It can always be smaller...

[Steve]

Although I'm quite happy with the performance and size of my current Llano system, thanks to Sapphire and their low-profile HD6670, I think it can still get smaller.

Current Size: 9.438L (ThermalTake - Element Q)

Goal: 8.215L (In Win BP-series)

Savings: 13%

I saw the goal case while shopping for my Kozuti. Looked at the Kozuti, looked at the case, went home and ordered the LP 6670 from NewEgg. I'l have the parts gathered up by the weekend and assembled and tested shortly after.

Should be a cheap, compact system that will handle Old Republic at 1080p quite nicely.

Specs (Some carry over from current build)

In Win BP671 - New
ASRock A75-ITX
AMD A8-3850
Scythe Kozuti LP Cooler - New
4GB DDR-1333
Sapphire HD 6670 LP - New
500GB WD HDD
Blu-ray Drive - New
200w TFX PSU (May replace with 300w Seasonic) - New

Anyone want to buy a slightly use XFX HD 6670?

Comments?

[zeldaman]

It's sounding good! You find the white lightsaber crystal yet? ;D

Also, I'm not sure if you saw my comment on Blu-Ray players in a different thread but here's the quick quote ".. Don't buy an OEM blu-ray because you will be required to purchase software to get it to work. I bought a blu-ray drive on Newegg for Christmas that came with software, and that works great. So just something to watch out for"

[Steve]

White. Oooh! Not yet.

I did see that post. Just in time too. Next day I was looking at OEM drives at the store. Good price. Then I remembered your post. Thanks!

[Steve]

Picked up the case today and the new Low Profile GPU arrived two days ago. Ripped all of the innards out of the ThermalTake Element Q and set to installing them in the new In Win BP659.

I decided that while I had the system apart I'd install the Kozuti heatsink to see how well it functioned, even thought it's completely unnecessary for this case. I'll post a better write-up in the Coolers forum but my thoughts are mixed on it. I didn't suffer from the stripped screw problem that a lot of users experienced, but I did have to remove the heatsink from my inner RAM module to allow for the Kozuti. I also think that it might interfere the optical drive that I want to install later on.

kozuti_ram.jpg

(162.78 KiB) Downloaded 1002 times

The rest of the install went smooth. The In Win Bp659 case is incredibly easy to work with. Everything has its place and the cables are relatively tame. Will only need a couple of ties to tidy it up.

system_no_gpu.jpg

(160.4 KiB) Downloaded 1002 times

I'm just running it through 3DMark11 now to see how it compares. Score wise, it's identical. No performance difference between the XFX and the Sapphire. Power draw seems to be considerably less. I haven't seen it break 100w yet. 93w is the highest draw I've seen from the wall meter.

system_gpu.jpg

(105.73 KiB) Downloaded 1002 times

It's quieter than the Element Q, most of which has to due with the Kozuti over the stock heatsink, even with 4 fans. The low profile Sapphire GPU is a perfect fit.

system_rear.jpg

(153.81 KiB) Downloaded 1002 times

3DMark11 (Performance): P2480

The Old Republic: 28 FPS AVG (High Preset @ 1366 x 768)

[Big SturL Profile]

Looking good. Where can one get the 6670 LP???

[Steve]

Got mine from NewEgg. Looks like they've since been out-of-stock/deactivated. Hopefully for a shiny new single-slot low-profile 7750 (Ha. Not Likely! But I can dream!)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102958

[zeldaman]

Here is another 6670 (low profile ready). It is HIS but it should do the same job.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161397

[Steve]

I saw that one. It will do the same job and its a bit cheaper than the Sapphire, but its not quite single-slot. Its not double slot, but the coolers portrudes just enuff that I don't think it will fit in most small single slot ITX cases.

[zeldaman]

Steve, how'd this build go? Did you get any reliable benches such as relative GPU performance (since you CFX)? Also, what kind of power draw did you get because I was looking at the antec isk 300-150 as an option for a super small build.

[spoktor Profile]

In Win BP655 has a nice looking exterior, from the pictures. Does it feel like a quality case in person? Sturdy and nice finishes?

Also, is it easy/structurally safe to remove the optical drive housing? It seems almost silly to have a full 5.25 drive bay eating up so much of the space in the chasis (though I guess this case is probably intended for a htpc, instead of a gaming rig). I wonder if you could get a more powerful/overclocked processor by yanking the drive bay entirely and installing some sort of fan/grating in its place to push in air from the front.

Or maybe even something like this watercooler. Though you'd have to do some modification of the cooler's faceplate, and the air circulation would be kinda sketchy (case is 100mm tall, cooler is 85mm. 15 mm isn't much for circulation).