Advice First -budget- SFF build

[DucDriver]

It's been some time since the last time a built a PC (link to post) and my first time building an SFF PC. I have to take my PC with me every other week, and my water cooled G5 casemod is just too big and heavy for that.
My old components are a i7700K CPU, GTX 1080 GP and DDR4 32Gb RAM. They are outdated, which is why I will have to start from scratch...

First: I would like to buy used components if possible, to end up in the best case at about €700. I am of course aware of the risks of used parts.

Case:
I really like the DAN A4 case as it reminds me of my Apple G5 case. Is the case a good choice? I've found many good reviews, and it's frequently used here in the forum.

CPU:
Unfortunately, I'm not up to date anymore. I'm an AMD fan, so an AMD CPU would be great, but it should definitely be better than my current one.

Motherboard:
Ideally, it should have 2-3 slots for NVMe storage and support DDR5. Thunderbolt 3 would be nice, but probably unrealistic...

GPU:
It should be able to handle new games at 4K, and I don't mind whether it's AMD or Nvidia. A good cooler would be nice, but it should also fit in the case.

Cooling:
I don't want liquid cooling anymore, but I'm looking for a high-quality air cooling solution that is also quiet.

I'm open to suggestions or objections; I'm currently a bit overwhelmed with the components.

 

[HWI]

I'm just going to break it to you, you can't do a build that handles new games at 4K for €700. You'd need at least that budget just for the GPU. For €700 you could do a 1080p build.

 

[DucDriver]

Thanks for your answer! At the moment I only have a 1440p monitor so I would be okay if the GPU can handle that. Price can be a bit higher if needed, don't want to build something that is completely outdated when building the PC or isn't upgradable in the future

 

[k0n]

You could maybe reuse the RAM with an 5800X3D... the only AM5 board I find interesting (B650i from Gigabyte) is 300€.

The 5800X3D is still among the best CPU's and it could be found used (along with a AM4 board).

It all depends on what exactly you are able to find used... especially with graphics cards. The 6700XT was often sold for 320€ new on Mindfactory... could be found used and I would consider it the weakest 1440p capable card (12GB).

 

[lost_in_spice]

It's hard to build budget sff rig, as the parts are generally more expensive (cases, mobos, vlp ram). Most of your choices will be down to availablity therefore I think AM4 is the way to go.

There is only 3 mobos you can currently buy new. The second hand ones usually sell for about £20 less.
In UK you can get:

• Gigabyte B550i £180
• ASRock B550i £200 (I've seen it for $140 US Amazon)
• ASRock B550M-itx £130

If you want TB3 then ASRock X570 is the only option if you can find one.

Not sure if Ryzen 5800 is enough for 4k gaming but you can get it for £85. Remember that you are limited with 65W TDP with Dan A4 if you decided for air cooling. Probably can stretch to 95W TDP with Black ridges (which fits AM4 not AM5).

You should be able to reuse your ram if it's not too big. Or buy used for £40

Cheapest powerful GPU you could get would be GB 3070 Eagle. But read about buying post mining GPUs.

Anyway if you decide to go AM5/DDR5 this will add a couple of hundreds to your build.

Good luck.

 

[DucDriver]

I've decided to add a bit more money to my budget and not fool around... Don't want to build a PC that is outdated when I finish building it.
I want a AM5 board to be able to upgrade the CPU in the future (if needed)

Any opinions on the AMD 7600X CPU? Good for the money? Or should I pay a few euros more?

GPU: I am looking for RX 6800 GPUs

Mainboard: I have no idea... I don't even know what to look for

 

[DucDriver]

Another question:
Would a BeQuiet TF2 CPU cooler fit in the case together with a GPU? Maybe by keeping only the middle fan?

 

[rfarmer]

Another question:
Would a BeQuiet TF2 CPU cooler fit in the case together with a GPU? Maybe by keeping only the middle fan?

Are you still planning on using the Dan A4-SFX? If so the TF2 is way, way too big. You only have 48mm cooler clearance in the Dan and the TF2 is 107mm using only the middle fan, 134mm with the top fan. Best bet in the Dan is the Noctua NH-L9a with a Noctua fan duct.

 

[DucDriver]

Understood, I had the TF2 laying around so it would have been the "easy" choice

Guess I will stick to a black ridge cooler, found someone selling the cooler and the case together

 

[scatterforce]

I've decided to add a bit more money to my budget and not fool around... Don't want to build a PC that is outdated when I finish building it.
I want a AM5 board to be able to upgrade the CPU in the future (if needed)

Any opinions on the AMD 7600X CPU? Good for the money? Or should I pay a few euros more?

GPU: I am looking for RX 6800 GPUs

Mainboard: I have no idea... I don't even know what to look for

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Hw7Bvj

Intel is better with a budget build than AMD. Getting a K skew is important since you can undervolt them, not just overclock them. You'll be able to manage heat much better. I would suggest the A4 H2O case for a bit more options when it comes to finding a used GPU. A 3080 of some variety will serve you well, especially if you can nab a 12 gig model.

 

[lost_in_spice]

I don't think Black Ridge work with AM5?

