:

Let's not even get into the loving compatibility mess that USB3.1 / Type-C / TB / Quickcharge collectively are. It's like nobody designing those things understand why VGA is still not dead after 30 years (hint: It always works no matter what when you hook it up).

Not to mention the that half of the USB C cables on the market are garbage. Thankfully, your average layman won't really know if the USB C port is USB 3.0, 3.1, or Thunderbolt - it will just "work", albeit at lower speeds depending on the compatibility - I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't even know that blue USB ports are USB 3.0.

I'm more than willing to drop $20-$30 for new external enclosures that support USB 3.1.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2017 14:40

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Welp, artificial scarcity has convinced me to spend money, once again - I preordered the Dancase A4 on Kickstarter. I figure if I don't end up using it, I can always easily get my money back by selling it.

Initially, I was really concerned about the thermals of the Dancase, along with not being able to deliver the actual product, but I haven't really heard of any issues with the first batch of cases.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2017 21:02

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Are we ever going to see front USB C ports on cases and motherboards?

# ¿ Oct 24, 2017 17:54

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Llamadeus posted:

Most GPU enclosures are basically the same size and price as the DAN Case, so I don't see the benefits outweighing separating the GPU and downgrading the processor to a NUC class CPU.

My DANCase is coming any day now and I couldn't be more giddy. Sadly, I won't be transferring my PC to it until later this year when I grab a new GPU.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2018 22:01

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Now that I've converted my Mini-ITX PC into an Unraid NAS, I'd love to see more boutique TB3 eGPU enclosures that are as well-built as a DanCase or NCASE. Even if there's a small performance hit and it doesn't save me much money , I'm pretty set on eventually grabbing an eGPU enclosure instead of building another MITX gaming PC.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2018 18:01

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

stray posted:

I love the Mini ITX form factor; you have to choose your components carefully, but you can make some great SFF computers with it.

Here's Ganesha, my personal NAS. It's got an ASRock Rack Mini ITX mobo, Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, IBM 1015 SAS card, 6 x 4TB HDDs and 2 SSDs (one for the system drive, one for read cache) and a Norco ITX-S8 hot-swap case that's about the size of a small speaker. It runs Ubuntu 18.04 with ZFS and I use it for Samba/CIFS shares, backup (Time Machine for my and my partner's laptops), media storage thru Plex Media Server, Git repos, virtual environments and more.

I wish there were more good Mini ITX server boards; AFAIK ASRock Rack is the only one who makes them.

Welp, I know what I'm eventually going to do when I fill up my 4-bay NAS with 10TB drives - pick up one of those cases and a 4xSATA PCI-E card.

# ¿ Dec 25, 2018 05:21

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

orcane posted:

So, Dan is changing the C4 case again.

He's considering a flexible case layout that can both accommodate the original stacked/sandwich setup as well as a classic setup similar to the Ncase M1. This flexible layout would mainly require an increase in width to 140 mm (with special angled power connectors) or 149 mm.

IMO this would make much more sense than the limited original design that only played well with AIOs and still had cooler/GPU size limits close to the A4. With the flexible setup you can fit up to a 3-slot GPU (width is going to be the limiting factor here) and bigger top-down or even small tower coolers (he mentions the Noctua C14 and U9S).

He also had someone from SFFLab over to test his C4 prototype and both said the original layout and size is a pain to build in, and even though the measurements would allow for custom loops and 2.5-slot GPUs those are basically impossible to fit.

In other news, EKL hosed up manufacturing of the Alpenf�hn Black Ridge (the cooler that's loosely based on Dan's HSLP-48 project) and although it was released in late November, the fixed batch is still nowhere to be seen. Apparently it should come out towards the end of February but we'll see. I sent mine back before ever using it, because 5 out of 6 heatpipes were only barely soldered to the base plate.

E: Also, apparently Asetek is making a new compact AIO (replacement or upgrade to the 545LC) which should help in the A4 and other cases of similar size.

I won�t be building a new SFF for a year or two, but I�m really hoping NCases�s Sidearm comes to fruition by then.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2019 16:22

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

It seems like the Corsair SFX Platinum PSUs are the go-to for most SFF builders.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2019 16:03

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Shaocaholica posted:

I just upgraded my Dell SFFs and I'll be getting rid of some low profile single slot HD 7750s if anyone is interested.

My headless server could use a GPU.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2020 14:18

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

VulgarandStupid posted:

They have higher efficiency ratings and the fans aren't as loud, while putting out more power and being smaller. I mean, I'm not saying the Silverstone is obsolete, but it just isn't what anyone should be buying today, given the alternatives.

