it's been a long time since I last owned an mATX motherboard and I totally forgot how big they are...
anyway, it sits pretty comfortable in the BIG560 and because mATX boards are quite a bit cheaper compared to mITX I decided to show you a budget build with the new prototype:
- R5 2600
- MSI B450 (full size) mATX
- (modded) ENERMAX 280mm AIO with Phanteks Fans
- ZRT R9 Fury
- FSP 600W SFX PSU
before getting started, we assemble the inner parts of the case like this:
next, putting the motherboard in (note that you can not install fans/rads at the bottom with mATX)
mounting the AIO and GPU (note: the profile in the front can be removed during assembly to make your life a bit easier)
adding the power supply and wiring it up (there is still enough room at the front, besides the MOBO to put the PSU there if you whish to)
almost forgot to connect the power button
similar like the RTX FE cards, my R9 also does blow a bit of hot air trough and up, so I put one additional exhaust fan on the side
almost done, just need to slide in the side panels... now the additional brackets do have pros and cons...
- pro: in theory you could use acrylic on all 3 sides of the case, plus you have easy access to all sides
- con: manufacturing tolerances can sum up and make it really difficult to slide in those panels (like Linus used to say: "damn that's sooo tight")
after loosening some screws, the panels could all be inserted: case closed
PS: I moved the power button to the back of the case, I hope you can see the advantages that brings...
thermal and noise test with silent fan profile (note, the Phanteks fans can not go below 800 RPM)
ambient temperature
idle temperature
GPU & CPU combined stress test