Advice for an MC600 Build

[raj.t99]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tBMsNN
I've included pretty much everything I've bought. I have a few questions:

Will the RAM fit in the MC600?

What would be the best place to place the PSU in the case?

Is the logic supply pcie riser I chose fine?

Where should I fit the AC-DC hdplex adapter in the case?

Is there any way for me to connect my 3.5 inch blu ray drive somehow? (it's a long shot but it'd still be nice if I could)

Where would it be useful for me to add venting holes and how could I do it (having 0 existing experience)?

Are there any kinds of fan mods I could do on the GPU to make it even more quiet?

 

[jtd871]

@DarekLogic, would you be able to help our friend?

 

[Runamok81]

RAM - Here is a shot of an some very low profile (VLP) RAM against an L9i inside an MC600.

That silver piece in the background is the Noctua L9i. That's not a lot of room above the ram.

Riser - Never used the Logic Supply riser, so not sure on that.

HDPlex positioning - One place it fits nicely is straddling the space between the CPU and GPU.



Another options is pressed flat against the front fascia in front of the motherboard or GPU. It more easily mounted here - sticky tape. Check this forum for other MC600 builds. I would recommend NOT using the long 24-pin ATX wires that come with the HDPlex. Look into low profile / flexible / short 24-pin ATX wires. This will open up some positioning options.

Blu-Ray - Not sure about that. Logic Supply doesn't offer a front fascia with a ODD slot, do they? Would you cut a slot and place it above the motherboard?

Venting - I would recommend 120mm fan holes above the GPU and CPU. Especially the GPU. You could drill your own. . 
But, cost of tools might be high. A good 4.25" metal holesaw ain't cheap. If you go this route... see of Logic Supply could send a few spare lids.

GPU fan mods - Yes. You could swap it out for 20mm thick or less fan.

The Noctua 92mm fits very nicely here. However anything 20mm and under should fit. Here is some quick testing if slim fan GPU mods inside the MC600.

Good luck!

 

[raj.t99]

I decided to switch out my 1060 for a 1050 LP since I don't play many games anyways and it would free up some space. How short is short enough for the 24 pin cable? I think I'll probably mount the PSU where you did since my RAM is tall and I'm not sure if it would fit in front of the motherboard. Now the issue is, where do I mount the HDPLEX AC-DC adapter? I'm thinking that I could probably cut out a hole in the front of the case for the AC plug and mount the actual adapter behind the graphics card or where the fan grills are, depending on how big the LP 1050 is. I don't really mind having the AC plug at the front (even thought it would ruin some of the aesthetic) because I usually prefer to have the IO ports facing towards me anyways.

Buying a hole saw wouldn't be very useful since I'd use it for this and never again (I'll also be moving soon so it'd be a headache to bring with me). Instead what I was planning on doing was going to a local machining shop and asking them for some help with all the cutting. If I want to replace the top with acrylic, what size and thickness would you recommend going with? Also, are there any particular mesh fan filters that you'd recommend that I can get on amazon?

For this LP model, do you have any idea what size fan would fit? Or is it better for me to just wait and check the fan myself when it arrives?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[jottwehh]

I'm using Corsair Vengeance LPX LP schwarz DDR4-3200 DIMM CL16 in combination with Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 140x140x15mm on top of it. It's tight, but it fits.
For DC-ATX I would recommend going for the HDPLEX 160W DC-ATX (nanoATX Series). It's pluged directly into your 24 ATX on MoBo. So tis very clean and should be more than enough for your 1050.
for AC-DC check out NFC S4 Mini #77 - Orangulan Brickless S4
It's not a MC600, but pretty close to it. I could also work for MC600. but double check it first.

 

[raj.t99]

Unfortunately, I can't get either of those since I already ordered a HDPLEX 400 and a HDPLEX AC-DC 300 watt and I don't have enough time to wait for a new one. With a 1050 Low Profile I'm certain that I could mount the AC-DC unit pretty easily where the fan grills are next to the GPU. While the position that is used in that post would probably be better since it doesn't obstruct airflow, the card I'm going with is 167 mm or so, and the AC-DC unit is 41mm which would go over the 191mm limit. I'm starting to wish that I'd just ordered an external brick though since if I ever decide to buy a 1060 or similar card in the future it's going to be really difficult to fit the AC-DC unit in.

 

[raj.t99]

@Runamok81 @jottwehh

 

[jottwehh]

@Runamok81 @jottwehh

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[raj.t99]

sorry, wasn't sure if you saw my reply

 

[breakfast]

Looks like you're getting help on where to fit components from people who've built similar setups, which is good. Love this community for that

Just wanted to chime in and warn you off of our riser. Don't use that with a graphics card, you're going to have issues. Though they're pricey, you'll have much better luck with one of the units from 3M. Alternatively I think Runamok used a unit from Liheat and said it was good too.

 

[cloudz]

Recently I assembled MC600
I do not recommend that combination (dc-atx 400w + ac-dc 300w)

system specification
i5-4690k + asrock z97e/ac-itx + 16GB DDR3
zotac 1060 mini + 256GB 850 pro ssd

and

today i changed VGA galax 1070 mini 8GB

Infinite rebooting and tingling noise have been quite stressful for a while.

This problem is just now for me as well as my friends who bought it. (4 person)

finally i change ac-dc 300w internal bric to dell 330w adaptor.

so my stress broke!!!!
very compotable use gaming(mmo ff14), develop solution, bla-bla-bla..

