M-ATX Gaming RIG - Does anyone use one ?

[brat81]

Now ladies and gents of the gon community.


I'm looking into going small form factor for my main rig.

Has anyone been down this road before if so how do they compare to a ATX rig ?

[Ninja Catfish]

If you put the same parts in it shoudl be comparable to an ATX rig.
You'll be limited with expansion slots (not gonna go SLI/Crossfire), and you might not be able to fit some of the giant CPU coolers, but apart from that I can't see there being TOO much difference in the end.

[SaNE]

mATX you can SLi/Crossfire, mITX however can only provide a single PCI-E slot (there are some OEM board which give more than a single PCI slot but they are classed as DTX or something).

I'm currently running a mITX system with the usual 2600,570,8GB SODIMM and performance is neck and neck to standard ATX builds as long as you get the right components.

Currently fighting the urge to get a new build with an ASUS P8Z77-I, 3770K, 670, 16GB for some overclocking action in a mITX build which is just crazy.

[brat81]

How are the temps.

I'm looking at going matx but my main concern is having a decent gfx card and keeping the temps down without making it sound like a jet engine

[ChainsawMcP]

Currently fighting the urge to get a new build with an ASUS P8Z77-I, 3770K, 670, 16GB for some overclocking action in a mITX build which is just crazy.

Running P8Z77M with a 3770 and a 570 - in a full size case (This is an evolved PC rather than a build from scratch which is why it might seem a bit odd)


Old rig tended to get hot because CPU was contributing a LOT of heat internally - currently running quiet and cool

[SaNE]

How are the temps.

Depends on the case and how your GPU fan works.
I've currently got a Silverstone SG07 which has a 180mm fan on top cooling the CPU and pushing the hot air from the 570 out of the case, the 570 itself takes air from outside the case through the holes on the side.

CPU is 30~'c idle, 60'c in burn in. (Scythe "SAMURAI-ZZ")
GPU stock fan profile gets to around 80'c at load with 60~% fan.
I use around 70-80% fan for which makes it around 65-70~'c at load (makes a bit of noise but can't hear it over headphones and a game). The new 600 series are much better cooling wise though (as you'd expect from 22nm), as you can see in youtube reviews they are pretty silent.

I'm looking at going matx but my main concern is having a decent gfx card and keeping the temps down without making it sound like a jet engine

Something like the Silverstone TJ08-E is what I was looking at for mATX:
Enough room for 2 ssd's in the 3.5" bay using a Converter at the bottom.
2 x 5.25" bays
4 x 3.5" drive bays (remove for better air flow, use a bay converter in the 5.25" for HDD's)

Then all you need is some rear exhaust graphics cards and a decent CPU cooler (NH-D14) and you've got one beast of a system, the only problem then is the price of the 670's (1k~) and the micro-stutter that detracts from SLi/Crossfire

[brat81]

Looking min bays as poss

Only need one 5.25 which will be used most like temp sensors and fan/light controller

Will have 1x hdd and 1x ssd


But from my little research that I've done the case I find that minimal are too small to house a full sized gfx card

Sent from my Desire S using Tapatalk 2

[SaNE]

But from my little research that I've done the case I find that minimal are too small to house a full sized gfx card

This is from the TJ08-E review
"Due to the inverted ATX layout, the graphics card fits above the 3.5in drive cage, allowing 335mm (13.25in) of clearance. That’s enough for even the longest cards. Meanwhile, a similarly generous CPU cooler clearance of 165mm also means that, despite the TJ08-E’s diminutive size, there are few limitations on your hardware choices beyond the micro-ATX motherboard."

The SG07/8 supports expansion cards up to 12.2 inches (309mm).
690 is 11 inches.
6990 is 12 inches.

Shouldn't have a problem with either case.

[War]

http://www.lian-li.com.tw/v2/en/product ... =63&g=spec

I've got this as my case, Got a I7 930 in it with a Gigabyte GTX670 (slightly longer than stock 670) and it works fairly well, hdd is above in a cage above the GPU, don't think the screws are overkill as it keeps the sides very secure and rigid.

If I was building now, I would recommend looking at either a Asus Gene V or the Gigabyte equivalent ( G1 Assassin or something?)


** EDIT ** Oh yeah I should mention with SSD's it's so quiet I can't tell when it's on apart from the power button.

[Treloar]

Now ladies and gents of the gon community.


I'm looking into going small form factor for my main rig.

Has anyone been down this road before if so how do they compare to a ATX rig ?

Just to clarify your mean M-ATX and not M-ITX

What is your budget

[brat81]

Just to clarify your mean M-ATX and not M-ITX

What is your budget

Don't want ITX looking at M-ATX but as stated i have fears of heat

I'm transplanting what i have now so i basically really need a new motherboard and change of case.

So i have
2600k
8gb ramz
3tb hdd (soon to get)
120gb ssd
GTX280
Enermax MODI87+ PSU
May look at getting one of those pre-built water cooling kits
i'll be converting my current optical drive to external since i barely use it in this day in age

[SaNE]

Don't want ITX looking at M-ATX but as stated i have fears of heat

If they've got a decent fan setup, you shouldn't need to fear. The case which I linked has enough cooling for your setup.

I'm transplanting what i have now so i basically really need a new motherboard and change of case.
So i have
2600k
8gb ramz
3tb hdd (soon to get)
120gb ssd
GTX280
Enermax MODI87+ PSU

My preference - ASUS P8Z77-M $115 & Silverstone TJ08-E $99 = $214
If you want it cheaper - ASRock Z77 PRO4-M $105 = $204
If you don't want a Z77 board (no OC), something like the Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D2V $65 (or D3V $63) Motherboard. = $163/4~

May look at getting one of those pre-built water cooling kitse

I wouldn't bother, they aren't that effective compared to a good air cooler.
Cheap but good performance (Corsair H60 Range) CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO $39
Or a powerhouse (better than closed loop water full stop) - Noctua NH-D14 $86

[brat81]

Sweet thanks for the tip might still hunt around for a case that doesn't have 2x 5.25" bays.

If that fails I'll grab that silverstone one

Sent from my Desire S using Tapatalk 2

[SaNE]

Sweet thanks for the tip might still hunt around for a case that doesn't have 2x 5.25" bays.

If you find one let us know (curiosity), it would be interesting to see if/how they changed the layout.

[brat81]

Yeah cbf looking to be honest.

So within the month i'll be buying the suggested case and ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M with it not hard set on a cpu cooler yet i want something that's small but effective (better that stock hsf) wouldn't mind something that could run passive