New PC build log

Finally decided to put my A4-SFX v2 Small Form Factor case to use with a build.
Specs:
I am waiting on the RGB LED strip to put inside the AliExpress fan (the LED strip inside was using different colored LEDs and not RGB LEDs so I have removed it, but replacing it with an addressable RGB strip is no problem)

Pics below.

Here's what we're working with.
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This thing is way smaller than it looks. They really pack these boards with heatsinks.
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Once the cooler and RAM are in place you can barely see the PCB.
The cooler back plate would not fit due to a metal plate that was in the way, but Cryorig helpfully supplied plastic washers to use in place of a backplate if the backplate did not fit. With such a small and light cooler, I suppose there is no real need for a backplate.
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Testing it out to make sure it works before putting it in the case. Looking good.
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Got everything in place, just missing the GPU.
Did my best with cable management, bunching up the wires as tightly as possible so they don't block the case fan. I did most of this before actually putting the PSU in the case. Not shown: I ended up zip-tieing the EPS power cable along the bottom to the case, so it's out of the way a bit more.
I have not seen the PSU fan run once yet... That 80+ Platinum rating is doing its job.
View attachment 193687

Got the GPU in place. It looks so tiny in the case. It's getting an upgrade soon though so that I can take advantage of my 4K HDR TV.
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FIrst power on after full assembly...
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It's alive!
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And looking good too.
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Windows wants to activate. Let's grant its wish.
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Let's test how fast these drives really are...
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Man, that 970 Evo Plus is amazingly fast. I've never had boot times this quick. The Intel 660p disappoints a little in the benchmark and I could not get consistent results. However, it does very well at its intended purpose, which is running my games. And the Seagate SSHD actually performs better than expected, I would not expect the SSD cache to work effectively in a benchmark. The SSD cache is not an important feature as the drive will be used for bulk storage of files (downloads, videos, that sort of thing), it just happens to be pretty cheap and as there don't seem to be any 2.5" 2TB 7200rpm HDDs available, this is the next best thing.

Cinebench score and Speccy for good measure:
View attachment 193696 View attachment 193698

I will say, it was tricky building in such a small case, but also a lot of fun. I feel like the challenge in squeezing everything in, and cable managing as best as possible in the limited space made it more fun.

It certainly does not perform as well as it would in a larger case. It should be able to achieve Cinebench R20 scores of around 4700. The Ryzen 7 3700x runs pretty hot in the A4-SFX with that cooler. It boosts to 4.1 Ghz-ish and quickly hits the thermal limit before slowly dropping the clock speed back down. Sustained around 3.9Ghz in AIDA64 stress CPU, only around 3.7 Ghz in Cinebench R20. Stress CPU+FPU+Cache sees it throttling to below stock clocks at 3.55-ish Ghz and may have gone lower had I ran it for longer. However that is not a realistic scenario for actual usage.

I had hoped for better cooling performance considering the 65W TDP, but it's adequate for this time of year. In the summer, thermal throttling may become a real issue. Gaming is never going to stress every single core to 100% though, so it may not actually affect gaming performance.
I have set a custom fan curve in the ASUS AI Suite application to reach 80% fan speed at 75C, and 100% fan speed at 80C. This keeps the fan from rapidly ramping up to max speed as soon as there is even a slight load, as it is quite noisy. But when idle, it's near silent and when plugged into the TV, with me on the couch, I can't hear it over the ambient noise until something starts doing its tasks in the background.

In game in ARK, the CPU hovers around 3.95-4 Ghz, CPU temp at 72-74 C. Which is definitely within acceptable levels, as ARK is a heavy game. As said though, in the summer it might be an issue. If it comes to it, I can take the side panel off in the summer to let it breathe freely.
I tested a little bit before putting the outer case on and the temps were much better.
I think I may take the cooler off to reapply the thermal paste, as it was tricky getting it on straight and I have a feeling the thermal paste might not have made good coverage. But that can wait until I get the LED strip for the case fan.
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Comments

Silent_Gunner
Yeah, that Cryorig CPU cooler isn't going to be doing you any favors, speaking from experience. Here's what I use in my Node 202 case (how the fuck did you get your hands on a DAN case in 2020?): https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GdkD4D/scythe-cpu-cooler-scbsk2100

If it was compatible with the AM4 socket, I'd wholeheartedly recommend using that one. It isn't the most quiet, but it does a pretty good job keeping my i7-8700k cool even when under quite a lot of stress emulating something like RPCS3 or even playing demanding PC games!

Iwouldn't trust that ASUS motherboard for shit. Literally, I was transferring files one night a little over a year ago, and a few seconds after I removed my SD card reader from the USB port of my computer, the computer just shut off. It never turned back on, and then I took it to one of the computer stores in my city (it certainly wasn't Micro Center) and found out that the $200+ if I remember right motherboard died on yours truly. Yeah. I'm jamming an ASRock motherboard now in my PC, and it's been smooth sailing so far!