I hope my answer is helping you.

- Sorry I'm not native speakers of English.

 

[raj.t99]

Looks like you're getting help on where to fit components from people who've built similar setups, which is good. Love this community for that

Just wanted to chime in and warn you off of our riser. Don't use that with a graphics card, you're going to have issues. Though they're pricey, you'll have much better luck with one of the units from 3M. Alternatively I think Runamok used a unit from Liheat and said it was good too.

Darn, wish I'd known sooner. I accidentally order two and had to use both because they were together long enough to let me flip my GPU. Guess I'll have to try ordering a new one.

 

[raj.t99]

Recently I assembled MC600
I do not recommend that combination (dc-atx 400w + ac-dc 300w)

system specification
i5-4690k + asrock z97e/ac-itx + 16GB DDR3
zotac 1060 mini + 256GB 850 pro ssd

and

today i changed VGA galax 1070 mini 8GB

Infinite rebooting and tingling noise have been quite stressful for a while.

This problem is just now for me as well as my friends who bought it. (4 person)

finally i change ac-dc 300w internal bric to dell 330w adaptor.

so my stress broke!!!!
very compotable use gaming(mmo ff14), develop solution, bla-bla-bla..

I hope my answer is helping you.

- Sorry I'm not native speakers of English.

I wish I'd known about how big it was before, my low profile 1050 barely fits with the dc-atx unit. The ac-dc unit is pretty big too, how were you able to fit a 1070 with it? If you don't mind, would you be able to post a picture of it? I might either just mount the dc-atx unit externally or buy a power brick at some point to be able to fit a 1060 or similar card.

 

[cloudz]

I wish I'd known about how big it was before, my low profile 1050 barely fits with the dc-atx unit. The ac-dc unit is pretty big too, how were you able to fit a 1070 with it? If you don't mind, would you be able to post a picture of it? I might either just mount the dc-atx unit externally or buy a power brick at some point to be able to fit a 1060 or similar card.

Similar symptoms were reproduced and gave up. The original method was to extend the front panel by 3cm. Ac-dc Brick is unstable.
Now we are waiting for the g-unique of @guryhwa. I hope this attempt will be the last.

 

[raj.t99]

Similar symptoms were reproduced and gave up. The original method was to extend the front panel by 3cm. Ac-dc Brick is unstable.
Now we are waiting for the g-unique of @guryhwa. I hope this attempt will be the last.

I actually have everything fitting/working without issue though I did have to flip the low profile GPU. Both the dc-atx and ac-dc units fit inside fine. It's just that I can't use any full width cards which is the main reason I regret it now.

 

[raj.t99]

@breakfast I'm having some issues with the case itself heating up a lot, do you have any recommendations on how I could modify the case to function better at storing/dissapating heat? not sure if it's possible though.

 

[cloudz]

@breakfast I'm having some issues with the case itself heating up a lot, do you have any recommendations on how I could modify the case to function better at storing/dissapating heat? not sure if it's possible though.

Maybe this is the most obvious way to do it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2wmnql/build_complete_the_worlds_smallest_gaming_htpc/

 

[raj.t99]

@cloudz the problem is that with my RAM and the way the dc-atx unit is height wise I can't fit 120mm fans. I realized that the main reason that my case was getting so hot was that the dc-atx unit was passive. I put one 40mm fan on it and it was much cooler. I'm getting a 92 mm fan that should cover the GPU and should hopefully cool down the dc-atx unit and as a result the case as well. If that doesn't work, I think I might add a couple millimeters to the height of the case and have two 200mm fans to cover each half of the case. Could probably do some kind of acryclic cut outs to make it work I think.

 

[breakfast]

Yeah, the way you guys are stuffing these cases can really turn them into an oven/reactor core/dying star. I'm glad you identified the main culprit!

Without knowing what your current layout is, I think you're on the right track finding a workable-sized fan for over the GPU to generally bring more air in. If that power supply is still cooking, you could also try thermal padding it to a nearby surface. The case is steel, but you might eek a few degrees out of it.

Even though you might not be able to fit a fan in over the mobo, you could still vent that area of the top too and let the CPU cooler breathe a bit better. It also looks like the cooler fins are oriented front to back on the board, so you could vent the I/O shield to get some exhaust perhaps? There's some dead space over the onboard HDMI connectors and USB 3.0/C stack which nicely lines up with the CPU cooler position.

@cloudz make sure to paint the edges of the holes cut into the top, the chassis is nickel plated SPCC, so those exposed edges might rust. Plus it'll just look more polished IMO

 

[zovc]

Yeah, the way you guys are stuffing these cases can really turn them into an oven/reactor core/dying star. I'm glad you identified the main culprit!

Hey @breakfast! A while back I got that MC600 from you guys and I'm finally trying to do something with it!

My current plan is to "2D print" a laser cut top panel that has a hole cut out for a fan/filter over my CPU cooler'heatsink. In order to do this, I'm probably going to have to print out at least one test/template and correct my layout from there. Basically I'll end up with a piece of acryllic affixed (glued?) to the original top panel, but most of the material that actually covers the top of the case will be cut away--this way I can use the case's normal latches/tabs that the top panel slides into.

Is there any way you can help me figure lay out measurements for the top panel and its cutout? Perhaps where the 170cm(?) square of the M-ITX motherboard should be under it?

Edit: For anyone who this might be useful to, here's my old thread about the MC600.