I'm building a lite gaming PC inside an Xbox 360 and I came here to talk about it!
I've spent the last couple months planning and designing the build. I have just about everything I need to get started now, and will be beginning to modify and assemble the parts slowly over the next few weeks. Going forward I need to be careful to avoid making mistakes and I think getting some visibility here is going to help.
This will include:
ASRock B350M-ITX/ac
Intel i3-8100
Noctua NH-L9i
Zotac GTX 1050 Ti
SilverStone FX350G power supply
I picked up XPG Gammix 2666 ram with other components when I was going to build with Ryzen initially, and returned everything but the ram before I knew these Intel chips use only 2400. I'm assuming it will still work.
// Planning
When I decided to start this, I had some criteria to keep things functional and looking original:
* Run 6th gen console emulators (specifically, run Shadow of the Colossus smoothly)
* Make use of hard drive shell (though maybe not removable)
* Make use of every feature on the face plate (including DVD bezel)
* No visible modifications to the plastic shell
* Brickless
* Re-integrate the RF module (for wireless controllers) and power button
I decided to use Intel with an Nvidia descreet GPU after watching several videos comparing the Ryzen APUs running games with PCSX2. Ryzen just didn't perform as well as even the 1030 in Shadow of the Colossus and Gran Turismo. Figuring out how to fit a descreet GPU in with an optical drive and power supply has been tricky, and there are several things I need to consider:
* Space between components
* Heat generation
* Air flow
* Fan noise
* Structural stability (with mounting the GPU)
Some similar builds use only the plastic shell which helps with space and cooling, but I need to keep the steel tray to help support the GPU and to keep the unit semi-portable as a console is intended to be.
// Designing
There are some restrictions with the arrangement of the components:
The console's face plate means an optical drive can only fit to the left and top of the case. The space below wouldn't be enough to fit a heatsink.
The power supply could only fit laying down to the side of the motherboard. The two next to each other are right at 10" or about 5mm less than what the tray allows.
The only space a card will fit is behind the drive and to the left of the heatsink, above the power supply. The space to the right of the optical drive and in front of the heatsink is not long enough.
I need to maximize the distance between the left wall and the heatsink to fit the graphics card, so I looked for a motherboard with the CPU socket sitting highest on the board (farthest from the PCI slot).
I found dimensions of the components and drew them out on cardboard cut to the size of the tray, you'll see below.
I had to estimate some measurements by holding a ruler up to images on my monitor. For example I measured an image of the motherboard to be 123mm on my screen, with the CPU slot between 76-91mm or median 83.5mm from PCI side, so (6.7/123)x83.5 gave me about 4.55" from PCI edge to center of CPU slot. I assumed 2mm tolerances, which I found was pretty spot on.
* Steel tray interior dimensions: 10.5/8 x 8.9/16 x 2.3/8" or 270 x 217 x 65mm
(with 10.1/8" between screws that pass up through, and up to 2.3/4" from plastic to plastic)
* Flex PSU: 5.9 x 3.2 x 1.58" or 150 x 82 x 40mm
* Optical drive: 128 x 128mm (with bezel) x 13mm
* Motherboard: 6.7 x 6.7"
(center of CPU slot: ~4.55" from PCI side)
* Heatsink: 95 x 95mm or 3.74", 37mm tall
For the GPU, I was going to use a 1030 at first since it seemed to run SotC ok in the videos, but at the time the Gigabyte model was sold out and the only other 1030's seemed to have very large passive heatsinks. I'd have to modify or replace these heatsinks and rig up fans to fit one, but I couldn't decide on a clean solution even having picked up (and returned) two 1030's. At this point I decided to pull the trigger and get a 1050 ti since they're also low profile and also don't need external power, and then I would figure out cooling later (I think I have now).
So here are some pictures:
First is of the cardboard insert sitting in the tray. I marked screw placements on the left and right sides, and placement of the power supply, motherboard with heatsink, and dvd drive.
Second image is PSU, mobo and heatsink on the insert
Third has optical drive and GPU which will sit above the PSU
This is as far as I've come. I haven't ordered the CPU yet. When I have it, I'll build the PC in a small tower first to get some baseline temps. Then, I will begin making modifications to the GPU's heatsink and test again in the tower. When I'm confident the GPU will be cooled well enough after being made to fit in the 360 case, I'll move everything there and continue testing as I work out cabling.