 

[HWI]

I don't think Black Ridge work with AM5?

It's not AM5 compatible, unless they've recently released an update, but people have modified them to work.

 

[DucDriver]

I don't think Black Ridge work with AM5?

But it will work with an Intel CPU like i5-12600KF?

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

You could also try for mATX SFF. The case choices are much smaller, but its still doable. I research(ed) a lot about it.

Eg. there are several 3d printed mounts / DIY hacks for mATX boards in the NR200P, but the quicker option is just to buy a SAMA IM01 or clone. In Germany, the options are: Inter-Tech Pocket IM-1 (I got two of them), Krux Naos (with tempered glass side panel) and occassionally, the FSP clone (which tends to be expensive compared to the others, but has got a mesh front panel).

The Inter-Tech Pocket goes usually around 60ish EUR, and does allow for both mATX board and ATX PSU (PCPartPicker complains about incompatiblity, esp. with modular PSUs, but its wrong, as I already built a system with exactly that combination). I put together a moderate build for roughly 800 Euro (12400 + B660 + 32 GB RAM + 1 TB SSD + RTX 3050 + modular PSU), that was used as a NAS / media server / humble live streaming system (also see the related build log).

The Jonsbo C6 would be another nice option IF not for its "more metal than mesh" panels / abysmal thermal performance.
Other options include:

a) Jonsbo V4 - if you're in love with the cube, this is one to go for (around 19L); build logs and DIY posts on YT and reddit / forums suggest giving the PSU more air to breathe and thus, drilling a few holes in the side panel where the PSU resides.

b) Jonsbo V9 - 17ish L, TG panel only

c) Meshroom S - 14L; its NOT budget-friendly (around 180 EUR), but if you want one of the most variable cases that even supports 4 Slot GPUs with an ATX board, an ATX PSU and a 240 mm AIO at the same time, this is the go-to choice (I strongly suggest AGAINST using an ATX PSU, but yes, its doable; just be aware of broken fingernails, cramps in your hands and nasty back aches)

d) Meshlicious - 14L; see my initial build / preparation log; you need to rearrange things, but most of it should be similar or identical as building in the Meshroom S, although you need to do a lot of things yourself. The Meshroom S is essentially just a combination of all the DIY hacks, workarounds and adaptions for the Meshi, that have been surfaced after its initial release.

e) The absolute smallest but still usable case, that is easily available in Germany / Central Europe, would be the SilverStone Milo ML11.
I've been pondering multiple times about re-arranging things and cramming in my current system (ie. Z690 + 13700k + RX 6800 + the SilverStone Vida 240 + Corsair SF750), but it should also work very well for a moderately powered system

It's 10L of volume, supporting a CPU cooler with up to 90 mm of height, intended for TFX PSU, but should be convertable / usable with a regular SFX as well (with a bit of creative ventilation, ie. strategic drilling of holes). Only allows for "low profile" GPUs with a max length of 272ish mm, but if 1440p is your goal, then there are still plenty of options around (eg. RTX 3060 Ti or 3070, but also RX 6750 XT, but there even is the Gigabyte RTX 4060 LP with just 69 mm width and 180ish mm length).

cu, w0lf.

 

[DucDriver]

Thanks for your answers!

I've already bought a Z690i mainboard, a i7 12700KF and 32Gb DDR 5 RAM

Now I have to decide with GPU to choose...

 

[DucDriver]

Bought some components.. Will post the finished result

 

[HWI]

But it will work with an Intel CPU like i5-12600KF?

It is LGA 1700 compatible, but I don't know if they ship with the LGA 1700 mounting kit or if you have to contact them to get it.

 

[DucDriver]

The DAN Case didn't work out for my components, but I am building a PC for my father with it

I bought a NCase M1 V6 case instead!
Components are:
Intel I5 14600K
Gigabyte RX 6800 OC
MSI Z690i MEG Unify
Noctua CPU Cooler
BeQuiet SFF PSU
32Gb DDR5 RAM
3x 1 Tb M.2

In Comparison to my G5 case:

The picture doesn't do it justice, the NCase is about 1/3 the size

The inside:

I am thinking about adding a small case fan at the back and deshrouding the RX 6800 as it tends to get quite hot

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

I am thinking about adding a small case fan at the back and deshrouding the RX 6800 as it tends to get quite hot

If its the Gigabyte RX 6800 Gaming OC, then: YES, it CAN, and WILL GET very hot.
Tried in in a SAMA IM01 clone (my NAS), and it got very toasty, despite a very efficient cooling concept already in place.

In my case (no pun intended), when finally building the Mesh-mATX mostly as originally planned (somewhere around the end of this year), I deffo gonna try out deshrouding, too.

But more with the idea of saving space than cooling as a primary goal. I probably have to use the 4-slot mode anyway, but if I can give the components a bit more breathing room, all the better.

cu, w0lf.

 

[DucDriver]

It actually is the OC Gaming version

Do you guys think the 600W PSU is enough? I am having problems with PC shutdowns and I am unable to find the cause...
No errors or warning in the windows event viewer so probably something hardware-related