Steam Machines [Impressions, DIY, etc]

I'm using Asus H170M Plus, this should be a direct upgrade to your H97M-E. But H110 and B150 are very similar chipsets, so it doesn't really mather (the # of USB 3.0, PCIE Lanes and possible M2 differs)

RAM is 2x8GB Kingston Hyper X Fury with 2133MHz in my Rig, which I can recommend but cheaper one would also do.

GSkill Ripjaws or Aegis are very cheap here atm and you get them with 2800 MHz

 

Thx for the recommendation. Like! I just bought the Asus B150M-Plus (need m.2) + Kingston HyperX Savage 2x8GB DDR4 Kit 2666MHz for 100 Bucks together.

 

Damnit, the prices in germany are really much better than here in austria^^

Nice buy!

 

Well, lets say I simply have some luck buying pc parts. Official Shop prices are 30% higher. -> Some ppl just got the wrong parts or just too many and want to get rid of them. You Just have to know such ppl. Hehe

 

Well yeah! Atm ->
Intel Core I5-4690
Asus H97M-E
Crucial 16GB DDR3-1600 (4x4GB Kit)
̶g̶̶.̶̶s̶̶k̶̶i̶̶l̶̶l̶̶ ̶̶8̶̶g̶̶b̶̶ ̶̶d̶̶d̶̶r̶̶3̶-̶2̶̶4̶̶0̶̶0̶̶ ̶(̶2̶̶x̶̶ ̶̶4̶̶g̶̶b̶̶ ̶̶k̶̶i̶̶t̶)
̶z̶̶o̶̶t̶̶a̶̶c̶̶ ̶̶g̶̶t̶̶x̶̶ ̶̶9̶̶7̶̶0̶̶ ̶(̶2̶̶0̶̶0̶̶m̶̶m̶̶ ̶̶l̶̶e̶̶n̶̶g̶̶t̶̶h̶̶ ̶->̶ ̶̶g̶̶r̶̶e̶̶a̶̶t̶̶ ̶̶f̶̶o̶̶r̶̶ ̶̶i̶̶t̶̶x̶̶ ̶̶b̶̶u̶̶i̶̶l̶̶d̶̶!̶)
Sharkoon CA-M silver incl 400W modular PSU (supports up to 250mm gfx card)
Chieftec Elox incl 350W PSU (supports up to 200mm gfx card)
LC Executor incl 530W PSU (supports up to 270mm gfx card, 1x 5,25", 2x 3,5" + 2x 2,5" hidden on the side)
Also some Slim DVD Drives and SSDs (different Brands)
Sugo SG05 incl 350W PSU

Cooler Master Nepton 280L AIO Set


Well i got more spare stuff but would be too Long list.

 

Ow u asked for personal Upgrade reason? I thought u Just wanted to tease me?

I compared the Gaming performance of the new bought parts with my "Old" Socket 1150 i5-4690+H97+16GB DDR3+GTX970 System. Tell you what -> there is almost no real fps difference in Most of the 3D Games. Its a bit disappointing.

Btw i also have accidentally bought an expensive Cooler Master Nepton 280L AIO Set, but can't use it at all.. damn i have to stop being so greedy! Grrrr

 

Allrite, my next PicoPSU Project is gonna be challenging -> counter-concept against the AMD A10 Dual Graphics/Hybrid Crossfire Project.

The Plan:
i got the i3-4360T now with a TDP of extremely low 35W (!) and a 150W PicoPSU. I want to make a system that is at least as powerful for casual gaming as the A10-7860k + R7 250 that i have built some few weeks ago.

i checked the whole palette of Geforce Cards with low Energy Draw, means does not require extra power supply than via the pci-e interface (< 80W) - most times i ended with the GTX 750 Ti at ~TDP 65W. With the latest Polaris Entry - GTX 460 - that is remaining at ~TDP 75W, i hoped it would beat the the GTX 950, which operates at ~90W. But it unfortunately does not. Very disappointing.
So, i checked again, what could be the most powerful card @75W and to my surprise i found two GTX 950 Cards with no extra power supply!

The ASUS GeForce GTX 950 Mini & the ASUS GeForce GTX 950-2G

So, theoretically the system with the i3-4360T@35W + GTX 950@TDP 75W would stay below 150W. Gaming-wise you could play every title at FullHD with High Details at 40+ FPS. Maybe not the latest High-Tec-Operas, but very cool 3D games of the last 2-3 yrs (probably at even 60+ FPS)

When i got the others parts together with the GTX 950@75W, i*ll try to fit it into a small & light Cube Case, that supports Full Profile Graphic Cards. The only thing that i can't avoid is the ATX/SFX PSU Hole at the rear of the case. Maybe can find a case, where the PSU is hidden internally somewhere, just like the Antec ISK 300-150, that i used for the AMD A10 System.

