My shoebox PC - installed SSD

[NLxAROSA]

I haven't owned a PC for a few years now. Since I had the PS3 I used that for gaming and for my PC needs, I used a laptop, or more recently: a tablet. But things started itching again, so I decided to get a new PC. But I had quite a few demands, and I wasn't quite sure it would be possible to do it. But in the end, it worked out quite nicely.

Requirements

- Case small enough to fit in my cupboard besides the PS3 (maximum size of front 260mm wide by 160mm high)
- Quiet
- Should be able to run the most important PC racing sims
- Should be able to run the latest games at a decent resolution and detail
- HDMI output so I can hook it up to my AV receiver

Result

Case: Thermaltake Element Q
PSU: Be Quiet 300w (86% guaranteed efficiency)
Motherboard: ASUS P8H61-I Mini-ITX
CPU: Intel Core i3 2100T
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 5670
Memory: 4GB DDR3-1333
HD: Hitachi 5K300 2TB
Bluray/DVD-RW: Samsung combo drive
OS: Windows 7 64-bit OEM
Peripherals: 300N Wifi stick, Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combo, Bluetooth Dongle.

So far, I'm very happy with the results, I can play Race07 and all its expansions on 1920x1080 at max detail and AA at 200-250FPS, and the most recent games run at that same resolution, though not always at maximum detail, or at maximum detail, but a lower resolution. I was actually quite surprised I was able to fit that kind of performance in a case the size of shoebox. PCs have certainly changed while I have been away from the scene.

 

[Grand Prix]

Nice! Great movie as well.

 

[arora]

Congrats on the new toy Lars 👍

Looks like enough to keep ya busy for a while.

 

[Grand Prix]

I like the clean floor as well.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Thanks guys. 👍 The clean floor is the Mrs. doing though, and she's glad someone actually noticed this time.

Ayway, here's another picture of the new pc sitting in my cupboard besides the (fat) PS3. Very nice fit if I say so myself, though I am thinking of taking out that red bit of plastic on the front and spray paint it black.

 

[skylinefx]

Thanks guys. 👍 The clean floor is the Mrs. doing though, and she's glad someone actually noticed this time.

Ayway, here's another picture of the new pc sitting in my cupboard besides the (fat) PS3. Very nice fit if I say so myself, though I am thinking of taking out that red bit of plastic on the front and spray paint it black.

You shouldn't put your PS3 in a place like that... That PC is small though!

 

[NLxAROSA]

You can't see it on the picture, but the cupboard is open on the back. (see pictures below) I left a few centimeters on either side of both PS3 and PC (doesn't show in the picture because of the angle), so it has plenty of breathing room. 👍

 

[eSZee]

The ps3 needs venting from many directions, not just the back. Same with the PC case. It has intakes on the side where the ps3 intake is as well. Personally, I would move the PC somewhere else and put the PS3 in the middle, but that's just me.
Other than that, it looks pretty damn nice.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Thanks. 👍 Note that the PS3 and PC will not be used at the same time, since they're using the same TV for display. There's about 3-4 centimeters (1.18-1.57 inches) of space between the devices and both front and back are fully open, so I figured that would be enough ventilation?

Can't place it on the lower shelf, since that holds my Harman Kardon AVR-255 A/V receiver, which needs ventilation even more than the PS3 and PC, and my Wii.

However, since it's a fat PS3 with 80GB HD, and I've had it for quite some time, I am considering to replace it with a Slim 320GB, which is both smaller and less of a hothead.

Also did some testing with more recent games. Run Crysis 2 very nicely (40+ FPS) at 1440x900 with everything set to 'Extreme', or at 1920x1080 with everything set to 'High' (30+ FPS).

 

[eSZee]

It might be fine but to me it just looks a bit too close for comfort. Tis all.

 

[NLxAROSA]

I'll be monitoring temperatures the upcoming days, will be over 30 degrees C (86 F) here tomorrow and Tuesday. That's about the maximum over here, so if it can handle heavy gaming with those, I'll be fine (not that I usually spend my time gaming when it's that hot ).

 

[TVRFanboy83]

Hi NLxAROSA, very neat looking PC. I've been toying with the idea of building one myself for ages, but can never figure out if a low/mid-range card would really be up to delivering satisfying graphics. I take it you're happy with your 5670? If it does run RACE at those resolutions then that would be perfect for me.

