I have a Dream...The Dreamcast SFF build!

[Ross Siggers]

In other news, I wanted to raise the console up a little bit to get better airflow into the case. And what're the chances I found the PERFECTLY sized foam feet. Like exactly the right lift(3-4mm), and the size fits perfectly onto the Dreamcast' existing feet;

 

 

 

Unless you sat two consoles next to each other like this, you'd probably not even realise there was a difference in height.

 

I also threw heatshrink on the riser cable to hide the multicoloured wires. Yup sorry, it was bugging me  I also de-pinned and removed the DVI connector on the graphics card. Another not strictly necessary thing, but why not. 

 

 

[Ross Siggers]

Remember that hole I cut for the ram to fit? I made the cover for it...and no... The ram is NOT touching it. I'd say 1mm max.

 

Did someone say, tolerances

 

[Ross Siggers]

The gpu shroud finally makes a return! It's not been fitted since before the PC was running, it makes the build look so legit...

 

And it also shows just how off-centre the card sits, so the next job is to move it over about 10mm, as well as lowering it a few. It can definitely go down, because right now it's using normal motherboard standoffs, which leave quite a bit of room between the two boards. 

 

This won't just be for looks; the most headroom is in the middle of the case, so hopefully this will mean more stable temperatures with the lid on. I'm not sure if the shroud will help or hinder temperatures, we'll experiment. 

 

 

 

[GDRRiley]

looking good.

had I realized the PS2 was turning 20 I would have tried to build something.

[Ross Siggers]

@GDRRiley yeah this thing wasn't 100% together for the Dreamcast 20th anniversary last year.

 

I keep missing them! The xbox one will be soon too

 

[GDRRiley]

3 minutes ago, Ross Siggers said:

I keep missing them! The xbox one will be soon too

well unfortunately for that you can only put in a Pentium and an nivida GPU.

[Ross Siggers]

I don't think anything can beat the ltt xbox anyway, dayuuummmm

[Ross Siggers]

New gpu mounts, made the same way as the last ones; a shortened motherboard stand-off, some leftover plastic from the shell, and a dollop of exopy to hold the two together. 

 

Before it bolted directly into the corner, so you can see how much it's moved over. 

 

 

 

 

Now, it looks extra polished  And it's a bit more solid too, there are more points of attachment. 

[Ross Siggers]

Did some temperature testing with the new gpu position, gpu shroud ON. 

 

IDLE

cpu - 30*c

gpu -  48*c

 

1080P CONTENT 

cpu - 33-35*c

gpu - 55-60*c

 

Then repeated the same tests, but with the gpu shroud OFF. 

 

IDLE

cpu - 30*c

gpu - 47*c

 

1080P CONTENT

cpu - 33-35*c

gpu - 56-63*c

 

Seeing how much the shroud blocks some of the fins on the cooler, this was not the result I was expecting. Clearly, recirculating air in the case is more of an issue. I'm happy though, let's me keep the official-looking shroud on the gpu

 

 

 

 

[Ross Siggers]

I didn't take pictures, but I've shorten the gpu mounts again, now the housing of the pcie connector is literally touching the motherboard. Its down by maybe 2-3mm, but it's made a big difference; lid ON temps are down, 6-8*c across the board which is astounding. In some less demanding titles you can even game, lid-on. 

 

With the ram already sticking out the bottom of the case... that's it; we can't do any more, packaging wise. 

 

 

[Ross Siggers]

A Nintendo game, using a Sony controller, via a Sega console, that's actually a Microsoft PC?

 

Perfect Harmony 

 

[Ross Siggers]

Who needs to use ports anyway

 

For now I've cut holes for necessary ports only; the motherboard power plug, the hdmi, and USB ports. I need to find a neat way of doing the rest 

[TheCamba]

Dude, looking clean!

[mardon85]

Amazing build. Well done!! 

[Ross Siggers]

On 3/18/2020 at 2:50 PM, TheCamba said:

Dude, looking clean!

 

On 3/18/2020 at 7:32 PM, mardon85 said:

Amazing build. Well done!! 

Cheers guys

[Ross Siggers]

New graphics card purchased; An RX570, the ITX/mini version. The perfect compromise between performance, size, and being cheap enough that I don't feel guilty cutting it up a little

If it fits we should hopefully not be desperately GPU bottle-necked like currently. Infact that would make it a prety well balanced system;

 

i5-7600T

8Gb DDR4

4Gb RX570 

[Ross Siggers]

On 3/25/2020 at 3:42 PM, Ross Siggers said:

New graphics card purchased; An RX570, the ITX/mini version. The perfect compromise between performance, size, and being cheap enough that I don't feel guilty cutting it up a little

IGNORE EVERYTHING IN THE LAST POST. IT WAS FAR TOO BIG, POWER HUNGRY, AND DIFFICULT TO MODIFY. 

 

Update soon... Spoiler I went team green. 

[Ross Siggers]

Teaser. Should be fairly easy to ID the new card from this  

[GDRRiley]

1650

[Ross Siggers]

@GDRRiley Got it in one.

 

After a lot of inspecting photos, a Facebook marketplace listing... And a ruler... I picked up a Zotac 1650 mini. Even though the Dreamcast can accommodate slightly longer PCB's, I specifically wanted one with this PCB/cooler combo.

 

This is where the ruler comes in; the cast aluminium coolers on certain 1650's, has the exact same bolt pattern as the GTX750 I was using before. I'd hazard a guess that it's the same on all the generations, which is kind of a fascinating quirk of third party PCB design.  

 

What this means is that I can simply bolt my custom cooler straight onto this much newer, more powerful card(but still slot-powered), and away I go!!! 

[TheCamba]

If you are assembling on the bed, make sure to have your 'live strong' bracelet on to prevent static discharge.

[FloRolf]

1 hour ago, Ross Siggers said:

@GDRRiley Got it in one.

 

After a lot of inspecting photos, a Facebook marketplace listing... And a ruler... I picked up a Zotac 1650 mini. Even though the Dreamcast can accommodate slightly longer PCB's, I specifically wanted one with this PCB/cooler combo.

 

This is where the ruler comes in; the cast aluminium coolers on certain 1650's, has the exact same bolt pattern as the GTX750 I was using before. I'd hazard a guess that it's the same on all the generations, which is kind of a fascinating quirk of third party PCB design.  

 

What this means is that I can simply bolt my custom cooler straight onto this much newer, more powerful card(but still slot-powered), and away I go!!! 

That's one hell of a performance increase you're getting there. Would be intersting to see how the temps are affected.

The standard 750 didn't even make it on the list

 

[TheCamba]

16 minutes ago, FloRolf said:

That's one hell of a performance increase you're getting there. Would be intersting to see how the temps are affected.

The standard 750 didn't even make it on the list

 

 

Im glad you looked that up.  Definitely brings things into perspective.

[Ross Siggers]

Yeah the 750 was only ever meant as a mock up card, but stuck around for way longer than expected. 

 

 

One of the mounting holes needs adjustment, and one needs a drillbit but otherwise it fits in the case in the exact same position and height as the 750.

 

 

 

A few more fins needed to be clearance at the back of the cooler, but hopefully this shouldn't significantly effect cooling. I'd liked to have made the cuts tidier, but the shocking of the dremel actually snapped one of the aluminium arms off, so I decided it would be best to leave them

 

 

The 1650 shroud needs a little modification to fit, the fan opening isn't quite as perfect of a fit as the 750 shroud, so that's going back on for now. It's a sleeper gpu

 

 

 

[Ross Siggers]

Well, that's a first for me; buying a graphics card then immediately putting a drillbit through it. 

 

But hey, it still works