Geeek A30 powered by HDPlex 400w

[princess_daphie]

so that's my new daily driver. really happy how it turned out after all. cost me a lot of money, trial and error! i'm coming off an Antec P6 build, which looked really good, but was really too bulky for my taste. yuck!

here are the specs:

Enclosure: Geeek A30 white and black
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC
Cpu: Ryzen 7 1700x
Ram: 2x8gb Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan DDR4-3000
Graphics card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 MINI ITX OC 6gb
Boot drive: Samsung 970 EVO 250gb
Work drive: Intel 545s SSD 512gb
Storage drive: Seagate 2tb 2.5" mobile hard drive
Power supply: HDPlex 400W + "DELL???" 330w power brick (got it on ebay for 75$CAD)
Cooling fans: Arctic F8 PWM x 2

---

Started to rebuild the A30 frame:

hdplex snuggly stuck at the bottom of the case. i used rubber feet to "stabilize" it on the case floor, without scratching it, and leaving room around it for the heatsinks to do something. i will probably secure it permanently with standoffs eventually, but since i wasn't sure where it would end up, i preferred the free-floating method for now. it is QUITE snug and stuck there though, with cables being tight and all:


slotting the graphics card in was QUITE a challenge! i had to completely unscrew the two top motherboard holder posts and pry it away so i could slide the Gigabyte card in and connect it. once secured in the PCIe bracket, i was able to screw the standoffs back and everything is secure. 123mm limit for the graphics card is a very precise measurement and i'm not sure it would've been possible. the Gigabyte card is 121mm high.


fitting in the USB3 cable is one of the things i hate the most when building in SFF cases. these damn cables are SO STIFF.


that jank seagate 2tb 2.5" hard drive i got off an external enclosure that died (but the hard drive seems fine, i did diagnostics and tests and it works fine).


front panel secured, graphics card side:



back of the case, with I/O shield luckily in place (like everyone, i forgot that piece a couple times in my life when building computers, lol)! you can see the butchered DC to Flex bracket with the 400W barrel connector screw-in thingy. seems like for all the cracks, uneven edges and crazy glue stains, it's not even visible. i will probably order more of these acrylic pieces and make one without messing it up.


cable management pretty good considering all cables were too long! only the power switch cable that didn't want to stay tight and would just hang. i will try to improve this eventually.



more shots in the complete album:

 

[TheCosmicFool]

Hi princess_daphie!
Do you think the HDPlex400 would mount nicely on the front where you had the 2.5mm drive? I'm trying to find the optimal (smallest litre/lightest) case to fit a Zotac 1070Ti Mini, a HDPlex 400 AC/DC and a HDPlex400W DC/DC.

Edit: I just found another thread where you suggest 121mm tall max, and 208mm long max! Looks like the 1070ti may just be a bit too big both ways!

Cheers!

 

[princess_daphie]

Hi princess_daphie!
Do you think the HDPlex400 would mount nicely on the front where you had the 2.5mm drive? I'm trying to find the optimal (smallest litre/lightest) case to fit a Zotac 1070Ti Mini, a HDPlex 400 AC/DC and a HDPlex400W DC/DC.

Edit: I just found another thread where you suggest 121mm tall max, and 208mm long max! Looks like the 1070ti may just be a bit too big both ways!

Cheers!

Hi!

I think you could mount the HDPlex 400w DC-ATX unit to the front, yes, but you'd have to find a way to bolt it to the front panel itself, because the bracket used for the 2.5" hard drive would not allow enough room. but yeah, the AC-DC unit at the bottom and the DC-ATX on the front panel should be possible.

i checked the 1070 ti mini from Zotac. i was about to tell you it can't fit with those measurements, but then i looked at the actual picture and i was like WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT a minute! Something's not right with their measurements. Take a look at the Gigabyte RTX 2060 ITX (my card), it's 121mm tall. Then take a look at the Zotac, which they advertise as 125mm. They're really having issues with their measurements at Zotac, because the 2060 Twin Fan i ordered before was about 5mm longer than advertised and probably taller as well. I know, I've had to return it!

Since you don't plan on using the front 2.5" bracket, and the Zotac 1070 ti mini seems to be shorter than advertised (if indeed it is that model you're talking about: https://www.zotac.com/us/product/graphics_card/zotac-geforce-gtx-1070-ti-mini ), it could be possible, becuase without the 2.5" bracket, you have a couple mm more room for the video card. Would just have to find a sweet spot for the HDPlex + the video card. It's all speculation though. With these tiny enclosures, it's almost impossible to predict until you have it all in your hands and try it out!

 

[TheCosmicFool]

Sounds promising. I'll have to pull out the card and do some measurements. This or the S4M seem to be the most tempting at the moment. This one is at least in stock!

