Completed The MI-6 Microtower Case: Performance in 6.7L

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
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I've said this many times; in SFF, we have to compromise to certain extent.

Speed, thermal, noise, money, display resolution, weight, etc.
 

DrAwesome95

Caliper Novice
Jun 25, 2018
27
9
Well the 2070 would be the max you could get right now. It benchmarks above a 1080.

The real question is what display are you using? Are you using a high refresh rate display (over 60hz)? What resolution? GSync?

If you're using a 60hz display, at 1080 to 1440P, then a 2070 is almost overkill for gaming. Add Gsync to the mix and it might be.

If you're running a 4K display, well, then just shove as big a GPU in as possible.

Running a 75hz 1440p display.
Even the 1070 goes alright, and we already concluded the 2070 wouldnt be worth it over that.
I was more talking about the future in 2-3 years.
 

Revenant

Christopher Moine - Senior Editor SFF.N
Revenant Tech
SFFn Staff
Apr 21, 2017
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Running a 75hz 1440p display.
Even the 1070 goes alright, and we already concluded the 2070 wouldnt be worth it over that.
I was more talking about the future in 2-3 years.


2-3 years should be a new process node which will reduce power consumption. I imagine in 2-3 years a 2080ti mini or thereabout would be available.
 

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
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Received another of the CCD MI-6 newsletters today, with one of my build log pictures on it. I somehow feel proud LOL.

Sigh. Am very tempted to get a 2nd case for the living room PC.

But my mechanical keyboard hobby is also sucking money. Another sigh.
 

thel3igo

Trash Compacter
Nov 4, 2018
34
27
Received another of the CCD MI-6 newsletters today, with one of my build log pictures on it. I somehow feel proud LOL.

Sigh. Am very tempted to get a 2nd case for the living room PC.

But my mechanical keyboard hobby is also sucking money. Another sigh.
Wait do you have like, multiple keyboards?

EDIT: That would make sense for multiple builds.
 

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
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Wait do you have like, multiple keyboards?

Of course I have multiple keyboards LOL. Even with only 1 build at the moment, at one time I owned 4 mechanical keyboards:
  • Keycool 84 Hero 2S. This is a generic 75% keyboard from Taobao. I assume in western countries Drevo Gramr 84 got the same OEM model. My default workhorse.
  • Desko BMOS 5200, this keyboard is equipped with magnetic card or passport scanner. You usually see them in airport checkin counters.
  • GK64, first trial with hot-swappable keyboard. Hardware quality is nice but software is bad. Is sold.
  • Tesoro Excalibur, another cheap generic full size keyboard. This is my first mechanical keyboard. Is sold.
Now let's not talk about those keycap group buys at Geekhack.

And yeah if I ever have 2 systems then at least 2 active keyboard it is. But for living room I'll probably just get a generic wireless Logitech keyboard with long battery life.

I'll be damned if my wife ever read this forum.
 
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ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
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Wellp, according to the newsletter, its going over $200 USD for the next run

He explained everything - "But close review of the last production runs showed I was shipping each case with a $10 bill on it ($10 loss)." Expensive but it's not fair to let him foot the bill. In any case I feel that it's still within the range of other boutique SFF cases: M1, Dan A4, Sentry, Skyreach 4, etc.

.. and an extra $65 for the medium loft.

If I want to go with the loft, personally I'd go all the way & get the tall one instead, so you can put AIO or fans. Previously I suggested Firewolfy to add keystone openings behind the loft for various ports as well: USB, audio, card reader etc. But not sure if it'll change the price higher.

still Rev 2
Wait, is there going to be v3? Do you know something we don't know? ?
 
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firewolfy

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Nov 12, 2015
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Received another of the CCD MI-6 newsletters today, with one of my build log pictures on it. I somehow feel proud LOL.

Sigh. Am very tempted to get a 2nd case for the living room PC.

But my mechanical keyboard hobby is also sucking money. Another sigh.
@ignsvn -- LOL, I had it in a folder with some misc case pics, and just grabbed it. Come to think of it, it looks better than any of my pics. If I use it again, I"ll make sure to attribute it to ya.
 

DrAwesome95

Caliper Novice
Jun 25, 2018
27
9
Wait, is there going to be v3? Do you know something we don't know? ?

Well there was talk of development so you never know what @firewolfy is up to in his 'spare time' !!!

Also, I wasn't complaining about price rises - as you have stated, there are reasons.
Bottomline is for me, this puts the case out of my personal budget when I was very much looking forward to it.
When converted to dollarydoos, its going to cost me over $300 + international large parcel shipping for a case, which I can't justify.
 

