Discussion PSU for InWin Chopin

[0v3rl0rd]

Hi everyone.
I just stumbled upon this forum. I finished my first ITX build a month ago.
It goes like this:
Case: InWin Chopin
PSU: came with case
MB: ASRock A520M-ITX/ac
CPU: Ryzen 4650G with stock cooler (Wraith Stealth without the plastic guard so it can fit)
RAM: 16 GB G.Skill Flare X (F4-3200C14D-16GFX) in dual channel on 3200 MHz
SSD: Samsung 970 EVO m.2 250 GB
Storage: Crucial MX500 1TB

So, first of all, the PSU fan is a disaster when under any load... I changed the stock PSU fan for the Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX which I than connected to the fan header on my motherboard, tuned the BIOS setting for that fan to "standard" mode, and voila.

Now I did some short testing (about an hour or so) with Aida64's system stability test, and it's working fine, just that the CPU temps are a little bit uncofortable for me: it idles around 35-45°C and when doing the test it was around 88-90°C, and it even got to 93 at an instant.

Since there is not much I can do for better airflow in such a small case, I was thinking about two things:
1) lower the voltage on the CPU
2) replace the stock PSU with a PicoPSU or a HDPLEX 200 to make room for 2 small noctua fans on the bottom of the case
3) I'll consider changing the CPU cooler for a Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 or a Cooler Master MasterAir G200P (since it's rated for 95W TDP VS Noctua's 65W)

So, first about undervolting/underclocking the CPU. Since I never did that on a Ryzen APU, I don't know exactly where to start. I also read HERE that it's possible to "enable the 35 watt mode" on newer Ryzen APU's. If anyone has any info that could help me regarding undervolting/underclocking and/or that 35W mode, it would be awesome

Second, about these tiny PSU's. I'd prefer to have the brick outside the case because of extra space inside the case, plus the temperature. And here is my next question: how are the PicoPSU-160-XT and HDPLEX 200W DC-ATX coping with temperature? I mean, afaik, the PicoPSU input is 12V, and the HDPLEX is 19V. Therefore, the PicoPSU should be colder than the HDPLEX, becase the latter must convert from 19 to 12V, so there must be SOME heat (it even has the heatsink). I tried searching for info about that, but with no luck.

I would appreciate any help

 

[jaeparku]

from what I have heard, the HD Plex Psu's are very efficient, generate not much heat, and dead silent.

 

[Bubba]

Remove the rear I/O cover shield.
The stock cooler will blow air out through the I/O hole.
Trust me. A lot less heat will be trapped inside your case.

 

[bluearms]

I have attached heat conduction pad between inner case and outer C shaped aluminum external panel. They are connected by bolts but there are spaces between them so heat is not dissipated. Attaching thermal pad at top part and bottom part (front part is covered by plastic front panel so meaningless) does not make case cool because case is hot and cooling fan is usually weak, but make them easily cooled and slowly warmed. Without thermal pad inner case hot but exterios aluminum cool, but with thermal pad exterior part also become warm so proving heat is dissipated through them.

 

[dieaready]

I've built a chopin and a BQ656 (similar to chopin) and I'm surprised you are complaining about the psu fan when the cpu cooler fan would be way louder (both running NH-L9s, one with 3400G, other with 4750G). The 4750G thermal throttles at max loads and I've been thinking of making a duct for the fan right up to the mesh so intake or exhaust (flip the fan around) would be much cleaner as I suspect there is a lot of recirculation inside the case as I don't feel much hot air coming out of any of the vents. Also wondering if I could squeeze in a 120 or 140mm fan instead of the 92mm on the NH-L9 to increase the intake, which would help tremendously.

 

[nightshift]

After seeing a few really nice looking Chopin builds recently and having to stay and work inside a hotel for once a month since January, got me thinking on a building a Chopin with a 4650g myself (still hesitating). Would not need anything more than an AsRock B520-; or 550-ITX/ac and it would look gorgeous with my L9a chromax cooler and I could just hook it to the TV in the room with an HDMI cable and play away.

Btw, while I can only recommend you to try switching that stock amd cooler to the L9a as step 1 before making any other move like ditching your already noctuarized psu or switching to 35w mode. I was a bit skeptic about the L9a but after trying it I was seriously impressed. I'm cooling a 3300x set to 4.2Ghz with 1.225v with it in my Dan A4 (and a fan duct) using Carbonaut - so not even proper thermal paste, and it works great. This cpu is considered a bit warmer than a R5 3600 and this cooler is able to tame it nicely.
It is cheap, available, zero compatibility issues regarding motherboard, RAM or M.2 heatsinks, better backplate than what comes with any mobo, only 37mm tall and it is a lot more silent than most other (especially the AMD stock) cooler.

 

[Machida]

Take a look at my build you can mod the case to fit wraith spire cooler which comes with the 3400g. Dropping the mb tray 15mm to 20mm. With a perfect fit. Going to try and fit maybe 120mm or 2400mm aio.

https://machida007.imgbb.com

 

[Phuncz]

Going to try and fit maybe 120mm or 2400mm aio.

Where would you put a 120mm or larger AIO in an In Win Chopin ?

 

[ssouthall6]

I noticed the same with the fan on the In Win B1.

Had an hdplex 300w ac, tried to fit it in the case but it was too big. Not sure about the Chopin, but the B1 connects the psu to the case in the middle, so even removing the board and recasing it in the in win psu case (it did fit) would have required tapping the case and losing thermals as there is no fan thin enough to fit with the board and no c5 output on the hdplex anyway.

Frustrating. Any 19v psu is gonna need to be tapped by the looks of things. Gonna have to relinquish my 19v board and sodimm at this rate.

 

[kompakt]

Dropping the mb tray 15mm to 20mm.

I'm curious how you did this. This would help with fitting different pico PSU setups in the case as well as well, especially around the DC-ATX plug.

 

[Machida]

Where would you put a 120mm or larger AIO in an In Win

Where would you put a 120mm or larger AIO in an In Win Chopin ?

Inwin Chopin case with AMD 5700g cpu and 120mm Aio water cooled.

https://ibb.co/album/Xk6s4R

 

[Machida]

I'm curious how you did this. This would help with fitting different pico PSU setups in the case as well as well, especially around the DC-ATX plug.

Having 2 Inwin Chopin cases helps a lot. You can refer to the untouched case for references and guides.

Took apart Inwin Chopin case removing all rivets and breaking carefully the 2 lightly welded joints. Basically removing the metal tray that the motherboard screws into. Cut off the folded metal pieces so the tray can sit flat and lower in the case. Should be left with a flat piece of metal and raised mb screw in points.

Cut or dremmel below the mb IO Shield goes. (Lowering the mb tray the IO shield will need to be in a lower position. You can then use mesh or a metal piece to block the opening once loward). Spray paint mb tray and rivet back in. Doing this looses the space for ssd and hdd. Use a nvme m.2 ssd.

The aim is to lower motherboard tray (similar to the Inwin Chopin Max case) giving more space for air coolers/wires. Around 65mm from top of cpu to mesh case lid. Just enough space for me to fit customiaed 120mm AIO.