The SF750 Platinum is definitely worth lusting over:

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/corsair-sf750/

# ¿ Feb 28, 2020 04:17

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

VulgarandStupid posted:

Meshilicious is on sale for a good price.

https://slickdeals.net/f/15368044-ssupd-meshlicious-mini-itx-case-mesh-side-panel-with-pcie-3-0-riser-cable-black-86-39?src=tdw

It's crazy how much competition there is in the SFF PC space nowadays. What would you guys prefer:

Meshilicious for $100-160
NZXT H1 w/ SFX PSU and AIO Cooler for $200 (https://nzxt.com/product/h1?sscid=b1k5_1t4by)
Hyte Revolt 3 for $130 (https://hyte.com/revolt-3/)

I'm leaning toward the NZXT H1, but I already have a Corsair SF600 Platinum that I can use.

# ¿ Nov 2, 2021 15:20

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

hope you like supporting a company that makes things catch on fire and then tries to cover it up

Wow - that's a real shame. I definitely prefer the form factor and overall finish of the NZXT, but the whole recall situation is probably why you can find them for under $200 nowadays :doh:

# ¿ Nov 2, 2021 20:21

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPUWSBn4Fys&t=353s

It's not mini-ITX, but does it still count as SFF if it's less than 20 liters? Seriously though, that case seems good. The dan cases/lian li collab is bringing out some good results.

Lian li cases are dope, and if the rumors regarding the next gen of Nvidia GPUs are true, it looks like I'll be looking at some bigger case options in the near future.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2022 16:15

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

I don't see any point in buying a new GPU until sometime next year when next-gen games like Starfield start trickling out.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2022 21:52

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

VulgarandStupid posted:

There are a lot of reports saying the 4000 series cards are huge. RIP SFF.

Good thing I'm not spending $1200 - $1600 on a GPU any time soon.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2022 19:54

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Collateral Damage posted:

Everything in the ASUS ROG Strix line is hilariously overpriced.

The higher end SKUs are hilariously overpriced, but I've often found that there's always a SKU that supports whatever weird requirement I might want in a motherboard (8x SATA, 2.5Gbe, 2x m.2, etc).

# ¿ Oct 5, 2022 20:21

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

SuperTeeJay posted:

The upcoming DAN C4-SFX can take the 4090 FE and the designer is considering delaying the release by a few months to slightly increase the dimensions for AIB compatibility.

I think I'll buy this when it gets released - Lian Li cases are dope.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2022 18:27

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Hooray, AMD saved SFF PC gaming.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2022 03:24

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

That case looks great and I'd totally buy it for a living room build.

Edit: Only $130 with the PCI-E riser, too.

Corb3t fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Nov 18, 2022

# ¿ Nov 18, 2022 16:02

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Yeah... sounds like the kind of kid who could use a giant case to deck out for years to come.

Sneaker botting is really lame though. Maybe he'll find some other interesting tech hobbies that aren't crypto or NFTs or whatever.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2022 06:20

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

I'm helping a friend build a "casual gamers" SFF PC without a GPU with the idea that she'll use the onboard GPU until a more demanding game is released that requires it. She's only going to be doing light 1080p gaming - Minecraft, Sims 4/5, Stardew.

My parts list is available here, is there anything I should swap out, or does everything look good? Normally I go with MSI motherboards, but their ITX boards are rather pricy. I'd also normally go with a Corsair SFX PSU, but they only seem to have SFF-L format over 750 watts.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($177.10 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool R-AN600-BKNNMN-G 61.56 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Terra Mini ITX Desktop Case ($179.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Lian Li SP850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($136.37 @ Amazon)
Total: $963.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-06 13:08 EDT-0400

# ¿ Sep 6, 2023 18:10

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

VulgarandStupid posted:

Seems to be available now.

https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-bd770i

I'm tempted to scrap my above build for a friend and build around this instead.

Corb3t posted:

I'm helping a friend build a "casual gamers" SFF PC without a GPU with the idea that she'll use the onboard GPU until a more demanding game is released that requires it. She's only going to be doing light 1080p gaming - Minecraft, Sims 4/5, Stardew.

My parts list is available here, is there anything I should swap out, or does everything look good? Normally I go with MSI motherboards, but their ITX boards are rather pricy. I'd also normally go with a Corsair SFX PSU, but they only seem to have SFF-L format over 750 watts.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($177.10 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool R-AN600-BKNNMN-G 61.56 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Terra Mini ITX Desktop Case ($179.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Lian Li SP850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($136.37 @ Amazon)
Total: $963.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-06 13:08 EDT-0400

# ¿ Oct 9, 2023 19:21

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 17:44

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

The whole NCase-suing-Lian Li while DanCases is partnering with them is pretty interesting. The original NCase M1 was SFF gold standard for so long, I'm kinda shocked his other cases and partnerships have faltered. I feel like people really love their Lian Li cases, too, so I wonder about the whole story.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 18:20

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The SFF and Mini-ITX thread