Recently, I needed to upgrade my computer. Considering the issue with fitting an RTX 2070S into the Node 202 case last time, I conducted thorough research before configuring the computer this time. In the latest Ridge case, I managed to successfully install an RTX 4080 without the need for any modifications, and the cooling performance is also quite impressive.
Here's my detailed configuration list:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600
GPU: Yeston RTX 4080 Sakura Sugar
MB: MSI MPG B650I EDGE WIFI
SSD: Fanxiang S790 4T
Memory: Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 EXPO 32G 6000 x2
CPU Fan: AXP120-X67
PSU: Corsair SF850L 850W ATX 3.0
Case: Fractal Design Ridge
Case Fan: NF-A12x15 x2
Next, let me explain the choices I made for the components. Firstly, I meticulously examined the GPU size that the Ridge case could accommodate. I downloaded the manual from their website, and the size specifications were quite precise. Then, I went through the dimensions of all RTX 4080 cards on TechPowerUp. To be honest, the options were very limited. Among the top-tier brands, only the MSI Ventus series seemed like a possible fit. While other brands like PNY and Gainward could also fit, they were extremely difficult to come by. Ultimately, I came across the Yeston RTX 4080 Sakura. Yeston isn't a mainstream brand; their products are known for featuring designs and color schemes based on anime themes. However, I wasn't interested in the aesthetics. This Yeston card happened to be the only RTX 4080 available to me that could fit into the Ridge case.
Fortunately, once I received this card, and ignoring the flashy design, I discovered that its build quality and craftsmanship were quite impressive. We'll see this in the upcoming testing phase. If you're looking for a detailed review of this card, this forum post is highly professional: https://videocardz.com/review/yeston-geforce-rtx-4080-sakura-sugar-graphics-card-review
I referenced the following two videos, both of which managed to install the RTX 4080 successfully. However, they removed the 140mm stock fan that came with the case. After carefully examining the dimensions of the Ridge case, I realized that it could be replaced with two 15mm fans. It turns out that this is indeed a feasible option, and the additional airflow from these two fans significantly contributes to keeping the GPU cool. So, I purchased two Noctua NF-A12x15 fans to replace the original fans that came with the case.
Can a RTX4080 fit the NEW FRACTAL DESIGN RIDGE ITX? - YouTube
They told us it couldn't be done… - Fractal Ridge - YouTube
The choice of motherboard and CPU was primarily influenced by the limitations of the case. Since the GPU occupies the space for cooling, I couldn't opt for a liquid cooling solution for the CPU. In this constrained space, air cooling became the only viable option, and this led to the necessity of selecting a CPU with a 65W TDP. Initially, I had considered the 7700, but it was out of stock, leaving me with no choice but to settle for the 7600.
An important aspect to mention here is the choice of memory. Due to the considerable size of the CPU cooler, I had to be cautious about selecting memory with low-profile heatsinks. I opted for Kingston's Fury Beast memory without LED lighting, which has one of the lowest-profile heatsinks among similar options. This choice proved to be wise, as after installation, the bottom of the heatsink was almost flush with the top of the memory modules. However, it's worth noting that on AMD motherboards, using EXPO isn't the only option; XMP can work just as well. This memory kit actually features dual profiles, supporting both XMP and EXPO.
The choice of CPU cooler doesn't require much explanation; its height is just right to fit within the Ridge case. However, during installation, it's crucial to pay attention to the orientation. Installing it incorrectly could cause interference with the internal connectors of the power cables.
As for the power supply, there are a few aspects to discuss. I selected it primarily due to three reasons. Firstly, its wattage is sufficient for the setup. Secondly, it's an SFX-L power supply with a 12-inch fan and fan start-stop feature, making it very quiet. Thirdly, it supports ATX3.0, which is extremely important. While the RTX 4000 series graphics cards often come with a 12VHPWR to 3x8 power cable for older power supplies, in reality, this cable is very rigid and difficult to bend. Once connected, it adds more than 2cm to the actual height within the graphics card space. Thus, having a power supply that can provide native 12VHPWR is vital, a feature found only in ATX 3.0 power supplies. This, in fact, is the crucial factor that allows the Ridge case to accommodate the RTX 4080 effectively.
Finally, here's how it looks after everything is installed:
The GPU's cooling performance is quite impressive. This GPU has a default power consumption of 340W, slightly higher than Nvidia's recommended 320W. The stress test results are shown in the image below. At default voltages, using MSI Afterburner, I was able to push the GPU core to 3GHz and the memory to 12GHz, while maintaining a stable temperature of 65 degrees Celsius.
