PcS2 "2nd Impact" (PC in a PS2 Case)

MDIGN

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Apr 29, 2018
7
5
[UPDATE 1] April 30, 2018 - Parts list changed. Previous parts still there is anyone wanted to do their own thing. Reasoning is in a post below.

Hello all,

I lurk around here from time to time and I really like seeing the way people push so much into small builds, so I thought I'd try my own hand at one. I've built systems before, but this will be my first small form factor one. I intend this to be used mostly for emulation and some modern gaming, nothing high end or ground-breaking. Without further wasting time I'll get to the point.

[UPDATED 04/30/18]
Here are the current specs:



    • HDPlex 160w PSU (Using a HP 230w Power Brick rated at 19.5v *I hope this is compatible)
    • Intel Core i5-7500
    • Noctua NH-L9I Cooler
    • 8GB(2x4GB) Kingston HyperX Fury 2133MHz DDR4 RAM
    • Zotac GTX1060 3GB Mini
    • WD 1TB 7200RPM 2.5" HDD
    • Samsung 860 EVO 250GB SSD
    • MSI Gaming Intel B250 LGA 1151 DDR4 HDMI mini-ITX Motherboard (B250I GAMING PRO AC)
    • LG Electronics Slim DVD Super Multi Optical Drive
(Old Specs)
  • i7-7700 (not the K series)
  • MSI Mini ITX Motherboard H110I Pro AC
  • PicoPSU 160xt (The HDPlex 160 is just slightly too tall)
  • EVGA GTX 1050Ti
    • Possibility to be swapped for a GTX 1060
  • Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15
  • Zalman CPU Fan Cooling CNPS2X
    • Possibility to be swapped for the Thermolab ITX30 Slim and Quiet CPU Cooler *
  • 1x Samsung 850 EVO 500GB (MZ-75E500B/AM)
  • 1x Seagate 2TB FireCuda Gaming SSHD (ST2000LX001)
Here is a diagram of measurements and planned part placements:


_______________________


There are some problems that I am running into currently:



    • Vertical space is at a premium, as such I am limited to that Zalaman CPU cooler.
    • The DVD drive looks like it will conflict with the mobo and ram slots.
      -I would really like the DVD drive to stay in the build, but on paper it may have to be cut
    • With such a weak cooler I may have to add an additional intake fan.
    • If I wanted to use a GTX 1060 the Pico 160xt will not be compatible with it (I read in a post around here that someone had issues with it due to the rails not being able to take the load the card needed or something.)
Possible solution:
I mount the motherboard upside down into the top of the PS2 case. (Originally the mobo would have been mounted on a 3D printed plate or spacers using the original PS2 screw points.)



    • I would have room for a larger cooler like the Thermolab ITX30.
    • I'd also potentially have room to fit the DVD drive?
    • I may not need an additional intake fan, but I'd still have one for better airflow.
    • I could fit the HDPlex 160w and thus use the GTX 1060.
Other notes:
I'm going to cut additional holes into the side of the PS2 for addional airflow, similar to the original Xbox One. While the 1060 would be nice to have, it's not a requirement, emulation relies mostly on the CPU and the 1050ti can handle most games Med/High 1080p. Currently the price jump from 1050ti to 1060 doesn't seem to be worth it, however if I use the HDPlex 160 now it will save me from having problems if I upgrade later. DVD drive isn't required, but I want to work with it until it is 100% not an option. I am trying to keep this build as close to the original case as possible, obviously I'm going to have to cut out the back for the mobo, but other than that I'm trying not to butcher the case.

I will be using a PCIe ribbon cable to move the GPU where its needed.

Questions, comments, and concerns?
I haven't ordered the parts yet as I would like a few more sets of eyes to look things over to see if I missed anything or if there is something that can be done better.

 
Last edited:

MDIGN

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Apr 29, 2018
7
5
A S S E M B L Y:

Good news and bad news.
90% of the parts have arrived so I have begun to piece together what I can.
The motherboard has been mounted with some standoffs I managed to find on Amazon. I drilled some holes in the top and the standoffs manage to blend with the case pretty well.


(I left room for the HDPLEX as it extends 18mm out from the slot.)

Bad news is I forgot how much bigger the GTX 1060 is and a good 13mm protrudes from the back. I'm not sure how I'll deal with this yet, I'll probably have some kind of back panel 3D Printed to cover the mobo and GPU. Also, the DVD drive doesn't look like it'll fit, it hasn't shipped yet so I'm not exactly sure, but if it does I'll have to recut the disc hole with a Dremel as the pcie port on the mobo is too tall.


In other news the 90 degree PCIe riser I got is not going to fit properly so I have to reorder a straight one. They sent me the wrong bracket for my mobo, I'm not sure how though there are literally double the ports on the motherboard than the bracket I was sent with it. They also forgot to send the antenna with it. So I'm not sure if I have to send it back or if they'll send me the parts.

HDPlex hasn't shipped the PSU yet so I can't even test the parts for defects. :/
 
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MDIGN

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Apr 29, 2018
7
5
Depending on what hardware you already have, you can save precious space with the ASRock DeskMini GTX as a base for your project:

https://www.asrock.com/nettop/intel/DeskMini GTXRX/index.asp

I think with that you could solve some of your issues.

