Over the last few years my use of a desktop after work hours has gradually declined to minimal. Having moved in with the missus, getting married and now starting a family - my time at my computer desk little-to-none. I currently have an Acer Aspire 6935G Laptop which works great as a HTPC with XBMC streaming shows and movies from my desktop PC via PlayOn/Folder Sharing but I often find myself wishing it was a beefier laptop that so that I could run a quick game of CS: GO or DOTA2. So I've decide to build a small form factor 'Tiny' computer that will hopefully be able to run these games (and any others) at medium-high at 1280x720 'HD' settings on my Sony 50" LCD (KDL-50W670A) - I'm hoping 720P is not going to look sh*thouse when stretched out on the TV. As such, the build will include the parts in the list below. Green = currently in possession of. Red = Still to obtain. CASE: Anteck ISK300-150 CPU: AMD A10-5700 65W APU MOBO: MSI FM2A75IA-E53 ITX RAM: 2x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws 2133MHZ (1.5-1.6v) SSD: 250GB Samsung 840 Evo (OS) & 256GB Sandisk Ultra Plus (Games) PSU: Antec 150W (comes with case) HSF: Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev. B AM3 Phenom II 955 Black Edition 140W HSF FANS: 2x Noctua NF-R8 80mm PWM Fans Size reference photo of ISK-300 vs normal Mid Tower Case: Click to view full size! Notes: Even though the 5700 is rated as 65W, I've seen it pull 140W at load with a Jaycar meter when it was in my desktop which had 8x fans, 4x 7200RPM HDDs and the two above SSDs The above was with TURBO functionality off and RAM overclocked at 1.65V I'm hoping the Antec 150W (even though it's horrendously inefficient) will handle the 5700 with the G.Skill Ram at 2133 at 1.5-1.6V, 2x SSDs and only 2x 80mm fans This motherboard only has 2x fan headers (both PWM), one is for the CPU and the other is for SYS. I'm hoping this PWM splitter will allow both NF-R8 fans to be powered by the single SYS header with full functionality The Big Shuriken 2 runs a 120mm fan, I haven't purchased it yet but it looks like this will overhang the RAM slots on the motherboard, I may have to take the heat spreaders off the G.Skills to get some clearance I'll start putting up some photos when I have obtained all the parts, which should hopefully be by end of next week. Any comments, queries or feedback is welcome! Updates 17/09/14 - I have managed to pick up the case/PSU as well as Noctua fans over the past week. The Big Shuriken is the last item to arrive before I can actually start building this thing! 18/09/14 - Look what came in yesterday, yay! Click to view full size! 24/10/14 - I actually assembled this about a month ago, but here are some photos! Click to view full size! Click to view full size! Click to view full size!
I have managed to pick up the Noctua fans and case over the the last week. All that is left is the HSF which will hopefully be arriving today. Can't wait to put this thing together! Photos are to arrive shortly.
Sounds good, I like builds like this With the fan header situation, personally I'd avoid running two fans off a motherboard fan header- I've had bas experiences with this in the past burning out the header (although this was a while ago, newer mobos might be ok with this). Could you use a molex to 2 x 3-pin fan header adaptor? I guess you loose PWM functionality though... Will the onboard graphics be enough for 720p gaming?
I wanted to stick to PWM functionality and not use any molex adaptors to try to reduce the amount of cabling in the system. In regards to 720p gaming, I did run DOTA2 at 1368x768 and it seemed to do fairly well - I can only assume it'll be better at 1280x720. Fingers crossed!
Haha I know I know, it was a pity it came up after I purchased my ITX board already! Anyway, look what came in yesterday. Click to view full size!
The rig without SSDs cost a fair bit. The Big Shuriken and Noctua fans/cable were almost $100 on their own. Quite expensive but I guess you're paying the premium for SFF. EDIT: I've opted to no longer use the Big Shuriken, so the costs aren't so high now - but now I'm stuck with a $50 heatsink that I probably didn't need in the first place.
I forgot to upload photos when I assembled it! Click to view full size! Click to view full size! Click to view full size! I ended up not using the Big Shuriken as there wasn't enough clearance between it and the power cable connector. Using a AM3 HSF from a 955BE and it handles the temperature very well, a LOT better than the standard crappy HSF that the APUs ship with. EDIT: I probably need to take a few interior shots, but it's quite cramped so there's not much to be seen.
Maybe I missed it, but what graphics card are you using? Or is it just intergrated? Looks smick though! I'm looking at doing a SFF build - but the additional 25% bump on pricing is delaying me a bit...
The A10-5700 has integrated graphics which is a 7660D. It has the similar performance to a desktop HD 6670, which is enough grunt to run the two games I play most frequently at 720P - DOTA2 & CS:GO.
Having said that, I believe the case also accommodates a half-height card. Hopefully some low-profile Maxwell cards get released soon.
