Advice Ideas on sub 5L builds

[NegativeONE]

Hello all, new to the forum and relatively new to SFF builds as well. Last year i decided to finally do a 5800x/3070 build in a NR200 which i love and i know some may say that an 18L case isnt SFF but i like it. But with that being said, i've ordered a A39 case off ALI and a D19 pro and want to get into something sub 5L, potentially smaller if i can get a descrete GPU into it. Why ? you may ask and i'd say because i can

The A39 seems to be a rip off of the K39, which i was told is a rival to the Velka 3. I do think they look quite ugly and might ask a mate to laser cut me some new panels but unsure yet. I've been trying to figure out if i go a smaller case with an APU or try to get a cheaper GPU that will fit in. I noticed a Chopin Case build where they put in a 1050ti which looked unreal, but mad me think would todays equivilant of that GPU be a 1650 and could it play 1080p games?

 

[ignsvn]

Hello all, new to the forum and relatively new to SFF builds as well. Last year i decided to finally do a 5800x/3070 build in a NR200 which i love and i know some may say that an 18L case isnt SFF but i like it. But with that being said, i've ordered a A39 case off ALI and a D19 pro and want to get into something sub 5L, potentially smaller if i can get a descrete GPU into it. Why ? you may ask and i'd say because i can

The A39 seems to be a rip off of the K39, which i was told is a rival to the Velka 3. I do think they look quite ugly and might ask a mate to laser cut me some new panels but unsure yet. I've been trying to figure out if i go a smaller case with an APU or try to get a cheaper GPU that will fit in. I noticed a Chopin Case build where they put in a 1050ti which looked unreal, but mad me think would todays equivilant of that GPU be a 1650 and could it play 1080p games?

Hello @NegativeONE, welcome on board. Please take a moment to read our forum's terms, conditions and rules. It is especially important to read them if you are wanting to buy or sell, as the information you need to gain access to that subforum is all in there.

So I'm not familiar with NR200, but if it's at 18L, then it is SFF (at least according to the formal definition from Intel).

There are some sub 5L cases which support dedicated GPU, but usually they come with some trade-offs:

• The GPU may be limited in dimension. Perhaps only single-fan GPUs are supported, or half-height, or single slot.
• Similarly, there's also a limited room for CPU coolers. Tall CPU coolers may not fit.
• Many of them use plug-in DC-ATX PSU + external brick, or FlexATX PSU.

Do read the case's technical description to be sure.

Edit: of course there are people like these who simply have very good DIY skill & remove many of those trade-offs, for example: https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...90-fe-and-r9-5950x-800w-5l-water-cooled.11277

I agree that GTX 1650 is probably the minimum GPU of choice to play most games at 1080p/60fps today. That said, 1060 or 1050ti probably can also work if you're willing to lower down your graphic settings, or be content with lower FPS (like me)

In any case (pun fully intentional), enjoy the SFF journey & have fun!

 

[NegativeONE]

Thanks, i think im looking down the rabbit hole and wanting to go smaller and smaller especially after seeing a chopin mod on this forum, pretty impressive

 

[Arboreal]

Welcome to SFFN, glad you found us!
I bought a custom sub 5L case a while back and although the Haswell i5 and GTX 1050Ti combo was great, I really couldn't stand the noise of the 40mm fan in the Flex ATX PSU.
There are better ones to choose from today, but I have repurposed the case with a thin ITX board and 2 multi TB 3.5" drives as a DIY backup machine.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Welcome to SFFN, glad you found us!
I bought a custom sub 5L case a while back and although the Haswell i5 and GTX 1050Ti combo was great, I really couldn't stand the noise of the 40mm fan in the Flex ATX PSU.
There are better ones to choose from today, but I have repurposed the case with a thin ITX board and 2 multi TB 3.5" drives as a DIY backup machine.

On a side note: Some people managed to fix the noise level of Flex ATX PSUs by replacing the fan with a Noctua 40 mm.
Been researching that myself for, among other ideas, this "put a desktop PC in a ThinkPad laptop case" concept of mine.

cu, w0lf.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Thanks, i think im looking down the rabbit hole and wanting to go smaller and smaller especially after seeing a chopin mod on this forum, pretty impressive

Yeah, I know that feeling. Been modding and fumbling around primarly with laptops since 2008, and SFF is kinda of a similar area.
And also: Welcome! There goes another addiction

cu, w0lf.

 

[NegativeONE]

Welcome to SFFN, glad you found us!
I bought a custom sub 5L case a while back and although the Haswell i5 and GTX 1050Ti combo was great, I really couldn't stand the noise of the 40mm fan in the Flex ATX PSU.
There are better ones to choose from today, but I have repurposed the case with a thin ITX board and 2 multi TB 3.5" drives as a DIY backup machine.

yeah i've been looking for a Flex PSU and just assume i need to do the noctua mod regardless of what i go for.

