[SOLVED] HTPC computer case

[joeacejr15]

Hello, I want an HTPC computer case, that meets the following.

MANDATORY:

1. Slim
2. Provides a separate GPU enclosure
3. Provides support for 140, 240, or 280 MM liquid cooling
4. Removable dust filters
5. Under 100 dollars
6. I'm not designing it in CAD or something
7. USB 3 (though this is less of a concern because there would be USB 3 in the back of the motherboard)

OPTIONAL:

1. PSU Shroud
2. Side panel window

 

[joeacejr15]

The extra connectivity of X470 is wasted because you can only fit so much on a mITX board.
X470 was released 3 months before B450. I think that's the main reason why there's any X470 mITX boards at all.

To count VRM phases, count the square bits (chokes) next to / around the VRM heatsink by the CPU. Generally, 2 phases are for the memory (sometimes these end up sitting above the CPU), so the remaining are for the CPU. Be wary when you see a board with 2x as many chokes as the majority of other boards in the same price range, they're likely using phase doublers (pretty easy to spot on AM4 mITX boards since most are a 4+2). At a high level, if implemented properly, a board with, say, 4x2=8 chokes for the CPU sits somewhere between a 4x1 and an 8x1.

To add more confusion to the mix, mobo manufacturers aren't overly transparent on the components they're using in their VRMs (the info IS out there though). Add to that, if you don't have the components list you really need to remove the VRM heatsink to discover if there's phase doublers. Phase doublers are relatively new. And not all review sites go through the trouble of drilling down far enough to know all this, many still just count the chokes and move on.

So just to get this straight, x470 motherboards for Mini ITX are just a scam basically?

 

[tennis2]

This sounds like a loaded question, especially based on the info I provided previously. I gave you the hard stats of the chipsets. Whether all of those connectivity options are used depends on the size of the mobo as well as what the manufacturer decides to include.

I'd encourage you to do comparisons (newegg is great for this, Here's a link) of different motherboard's feature sets and check out some reviews (with the VRM inaccuracy cautions in mind). I obviously can't force you to buy one mobo over another. That ultimately boils down to you.

On the Gigabyte B450i Aorus Pro Wifi - I chose that because its feature set matches most other mITX 400 series boards. Has a 4+2 phase VRM (looks like most are using this) with heatsink is fine for the amount of OCing I'd expect from such a small system, good audio chip, Intel Ethernet, BT5.0, same USB ports as Asus X470, good amount of fan headers, RGB, and I like the top-mounted M.2 heatsink. Gigabyte also has a good UEFI. Asus is known for their Windows software (I've also heard some bad things about that) and they charge more for the privelage. I don't use software, I prefer to do everything in BIOS. I just didn't see anything on the Asus B450 board worth paying $30 more for, that's all. And certainly not $80 more for the X470 version.

 

[joeacejr15]

This sounds like a loaded question, especially based on the info I provided previously. I gave you the hard stats of the chipsets. Whether all of those connectivity options are used depends on the size of the mobo as well as what the manufacturer decides to include.

I'd encourage you to do comparisons (newegg is great for this, Here's a link) of different motherboard's feature sets and check out some reviews (with the VRM inaccuracy cautions in mind). I obviously can't force you to buy one mobo over another. That ultimately boils down to you.

On the Gigabyte B450i Aorus Pro Wifi - I chose that because its feature set matches most other mITX 400 series boards. Has a 4+2 phase VRM (looks like most are using this) with heatsink is fine for the amount of OCing I'd expect from such a small system, good audio chip, Intel Ethernet, BT5.0, same USB ports as Asus X470, good amount of fan headers, RGB, and I like the top-mounted M.2 heatsink. Gigabyte also has a good UEFI. Asus is known for their Windows software (I've also heard some bad things about that) and they charge more for the privelage. I don't use software, I prefer to do everything in BIOS. I just didn't see anything on the Asus B450 board worth paying $30 more for, that's all. And certainly not $80 more for the X470 version.

By "Asus is known for their windows software", do you mean RGB control, fan speeds, and stuff like that or overclocking headroom, temps, voltage, etc? Or both?

