SilverStone Intros Mini-ITX Case With External PSU

[IInuyasha74]

SilverStone announced a new thin mini-ITX case, the PT13B-120. Unlike some larger mini-ITX cases targeted at gamers, this one is designed to be as compact as possible, and it uses an external PSU to further reduce its overall size.

SilverStone Intros Mini-ITX Case With External PSU : Read more

 

[nutjob2]

I wish motherboard manufacturers would transition to single 12V PSU connections. It would make so much sense.

 

[InvalidError]

I wish motherboard manufacturers would transition to single 12V PSU connections. It would make so much sense.

If you are going to re-invent the ATX standard to change connectors and voltage complements, the logical thing to do would be to go 20V to reduce power distribution losses across the PCB and peripherals. It would also provide an efficient source for 20V USB-PD. Doing that would cut power conversion and delivery losses between the PSU's transformer and local regulators roughly in half.

 

[Samer1970]

I wish motherboard manufacturers would transition to single 12V PSU connections. It would make so much sense.

If you are going to re-invent the ATX standard to change connectors and voltage complements, the logical thing to do would be to go 20V to reduce power distribution losses across the PCB and peripherals. It would also provide an efficient source for 20V USB-PD. Doing that would cut power conversion and delivery losses between the PSU's transformer and local regulators roughly in half.

10/10

 

[jtd871]

Looks like Thin Mini-ITX motherboard is required, based on the power supply and I/O shield. Using a Silverstone AR-04 CPU cooler, too. I wonder if there's a stock way to mount the case to a monitor...

 

[Scott_108]

Standard Thin Mini-ITX boards are all designed with an external PSU connector. They use a very common kind of power adapter which is used on many laptops.

 

[Brian_R170]

Bigger issue is Thin Mini-ITX board availability. Go to Newegg and look for them. Only 2 current-generation 1xx-series boards. Everything else is 6x and 8x-series, plus a few boards with low-end soldered-down CPUs. I avoided Thin Mini-ITX in a very SFF build about 18 months ago just because of the lack of motherboard choices. I went with Mini-ITX and a Pico-PSU. and ended up with almost the exact same size but with a lot more connectors on the rear I/O panel and of course a higher price.

BTW, hasn't Silverstone had this case out--or one almost identical--for about 2 years?

 

[147JK]

Chieftec has had cases like this out for a long time. ASRock makes several very nice DC-in motherboards. I use this combination at home. Completely silent - love it!

 

[pianoplayer88key]

I'd like to see someone build a silent enthusiast-grade gaming rig in a case like this, or better yet, the SST-PT14 (106x38x122mm, 0.5L).
The system should use parts currently available (as of the time of this post), and be passively cooled (0dB). But, if the case is used as a heatsink, it should be able to be held in the bare hands.
As for gaming performance, in the latest (as of August 2016) AAA titles at max settings, the FPS should never dip below the max refresh rate a top-of-the-line Pascal GPU supports, whether it be 60fps at 8K, 120fps at 4K, times 12 monitors.

 

[termathor]

I'm a big mini-itx fan and have my gaming rig on this format.
However, I'm really doubtfull on the concept of external PSU ...
It seems to just push the big stuff (PSU) to external, to magically reduce the case's size. Being external would mean a lot thiner which is largely encouraging cheap PSUs ...

Not really good. A top notch PSU is unlikely to be possible under this format, and top notch PSUs are GOOD tm.

 

[InvalidError]

Not really good. A top notch PSU is unlikely to be possible under this format, and top notch PSUs are GOOD tm.

It is definitely possible to cram a pretty good quality PSU in a slim form factor: server manufacturers do this all the time in their 1U units with hot-swap PSUs.

If you look inside a typical PSU and follow the power's path from AC input to output, the path often forms a U-like shape. Unbend the U and you can fit effectively the same PSU in an elongated slim bar format.

 

[ceh4702]

I have 2 computers at home built on the Mini-ITX format and one of the main thing that holds them back is that a Power supply is about 10 times too large. You can forget putting a large powerful video card on a Thin Mini-ITX motherboard. They usually do not have a 16x PCIE card slot. What I dont like is how they assume you dont want to use such a motherboard with a Hard Drive or two or maybe an SSD. It is too limiting the way they make this really small case or a really large case. How about some options?