LOUISSSSS's new SFF PC w/ mini-P180

[LOUISSSSS]

yeah but its misleading

I came into the thread to see a small case and instead I see the relative behemoth that is the P180 mini which is basically the same size as my Antec Lanboy or even Sonata III, both of which are full ATX mid towers.

The P180 mini is basically a mid tower for micro ATX motherboards...

its a relative matter. if u want a smaller case then get one. there r many for affordable prices. buying antec doesnt get u standout quality so dont fuss about it.
its one of thr smallest cases that can fit a noctua d14 so thats what i went for

 

[alyarb]

its one of thr smallest cases that can fit a noctua d14 so thats what i went for

i think this is the point people are getting at. the D14 is one of the largest air coolers you can buy, and since your case (it's mATX, not SFF -> ITX) can fit one, it means you can fit whatever TDP you want into this case. microATX has been at the ATX performance level for some time, in fact the past several machines I've built were mATX quads, and they were small and fast. I just dont want people to think SFF is synonymous with mATX because SFF was really meant to imply everything smaller (FlexATX down to pico). It is not relative, it is clearly defined. In fact, if you search "SFF" on wikipedia, the first line says "SFF originally referred to systems smaller than the Micro-ATX." I just dont want people to think they can make up their own definitions, use them in public, and expect other people with different definitions to be on the same page.

If i'm not mistaken, you have a shit-ton of posts here and they are mostly about hardware and overclocking so when people see a thread called " LOUISSSSS's new SFF PC," the kind of thread we had in mind was a painstaking compromise between TDP noise, size, and shape and cost. Going down to ITX implies severe compromises, and it would be interesting to see how a long-time member would choose to overcome them (without compromising what's important to you: clearly silence and at least 4 threads). At least that is what I thought I was going to see when I clicked into this thread. Instead its your regular mATX+biggest cooler ever system and it was only $600. of course I don't mean any offense by that, because it's a great machine, but it's not SFF.

The best thing about mATX is that they can still be made as fast as the fastest ATX machines, and are small enough to be put out of the way for HTPC use. Going down to a tiny ITX case with an integrated 150W PSU and zero airflow means single 5400 RPM disks like the F2EG, overpriced slimline optical drives, and then you have your $140+ GMA 4500MHD, H55, GF9300, GF8200, and 780G ITX boards with only 2 DIMMs and not much else. And it means a 95w or less CPU. I think a clarkale on the zotac H55 would be the best compromise between multithreaded performance, singlethreaded performance, and TDP, but that's just me. Making it fast and silent is a challenge and slightly more difficult than just dropping in a noctua.

 

[WoodButcher]

I've been wanting this case in black since it came out. the P180 mini may not be what many all sff it is a mini tower. This will fit on most desktops w/o the need for another desk to fit a monitor and keyboard. It would be acceptable for a lan box, it would be great for someone in college moving between home and dorm. I was always under the impression that micro as in Micro-ATX referred to small, A TJ-10 or rocketfish is a full tower, this antec could almost fit inside my RF.
Sure, there are smaller rigs out there but this SFF case I like. Nice job louisss.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

I've been wanting this case in black since it came out. the P180 mini may not be what many all sff it is a mini tower. This will fit on most desktops w/o the need for another desk to fit a monitor and keyboard. It would be acceptable for a lan box, it would be great for someone in college moving between home and dorm. I was always under the impression that micro as in Micro-ATX referred to small, A TJ-10 or rocketfish is a full tower, this antec could almost fit inside my RF.
Sure, there are smaller rigs out there but this SFF case I like. Nice job louisss.

thanks, but this case is not one you want to move anywhere. The case is fuckin heavy steel. it also has cheapy plastic front panel which probably can't hold its own weight if u choose to grip the case by the base of the front panel. This MATX antec case is heavier than my full tower LL V2000.

 

[Treyshadow]

Oh yes. Deadly quiet, but definately not as mobile as most sff boxes. Good looks, but for me it isn't an SFF.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

why are you giving your IGP 512MB of memory?

i think it's great that you can pack this much performance into small computers nowadays, though. glad to see 780G and H55/57 boards in mini itx too.

Whats wrong with that? And what is the relationship with IGP Memory and system performance?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

This PC just got better, i just placed the order for an Intel 80gb SSD, should hold me over until december at least.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

I want to get some gaming going. Take a look at my pics above everyone, will the sapphire 5770 vapor x fit if I'm using all 5 USB ports and the lower hdd cage?

 

[Chapbass]

This needs to be in general hardware imo.

Still, neat build. Love the p180 for normal pc's.

 

[evident]

nice build. does anyone know how the noctua holds up to the TRUE (thermalright ultra extreme) ?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

The d14 is a little bit faster than the true. It also comes with 2 fans as opposed to none. The quality is also top notch.

But... will the vapor x 5770 fit the build?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

The d14 is a little bit faster than the true. It also comes with 2 fans as opposed to none. The quality is also top notch.

But... will the vapor x 5770 fit the build?

 

[Massive Overkill]

its a relative matter. if u want a smaller case then get one. there r many for affordable prices. buying antec doesnt get u standout quality so dont fuss about it.
its one of thr smallest cases that can fit a noctua d14 so thats what i went for

Negative, this is probably the smallest case that can fit one:

http://www.lan-gear.com/img/users/user49.jpg

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Negative I didn't say the mini p180 was the absolute smallest. I said it was one of the smallest

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Just placed the order for a Gigabyte 5770 1GB for $144-$10 rebate. Should get it before friday since newegg ships from the state next door =]

Has there been a better deal than $134 for a 5770 1gb?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Heres a pic of my HTPC fully loaded with all 5 sata's used, 5770, Intel 80gb SSD, Noctua D14... what do you guys think?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

updated Windows Experience Index numbers:

Processor: 7.1
RAM: 7.2
Graphics: 7.4
Gaming Graphics: 7.4
Primary Hard Disk: 7.2

i'm satisfied, i just brought my 2 lowest scores (Graphics/gaming graphics) to become the highest two.