What's started as a slight upgrade to my 2017 build has gone wrong. So wrong.
My previous build was
- Ryzen 5 1600X
- EVGA 120 AIO, push/pull
- Asrock B350 Gaming ITX
- EVGA 650W White
- Corsair Vengeance RGB 16GB 2x8 3200
- Gigabyte 1050ti OC
- 3TB 3.5 HDD
- M.2 SATA 256
- Cooler Master Elite 130, with 2 fans for the radiator, a side 120mm for intake, and the tiny 80mm that came with the case
Now, to add some context, I live in a south-american 3rd world country. High import taxes, except for an tax exception on purchases on US for up to U$S 200, 3 times per year.
The GPU was starting to deteriorate in late 2018 (random crashes, then started to work only by applying force in one corner, and only posted randomly), and there ain't no customer support here to validate the warranty. So, I take to well recommended GPU expert, well reviewed... who went of the grid and took mine and many other GPUs. That's what happens when there are few qualified technicians. To recapitulate, no decent GPU until mid 2020 when I got a GTX 970 for U$S 70 (hindsight, not a bad deal, considering the current situation), previously was using my father's GPU, a R7 250, but I replaced his for a basic GPU with his permission (he only does basic office work).
Was able to play a bit (some compiling an programation, emulation, gaming, tweaking a bit settings, some game didn't work unless I changed res and details), but the low memory was starting to show, cleaned up, at least I had a working desktop.
Then a friend started to ask me about getting a new rig, prices, parts, you know the deal, I was hooked.
I had some extra money, and managed to snatch a 1660 Super for U$S 200 less than what usually relails around here (shortage has worsened everything), so I was happy.
Then one of the people I asked for quotes for my friend, answered weeks after I emailed him... and he was offering a 3600x for US MSRP. Sealed. New. Here. Couldn't pass up.
Here's where it starts to go wrong. I update the BIOS to support 3rd gen Ryzen, the system posts... then crashes 10 seconds into BIOS. Try and earlier version. Same. Try going up incrementally BIOS versions. No dice. Changed the RAM kit with one I had laying around at my first try in 2017 but couldn't get to post at full speed. Nothing. Changed the PSU. Nada.
The guy that sold it told me to take my time, test it, and then wire him the money or just tell him to get it back (even if I broke the seal, I offered some money to cover it up).
After looking up, looks like it was a common thing with some B350. Then I remembered I had another B350 I got for cheap in my first attempt, but was mATX. Could it be the motherboard?
It was the motherboard.
So I got the system working, the intention was to sell the mATX parts with 1600x, but now I'm selling the ITX, 1600x and case.
Got a lousy tin can case, classic mid tower, to house the mATX build and AIO, but after going ITX... it didn't felt right, I usually got the Elite 130 sideways with rubber feet and GPU facing up, over my desktop. Was looking the local market, best I could find was the Cooler Master Q300L but was basically the same size as the tin can.
I get browsing, nothing came close to the Elite 130 (it was barely SFF under 20 liters, but I had that case since my previous 2013-2014 FM1 ITX build, and I liked that case). My best guess was the chinese Metalfish S5 that Linus reviewed last year, checked most of the boxes, but had to triangulate China-US, then US to my country via PO box (see previous about tax exempted importing). Wasn't gonna be cheap.
And then I chatted with a local dealer, that posts on local forums, and suggested a case in Newegg that never appeared in my radar: the SAMA IM01 for U$S 60. It checked all my boxes, size, compatibility, looked like a slighlty bigger NR200. How come I never heard of this one,? Some reddit post show that it was popular in Vietnam, and was just recently started to sell in the US, is eerly similar to the NR200, but just slighlty bigger to fit mATX boards, and ATX PSUs. I still don't understand how there aren't more post about this case, specially after how well received the NR200 was, this one looks to beat it in paper.
So here I am, waiting for Newegg to ship it (let's hope they don't cancel my order because of some fine print). But it if all goes right, this could be my next case for the next 7-8 years or more, as the Elite 130 was before, with even more compatibility and lower price parts (ITX parts, lower profile coolers, AIO, SFX).
PS: Sorry for the crappy english
