GTXbox 202 Ti - My first ITX build

RollingMaki

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
May 8, 2019
3
4
So excited for my first ITX build!



Alright, seems easy enough...



Hmmm, can't find an orientation where this thing will fit... Let me get out my old Intel stock cooler.



Hurray, it POSTs!



Initial cable management: So tight! Needs careful planning.



Saw people online removing the heatsinks off of their motherboard - they say VRM heat shouldn't be a problem for downdraft coolers. I actually ordered some tiny copper heatsinks to put above the mosfets and chokes, but didn't get the chance to test if they will be enough.



But for now, the IS-60 fits!



Look at that RAM clearance. Haha.



I wasn't fully confident that running the VRMs without a heatsink was a good idea, so I ordered an NH-L9i along with 2 case fans for the GPU compartment.



Popped the VRM heatsink back in, installed the L9i. I actually wanted to install it with the fins vertical, but the cooler base was interfering with the VRM capacitors. Had no choice but to do it this way, even if fin airflow is blocked by the IO shield and the RAM.



Here's what the final CPU compartment looks like.



And the GPU compartment. I tested intake, exhaust, and a combination for the fans. I found that this configuration was the best in keeping the card a few degrees below the 90degC Temp Limit in Afterburner.



No NF-A12x15 available locally, so I used an ID-Cooling 12015 above the NH-L9i to draw fresh air and avoid recirculation of warm air from the cooler.





Very happy with how it looks, blends perfectly beside my PS4 Pro.


Console Trio complete! Who needs an XBox One X when you can build your own! :p




CPU:

Coming from a 6-year old i5-3570k system, I was already dead set on building a Ryzen 7 2700 system in the Node 202. But last minute I decided to change into an Intel build because of a comment from TechDeals in the video above. He said somewhere at the end of the video that coming from older Intel systems into a Ryzen is as much of a sidegrade as a lot of games prefer the higher clock speeds offered by Intel CPUs.

Since this was primarily for gaming, I decided to give up the extra threads for more clock speed. Also, I got a good deal on someone selling a brand new 9700k for $100 less than the local stores’ tag price, so I bit the Intel bullet in the end.

CPU Cooler:
I initially had an ID Cooling IS-60 in here, but fitting that meant removing the Strix Z390-i's massive heatsink / IO cover. I ordered some tiny copper heatsinks that I was supposed to place over the mosfets and chokes, but I was worried they might not be enough.

So for now I put back the heatsink and ordered a tiny NH-L9i. Still not quite sure what I want to do here since I see some people removing all VRM heatsinks with a downdraft cooler.

Motherboard:
Decided to get the Asus Z390-i as that was what I can easily buy from local sellers. Being my first ITX build, I wasn't able to take into account that the massive heatsink/IO cover would be an issue haha.

Memory:
Looked for a Corsair LPX RAM because of the IS-60’s tight clearances.

Storage:
Went with an ADATA SX8200 Pro as the 1tb model was relatively cheaper than the Samsung models. The FireCuda I initally bought for my PS4 but moved that over to this build for storage. The ancient X25-m was lying around in an old laptop so I decided I might as well put it in as a cache drive.

Video Card:
Here I got a very good deal on a 3-month used ex-mining 1080 Ti for only 17000 Php ($325). I risked it as it was dirt cheap - most used 1080 Ti’s are being sold here at $475 and above. I made sure to test it at the seller’s house and confirm it was working before bringing it home. Cleaned off all the dust and put liquid metal on it. This card runs pretty hot even in a well ventilated mid-tower case.

Case:
I was choosing between the Node 202 and the ML08 as I wanted a vertical case to match the other consoles beside my TV. I decided with the Node 202 as another user reported his riser card in the ML08 broke after a few months, and the 202’s riser looked a little sturdier because it was bolted to the frame by 3 screws. Also wanted the clearance in the GPU compartment for additional fans, as the 1080 Ti Mini is one hot card.

Power Supply:
Corsair SF-600 is a popular choice and was readily available in our local stores.

Case Fans:
I tried different configurations for the case fans - both intake, both exhaust, and one intake directly above the GPU and one exhaust on the tail end of the GPU.

The case got pretty warm with both intakes, while both exhausts seemed to give the best temperatures for the CPU (i can feel the draft coming in from the other side vents). But in the end it was the alternate configuration that seemed to keep my 1080 Ti Mini from hitting the 90deg temp limit in Afterburner, so I went with that setup. Plus it was a lot easier to cable manage because both fan wires could be routed from the same place at the middle.

Cable Management:
Ohhh boy. It took me hours, no DAYS trying to figure out how to cable manage this thing. I tried a lot of different routes before I was satisfied with the look. I even initially routed the CPU power cable underneath the mobo but ultimately decided against it because the CPU was getting a bit toasty under synthetic load and was worried it might melt the CPU cable. The final position looks better anyway so yeah.

I was expecting poor cable management options because I had the 2.5 drive cage installed, but it turned out to not be a problem. I just had to plan carefully - the hole in the middle was plenty enough for all the cables going through.

Temperatures:
Well, temps are pretty much what I expected putting in a 9th gen i7 into a tiny HTPC case with a tiny cooler on top of it. What I did was run everything at stock, but I enabled MCE in the bios, limited the Long Term Power (PL1) to 95w, unlocked the Short Term Power (PL2) to max value for 20 seconds. It allowed clock speeds to jump between 4.7 to 4.9 ghz while gaming, and my temps hovered around the mid-70s.

GPU temps on the other hand, was pretty toasty. Even in my 2013 mid-tower case with excellent airflow, and even with liquid metal, max temps in that case was around 83-84 degC. In the Node 202 however, it reaches around 88C on average, and spikes to 90C every now and then, hitting the temp limit in Afterburner.

---------------

Overall, very happy that I dipped into ITX builds! Lugging around my mid-tower case from 2013 was such a hassle that it inspired me to make a console sized PC. :)

Parts List:
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/RollingMaki/saved/#view=f9fHBm
 

RollingMaki

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
May 8, 2019
3
4
Question - is it safe to run the motherboard without the VRM heatsinks? Or at the very least with tiny copper heatsinks like this:


Still contemplating if i'll still use the IS-60 for this build...
 

RollingMaki

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
May 8, 2019
3
4
Thermal care package has arrived! Will experiment with different configurations for best thermals:

1. NH-L9i with 25mm fan
2. IS-60 with Noctua A12x15
3. 9700k Delid with Rockit Cool 89 kit + Copper IHS
4. 1080Ti Mini heatsink upgrade with Arctic Accelero Extreme 3