Slightly off-topic, but your avatar made me involuntarily wince, arora

 

[NLxAROSA]

Quite happy with this setup. 👍 As a general rule of thumb, I want a game to run at at least 45FPS. I then setup the resolution and detail accordingly. I'm happy if I can run a game at PS3 detail/resolution. And I can run almost any game higher than that. Note that Race really drops FPS if there are a lot of cars on screen, but it never gets below 50-60FPS. So that's fine with me. Shift 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Crysis/Warhead/Crysis 2, Dead Island, TDU2, etc. etc. all run very nicely on this rig.

Furthermore, when picking a card, I tend to go for a previous-gen midrange, rather than a current-gen lowrange. Midrange cards usually have a wider bus, more shading units and faster memory. I would suggest posting a topic here in this forum if you want to build something or have something in mind, plenty of people to advise you here. 👍

 

[TVRFanboy83]

Ok, great stuff, thanks for the advice. I'll throw it out there when I'm closer to building.

How have you got on with 300w PSU? I'm pleasantly surprised you can run a system like that with such a small one

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Ok, great stuff, thanks for the advice. I'll throw it out there when I'm closer to building.

How have you got on with 300w PSU? I'm pleasantly surprised you can run a system like that with such a small one

Many people overestimate demands, though it's better to be on the safe side. That said, his CPU and motherboard are very efficient. Take a look http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2100t_11.html#sect0 for some figures for that CPU. Non mid-high to high end video cards are also relatively efficient.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Correct. I specifically went for this particular PSU because it got excellent reviews and it has a guaranteed minimum efficiency of 86% (meaning it will perform well under any load, while lots of cheap PSU perform poorly under low load). This CPU is very energy sufficient (TDP of 35W) and the CPU is relatively efficient too (TDP of 61W), so that comes to just 96W for CPU and GPU combined.

I think this may even have worked with the original 200W PSU that came with the case, but I wasn't prepared to take that gamble.

 

[TVRFanboy83]

Many people overestimate demands, though it's better to be on the safe side. That said, his CPU and motherboard are very efficient. Take a look http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2100t_11.html#sect0 for some figures for that CPU. Non mid-high to high end video cards are also relatively efficient.

Correct. I specifically went for this particular PSU because it got excellent reviews and it has a guaranteed minimum efficiency of 86% (meaning it will perform well under any load, while lots of cheap PSU perform poorly under low load). This CPU is very energy sufficient (TDP of 35W) and the CPU is relatively efficient too (TDP of 61W), so that comes to just 96W for CPU and GPU combined.

I think this may even have worked with the original 200W PSU that came with the case, but I wasn't prepared to take that gamble.

Thanks guys, really appreciate the advice. That's good to know, and I'll be sure to check that link ROAD_DOGG Cheers.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Time to put some life back in this thread.

Half a year ago, I posted about how I wanted to replace my little shoebox with a different pc, but the missus and the kids weren't ready to part with the PS3 yet, so I went for plan B. Since I want to keep the PC under the TV/in the living room, I decided to upgrade the little shoebox.

About a month ago, I already replaced the GPU with an AMD Radeon HD7750 low-profile. I also added two 80mm exhaust fans on one side of the case (so they pull air way from the GPU and CPU and push it out). Today, I added some more goodies in the form of an Intel Core i5-3550 and 2x8GB DDR3-1600.

I did a bit of testing under full load and temperatures will not exceed 61 degrees C for the CPU and 63 degrees for the GPU, so I guess the two 80mm fans move enough air through the case. Not bad with all that power in a shoebox methinks.

 

[TVRFanboy83]

This is so strange - I totally forgot I'd written in this thread! I've literally just got round to building my own PC too! Haha.

Nice specs. The newer CPUs are so energy efficient and seem to generate so little heat unless you're going nuts on overclocking

My needs changed a little so here are my final specs:

BitFenix Prodigy case, black
MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 mobo
AMD Athlon X4 750K CPU
Asus HD7850 GPU
BeQuiet 530W PSU
Corsair XMS3 8GB RAM

Runs all the games I can throw at it perfectly, plus got a load of hard drives hooked up for HTPC duties. Gonna have to get a NAS at some stage though...

Went for AMD cos I was on a bit of a budget, but it's performing admirably.

Out of interest, what OS are you using?

 

[NLxAROSA]

Nice specs there too! 👍 I for one am pleasantly surprised by the fact you can run a decent rig for a decent price, and stick it all in shoebox.

I am running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Removed the BluRay drive and replaced it with a 128GB SSD today.

 

[dice1998]

What are you going to do with the Blu Ray drive now?

 

[NLxAROSA]

Will probably give to a relative or sell it. I still have the PS3, so I literally used the one in the PC only once.

 

[Sureboss]

Which SSD did you go for?

 

[NLxAROSA]

Adata SP900 128GB.