Ow yeah, found a youtube clip that demonstrates the performance! Yummy

 

Cant wait for the result

MSI also has 2 PCIE only cards: GTX950 2GD5 OCV2 and GTX950 2GD5T OCV3

But I think the Asus might be cheaper

 

Update:
I just bought the following Things for cheap moooney, YAY:
Skylake i5-6500T@35W TDP
Toshiba 2TB 2,5"
Cooltek Coolcube (supports GfxCard up to 185mm)
Asus GTX 950-2G Mini@75W TDP (172mm)



Also got the 150W PicoPSU and a Crucial 256GB SSD.

Now i need to find an affordable ITX Board and some fast DDR4 Rams to complete the list..


p.s. well, for the i3-4360T@35W TDP i've bought this ultra tiny case with 60W PicoPSU. Will sell it away as tiny HTPC

 

allrite, since the i5-6500T will be delivered next week, i first try the GTX 950 Mini @75W with the i3-4360T. I'm not sure, whether the i5-6500T or the i3-4360T performs better in general - the one has much higher Base Clock, the other more real cores. Would depend on the application, sure. But since most games are pushing the GPU to the limits, it's hard to tell.

So here is my first Version with Socket 1150: i3-4360T@2x 3,2GHz, 35W TDP, H97M-ITX+WIFI, 8GB DDR3-1600, GTX 950 Mini @75W (limited by PCI-E Lane, Cooltek ITX MiniCube, Crucial 256GB SSD.. Cooling: 1x Cooltek Top Blower with 2 Heatpipes, 1x 120mm Casefan (modded to the Sidepanel), 150W PicoPSU + 120W Ext.Adapter












DImensions: 20cm (Width) x 24cm (Heigth) x 21cm (Depth)
Weight: << 2kg

finished Win 10 Pro + all the Drivers Installation. What next??

--> OFC, NOW I AM JUST INSTALLING MECHWARRIOR ONLINE. WOHOOO!!!

 

my new side project:

Corsair Hydro H5 SF Ultra Compact AIO Watercooling System in the little ITX Cube CA-I. It feals grande in the tiny box!

 

sold all my ITX Projects from last year (see posts above) for good Money..

Now my fingers are itching again for a new Super Compact Build.. This time i'm looking at the GTX 1050 Ti - pretty Badass Performance for super low Power Draw (~75W). Practically it's more Performance than the popular GTX 960 but with the Hunger of just the GTX 750 Ti. Paired with a good Intel i5 (<65W), it can be powered with a sub 200W PSU.

 

Atm you can get cheap used AMD R9 Nanos, which can be modded easily with a better fan to a great compact GFX card. Would love to see one of your projects with one of those

But I also cant wait for your other two new projects (this one and the one with the asus gtx 1060).

Btw, did you buy a DAN-A4-SFX case?

 

The R9 Nano was pretty impressive when it was released - I really really wanted one! But omg it was soo expensive, too much compared to NVidias similar priced Cards. Now looking back i would say the Card really aged much compared to the GTX 10XX Series. The price aren't that cheap imo. How cheap can you get one in your region? Here in Germany it's definitely not so much cheaper than the GTX 1070.



Talking about the 1070 -> if you want Badass ITX Graphic Card -> Take this one or go Home!


For me not only the Size matters, but also the Power Draw. And in that point the 1060/1070 really is King with 120W/150W TDP (Nano @175W TDP)

p.s. the DAN-A5-SFX Case is really cool! But it's very expensive. For ITX Builds i personally very recommend the Chieftec Elox (http://www.chieftec.eu/en/chassis/itx/elox-series/bt-04b-u3.html), which is 10l Case, similar to the DAN-A5-SFX, can take a full profile Graphic Card up to 200cm Length (great options to go for) and comes with a build-in 250W/350W (85+ Rating) PSU, which is plenty of Power for ITX Components, e.g. GTX 1070 @150W TDP + Skylake/Kabylake i5/i7 @65W never breaks the 300W Wall even in Full Load.

Spoiler: Chieftec Elox BT-04B Series

 

<-- Austria ;-). Saw one some time ago @computerbase.de marktplatz for ~250-280 including fan mod.

 

Sure it was the R9 Nano ? I doubt it. Which Brand/Model?

 

Found it again. Is an MSI R9 Nano. Still available: https://www.computerbase.de/forum/showthread.php?t=1667333&highlight=nano

If you dont have access: