Log FormD T1 meets MinisForum BD790i! (Build Log & benchmarks)

[MarcParis]

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Genesis of my return to mini-ITX (07th April 2024)
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Hello all!

As some of you might know I've finally put to retirement my beloved KI/Sliger Cerberus-X!
From all my cases, the Cerberus-X was the most loved ONE by my cats! (RIP to them)

During my last setup update, back to late 2021 (moving to Alder's Lake platform), I was literally mad of the Mini ITX motherboards line-up for Alder's Lake...and AM4 release did not help at all.
I put a link to my thoughts at that time here.

Basically my main problem was the total lack of support of low height 120mm cpu cooler, mostly blocked by M.2 SSDs & CPU power stages heatsinks. On top of that, you generally only have 1 M.2 SSD slot on the top face of the motherboard, and the second is located on the back...not ideal for SSD cooling, especially in sandwich mode.

1 year after (Nov 2022), I moved my remaining Mini ITX rig to ATX, using excellent N-ATX v2 case...no more Mini ITX at home.

Till...

I discovered the Minisforum BD770i motherboard...quite an UFO in mini-ITX world

Minisforum BD770i :

• Mobile Zen 4 chip (R7 7745HX) : 8 cores / 16 threads, basic iGPU
• 120mm CPU heatsink pre-installed
  • Height :
    • ~50mm with 15mm thick fan (no screws provided, use M2.5x14mm)
    • ~60mm with 25mm thick fan (screw M2.5x25mm provided)
  • Rear exhaust through I/O shield!
  • Liquid metal applied on CPU
• Dual SSD slot (gen 5) with optimaloptional heatsink/cooler on top
• Gen 5 PCIe 16x Slot
• 2x so DIMM DDR5 (up to 5200MTS)
• Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675 / BT 5.3
• Realtek 2.5Gbit ethernet

After further investigations, I decided to try its "younger" sister : Minisforum BD790i equipped with R9 7945HX (16 cores / 32 threads), just released by Feb 2024!

Once received, I tested it with this setup (please keep in mind, I did not have a precise Mini ITX rig in mind)

• Motherboard : BD790i (R9 7945HX)
• Cpu Fan : Noctua NFA12x25
• RAM : GSkill 2x32Go 5200MTS
• SSD : Samsung 990 Pro 4 To
• PSU : My very noisy, but reliable, SX700 PT (fan should be faulty)

BD790i came with Bios 1.05 (BD770i and BD790i are sharing same bios apparently), here are main features tested :

• PCIe bandwith : auto, Gen 3/4/5
• iGPU : activated or not
• Redimensionable BAR : activated or not
• CPU max wattage : not sucessful (stick to auto, leading to 100W)
• No profile can be saved (only one at a time)
• No RAM setup (at 1st boot, MB is very slow, testing RAM). It is activating by default RAM speed parameters
• Boot selector
• Temperature monitor & fan management : it is working pretty fine (I stick to bios CPU fan curve even after installing "fan control")

Overall Bios is simple, effective & functionnal. Let's see future updates, especially for CPU firmware update.

To be continued...

PS : I tried to create Imgur Posts to compress image display, please let me know if you prefer post vs standard image.

 

[MarcParis]

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Minisforum BD790i meets Sliger S620 (8th April 2024)
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As stated above, I didn't have any specific plan for a Mini ITX rig.
After succesful trials outside a case, I decided to test it inside my Sliger S620, a case I appreciated but not loved :

• Sliger S620 summary :
  • +++
    • Nice CPU air cooler compatibility (NH-D15...but way better with NH-U12A)
    • Great side grid (refined version of the cerberus-X) allowing dual 120mm/140mm fans
    • Flexible PSU mounting points
    • Best cooling airflow possible
    • Flexible top/bottom panels (you can invert them, put 2 tops for horizontal stands)
  • ---
    • Big GPU (RTX 3090 FE or RTX 4080 FE) assembly is cumbersome, to say the least
    • PSU assembly is cumbersome, I would assume it is only compatible with SFX PSU (not SFX-L), due to cable bumping into the GPU
    • Overall assembly is average/mediocre
    • Case is a bit bulky (but it is by design)

From start Minisforum BD790i with short heatsink is not ideal/meant for Sliger S620, but I tried rear intake.