 

[NegativeONE]

Yeah, I know that feeling. Been modding and fumbling around primarly with laptops since 2008, and SFF is kinda of a similar area.
And also: Welcome! There goes another addiction

cu, w0lf.

cheers i was thinking asking a mate to laser cut me some new side panels as lets face it, those cheap Ali cases are a bit Meh..but at the moment i'm stuck between looking at a 5600g or a 5600x and a compact GPU, but cannot decide on the GPU as im being a little tight with my cash as it is going to be my 3rd PC in the house.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

cheers i was thinking asking a mate to laser cut me some new side panels as lets face it, those cheap Ali cases are a bit Meh..but at the moment i'm stuck between looking at a 5600g or a 5600x and a compact GPU, but cannot decide on the GPU as im being a little tight with my cash as it is going to be my 3rd PC in the house.

Well .. if you just want to save moneys for now, I'd go with the 5600G - Gamers Nexus did a benchmark review of the 12900k vs. iGPU CPUs vs. normal CPU + cheap low-tech GT 1030 (and throw in a random GTX 1050 Ti benchmark, too). You still can upgrade with a compact GPU later on

For comparison (with German prices from geizhals):
- Ryzen 5600G ~ 200 Euro
- Ryzen 5600X ~ 220 Euro
- cheapest decent[1] GTX 1050 Ti ~ 190 Euro

So thats a money saving of roughly 210 Euro = more than 50%

If GPU prices hopefully drop a lil bit more, you could even get a decent ITX-sized GTX 1660 (cheapest decent right now is ~ 300 Euro).

cu, w0lf.

[1] decent = in terms of size limitations (max height: dual slot, max length: <= 220 mm) and ratings; don't want a GPU that just fits, but has abhorrent reviews / user ratings

 

[NegativeONE]

Well .. if you just want to save moneys for now, I'd go with the 5600G - Gamers Nexus did a benchmark review of the 12900k vs. iGPU CPUs vs. normal CPU + cheap low-tech GT 1030 (and throw in a random GTX 1050 Ti benchmark, too). You still can upgrade with a compact GPU later on

For comparison (with German prices from geizhals):
- Ryzen 5600G ~ 200 Euro
- Ryzen 5600X ~ 220 Euro
- cheapest decent[1] GTX 1050 Ti ~ 190 Euro

So thats a money saving of roughly 210 Euro = more than 50%

If GPU prices hopefully drop a lil bit more, you could even get a decent ITX-sized GTX 1660 (cheapest decent right now is ~ 300 Euro).

cu, w0lf.

[1] decent = in terms of size limitations (max height: dual slot, max length: <= 220 mm) and ratings; don't want a GPU that just fits, but has abhorrent reviews / user ratings

thanks again, i was looking at the 5600g, but must of got put off by the reduce cache between the X and G models. I guess it doesnt really affect an on again off again gaming pc thats reallly a streamer box. sound advice. I saw a second hand 1050 TI for 200 AUD from memory, maybe less.

Thought of something else as well, maybe i can vertically mount the 1u PSU and do the same with the GPU, one of the latest designs i've noticed one manufacturer had a HDMI extension cable that goes to some female end. Might need a custom rear panel now

 

[NegativeONE]

Well .. if you just want to save moneys for now, I'd go with the 5600G - Gamers Nexus did a benchmark review of the 12900k vs. iGPU CPUs vs. normal CPU + cheap low-tech GT 1030 (and throw in a random GTX 1050 Ti benchmark, too). You still can upgrade with a compact GPU later on

For comparison (with German prices from geizhals):
- Ryzen 5600G ~ 200 Euro
- Ryzen 5600X ~ 220 Euro
- cheapest decent[1] GTX 1050 Ti ~ 190 Euro

So thats a money saving of roughly 210 Euro = more than 50%

If GPU prices hopefully drop a lil bit more, you could even get a decent ITX-sized GTX 1660 (cheapest decent right now is ~ 300 Euro).

cu, w0lf.

[1] decent = in terms of size limitations (max height: dual slot, max length: <= 220 mm) and ratings; don't want a GPU that just fits, but has abhorrent reviews / user ratings

Just a follow up, since making that post, i've gone the 5600 (non x) CPU, which seems to get pretty good reviews at the moment, Got the cheap b550 MB (asrock), got a 600w Flex 1U PSU from Densium, found a second hand 1650 Super Phoenix. The M.2 1Tb is on its way with 16gig of corsair 3200 ram and to top things off, the case is actually 4.3L and not 4.7 as i've menioned before.

I'm just waiting on the PSU being sent from the UK to AU, so once that arrives, the build is ON