At this point, the score can reach over 30,000 points:
The CPU testing might not be the main focus here, but it's worth mentioning in passing. Under default conditions, the AXP120-x67 cooler actually struggles to provide adequate cooling for the 7600 CPU. Despite being the lowest-specification CPU in the Zen 4 lineup with only a 65W TDP, during the AIDA64 FPU stress test, it easily reaches a temperature of 95 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the frequency can only hover around 4.5GHz.
After adjusting the PBO advanced voltage curve (full core negative 40), and the motherboard is stepping down the CPU core by 0.025, in the final FPU baking machine test, the frequency can reach 4.9G. If AIDA64 only bakes the CPU, then the frequency can easily reach 5.3G (need to open an additional 200Mhz in PBO), and the temperature is around 70 degrees Celsius.This is the score of Cinebench R20 can reach about 5732. This result is basically equal to the 7600 with normal heat dissipation on the Internet. In other words, although Ridge's air cooling effect is very general, there will still be no performance waste when we use the 7600 here.
The above results passed the 1-hour oven test without any instability and can be used for a long time, and it was measured when I replaced the original AXP120-x67 with the NFx12-A15. A certain degree of performance degradation is about 100 points, which means that the original fan can reach a score of 5800+.
In daily use, the CPU fan is the main source of noise. Although I have replaced it with a Noctua fan, it still reaches a higher speed from time to time during use. This can be solved by adjusting the CPU fan curve. When playing games, the CPU also rushes to a higher frequency and temperature from time to time. So if you want to be quiet, you can limit the CPU to about 75 degrees. At this time, the Cinebench R20 score is 5400-5500, which is a relatively balanced result.
The advantage of the overall configuration is that there is no need for mods at all, everything can be perfectly installed in place, and the GPU performance is not wasted at all and is very high. The disadvantage is that the CPU heat dissipation is not very good. Although the limit can be achieved without wasting the CPU, it cannot be achieved quietly.
In addition, there are a few points that need to be specially mentioned. The GPU adapter card used in this chassis has problems with PCIE 4.0 support, so it can only be used by setting it to PCIE 3.0 in the motherboard, and there is almost no performance gap in actual use.
Also, MSI's B650 ITX has the lowest configuration and cheapest motherboard, without any support for PCIE 5.0, and has quite a few problems. First of all, I have seen more than one report of a dead battery, and the motherboard battery was dead when I got it, and needed to be replaced. In addition, the startup speed is very slow. This is a bug that needs to be solved by turning on Memory Context Restore, but this option is not compatible with XMP and EXPO, so you actually need to adjust all memory parameters yourself. Finally, the PCIE version of M2 also needs to be manually adjusted, otherwise the default is PCIE 3.0.
Here's my detailed configuration list:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600
GPU: Yeston RTX 4080 Sakura Sugar
MB: MSI MPG B650I EDGE WIFI
SSD: Fanxiang S790 4T
Memory: Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 EXPO 32G 6000 x2
CPU Fan: AXP120-X67
PSU: Corsair SF850L 850W ATX 3.0
Case: Fractal Design Ridge
Case Fan: NF-A12x15 x2
Next, let me explain the choices I made for the components. Firstly, I meticulously examined the GPU size that the Ridge case could accommodate. I downloaded the manual from their website, and the size specifications were quite precise. Then, I went through the dimensions of all RTX 4080 cards on TechPowerUp. To be honest, the options were very limited. Among the top-tier brands, only the MSI Ventus series seemed like a possible fit. While other brands like PNY and Gainward could also fit, they were extremely difficult to come by. Ultimately, I came across the Yeston RTX 4080 Sakura. Yeston isn't a mainstream brand; their products are known for featuring designs and color schemes based on anime themes. However, I wasn't interested in the aesthetics. This Yeston card happened to be the only RTX 4080 available to me that could fit into the Ridge case.
Fortunately, once I received this card, and ignoring the flashy design, I discovered that its build quality and craftsmanship were quite impressive. We'll see this in the upcoming testing phase. If you're looking for a detailed review of this card, this forum post is highly professional: https://videocardz.com/review/yeston-geforce-rtx-4080-sakura-sugar-graphics-card-review
I referenced the following two videos, both of which managed to install the RTX 4080 successfully. However, they removed the 140mm stock fan that came with the case. After carefully examining the dimensions of the Ridge case, I realized that it could be replaced with two 15mm fans. It turns out that this is indeed a feasible option, and the additional airflow from these two fans significantly contributes to keeping the GPU cool. So, I purchased two Noctua NF-A12x15 fans to replace the original fans that came with the case.
Can a RTX4080 fit the NEW FRACTAL DESIGN RIDGE ITX? - YouTube
They told us it couldn't be done… - Fractal Ridge - YouTube
The choice of motherboard and CPU was primarily influenced by the limitations of the case. Since the GPU occupies the space for cooling, I couldn't opt for a liquid cooling solution for the CPU. In this constrained space, air cooling became the only viable option, and this led to the necessity of selecting a CPU with a 65W TDP. Initially, I had considered the 7700, but it was out of stock, leaving me with no choice but to settle for the 7600.
