Hackintosh SFF Case Advice Needed

raj.t99

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jul 4, 2017
17
2
These are my parts. I have 2 constraints:
1. I have an HDPLEX 400w + HDPLEX 400W ac-dc unit. If I was in the US it probably wouldn't be so bad selling them and getting an SFX PSU but I live in Japan so I'd rather just use them instead of buying a new PSU.
2. It's a hackintosh so I can only use AMD GPU's. If I want an ITX GPU without having to spend a lot I'll have to get an R9 Nano which is problematic on the previous PSU's. I'd be completely fine with a RX 560 (I don't game anymore) except I need at least 2 DP and 1 HDMI to power 3 4k monitors.

The resulting issue is that all the cases which use those HDPLEX PSU's tend to be really small while I'll likely need to fit a normal-sized RX 570/580. I've been doing a lot of searching, going through this sheet over and over but the issue I'm left with in the end is that I'd be forced to buy an R9 nano to use any of the DC-ATX cases as far as I can tell. The one thing I have going for me is that since I live in Japan it's much easier getting Taobao cases (and actually probably cheaper than getting normal SFF western cases). I also have a Chinese friend who could help me order. I'm still stuck though deciding on which case to get. Any advice?
 

phunguss

Caliper Novice
Oct 19, 2018
22
101
I have found an Flex PSU that is 600W and very small. I bought 2 of them. One will go in a Hackintosh G4 Cube case and the other currently powers my Mac Pro Jr. which includes an e5-2696 v3 (18 core) and an R9 nano with no trouble at all.

 

NuclearLemons

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jun 10, 2017
119
65
You will run into issues with the R9 nano and those monitors too I'm afraid. I had some r9 280xs from the same generation and while the HDMI could output 4k it could not do it at 60hz, this resulted in one smooth panel and one sluggish one at 30hz.

I have a vega 56 nano I'll be trying to sell within the next two months if you're looking for something with more oomph. Should have reasonable wattage when undervolted or when you set the bios to switch to the 150w mode. Don't know what shipping to japan would be like though.

when it comes down to cases, if you're dead set on an HDPlex, the only case that comes to mind is something like the NFC S4-Mini. Can't think of many cases that natively mount one. If you're feeling creative, you could try your hand in case modding an older mac. I did this with an old mac pro tower but that was admittedly with a MATX system rather than an itx one.

If I were to suggest some other options I'd try any of the velka cases or their "knockoff" counterparts.

Regardless it sounds like a great project and I wish you the best of luck.