 

[tennis2]

As I said, I don't concern much over the software each mobo manufacturer offers, but I can try to cover some of the points. I don't see the need for on-the-fly settings changes since I dial in my settings on first setup and pretty much leave it there (maybe a few years after the build I bump the OC up a bit). I also don't need/use RGB. If you want more info, you can easily go to the manufacturer's website of boards you're looking at and browse their software/utility downloads. Reviews each generation cover manufacturer software offerings also (pretty much all Ryzen 400 series boards from a manufacturer will use the same software and UEFI).

RGB - I'm not the best to answer that. Some RGB is fine with me, but I don't want my PC to look like the care bear's house. RGB seems like a distraction from actual component quality.

Fan control - When UEFI hit mainstream (SB/IVB) Asus was the best. Fan curves were a feature that Asus beat Gigabyte/MSI/AsRock to the punch on. But since nowadays, all of the big 4 (to my knowledge) have the ability to set fan curves in UEFI without the need for software.

Overclocking headroom & voltages - NA. I think everyone is the same there. You don't just get better OC from picking a specific manufacturer. All of the big 4 manufacturers make junky boards and premium boards. They know how to do those things right. You're MUCH more likely to be OC-limited by your luck in the CPU/GPU chip lottery than your choice of mobo (as long as your mobo is half decent).

I think Asus' software user interface is still a bit more polished looking than Gigabyte/MSI/AsRock. The other 3 have same/similar features in their software, but they aren't quite as "pretty".

 

[joeacejr15]

As I said, I don't concern much over the software each mobo manufacturer offers, but I can try to cover some of the points. I don't see the need for on-the-fly settings changes since I dial in my settings on first setup and pretty much leave it there (maybe a few years after the build I bump the OC up a bit). I also don't need/use RGB. If you want more info, you can easily go to the manufacturer's website of boards you're looking at and browse their software/utility downloads. Reviews each generation cover manufacturer software offerings also (pretty much all Ryzen 400 series boards from a manufacturer will use the same software and UEFI).

RGB - I'm not the best to answer that. Some RGB is fine with me, but I don't want my PC to look like the care bear's house. RGB seems like a distraction from actual component quality.

Fan control - When UEFI hit mainstream (SB/IVB) Asus was the best. Fan curves were a feature that Asus beat Gigabyte/MSI/AsRock to the punch on. But since nowadays, all of the big 4 (to my knowledge) have the ability to set fan curves in UEFI without the need for software.

Overclocking headroom & voltages - NA. I think everyone is the same there. You don't just get better OC from picking a specific manufacturer. All of the big 4 manufacturers make junky boards and premium boards. They know how to do those things right. You're MUCH more likely to be OC-limited by your luck in the CPU/GPU chip lottery than your choice of mobo (as long as your mobo is half decent).

I think Asus' software user interface is still a bit more polished looking than Gigabyte/MSI/AsRock. The other 3 have same/similar features in their software, but they aren't quite as "pretty".

Im gonna have to look into the CPU lotto thing and overclocking on Ryzen motherboards. I actually am going with the ASUS Rog Strix b450 motherboard, because it has features that I would benefit from, and I have heard nothing but good about Asus. I like the audio chipset, the RGB, the front panel cable connector which is awesome that they included that, the dope ass looking antenna, the stickers, the 2 christmas garlands (the SATA cables which are useless in this system for me B/C I am using an M.2 storage device I think), and the awesome mousepad (the driver CD which is also useless because there are newer drivers from the ASUS website).

So lets get everything down.

Fractal design node 202 case (For sure)
Corsair SF 600 (For sure, I dont want noise from the PSU)
G.Skill 2x16 GB (For sure)
Ryzen 3 2200G (Will replace next year when Ryzen 4000 comes out)
Asus Rog Strix B450-I (For sure)
Crucial MX-500 M.2 Drive (For sure)

Again, this PC is for on-the-go gaming when im camping, and for a much smaller and cleaner looking PC when im home. The 32 GB of RAM and the efficiency increases in Ryzen 4000 will help with light video editing and streaming while I game.

I am currently on the AMD Fx 4300 with a GTX 650 and 12 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 250 GB SSD (The SSD and GPU is what I will take out of the PC before I sell it for at least over 100 dollars)

 

[tennis2]

Sounds good to me.

 

[joeacejr15]

Sounds good to me.

It sounds like this thread can be marked as solved, have a great day!