My Beast 2.0: The ITX Build
Background
I have had the privilege of building many PCs for friends and family. However there are two things I have never dared to try in PC build: custom loop liquid cooling and building an ITX build. The former can be very tricky to build as mistakes are not an option when dealing with liquid. The latter is also tricky and more over can be expensive.
While I definitely want to eventually build a full loop liquid cooling system, I think I need some more time before I can muster the bravery to attempt it. However recently, I have been looking into an ITX build a lot more. My current PC, while it has some decent specs (i9–9900k, 32Gb of RAM, Asus Strix RTX 2080 Ti), it is fitted inside a Corsair 750D Obsidian Airflow Edition Case that is rather big and bulky. I originally bought this case with the intention of filling to to the max with storage and cooling. But more recently, my needs have changed.
- I wanted to move to Ryzen. I think that my i9–9900k is a fantastic CPU. Plenty of cores/threads and good single core speeds. But every since the 3000 series, I have clearly seen, that Ryzen is the better CPU over all. With my daily usage moving more towards productivity as opposed to gaming it just made sense to move to a newer CPU. I figured if I am jumping to a new CPU and socket I might as well make a complete switch. An additional motivation was because I would be able to get a better upgrade path for the future (this might not be true as 5000 series Ryzen chips are rumored to be the last chips to be supported on AM4).
- I travel between Toronto and Montreal more often. My girlfriend’s family lives out in Montreal area. So we go back between Toronto and Montreal every so often and stay out there for quite a couple of weeks. While I have a Macbook that I can carry with me, I have to leave my PC behind and cannot playing video games for all that time. I could of course use something like NVIDIA GeForce Now and stream my games but when I am out there I do not have the best internet connection.
- LAN Parties. Believe it or not me and my friends still play older titles that support LAN play. While we could play online and communicate with a discord server, it makes it easier for me to move around if I have a really portable system.
So I decided to create this article as a documentation of my experience building with building an ITX build and making it easy for others to follow along in terms of how to construct this build and the thought process behind it. Full part list available here: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/rohanbhangui/saved/B2MbLk
The Plan
My first thought process was to figure out the case first. The case will largely guide me on what other parts I select. I ended up using a combination of PCPartPicker and Reddit to figure out the right parts and the trade offs of various cases. After doing a lot of research, looking through many guides and thanks to countless redditors that shared their builds, I selected these specs:
- NCASE M1 V6.1 Case: My main requirements for the case was that it was small enough to fit a decently powerful GPU, maintained a good selection of front I/O (ideally split audio jacks, at least two USB-A ports and a USB-C port) and supported atleast a 240mm liquid cooler. I reached out on reddit, and found a few options to look at. I looked the NZXT H1 but with its fire hazard history and little clearance on the PSU side of things I opted to not go for this. The Sliger Cerberus was a good option but the lacked the I/O layout that I wanted. Also it was a bit to big for what I was looking for. I also ended up finding a rather obscure case that definitely deserves some more attention called the IQUNIX ZX-1. This case definitely fit all of my requirements but there was little independent information on it outside of a couple of YouTube videos. I ended up settling on the NCASE M1 because of redditors that recommended it, the wealth of builds I could look at for part recommendations on PCPartPicker and because its layout/build quality seemed the best.
- AMD Ryzen 9 5900x: I wanted a step up from my i9–9900k so that I didn’t have to worry about multi threaded tasks as much (recently I have been dabbling in some video editing). 5900x seemed like the logical choice in the Ryzen family as a 5800x would have felt as too much of a side step.
- NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founders Edition: This was was a really tough one to find. At the time (Feb 17, 2021), stocks were super low and the scalping was high. I did spend more than I care to admit to get this card. This card seemed the logical step up from my Strix 2080Ti. I could have moded by 2080Ti Strix by deshrouding it to make it fit inside the new case, but I wanted a more clean build (If you want to deshroud there is a great visual guide that you can follow. That is where I got most of my part tips). An EVGA XC3 model would have also worked but it would mean I would have to opt for 15mm thick fans for the bottom intake (which I did anyways by mistake, read below).
- Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Impact x570 Motherboard: I originally wanted to go with an ITX motherboard but could not find a good ITX one that had a front panel USB-C connector. This motherboard supports it and has some better layout choices, such as the CPU power connection and using a SO-DIMM style slot for NVME drives. Luckily my case selection supports ITX and DTX motherboards.