Here are components used :

• Motherboard : BD790i (R9 7945HX)
• Cpu Fan : Noctua NFA12x25, as exhaust (rear intake)
• RAM : GSkill 2x32Go 5200MTS
• SSD : Samsung 990 Pro 4 To
• PSU : My very noisy, but reliable, SX700 PT (fan should be faulty)
• GPU : "Allmighty" MSI GTX 1080 ti
• Side fans : Dual Fractal Venturi HP-120 (excellent fans)

Playing with Sliger S620 with stands orientation (horizontal, vertical) allowed me to identify nice spot a new case localization on my desktop, behind my monitor (Samsung Neo G9)...however due to airflow constraint in vertical stand (exhaust hot air direct on the monitor, heating it up) or due to bulky horizontal stand, it became obvious I need to relocate my components inside another case...this time, one I truly loved...

Sliger S620 was useful but do not demonstrate enought advantage over my beloved Cerberus-X, and I was not alone to think that...

to be continued..

 

[MarcParis]

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Minisforum BD790i meets Sliger SM550 (9th April 2024)
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Combining Minisforum BD790i and Sliger S620 was a success and it deserved a follow-up.

I decided to pursue my investigation replacing Sliger S620 with my beloved Sliger SM550. I loved my experience as I tried many setups inside. I even thought to migrate my main rig (ie Cerberus-X) to SM550.
I retired it due to its incompability with passthrough GPU ie RTX 3090 FE.

Inside SM550 I'll use exactly the same components as S620, except exhaust fans. Indeed as I was unable to put back side panel (incompatibility with BD790i cpu fan placement) I don't really need exhaust fans..

Assembly went smoothly and here final result



I'm still amazed by the final look on my desktop!

With all those positive testings (approx 2 months) I have to test to retire my Cerberus-X, after 7 years of active service!




Once done, I was able to switch my "very noisy/reliable" Silverstone SX700PT by my Corsair S750.
Only last point to achieve : find a case, similar to SM550 in size, but fully compatible with my RTX 4080 FE, refusing any compromise on cooling & acoustics!

To be continued!

 

[MarcParis]

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Finally Minisforum BD790i meets FormD T1 2.5 (10th April 2024)
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As spoiled previously, the best suited case for my needs is the FormD T1 (v2.5) for simple reasons :

• Volume : 9.95l with sandwich layout
• Compatible with Minisforum BD790i & RTX 4080 FE (passthrough cooling)
• Excellent build quality
• Average complexity to assemble it

Here is my final setup, that is replacing my Cerberus-X (for now.. )

• Motherboard : BD790i (R9 7945HX)
• CPU Fan : Noctua NFA12x15, as intake (side intake, rear exhaust)
• RAM : GSkill 2x32Go 5200MTS
• SSD : Samsung 990 Pro 4 To + ADATA SX8200 Pro 2 To
• PSU : Corsair SF750 Platinum with Corsair standard Type-4 600W 12VHPWR adapter (cable mod adapter on its way...finally only optional)
• GPU : Nvidia RTX 4080 FE
• Top fans : Dual Noctua NFA12x25 as exhaust (equipped with grid, mandatory for cable management)

As my Cerberus-X setup, it is semi-passive (PSU, GPU, Exhaust fans are not spinning while in desktop mode/web browsing, etc...) thanks to "Fan Control" software.


Like Sliger SM550, final result on my desktop is impressive & effective!

Speaking of the Sliger SM550, I cannot resist to compare it with the FormD T1.
As the FormD T1 is modular, it is easier to upgrade by design, especially compared to Sliger SM550.
FormD T1 is already at revision 2.5. SM550 is unfortunately out of sale.



This is completing my journey back to mini-ITX world, started 3 months ago, around mid January 2024!

From now I'll complete my build log with benchmarks, and spoiler alerts, they are pretty interesting!

Stay Tuned!


PS : I cannot leave this thread without a word of my beloved Cerberus-X...this is just an "Au revoir"!