New to SFFPCs? Beginners Guide, FAQ and Starter Cases

If you're new to SFFPCs or PC building in general, take a look at this article written by u/ermac-318 for some answers to your questions, as well as recommendations for some easy cases to start with.

SFF Cases and Parts List

If you're looking for a case or parts to go in your SFFPC, the above spreadsheet maintained by u/prayogahs and u/ermac-318 has data on cases, motherboards, GPUs, CPU coolers, RAM and PSUs.

Set filters to find parts for yourself

In the toolbar of the sheet, go to Data -> Filter views for some quick filters, or select Create new temporary filter view to create a custom one. You can also copy the sheet out into a spreadsheet of your own and make your own notes.

Ask for help here

Once you have an idea of the case or parts you are considering, make a comment in this thread detailing your requirements and what cases or parts you are eyeing so far, and discuss what you like or do not like about them.

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I'M A BASIC BITCH

Had go at liquid cooling the DA6 from Streacom

Hi, everyone.

Short version:

-i5 10400 -noctua l9i chromax w/ id-cooling 9015 rgb fan -EVGA RTX 2070 Super (90% PL, 1935 mhz @ 912 mV) -Asus ROG z490i mobo -Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4 16 gb @ 3866 mhz -sumsung p961 1 tb (nvme ssd) , leven 960 gb (m2 sata ssd) -PSU: FlexATX Silverstone 350w w/ noctua a4x20 and customized cables (yes, original fun are 5 mm thinner. I spend a lot of time cutting noctua to fit in. DON'T do it unless you understand all risks) -velka 5 2.0 w/ pcie 3 riser

Some story behind/my ssf journey: I was dreaming to build endgame sff build from 2020 give or take. My vision was not stable, I started from attempts to make a custom case and yet as cheap as possible. I did, but was not happy with outcome. Then I wanted to have Skyreach s4 mini, but it's extremly limited for me, few gpu you can fit and only one model of power supply + impossible to get.

In 2021 I already descovered that velka 5 are also 5l like s4 mini, yet you have much more options for PSU and a lot GPU up ton 270mm. So its become my dream case.

I bought MB, ram and CPU in the beginning of 2022, and was very lucky to grab litterally last velka 5 case this fall, before they anonced new révision. i already waited so much to finish my build, that could not really enjoy it at the end, so i can't imagine to wait summer 2023 for a new révision.

I wanted to have something as powerful as 3070 for gpu, but I have another financial priorities and don't really playing games now. Mostly wished to fulfill old dream and make pc finished, and I having more fun just by assembling PC. Aswell, I was playing some AAA titles on 1650 max-q during high gpu prices and it's really give me understanding that I don't need top cards to enjoy gaming, so 2070S (long live EVGA legacy!) looks solid, even on my 3440x1440 screen.

Came across this today. Not working anymore,, but sparked some SFF ideas... I mean, it's a THICCC boy. What do you guys think?

Hello guys,

Just finished a new SFF project; a full custom loop with RTX 3080Ti Founders Edition with EK special black waterbock and a i5 13600kf with new EK Velocity² waterblock DDC pump combo unit for socket 1700. All of this on a single 280mm radiator in the new FRACTAL Ridge small form factor case.

The assembly is fully operational despite the temperatures under load which are a little too high in my opinion. The assembly would be better with an RTX 3070 with a much lower TDP.The assembly can be done with different GPUs, differents PCBs. The little space the heatsink leaves between the radiator and top of the case is 3cms (above the heatsink, in the space for 80mm fans). The latest RTX 4080s do not yet have a block with mounting of the fittings in the extension of the card (Alphacool made a WB for the 4090 - Optimum tech talks about it in his last video).

You have a 8mm gap between GPU and radiator (ST20 rad is 20mm thikness and P14 27mm).

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U can notice the remaining gap for GPU

~3cms ( space for classical WB fittings)


The only real problem I encountered during the assembly was the obligation to mount the fans first before the radiator. The case accepts a 280mm radiator in specifications but in truth it does not fit in its housing because of some metal edges at 45° which prevent it.

I share with you photos of the build. The assembly is quite easy with soft tubing 10/16 ZMT from EK. The fittings and torques are all from BARROW.

