Ario's first Rig - Mini-ITX goodness.

[AR!Ø]

Just put in the final item today and it looks damn good. Spec list:

CPU: i5 3570k
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini-ITX
RAM: Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2 X 4GB)
Storage: Adata XPG SX900 128gb SSD
               WD Blue 1TB
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight NightHawk edition SD1283
GPU: HIS ICEQx2 7970
PSU: XFX XXX Pro Edition 750w semi-modular
Case: Bitfenix Prodigy Arctic white

Peripherals
Monitor: Sony PS3 3D Display (24")
Keyboard: Razer Lycosa
Mouse: Logitech G500
Bitefenix Recon Fan Controller
2 X Bitfenix Spectre 120mm fans
2 X Noctua 120mm fans
1 X Bitfenix Spectre 230mm fan

 

Great first experience since nothing has yet been fried. Terrifying but fun. No idea how/way too scared to OC my CPU, I bumped the GPU up a bit through catalyst. Will post some benchies soon.

[kgfalby]

Much congrats on a sweet setup! 

[Berzerk]

that is impressive! nice stuff man. would be cool to have it completely wireless and hooked up to tv to showcase stuff like steam big picture and xbmc!

[Arcmanov]

Small, and potent...I like it.

How's your temps?  CPU especially.

No idea how/way too scared to OC my CPU...

Not as scary as you think.  There's lots of failsafes built in now to prevent serious damage.
the worst that will happen is that the board just won't boot until you clear the CMOS.

[Spazosaurus]

I LOVE this build. I love the case, love the mb...just wow.

I now officially want to build a system just like this. Sweet!

[AR!Ø]

It's currently running wirelessly, the mobo has built in wifi and comes with two nice lil magnetic antennas.

I haven't observed temps go over 35C yet, that's after close to an hour in Borderlands 2

[Saxito Pau]

Very well done, sir!

I had considered such a case, but I personally wanted "as small as possible" and it had to be Hackintosh compatible.

We should do an ITX showcase thread. I have 2 ITX systems as is.

[AR!Ø]

I would have liked to go smaller, but this case just looks so nice. The Lian li cases are even nicer, and smaller still but with a price to match. Not too sure about the cooling options in smaller entries as well; it would force you to go solely water cooled (not a big deal I think), the Prodigy has spots for two 240mm and a single 120mm radiators -  the NH-D14 can fit too, no sweat.

[Arcmanov]

Unfortunately, the smaller cases would constrain the types and sizes of cooling you could use.
I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than that Bitfenix case for a high-perfomance quad-core and GPU anyway.




SwiftKey 3 | Samsung Galaxy Note 2 | Tapatalk 2 | Omega v16

[TriniXaeno]

Yeah, this is a beautiful setup. Real svelt.

Personally, I would have preferred an even smaller form factor like the Sapphire Edge VS8 but your specs will certainly blow that out of the water



What was the final cost for your build?

[AR!Ø]

After taxes and shipping, close on to CAD$1400

[TriniXaeno]

Wow...pricey

[Spazosaurus]

Ouch that is pretty pricey. Nice result though.

[AR!Ø]

yeah..that price includes everything I listed up there