I've spent the last couple months planning and designing the build. I have just about everything I need to get started now, and will be beginning to modify and assemble the parts slowly over the next few weeks. Going forward I need to be careful to avoid making mistakes and I think getting some visibility here is going to help.
This will include:
ASRock B350M-ITX/ac
Intel i3-8100
Noctua NH-L9i
Zotac GTX 1050 Ti
SilverStone FX350G power supply
I picked up XPG Gammix 2666 ram with other components when I was going to build with Ryzen initially, and returned everything but the ram before I knew these Intel chips use only 2400. I'm assuming it will still work.
// Planning
When I decided to start this, I had some criteria to keep things functional and looking original:
* Run 6th gen console emulators (specifically, run Shadow of the Colossus smoothly)
* Make use of hard drive shell (though maybe not removable)
* Make use of every feature on the face plate (including DVD bezel)
* No visible modifications to the plastic shell
* Brickless
* Re-integrate the RF module (for wireless controllers) and power button
I decided to use Intel with an Nvidia descreet GPU after watching several videos comparing the Ryzen APUs running games with PCSX2. Ryzen just didn't perform as well as even the 1030 in Shadow of the Colossus and Gran Turismo. Figuring out how to fit a descreet GPU in with an optical drive and power supply has been tricky, and there are several things I need to consider:
* Space between components
* Heat generation
* Air flow
* Fan noise
* Structural stability (with mounting the GPU)
Some similar builds use only the plastic shell which helps with space and cooling, but I need to keep the steel tray to help support the GPU and to keep the unit semi-portable as a console is intended to be.
// Designing
There are some restrictions with the arrangement of the components:
The console's face plate means an optical drive can only fit to the left and top of the case. The space below wouldn't be enough to fit a heatsink.
The power supply could only fit laying down to the side of the motherboard. The two next to each other are right at 10" or about 5mm less than what the tray allows.
The only space a card will fit is behind the drive and to the left of the heatsink, above the power supply. The space to the right of the optical drive and in front of the heatsink is not long enough.
I need to maximize the distance between the left wall and the heatsink to fit the graphics card, so I looked for a motherboard with the CPU socket sitting highest on the board (farthest from the PCI slot).
I found dimensions of the components and drew them out on cardboard cut to the size of the tray, you'll see below.
I had to estimate some measurements by holding a ruler up to images on my monitor. For example I measured an image of the motherboard to be 123mm on my screen, with the CPU slot between 76-91mm or median 83.5mm from PCI side, so (6.7/123)x83.5 gave me about 4.55" from PCI edge to center of CPU slot. I assumed 2mm tolerances, which I found was pretty spot on.
* Steel tray interior dimensions: 10.5/8 x 8.9/16 x 2.3/8" or 270 x 217 x 65mm
(with 10.1/8" between screws that pass up through, and up to 2.3/4" from plastic to plastic)
* Flex PSU: 5.9 x 3.2 x 1.58" or 150 x 82 x 40mm
* Optical drive: 128 x 128mm (with bezel) x 13mm
* Motherboard: 6.7 x 6.7"
(center of CPU slot: ~4.55" from PCI side)
* Heatsink: 95 x 95mm or 3.74", 37mm tall
For the GPU, I was going to use a 1030 at first since it seemed to run SotC ok in the videos, but at the time the Gigabyte model was sold out and the only other 1030's seemed to have very large passive heatsinks. I'd have to modify or replace these heatsinks and rig up fans to fit one, but I couldn't decide on a clean solution even having picked up (and returned) two 1030's. At this point I decided to pull the trigger and get a 1050 ti since they're also low profile and also don't need external power, and then I would figure out cooling later (I think I have now).
So here are some pictures:
First is of the cardboard insert sitting in the tray. I marked screw placements on the left and right sides, and placement of the power supply, motherboard with heatsink, and dvd drive.
Second image is PSU, mobo and heatsink on the insert
Third has optical drive and GPU which will sit above the PSU
This is as far as I've come. I haven't ordered the CPU yet. When I have it, I'll build the PC in a small tower first to get some baseline temps. Then, I will begin making modifications to the GPU's heatsink and test again in the tower. When I'm confident the GPU will be cooled well enough after being made to fit in the 360 case, I'll move everything there and continue testing as I work out cabling.