SFX Steam Machine

[PrimeSonic]

Hello folks, it's been a while.

It's been some time since I've been neck-deep in PC hardware so I'm looking for some help planning this next build.

 

Budget: Don't worry. You'll run into space and TDP constraints before budget constraints.

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Exclusively gaming

Other details

• This will be the "living-room console PC"
• Must fit inside the A4-SFX by DAN Cases (https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html)
  • See link for specific space constraints
  • Case already purchased, I'm repurposing it
• Will be running ChimeraOS (https://chimeraos.org/)
  • AMD hardware strongly preferred due to better compatibility on this Linux distro
  • Please refrain from arguing over the choice of OS
• Already have storage (1TB Samsung 980 PR)
  • having a second m.2 slot to expand storage later would be a plus
• We have all the peripherals we need
  • a motherboard with Bluetooth would a plus
• No rush to buy this year, doing planning only
• Would like to handle 4K@60, though up-scaling for more demanding titles would be fine
  • Should be able to run FFXIV Online at target resolution and frame rate at high detail
• Microcenter preferred but online retailers OK (https://www.microcenter.com/)

 

[PC HEROES]

53 minutes ago, PrimeSonic said:

Hello folks, it's been a while.

It's been some time since I've been neck-deep in PC hardware so I'm looking for some help planning this next build.

 

Budget: Don't worry. You'll run into space and TDP constraints before budget constraints.

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Exclusively gaming

Other details

• This will be the "living-room console PC"
• Must fit inside the A4-SFX by DAN Cases (https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html)
  • See link for specific space constraints
  • Case already purchased, I'm repurposing it
• Will be running ChimeraOS (https://chimeraos.org/)
  • AMD hardware strongly preferred due to better compatibility on this Linux distro
  • Please refrain from arguing over the choice of OS
• Already have storage (1TB Samsung 980 PR)
  • having a second m.2 slot to expand storage later would be a plus
• We have all the peripherals we need
  • a motherboard with Bluetooth would a plus
• No rush to buy this year, doing planning only
• Would like to handle 4K@60, though up-scaling for more demanding titles would be fine
  • Should be able to run FFXIV Online at target resolution and frame rate at high detail
• Microcenter preferred but online retailers OK (https://www.microcenter.com/)

 

Hello, I hope I can help with this. I have been building PCs for over 30 years. This is not a hard system to put a build list together, it is a bit harder however to actually put together. It is impossible to make a build list on Micro Center because the Builder on there is so limited on the parts that they can look for and it does not reflect what they have in store. I have nothing against Micro Center, I used to work there a long time ago. I was however able to make you a Build List on PCPartPicker.

 

I think I met all your other requirements. Motherboard with more than 1 M.2 Slot and Bluetooth. Be able to fit inside the Dan Case that you already have. All AMD PC. It can handle 4K Gaming at 60FPS or more.

 

TO do all of this I went with the Ryzen 7 7700. Gigabyte B650-I AORUS Ultra ITX Motherboard. Noctua Extreme Low Profile Cooler. GSkill Flare AMD EXPO 32GB of DDR5 6000MHz CL30 RAM. AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB VRAM. Corsair 850w SFX PSU. 2x 80mm Fans.

 

Cooling in this Case is quite an issue but I'm sure it will work. Just set the Fans to Exhaust and you should be fine. I also didn't go too high on the CPU because of the Cooler.

 

If you have any questions please let me know. I can be reached here or I can be reached much quicker on Discord. Here is my Discord: Wizardsnapper#2772

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vjs8jH

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($305.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9A-AM5 CHROMAX.BLACK 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler  ($54.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650I AORUS ULTRA Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard  ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX RX-79XMBABF9 Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB Video Card  ($1778.09 @ Amazon)
Case: DAN Cases C4-SFXv1 Mini ITX Desktop Case
Power Supply: Corsair SF850L 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC F8 Silent 15.1 CFM 80 mm Fan  ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC F8 Silent 15.1 CFM 80 mm Fan  ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2629.98

[PrimeSonic]

@PC HEROES Thanks for taking the time to dig into this.

