Hello everyone,
I have just finished my most compact build yet and am convinced there's no better place to get some feedback on it than here.
My build fits a gaming PC (7th Gen. Intel + 1050 Ti) inside the husk of a dead, standard ATX PSU (outside volume of just 2.16L).
Admittedly I have been inspired originally by Aibohphobias build SFX160.0 thread here. When a PSU with an attractive exterior shell broke down (XFX XTS 460W passively cooled ATX PSU) I saw that as a sign to go ahead and build my own ATX PSU PC.
Fitting a Mini-STX mainboard and a 1050Ti inside the case there was little room for other components. And even the GPU only fit because I modded the stock 2 slot high cooler with a <1 slot low profile CPU cooler (the same one I used for cooling the actual CPU). So sadly only the DC-DC step up converter (to take the 12V from the AC-DC and turn it into 19V for the mainboard) could fit inside the case, the AC-DC PSU is external and provides up to 350W@12V in a compact passively cooled package. The 12V are used to power the DC-DC step up converter for the mainboards 19V input and also directly supplies the 12V requirements for the GPU. The AC-DC PSU is actually a bit overpowered, considering the mainboard can handle at most a 65W CPU and the GPU can at most draw 75W (it is powered through PCIe only).
So an even smaller 150W or at most 200W PSU would've done the job as well, but the 350W was a leftover from an older casemod.
The stock GPU cooler was overpowered for the 1050 Ti (as is evident by the fact, that the 1060 mini card uses the exact same cooler), so thermals didn't change at all with the much smaller cooler. An hour of Heaven Benchmark 4.0 showed that between the runs with the stock cooler and the hacked cooler performance didn't change, so I am confident that the solution is adequate.
As you will see in the pictures, the GPU is basically open air, thanks to the generous ventilation holes in the PSUs top cover.
The CPU however sits below the GPU with all the cables and support electronics (DC-DC step up converter to produce the 19V required by the mainboard and a gimmick 1.8"TFT + ESP32 controller to handle the frontpanel duties) installed next to it, it has little room to breathe. One 40mm Noctua fan takes the duty of sucking hot air away from one side of the CPU cooler out the back and another 40mm Noctua is pushing air in from the front, blowing it over the DC-DC PSUs cooler. Surprisingly the CPU remains relatively cool, 30 - 35 C idle and 70 - 80 C under load (no doubt owed to the fact that the Pentium has a mere 51W TDP).
As mentioned, the duties of the frontpanel (power button, etc) are handled by a 1.8" TFT and an ESP32 controller. The front fan grill serves as a touch button, pressing it long enough (see video) will engage the mainboards power button pins and start the PC.
There are still things I want to do. First and foremost is to replace the crudely improvised faceplate with a 3D printed one that will look better.
A new paintjob is also prudent, as the original paint got a bit scratched up during the build process.
Lastly the ESP32 needs more firmware development, so that the display may show status information in the future (ie HDD activity indicator, CPU and GPU statistics/thermals, FPS counter, etc.)
Specs:
Pictures:
I hope this inspires someone else to push the envelope.
I have just finished my most compact build yet and am convinced there's no better place to get some feedback on it than here.
My build fits a gaming PC (7th Gen. Intel + 1050 Ti) inside the husk of a dead, standard ATX PSU (outside volume of just 2.16L).
Admittedly I have been inspired originally by Aibohphobias build SFX160.0 thread here. When a PSU with an attractive exterior shell broke down (XFX XTS 460W passively cooled ATX PSU) I saw that as a sign to go ahead and build my own ATX PSU PC.
Fitting a Mini-STX mainboard and a 1050Ti inside the case there was little room for other components. And even the GPU only fit because I modded the stock 2 slot high cooler with a <1 slot low profile CPU cooler (the same one I used for cooling the actual CPU). So sadly only the DC-DC step up converter (to take the 12V from the AC-DC and turn it into 19V for the mainboard) could fit inside the case, the AC-DC PSU is external and provides up to 350W@12V in a compact passively cooled package. The 12V are used to power the DC-DC step up converter for the mainboards 19V input and also directly supplies the 12V requirements for the GPU. The AC-DC PSU is actually a bit overpowered, considering the mainboard can handle at most a 65W CPU and the GPU can at most draw 75W (it is powered through PCIe only).
So an even smaller 150W or at most 200W PSU would've done the job as well, but the 350W was a leftover from an older casemod.
The stock GPU cooler was overpowered for the 1050 Ti (as is evident by the fact, that the 1060 mini card uses the exact same cooler), so thermals didn't change at all with the much smaller cooler. An hour of Heaven Benchmark 4.0 showed that between the runs with the stock cooler and the hacked cooler performance didn't change, so I am confident that the solution is adequate.
As you will see in the pictures, the GPU is basically open air, thanks to the generous ventilation holes in the PSUs top cover.
The CPU however sits below the GPU with all the cables and support electronics (DC-DC step up converter to produce the 19V required by the mainboard and a gimmick 1.8"TFT + ESP32 controller to handle the frontpanel duties) installed next to it, it has little room to breathe. One 40mm Noctua fan takes the duty of sucking hot air away from one side of the CPU cooler out the back and another 40mm Noctua is pushing air in from the front, blowing it over the DC-DC PSUs cooler. Surprisingly the CPU remains relatively cool, 30 - 35 C idle and 70 - 80 C under load (no doubt owed to the fact that the Pentium has a mere 51W TDP).
As mentioned, the duties of the frontpanel (power button, etc) are handled by a 1.8" TFT and an ESP32 controller. The front fan grill serves as a touch button, pressing it long enough (see video) will engage the mainboards power button pins and start the PC.
There are still things I want to do. First and foremost is to replace the crudely improvised faceplate with a 3D printed one that will look better.
A new paintjob is also prudent, as the original paint got a bit scratched up during the build process.
Lastly the ESP32 needs more firmware development, so that the display may show status information in the future (ie HDD activity indicator, CPU and GPU statistics/thermals, FPS counter, etc.)
Specs:
| Component | Model | Description |
| CPU | Intel G4560 | 51W TDP Pentium; Could be anything up to 65W |
| RAM | DDR4-2133 2x 4GB SO-DIMM | 8GB Notebook RAM |
| SSD | Teclast 240GB | Random SSD, stripped of its casing (the PCB is about half the size of the SSD case) |
| PSU | 12V/30A AC-DC & 12V to 19V DC-DC | 12V PSU was intended for LED lighting applications; DC-DC step up converter is a generic 150W type |
| Mainboard | Asus H110S1 | Mini-STX with M.2 to PCIe x16 Riser cable |
| GPU | Zotac 1050 Ti mini | with a PCB barely longer than the PCIe slot it tightly fits the ATX PSU dimensions |
| Coolers | 2x LC-CC-65 | two low profile CPU coolers cool the CPU as well as the GPU (the original cooler was removed from the GPU and the CPU low profile cooler was modded on - temps didn't change at all compared to stock) |
| Fans | 2x Noctua A4x10 | Two Noctua 40mm fans produce some airflow over the mainboard and DC-DC PSU |
| Case | XFX XTS 460W modular passively cooled PSU (standard ATX size) | The PSU was defective and so I gutted it and put a PC inside Outside dimensions are: 16cm x 15cm x 9cm => 2.16L |
Pictures:
I hope this inspires someone else to push the envelope.