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,706
1,646
Well there was talk of development so you never know what @firewolfy is up to in his 'spare time' !!!

Also, I wasn't complaining about price rises - as you have stated, there are reasons.
Bottomline is for me, this puts the case out of my personal budget when I was very much looking forward to it.
When converted to dollarydoos, its going to cost me over $300 + international large parcel shipping for a case, which I can't justify.

As a member of weaker currency country with costly shipping cost, i totally understand that.

Maybe try to make do without the loft? If you're just putting medium-end system things should be fine.

* Medium as in around 65w CPU + 160w GPU.
 

Revenant

Christopher Moine - Senior Editor SFF.N
Revenant Tech
SFFn Staff
Apr 21, 2017
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As a member of weaker currency country with costly shipping cost, i totally understand that.

Maybe try to make do without the loft? If you're just putting medium-end system things should be fine.

* Medium as in around 65w CPU + 160w GPU.

Without the loft, the thermal limit for GPU is really limited to a 1080/2070. So no real limit.

The CPU on the other hand is limited to about 100-115 watts depending on your tolerance for fan noise. A 9900k would probably be fine with a L12S at stock setting (TDP limit to 95 watts), but if you start to push XMP profiles, higher boost clocks, etc, you’ll run into heat issues.

For ref: I have an 8700 non-k at 100 watts with a vcore of -.10. It’s pretty hot, but not unmanageable.
 
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Weredawg

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 5, 2017
119
162
So hyped for this case and to build a PC again after an 8 year hiatus. I didn't mind the price hike from the newsletter, I totally get the reasoning.

Planned parts:
  • i5-9400F
  • Noctua NH-L12S
  • ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac
  • Corsair LPX 2x8GB 2666Mhz
  • Western Digital Blue 1TB M.2 SSD
  • Gigabyte RTX 2060
  • Corsair SF 450W Platinum
No longer will I have to struggle with indie games barely hitting 30 FPS at 720P. All I really want is 60 FPS average at 1440p. I also do occasional photo editing in Lightroom.
 
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Revenant

Christopher Moine - Senior Editor SFF.N
Revenant Tech
SFFn Staff
Apr 21, 2017
1,670
2,697
So hyped for this case and to build a PC again after an 8 year hiatus. I didn't mind the price hike from the newsletter, I totally get the reasoning.

Planned parts:
  • i5-9400F
  • Noctua NH-L12S
  • ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac
  • Corsair LPX 2x8GB 2666Mhz
  • Western Digital Blue 1TB M.2 SSD
  • Gigabyte RTX 2060
  • Corsair SF 450W Platinum
No longer will I have to struggle with indie games barely hitting 30 FPS at 720P. All I really want is 60 FPS average at 1440p. I also do occasional photo editing in Lightroom.


Looks like a good build. However I wouldn’t use that SSD. WD BLUE are SATA not PCIE. Here’s a PCIE model for $7 more.


The 450 watt PSU is fine for those parts, but might be an issue down the road if you ever swap in more powerful components.

The F part chips do not have an integrated GPU. If you do an Adobe Premier work, that can hurt your performance. It’s fine for everything else though.


Go with DDR4-3200. It’s a few bucks more, but gives you headroom down the road.
 
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Weredawg

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 5, 2017
119
162
Looks like a good build. However I wouldn’t use that SSD. WD BLUE are SATA not PCIE. Here’s a PCIE model for $7 more.

That's good to know, I'll update my list thanks!
The 450 watt PSU is fine for those parts, but might be an issue down the road if you ever swap in more powerful components.
I don't foresee using higher end parts anytime soon. The wife agreement is I won't upgrade for 5 - 10 years.
The F part chips do not have an integrated GPU. If you do an Adobe Premier work, that can hurt your performance. It’s fine for everything else though.
Yeah, I knew that and I don't do any video work so it'll be fine. I like the 65W TDP and $50 lower price than its non-F counterpart.
Go with DDR4-3200. It’s a few bucks more, but gives you headroom down the road.
I thought my CPU only supported up to 2666Mhz, which is why I picked what I did. What's the benefit of going with faster RAM?

EDIT: Looked it up and it appears I can get RAM to run at 3200 with my board and CPU combo, and I'll even gain frames while playing doing that. So I'll make that switch, thanks again for the info.

Thanks for all the advice
 
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ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
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I don't foresee using higher end parts anytime soon. The wife agreement is I won't upgrade for 5 - 10 years.

I haven't upgraded my CPU & Mobo for almost 6 years. It's doable. But I've upgraded the GPU once.

But all in all 10 years might be a bit hard.
 
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