An important aspect to mention here is the choice of memory. Due to the considerable size of the CPU cooler, I had to be cautious about selecting memory with low-profile heatsinks. I opted for Kingston's Fury Beast memory without LED lighting, which has one of the lowest-profile heatsinks among similar options. This choice proved to be wise, as after installation, the bottom of the heatsink was almost flush with the top of the memory modules. However, it's worth noting that on AMD motherboards, using EXPO isn't the only option; XMP can work just as well. This memory kit actually features dual profiles, supporting both XMP and EXPO.
The choice of CPU cooler doesn't require much explanation; its height is just right to fit within the Ridge case. However, during installation, it's crucial to pay attention to the orientation. Installing it incorrectly could cause interference with the internal connectors of the power cables.
As for the power supply, there are a few aspects to discuss. I selected it primarily due to three reasons. Firstly, its wattage is sufficient for the setup. Secondly, it's an SFX-L power supply with a 12-inch fan and fan start-stop feature, making it very quiet. Thirdly, it supports ATX3.0, which is extremely important. While the RTX 4000 series graphics cards often come with a 12VHPWR to 3x8 power cable for older power supplies, in reality, this cable is very rigid and difficult to bend. Once connected, it adds more than 2cm to the actual height within the graphics card space. Thus, having a power supply that can provide native 12VHPWR is vital, a feature found only in ATX 3.0 power supplies. This, in fact, is the crucial factor that allows the Ridge case to accommodate the RTX 4080 effectively.
Finally, here's how it looks after everything is installed:
The GPU's cooling performance is quite impressive. This GPU has a default power consumption of 340W, slightly higher than Nvidia's recommended 320W. The stress test results are shown in the image below. At default voltages, using MSI Afterburner, I was able to push the GPU core to 3GHz and the memory to 12GHz, while maintaining a stable temperature of 65 degrees Celsius.
At this point, the score can reach over 30,000 points:
The CPU testing might not be the main focus here, but it's worth mentioning in passing. Under default conditions, the AXP120-x67 cooler actually struggles to provide adequate cooling for the 7600 CPU. Despite being the lowest-specification CPU in the Zen 4 lineup with only a 65W TDP, during the AIDA64 FPU stress test, it easily reaches a temperature of 95 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the frequency can only hover around 4.5GHz.
After adjusting the PBO advanced voltage curve (full core negative 40), and the motherboard is stepping down the CPU core by 0.025, in the final FPU baking machine test, the frequency can reach 4.9G. If AIDA64 only bakes the CPU, then the frequency can easily reach 5.3G (need to open an additional 200Mhz in PBO), and the temperature is around 70 degrees Celsius.This is the score of Cinebench R20 can reach about 5732. This result is basically equal to the 7600 with normal heat dissipation on the Internet. In other words, although Ridge's air cooling effect is very general, there will still be no performance waste when we use the 7600 here.
The above results passed the 1-hour oven test without any instability and can be used for a long time, and it was measured when I replaced the original AXP120-x67 with the NFx12-A15. A certain degree of performance degradation is about 100 points, which means that the original fan can reach a score of 5800+.
In daily use, the CPU fan is the main source of noise. Although I have replaced it with a Noctua fan, it still reaches a higher speed from time to time during use. This can be solved by adjusting the CPU fan curve. When playing games, the CPU also rushes to a higher frequency and temperature from time to time. So if you want to be quiet, you can limit the CPU to about 75 degrees. At this time, the Cinebench R20 score is 5400-5500, which is a relatively balanced result.
The advantage of the overall configuration is that there is no need for mods at all, everything can be perfectly installed in place, and the GPU performance is not wasted at all and is very high. The disadvantage is that the CPU heat dissipation is not very good. Although the limit can be achieved without wasting the CPU, it cannot be achieved quietly.
In addition, there are a few points that need to be specially mentioned. The GPU adapter card used in this chassis has problems with PCIE 4.0 support, so it can only be used by setting it to PCIE 3.0 in the motherboard, and there is almost no performance gap in actual use.
Also, MSI's B650 ITX has the lowest configuration and cheapest motherboard, without any support for PCIE 5.0, and has quite a few problems. First of all, I have seen more than one report of a dead battery, and the motherboard battery was dead when I got it, and needed to be replaced. In addition, the startup speed is very slow. This is a bug that needs to be solved by turning on Memory Context Restore, but this option is not compatible with XMP and EXPO, so you actually need to adjust all memory parameters yourself. Finally, the PCIE version of M2 also needs to be manually adjusted, otherwise the default is PCIE 3.0.