Nice, I didn't even know that existed. I did some research and overall its definitely a nice piece of hardware. However I've found its going to be incompatible and more trouble than its worth. The onboard MXM connector is, well, only compatible with laptop GPUs which are being price gouged by Nvidia atm. It also seems to be incompatible with most cpu coolers and heats up with a i7 7700(from a LinusTech vid). From what I saw the barebones kit is $800 and only includes the 1060(along with everything else) which is a bit more than the current GPU+Mobo+CPU+RAM and is about the same price if I upgraded to a 1060.

Sorry if I sound like I'm nitpicking/nagging or running on.
 

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
5,827
4,902
It's indeed not cheap, although the 1060 kit does include:
- case
- power supply
- motherboard
- GTX 1060 MXM
- GPU cooler

You'll need atleast:
- CPU (non-K)
- SODIMM RAM
- CPU cooler (Noctua NH-L9i recommended)
- storage (M.2 NVMe recommended)

Be sure to factor in the power supply in your cost, as AC-DC + DC-DC can add up quite a bit.
 

MDIGN

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Apr 29, 2018
7
5
UPDATE:
Parts have been ordered and a lot has changed. In fact almost all parts have been swapped out. I'll start off with the new list and go into detail why:
  • HDPlex 160w PSU (Using a HP 230w Power Brick rated at 19.5v *I hope this is compatible)
  • Intel Core i5-7500
  • Noctua NH-L9I Cooler
  • 8GB(2x4GB) Kingston HyperX Fury 2133MHz DDR4 RAM
  • Zotac GTX1060 3GB Mini
  • WD 1TB 7200RPM 2.5" HDD
  • Samsung 860 EVO 250GB SSD
  • MSI Gaming Intel B250 LGA 1151 DDR4 HDMI mini-ITX Motherboard (B250I GAMING PRO AC)
Reasoning:
I decided to go for a more cost effective build that would still offer the ability to upgrade as needed. To simplify:
  1. The HDPlex is proven to be compatible with the GTX 1060 with no additional cables or hassle.
  2. While the i7 is unarguably far better, this was meant to be essentially a console. Granted emulators rely on CPU, the i5 7500 has proven to be more than capable of holding its own. The only problem I may have is the newer PS3 emulation which has not been fully developed and optimized yet and still has issues on even a i7 7700 and 8th gen CPUs. The i5 7500 is arguably the best value CPU for the price other than the Ryzen 5 1600 (which has a more expensive motherboard).
  3. When cutting costs RAM was the first thing that came to my mind, not only are they inflated in price now, I don't think we'll need more than 8GBs of RAM. This isn't a multi-tasking desktop, it's pretty much just going to be used for games and maybe some movies.
  4. The GTX 1060, now this is where all the price saving gets absorbed into an average quality sponge. Honestly, if miners weren't such a plague we could easily have upped the CPU and RAM without a second thought. It was only ~$55 or so more expensive than the 1050Ti but has much more respectable performance.
  5. The HDDs were replaced because after taking a long evaluation I realized I personally won't need all the extra space. In my main rig I have the same SSD and have no issues as it sits well below 50% used space, and my main 2TB HDD is at 50% with a large amount of games and hundreds of large mods for Skyrim on top of other things. Not to mention if I can fit the DVD drive I won't need to even store PS2 games.
  6. Motherboard was a HUGE oversight on my part, it turns out the previous mobo would not support 7th Gen out of the box, and I have no intention of taking my current rig apart to load a bios when I can just buy a more recent motherboard with likely better features.
  7. I have decided to do the upside down mount, which may lead to some heat disspation issues that I'll sort out when everything is built.
Most of the parts should arrive here by Thursday, hopefully earlier.
 
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MDIGN

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Apr 29, 2018
7
5
[Major Update]
Due to my inability to measure twice I overlooked the height of the HDPlex PSU. It would not fit in the top mount. So I quickly swapped back to my original plan and mounted it to the bottom of the PS2. So far everything is fine now and I actually have room for my DVD drive now. However I am running into problems with cable management. They are preventing me from being able to close the case.

Also I will need to make a custom backplate to be 3d printed.






Heat is going to be an issue, once I can fir everything into a closed case I will see if I can add an additional fan.
 

chinamanch

Efficiency Noob
Oct 14, 2018
7
1
Hello :v

I'm also in a similar project right now I'm just waiting for the Flex psu to arrive :)
Cpu - AMD athlon 870k
Cooling - Stock AMD heat sink + x2 120 mm fans
Mobo- Asrock FM2 mini ITX
Memory - DDR3 x 2 8 gb sticks
Storage - 2.5 140 GB SSD
- 2.5 2 Tb SSHD
GPU - MSI Oc Rx 560 4 gb Low proflle
PSU - 350 Watts Flex Power

Just drop the dvd it will save you a ton of head ache. Good luck with your build.
 

Ross Siggers

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Nov 10, 2018
105
107
Bumping this, curious to know what became of this project :) I was thinking of making an OG PS2 my next project
 

chinamanch

Efficiency Noob
Oct 14, 2018
7
1
Good Day !!!
Finally done with my "PSP00p" though I deviate from my original specs I decided to go for the Ryzen 5 2400g since it already had a a decent IGPU and so far its running fine with me.

Current parts :
CPU - Ryzen 5 2400g
GPU- MSI Oc Rx 560 4 gb Low profllie ( Dropped since the on board Vega 11 runs better )
Cooling- AMD Wraith Spire RGB + 2 120mm case Fans
Mobo - Asrock AB350 ITX
Memory- Patriot Viper x 2 16 Gb DDr 4 :)
Storage- SP Boot 256 Gb M.2
- Seagate Firecuda 2.5 " 2 tb
Power- Replace TFX 450 watts



 
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