 

[princess_daphie]

Sounds promising. I'll have to pull out the card and do some measurements. This or the S4M seem to be the most tempting at the moment. This one is at least in stock!

hope you picked it up as it seems to be out of stock already. and/or that your card fits? not many products in stock at their store at the moment, i wonder why...

 

[ggee]

hope you picked it up as it seems to be out of stock already. and/or that your card fits? not many products in stock at their store at the moment, i wonder why...

Hello Princess D (everyone),

I am in the US. I have searched all over google for any place that is selling the Geeek A30 case. I can not find it anywhere, in any color. If you know of any online store that has this case in-stock right now, can you please send me the links. I am looking for the white colored version. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
ggee

 

[rfarmer]

Hello Princess D (everyone),

I am in the US. I have searched all over google for any place that is selling the Geeek A30 case. I can not find it anywhere, in any color. If you know of any online store that has this case in-stock right now, can you please send me the links. I am looking for the white colored version. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
ggee

https://www.geeekstore.com/shop/geeek-a30-mini-itx-case/

 

[princess_daphie]

https://www.geeekstore.com/shop/geeek-a30-mini-itx-case/

^ that's where I got mine!

 

[ggee]

^ that's where I got mine!

Thanks for the reply(s).

Maybe I should have mentioned this in my post. The geeek store was the first place I looked - and they have been out-of-stock (for a bit now). I even sent them a message and have not heard back from them at all. So then I started searching "the google" and can't find any other online-store that retails this case. I obviously found tons of reviews and build posts - but no other retailers.

If anyone knows anywhere else, besides the geeek store, where I can purchase this case - please let me know the links. Or has heard anything from the geeek store about when they will be back in-stock - please let me know as well.

Thanks,
ggee

 

[princess_daphie]

Thanks for the reply(s).

Maybe I should have mentioned this in my post. The geeek store was the first place I looked - and they have been out-of-stock (for a bit now). I even sent them a message and have not heard back from them at all. So then I started searching "the google" and can't find any other online-store that retails this case. I obviously found tons of reviews and build posts - but no other retailers.

If anyone knows anywhere else, besides the geeek store, where I can purchase this case - please let me know the links. Or has heard anything from the geeek store about when they will be back in-stock - please let me know as well.

Thanks,
ggee

they are back on preorder status now, just thought i'd tell you

 

[princess_daphie]

so i made absolutely no change to the hardware of my build, i love it. it's powerful, it's quiet, it's compact! only thing i finally managed to do is make some custom fit power cables, and i'm super happy with the results! here are some random progress shots! don't know why the lighting went all whacko, but oh well:


this was my first attempt at making these cables, with the crimping tool and those tiny pins, and i learned along the way. my first cables have the "stopper" pin crimped in, so they're a bit loose in their connectors, lol, and i eventually learned that when the insulation isn't properly gripped on the pin, it will fail. oops! live and learn...

 

[Slowjim]

Hi,

Where did you dins the flexatx plate to mount the hdplex plug?

 

[princess_daphie]

Hi,

Where did you dins the flexatx plate to mount the hdplex plug?

what do you mean "dins"? if you meant where i bought it, it's on Geeek's store It's affordable too! As for how i mounted it on it, I had to enlarge the hole with a drill to be able to fit this one, as it's larger than the default mounting hole! I made quite a mess, but with the plug screwed in, it's unnoticeable!

 

[Slowjim]

Yes, sorry I fat-fingered. Love your build, and plan to try the same once the case comes back in stock.

 

[princess_daphie]

Yes, sorry I fat-fingered. Love your build, and plan to try the same once the case comes back in stock.

nice! thank you! i approve it's really noticeable how often they are not on stock on that company's website though, i almost want to order another one eventually, fearing it might not return in stock eventually, like the A40 that's now discontinued...

 

[marqDsade]

I am also creating an A30 build with an HDplex but how did you replace or cover the Flex PSU back output cutout on the case?

 

[princess_daphie]

very simple ^_^

i used this: https://www.geeekstore.com/shop/flexatx-to-dc-atx-psu-adapter-bracket/

 

[marqDsade]

I saw that part but what is with the 2 holes for antennas? Is there an adapter because my mobo already has 2 outputs by the io panels.
Sorry to be such a pain.

 

[princess_daphie]

I saw that part but what is with the 2 holes for antennas? Is there an adapter because my mobo already has 2 outputs by the io panels.
Sorry to be such a pain.

I'm sure they made it more or less universal to account for people who want to screw antennas there as well. I just left the holes there they do no harm lol

 

[marqDsade]

I have access to a CNC router table at my job so I will custom cut a plate for that area. I might also re-cut sides for my case.
Thank you sooo very much for the info.