And you are right, this case is very tight to build in.
I've built in it before and sadly had to transfer my personal rig into another case when I upgraded my GPU.

 

Specifically I already tried cramming an RX-7900 XTX in there and it didn't go well.

I'm afraid that while it advertises itself as a 2-slot card, the cooler actually juts out beyond the actual space allotted for the brackets.

In practice, this is a 3-slot card (or 2 and a half) and it won't allow the case side panels to close once installed.

Looking up the card you recommended, I see it's using the same reference design that I know from personal experience just won't fit in this tiniest case.

 

If you can recommend a good 'low-profile' GPU that would awesome, even if it means taking a small dip in performance.
Note this thing only really needs to out-perform a PS5. So it's not exactly a difficult bar to clear.

 

[PC HEROES]

14 minutes ago, PrimeSonic said:

@PC HEROES Thanks for taking the time to dig into this.

And you are right, this case is very tight to build in.
I've built in it before and sadly had to transfer my personal rig into another case when I upgraded my GPU.

 

Specifically I already tried cramming an RX-7900 XTX in there and it didn't go well.

I'm afraid that while it advertises itself as a 2-slot card, the cooler actually juts out beyond the actual space allotted for the brackets.

In practice, this is a 3-slot card (or 2 and a half) and it won't allow the case side panels to close once installed.

Looking up the card you recommended, I see it's using the same reference design that I know from personal experience just won't fit in this tiniest case.

 

If you can recommend a good 'low-profile' GPU that would awesome, even if it means taking a small dip in performance.
Note this thing only really needs to out-perform a PS5. So it's not exactly a difficult bar to clear.

 

Well the PS5 has a GPU Equivalent to a RTX 2070 or a RX 5700 XT.

 

I found a different GPU, the RX 7800 XT. It looks smaller than the 7900 XTX with 1 less Fan and the Frame around the Cooler looks smaller too.

 

SAPPHIRE Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB $499.99

 

 

 

[PrimeSonic]

Looking over the photos, it does appear that the cooler still overhang the PCI brackets.

 

For reference, the last GPU that I had in this case was an RTX 2080Ti Founder's.

https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-GEFORCE-RTX-2080-Founders/dp/B07HWMDDMK

Links just for reference but you can clearly see how the width of the card doesn't exceed the width of the PCI slots.

 

Edit: for clarity, I'm referring to the thickness of the card, not how tall or long it is.

 

39 minutes ago, PC HEROES said:

Well the PS5 has a GPU Equivalent to a RTX 2070 or a RX 5700 XT.

That's good to know.

I'll keep that in mind in case I need to fallback on my 2080Ti.

But I would still much prefer to go up a generation if possible.

[PC HEROES]

34 minutes ago, PrimeSonic said:

Looking over the photos, it does appear that the cooler still overhang the PCI brackets.

 

For reference, the last GPU that I had in this case was an RTX 2080Ti Founder's.

https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-GEFORCE-RTX-2080-Founders/dp/B07HWMDDMK

Links just for reference but you can clearly see how the width of the card doesn't exceed the width of the PCI slots.

 

Edit: for clarity, I'm referring to the thickness of the card, not how tall or long it is.

 

That's good to know.

I'll keep that in mind in case I need to fallback on my 2080Ti.

But I would still much prefer to go up a generation if possible.

I looked really closely this time and I think I found 2 Cards that look OK.

 

GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 Ti WINDFORCE OC 16G $449.99

 

MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB $459.99

 

Or if you Don't care about money...

 

NVIDIA Titan RTX 24GB $1,790.00

[PrimeSonic]

While I was hoping for AMD cards for better compatibility (last I checked, Nvidia was borked on ChimeraOS), I'm going to hold into these for reference.

 

By the time I'm ready to start building, these issues are likely to be resolved.

 

Solid choices all around given the crazy challenge that is working in one of the smallest cases you could fit a graphics card in.

 

I'm marking the question solved but if you or anyone has some suggestions for low profile AMD cards that could fit this case and requirements, I'm open to ideas.