- Deepcool Castle 240EX AIO Cooler: With the case I chose I saw many builds that used regular air coolers. I wanted something that had a bit more cooling for the 5900x. So I went the AIO route. I was looking towards the X53 from NZXT but did not really like the fact that it used SATA power as it would be an unnecessary power cable to power 1 SATA device. Instead I opted for the Deepcool Castle 240EX which uses 4-pin header connectors to power and control the pump and fans. Plus I planned to replace these with quieter Noctua fans.
- Corsair Vengeance LPX 32Gb (2x16Gb) 3200MHz RAM: This came from my old system and seemed like a relatively good option. Later on I might opt for 64Gb of RAM with a higher speed.
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2Tb + Sabrent Rocket Q 4Tb: For storage I decided to go for an all flash architecture. The Samsung drive I am bringing from my old rig, but the Sabrent drive allows me to have some fast secondary storage. In hindsight, I would have opted for the non-Q model as that uses TCL which has better sustained read and write speeds. Since I am using the Sabrent drive as a game drive, it should be fine.
- Corsair 750W SFX Power Supply: In my builds I like to go for a higher wattage power supply to give plenty of headroom for the parts. For me the closest thing in the SFX category was a Cooler Master 850W model. But after reading a ton of reddit and reviews, I found that while the 750W from Corsair has less wattage, it has a better efficiency rating (Platinum), comes standard with braided cables (a first for me for a PSU) and has significantly less coil whine compared to the Cooler Master PSU. Plus when I checked my peak power usage of the parts, it came out to something like 550 watts, well below the 750 max.
- 2 x Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 12V Fans: These are one of the most important parts of this build. Originally, my plan was to use 4 of these fans: two along the bottom and two on the radiator. From my research, I gathered that these fans allowed for greater air draw at a lower RPM. This allows for the system to make less noise at low intensities and not have to ramp up as much for higher intensity tasks. But I made a mistake measuring the clearance for the audio panel and the fans. This meant I had to use 15mm fans to fit at the bottom (Later I realized that 25mm fans will fit, read below).
- 2 x Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM chromax.Black.swap 12V Fans: I bought these fans because as I started to build I noticed that because of the position of the audio front panel connector on the motherboard that the 25mm fans would not fit. I later looked at some builds on PCPartPicker and realized that there was enough space but that I had not set them up correctly (I referenced this build: https://pcpartpicker.com/b/Ktk6Mp). So these are good if you are unsure about clearance at the bottom but you can get it to work with using the a12x25 fans at the bottom if you move the cables out of the way.
- Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM 12V Fans: Originally I had no plan of adding a rear fan. But I thought I would buy one just in case there was some additional space. It is a good thing I got the slim variant of Noctua’s 92mm fans as it was just able to fit in the case.
Gathering the parts
I knew the first problem was getting hold of the CPU and GPU. Both had come out around the end of 2020 and both were really hot items. So I had to forage through various marketplace sites to even find them. I was able to purchase the CPU through a local marketplace transaction but unfortunately, by the time I got the rest of the parts, the GPUs were non existent in local retailers and marketplace sites. So I ended up purchasing one off eBay. I overpaid, but in the end, I think it was worth it.
The remaining parts were relatively easy to source via Amazon and my local Canada Computers. The case was purchased through the NCASE website.
One part I did have particular trouble getting a hold of was the Noctua fans. They were sold out wherever I went. So I came up with a rather silly plan: Noctua sells the NH-U12A cooler which features two NF-A12x25 fans. So I ended up buying two and taking the fans from them. Luckily, just a week later, the NF-A12x25 fans came back in stock. So I purchased the 4 fans I needed and returned the coolers. I later swapped 2 of these fans for the 15mm variants. I picked up the 92mm fan the same day.
I also got some fans splitters (fun fact: the each Noctua fan comes with accessories like fan splitters and extension cables) and also some Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (TGK) Thermal Grease Paste. I usually opt for something like Arctic Silver 5, but so many reddit posts talked about how good TGK is that I decided to give it a shot.
It was then a matter of waiting for the GPU to ship from the US and the case to come from Taiwan. The GPU shipped on February 17, 2021 and came in March 1, 2021. The case shipped the same day and arrived February 24th, 2021.
