Smallest case for an APU mITX build?

[Okjoek]

Basically trying to figure out how I can make my own HTPC in an impossible small form factor. I'm considering the possibility that such a case doesn't exist and that I may need to build my own. But I will ask anyway.

 

My goal is to use a future Ryzen APU on a mITX motherboard with an M.2 SSD and an SFX PSU. As for cooling I'm not sure yet. If this APU has a high TDP like 95W or greater I might consider an AIO or probably one of the larger low-profile coolers like an NH-L12.

 

Are there any cases suited for this build that reach the extremes of small form factor?

[Guest]

Fractal Design Node 202 is small but doesnt support AiOs.

[access denied]

5 minutes ago, Okjoek said:

Basically trying to figure out how I can make my own HTPC in an impossible small form factor. I'm considering the possibility that such a case doesn't exist and that I may need to build my own. But I will ask anyway.

 

My goal is to use a future Ryzen APU on a mITX motherboard with an M.2 SSD and an SFX PSU. As for cooling I'm not sure yet. If this APU has a high TDP like 95W or greater I might consider an AIO or probably one of the larger low-profile coolers like an NH-L12.

 

Are there any cases suited for this build that reach the extremes of small form factor?

Shoebox (Sarcasm) and http://pcpartpicker.com/product/FvKhP6/xion-case-xon310bk  Cheapest I could find. If money isn't an issue, Let me know!

[Energycore]

Something like the Silverstone ML08 is really small and nicely set up for a HTPC. There are even smaller ML cases that don't do a graphics card.

 

And you could see if there's any custom mini-computer with Ryzen APU that you could buy once those hit the market.

 

But hang on, how do you know Ryzen APUs will be the best thing to get?

[Electronics Wizardy]

Why not buy this https://www.amazon.com/Antec-ISK110-VESA-Mini-ITX-Case/dp/B0064LWISQ?

 

[Mira Yurizaki]

Probably the Fractal Node 202 or the Silverstone ML-08. The Antek ISK-150 might also work.

 

If you need an AIO, you may want to consider Corsair's H7. Though honestly, unless you're overclocking, you're probably not going to need that much cooling power.

[Okjoek]

1 minute ago, HydraGaming said:

Node 202 is small but doesnt support AiOs.

 

[Okjoek]

3 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Something like the Silverstone ML08 is really small and nicely set up for a HTPC. There are even smaller ML cases that don't do a graphics card.

 

And you could see if there's any custom mini-computer with Ryzen APU that you could buy once those hit the market.

 

But hang on, how do you know Ryzen APUs will be the best thing to get?

Intel makes good APUs?

[Ashiella]

1 minute ago, Okjoek said:

Intel makes good APUs?

The i7 5775c Iris Pro Graphics 6200

[Energycore]

7 minutes ago, Okjoek said:

Intel makes good APUs?

Just poking fun, Ryzen APUs will probably be the thing to get for a HTPC like this. Assuming you want to game on it cuz if it's just for movies it's overkill

[Okjoek]

13 minutes ago, Ashiella said:

The i7 5775c Iris Pro Graphics 6200

Oh that's cool, didn't think Intel had any sort of high end iGPU, but do they have any newer than Broadwell?

8 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Just poking fun, Ryzen APUs will probably be the thing to get for a HTPC like this. Assuming you want to game on it cuz if it's just for movies it's overkill

Rocket League is sort of my target. If I can get that to run at atleast 60 FPS at 1920x1080p I would consider it a milestone for any iGPU I've ever owned.

[Energycore]

3 minutes ago, Okjoek said:

Oh that's cool, didn't think Intel had any sort of high end iGPU, but do they have any newer than Broadwell?

Rocket League is sort of my target. If I can get that to run at atleast 60 FPS at 1920x1080p I would consider it a milestone for any iGPU I've ever owned.

Might want to check to see if you can already do it on today's iGPUs, since Ryzen APUs have no ETA and could take months to release

[Okjoek]

1 minute ago, Energycore said:

Might want to check to see if you can already do it on today's iGPUs, since Ryzen APUs have no ETA and could take months to release

I'm not in any hurry and my RX 460 is still young. This is more of a pet project in a sort of small form factor enthusiast sort of way. Most systems going for a size as small as I am usually have external power bricks, but if I end up building my own case I will stand an SFX PSU so it's 125mm tall giving me a more tall-box shape where I can hopefully fix one of the taller low-profile coolers like the NH-L12 which if I'm not mistaken can keep cool even the high end APU minus overclocking.

[Okjoek]

1 hour ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Probably the Fractal Node 202 or the Silverstone ML-08. The Antek ISK-150 might also work.

 

If you need an AIO, you may want to consider Corsair's H7. Though honestly, unless you're overclocking, you're probably not going to need that much cooling power.

Yeah these are the sort of things I'm looking for! The ML-05 seems way more affordable than the ISK-150, but is also a bit larger and it doesn't use proprietary PSU. CPU cooler height seems limited on both though which is why in my mind I was hoping to find a configuration with the PSU turned on its side so the case is a bit taller. But if I do decide to buy and not build it would be one of these two I think.

[CatXice]

dan case

[Okjoek]

2 hours ago, Ashiella said:

The i7 5775c Iris Pro Graphics 6200

Looking at it more in-depth it does look really good. I found one person who said you can play Planetside 2 at reasonable speeds with it well which I never imagined possible with an APU. 

 

1. Does this iGPU require fast RAM to get good performance like on AMD APUs?

2. Does Broadwell support M.2 storage? That was one thing I was looking forward to featuring in a compact build.

30 minutes ago, CatXice said:

dan case

That's way too expensive.

[Ashiella]

15 hours ago, Okjoek said:

Looking at it more in-depth it does look really good. I found one person who said you can play Planetside 2 at reasonable speeds with it well which I never imagined possible with an APU. 

 

1. Does this iGPU require fast RAM to get good performance like on AMD APUs?

2. Does Broadwell support M.2 storage? That was one thing I was looking forward to featuring in a compact build.

That's way too expensive.

All iGpus do.

no, you would probably have to get a pci card that's one slot.

[Okjoek]

8 minutes ago, Ellen_orangecloud said:

Did you try looking at the Inwin Chopin? 
That thing is so small. 

Here's a picture from Bit-Tech

 

Nope, thanks for sharing. Is that only one stick of RAM? The cables look kind of congested going through that part of the case so it's hard to tell.