Custom mITX gaming PC case worklog

Lonyo

United Kingdom3884 Posts

February 15 2013 22:05 GMT

The Concept:

Since IMO building a new PC is too easy, I decided to make my own case for a PC, to give myself more of a challenge.

I wanted to make a gaming mITX build in the smallest case possible.
I decided to go with a GPU mounted next to the motherboard, so I could use a double slot GPU rather than being limited to a low profile card.
Others have done this in the same way in custom designs, and the new small Alienware is also in the same format.

http://www.logicsupply.co.uk/jc-110-b/?___store=co_uk_en#
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Something like this, but wider because I'm going to be mounting the PSU internally.

Initially I'm going to build the case from 6mm MDF (it's small so 6mm should be strong enough). When I have done an MDF prototype I'll get some perspex/acrylic sheet and probably make a see-through case from that for the final design (MDF is dirt cheap).

The main way I'm going to deal with heat is to cheat, and cut a hole in the top and hole in the bottom of the case. The GPU fan will be exposed on the underneath of the case (which will have some feet) and the CPU fan will be exposed on the top of the case (both with some fan grills of course). That way there is less requirement for internal airflow, although I am planning to have some 50mm fans for additional airflow, as the case will be about 50mm high.

The Components:

Since I wanted it to be as small as possible, the most powerful GPU I could find was the GTX650Ti, since they are super short (barely more than the length of a PCIe slot, and shorter than an mITX motherboard).
The CPU for now is a Celeron G530, since that's what I have spare.
The PSU needed to be as small as possible, but capable of powering some real hardware, so I went with a Flex-ATX PSU, since they are small (4mm high) and a similar depth to everything else. IMO a PicoPSU won't be powerful enough, and I don't want to "cheat" by having an external power brick. I went with a 220w over 270w because I didn't think I would need that much power, turns out I was correct.
mITX motherboard, a given. 4GB RAM for now because it's "enough". And a 2.5" drive (SSD I have lying around).

Final specs:
Palit GTX650Ti
Gigabyte H77N-Wifi (H77 because overclocking might be a bit much...) (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1061446/CustomCase/SAM_1016.JPG)
Celeron G530 (for now)
Crucial M4 128GB/4GB RAM
FSP 220w Flex ATX PSU (FSP220-60LE)
Xigmatek LD963 Praeton Cooler Fan HS/F (I wanted something low profile but inexpensive, at least for now, turns out I didn't quite realise what cheap meant...)

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Nice base there...

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Palit GTX650Ti with fan shroud cut down (stupid design IMO...)

The Prototyping Stage 1:

First thing was to make sure it all works!

The burn power test! Unigine Heaven 4.0 + Intel Burn Test. Peak use is around 115w currently from the wall with the Celeron G530, so I expect I can upgrade to a quad core with no problems. The PSU is rated for >200w on the 12v rail, so I have 100w to play with at the very most, and a quad core doesn't use that much more than a Celeron!
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Of course, to make it all "flat" rather than having the GPU stick up, you need a ribbon cable or riser:
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I've ordered a riser, hoping it will give enough height for the built to work, but it's shipping from somewhere in Asia I think, ETA any time between now and the beginning of March.
The ribbon cable is a bit too long to be comfortably flattened really, given the CPU socket location on the motherboard, but I think I can flatten it just about enough, hopefully. It is made like old PATA cables though, so it's not the most flexible thing in the world.

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Working out how big the case needs to be area wise... about 390mm x 190mm. Still not entirely sure how I'm going to mount the HDD in the final thing...

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1061446/CustomCase/SAM_1026.JPG
Paper template.

Next Steps:

Making an MDF case prototype!

divito

Canada1213 Posts

February 15 2013 23:04 GMT

It's always nice to see someone with the drive to complete such a project. Years ago, I considered some similar builds, and I still have lots of my designs and sketches boxed up somewhere. Hopefully I'll eventually get around to constructing it.

Hopefully you keep with the blogs so we can all see.

iTzSnypah

United States1738 Posts

February 15 2013 23:38 GMT

NAW bro you have to making a gaming tower not some HTPC case lawl, oh and overclock else kind of pointless making your own case.

HERE's my sketch of a mITX Gaming case (I had an updated version made in sketchup but I ended up deleting my whole documents folder on accident):
340x200x340 and holds all standard size components (up to 10.5" graphics card)
[back, front, top, bottom] (in updated version only 2 expand slots, and drive bay on top)
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I would totally make it except that I kind of need a job first to afford components lolol

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