Putting the pieces together
Generally when I build rigs, I follow a standard building procedure: installing all that I can on the motherboard, mounting the fans inside the case, then mounting the power supply, wiring the cabling, cable managing a bit and then inserting the GPU. Generally the same sort of procedure is needed with an ITX build with one exception: the liquid cooler is mounted last. The NCASE uses a side mounting liquid cooler set up that gives limited space. So the cooler has to be inserted last to make sure there is enough space to mount everything else.
Assembly took a while but here are pictures of how it went.
Final Thoughts + Tips
- Make sure you plan everything. ITX builds can be very tricky to assemble and parts can be expensive. I made sure that I researched every part and carefully planned out tolerances for different components. In a regular ATX build, you can get away with something being bigger or smaller here and there. In an ITX build because the tolerance is so low you need to plan everything down to the last detail. I spent a lot of time combing through PCPartPicker lists to find the right parts. Even when you go for assembly, I would recommend watching another build to make sure you understand the order of things. I learned this the hard way by buying 25mm thick fans for my bottom intake, switched to 15mm fans and then looked at a few more builds and realized there was enough clearance.
- Plug in the front audio as soon as your sit your motherboard down. I kind of mentioned this before but I think it deserves its own tip. The front audio connector for the motherboard I used has its front audio header near the bottom of the motherboard, so you have have to plug this quite early on once you seat the motherboard in the case. I took it one step further and installed it before I screwed in the motherboard
- Noctua fans are the real MVP. The Noctua fans in this build really came in handy for a multitude of reasons. The NF-A12x25s allowed for the maximum amount of airflow for a low RPM, the NF-A12x15 allowed for intake in a very tight space near the bottom and the NF-A 9–14 allowed for exhaust of hot air from the case. In addition, Noctua gives tons of accessories including low noise adapters, splitters and extension cables which do come in handy for a build like this.
- Asus BIOS Flashback came clutch! When my motherboard shipped I realized that the BIOS version was completely out of date for my 5900x. Luckily BIOS Flashback from Asus saved me from having to buy and install and older processor or having my local computer store do the update. (For those that do not know, BIOS Flashback allows me to update the BIOS without a CPU or RAM connected.
- Point the bottom fans as in and the AIO fans as intake (pull) on the inside. I used Reddit to confirm this but this seems like the best configuration for this case. OptimumTech has done a few videos on this for the NCASE specifically. As mentioned before, I also ended up adding the rear 92mm fan which I placed as exhaust. This helped remove hot air that was being drawn into the case from the a12x25s.
- (As of Feb 22, 2021) Turn your PCIE x16 port to Gen 3 (instead of Auto). As of writing this section, AMD seems to be investigating an issue with respect to 500 series motherboards. As of now they are still gathering data regarding the issue, but it seems to be linked to USB ports (specifically 2.0 ports) that drop connections to peripherals such as webcams, keyboards and mice when using PCIE Gen 4 hardware inside a compatible port. Currently, one of the main solutions is to set PCIE x16 ports (the longer ones used by GPUs) in the BIOS to Gen 3 instead of Auto. I have tested my system keeping it in auto and it seems to run fine with PCIE Gen 4 without USB drops. This section will be updated when this issue is resolved.
- Tune your fan curve in the BIOS. You might not think its necessary but if you want the best balance between cooling performance and noise levels you need to tune the fan curve to be less aggressive at lower intensities. Sure if noise is not a concern then by all means crank it up. But with these NOCTUA fans you do not need to crank them so high. I also tuned the bottom fans to have a less aggressive fan curve compared to the radiator fans in order to make sure they were quiet (If you are are using the 25mm ones this might be less of a concern). One thing I also noticed was if you leave the default curve for the AIO it will creating buzzing and other sounds. So I ended up tuning the fan curve so at idle and low temperatures the pump does not spin up as much. I also made sure at idle that the bottom fans and the rear exhaust fan stopped spinning below a certain temperature to reduce noise as much as possible.
- Watch your thermals. Working on airflow, I would say, it is easier in an ATX case, but you really have to watch it in an ITX build. Make sure to cable manage properly and make sure your fans are as much unobstructed. I also noticed that undervolting the CPU a bit allowed for the idle temperatures to drop a little.
- Make sure your case gets good airflow if it is sitting on the ground. I know you are probably asking why my ITX case is sitting on the floor. I do not have too much space on my desk because of the triple monitor set up I run, so I put it under my desk. Since my floor is carpet, I ended up buying a cheap step stool off Amazon so that the intake at the bottom has space to draw in air.