Last, but not least...RGB strips from AliExpress, really? ;)
 
The Real Jdbye
@Silent_Gunner What's wrong with RGB strips from AliExpress? They're just LEDs. :unsure:

I got that case from Kickstarter years ago. It's taken me until now to build anything in it because money. v4.1 is still being made and is in stock though, so they are not that hard to get.
Even if that cooler was AM4 compatible, it's too thick. There is only 48mm of space with the stock sidepanels, a few mm extra with the window kit, but it's not good to go too close to the sidepanel as it causes added noise from turbulence. Also, the way it is designed it would not really be possible to put a fan underneath instead like it is with some coolers of that type.

The Cryorig C7 is 47mm, which would be pushing it with the stock sidepanels, but is just fine with the window kit.

The only other AM4 compatible coolers that would fit is I believe the Noctua L9i (with AM4 mounting kit) or L9a (no need for a separate kit but not available in black) and while Noctua is more silent I have my doubts that it would get any better cooling, as it is much smaller. For Intel which I was originally gonna go with, there are a lot more options, some of which utilize the available space as much as possible with slightly wider heatsinks, fan underneath the heatsink, or taking a cooler that is too big and putting a thinner fan on it (or putting a fan underneath it when possible) to make it fit. I have the Cooltek LP53 sitting right here, with a Thermalright TR-TY100 fan, which is supposed to be the best combo for Intel but is not AMD compatible. But who knows, maybe they will make a mounting kit for AM4, or someone will make an adapter for it to make it work with AM4, then I can use it.
Anyway, with time more SFF coolers should become available, so I'll have more options as time goes on (especially if AMD sticks with the same socket for a while longer), but I will never be able to get as good performance as I would with a bigger case/cooler, and I guess that's fine, as it's probably not going to affect gaming at all.

ASUS is great all around in my experience, and this is the highest end (not to mention most expensive) mini-ITX X570 motherboard available. The next best option was ~$60 less, but had 2 less USB ports, it's worth paying the extra for the USB ports as I can't just add more ports with a PCIe card and I'll probably end up using them all.
I can't speak for your experience but I guess you had bad luck. There's always a tiny failure rate on any electronic equipment, which is unavoidable, but that's why we have warranty, right?
I also don't know how old it was. The capacitors are not designed to last forever (and actually have an expected lifetime rating after which all bets are off) especially if they are run at high temperatures.
I'm not worried though, as ASUS motherboards seem to be very well regarded. As for ASRock, I've heard of their motherboards being iffy, but maybe they have improved since. And that was just one person saying that, maybe they had bad luck one time like you did and it soured the brand for them.
 
Joe88
Generally the case looks like it has poor airflow, that single 120mm made in china junk intake fan probably isnt helping things, not sure what else you can do in that regard.
I think its also time to retire the 970 and look at upgrading that.
 
The Real Jdbye
@Joe88 It's 92mm. Yeah, it probably doesn't do much to help the CPU/GPU temps, it's more so the rest of the components in the case (SSDs, and passive components on the mobo) which otherwise get just about zero airflow can get some fresh air as well.
The idea is the CPU cooler and GPU take fresh air directly from the outside, and the hot air naturally escapes out from the top thanks to physics. However, the window side panel restricts air flow and increases temps by a few C (as tested by other people)
I can definitely tell that the design is working as intended though, as I could feel warm air coming out of the top, and no warm air coming out anywhere else.

Already got an EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Gaming on order :)
It should ship on Tuesday and be here on Wednesday.
 
The Real Jdbye
I took the PC apart to check the thermal paste application as I had a feeling it was not evenly spread due to how I screwed the heatsink in. It was about 80%, on one side the thermal paste only went about 5mm away from the edge, so I reapplied it and used way more this time and made sure to be more careful when screwing the heatsink in to apply pressure more evenly.

Cinebench R20 scores improved somewhat although that might be due to ambient temperature differences.
Then I did some undervolting tests.

Before reapplication: 4231
After: 4277
-50mV: 4353
-75mV: 4402

I think I will leave it at that, as -100mV and beyond supposedly cause reduced performance. It definitely boosts higher for longer as well although that by itself without benchmark numbers that does not mean much.

Sustained clocks in AIDA64 seem to be about the same though. It just takes twice as long before it starts dipping below 3.9. Otherwise it stays rock stable at 3.91/3.92 Ghz 99% of the time, before UV it was maybe 0.01 lower.

Lastly, I set Performance Enhancement to Level 1 instead of Default and got a score of 4461. Not quite the ~4700 people got with the 3700X in a normal case, but halfway there from where I started. That's pretty good. Especially since that 4700 might have been done with Performance Enhancement turned on anyway. I'm only giving up like 5% performance at that point, rather than 10%.
 
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