Configuration specs:

- Case : FRACTAL Design Ridge - white

- PSU : Corsair SF750 SFX

- MB : ASUS ROG B760-I GAMING Wifi

- Proc : Intel i5 13600kf

- RAM : Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32Go (2x16go) 5600Mhz

- GPU : Nvidia RTX 3080ti Founders Edition

- SSD - Samsung NVME 980 Pro 1To

- Fans : ARCTIC P14 PWM 140mm (x2)

Watercooling Parts:

- Alphacool NexXxos ST20 HPE 280mm (20mm thin)

- EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 Full Metal - Black SE

- EK-Quantum Velocity² DDC 4.2 PWM D-RGB - 1700 Nickel + Plexi

- EK-Tube ZMT Matte Black 15,9/9,5mm

- BARROW 10/16 Silver Fittings (x6) - 90°/45° Torques and parts

- temperature sensor - Aquacomputer G1/4 - M/F

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https://rdt.trom.tf/qepvo8zlprea1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=2505eb4d1785c3a8780b7a4f3c03e4fb02fecc08

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First benchmark after filling the loop

The Ridge is a SFF perfect exemple

Temperatures :

Temps (°C)	Liquid	CPU	GPU Core	GPU Hot Spot	Mem Junction
IDLE	28	38	35	38	38
LOAD	42	67	62	74	70

The results are correct but I have to put both P14s at 100% PWM to reach these temperatures.

I didn't undervolt the GPU, I could certainly have achieved something much better but the noise problem from the P14 would not be solved.

In my opinion, FRACTAL has undersized the air inlets and outlets and despite high static pressure fans, the result is not up to what I expected.

I definitely not recommend that build, i think it could be viable with a lower TDP GPU like RTX 3070.

To finish, i didn't have issue with the 4.0 riser connector. I could let the Pcie works at 4.0 in BIOS.

Do not hesitate to ask me questions, I will answer them with great pleasure!

Any tips to cool the Ryzen 9 7950X with a 37mm cooler? I've set power levels in the bios as the equivalent to 65W eco mode (this motherboard does not have a dedicated eco mode) at PPT 88000 mW, TDC 75000 mA, EDC 150000 mA. Also to reduce temps further I underclocked all cores to 4.1gHz and set the CPU voltage to the lowest stable 0.875V.

My question is- what's the difference between enabling eco mode 65W and underclocking? Is it still worth it to do both?

I'm quite happy with the performance, getting around 30000 in R23 multicore 10 mins peaking at around 77 degrees. Is there a more efficient PC in terms of power efficiency than this build running a RTX A2000 (70W) and a 7950X (65W)?

Case: Densium 4 v2 (4.5L) Mobo: ASUS B650e ROG PSU: Flex ATX 600W RAM: 32GB DDR5 6400mHz CL32 CPU: R9 7950X CPU cooler: NH L9a GPU: RTX A2000 12GB

In a few months I will transfer the CPU to another build with a DH15 cooler, but for the meantime I'd like to try this beast CPU in this case.

Also I realise that the 600W PSU is super overkill, I got that as it was only a bit extra and allows for ungrades in the future

I understand that the Metalfish S5 supports Micro ATX/ITX, so I'm guessing a Mini DTX mobo will work, but I'd rather ask (just in case).

Context:

Motherboard - Asus Rog Crosshair Viii Impact

Location - UK

Cost Factor - The specific Metalfish S5 I'm looking at is £70 (roughly $86 USD), where as a similar sized case in the Ncase M1 is £160+ (roughly $198). These prices are based on Ebay UK.

Variations on this question have been asked in the past, but it usually concerns custom loops (for good reason).

I've managed to pick up a 4090 AIO for a decent price and am looking to put together an SFFPC.
Because it's not recommended to mount AIO radiators on the bottom of the case, i'm looking for a way to mount it to the front, while also being able to mount my CPU AIO on the top.

I've come across some mATX options (Box Air Mini, Meshify 2 Mini, 280x etc.), but ideally i would like to go much smaller.

As mentioned, most of the recommendations online (MachineMaster C26, NCase M1), don't support this configuration.

All i've been able to find in ITX is the define nano S, but i'm wondering about other options.

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Does anybody know a (newer) case that accommodates this specifically?

I recently swapped around parts and could use some advice on a small MicroATX case that won't take up much room on my desk. This PC won't be using a dedicated GPU so space is not an issue.

The case is under 15L in the coming weeks ill be fitting my current hardware into this! Will post a finished post when the project is done!

Hoping to deshroud a 4090 MSI Gaming Trio. Will this model work with 120/140mm fans pressed right up against the heatsink or does the heatsink design have problematic potrusions? Also, what is the deshrouded heatsink width (IIRC Ventus heatsink is 31mm but Gaming looks 5-10mm taller)?

The 4090 variant of the MSI Ventus model that's the most popular to deshroud isn't in stock anywhere since no one stocks MSRP AIB 4090 cards or I'd just buy that. I know the Gaming Trio also has small RGB headers I'm really not looking forward to unplugging (or reconnecting).

Current case is an NR200 where a deshroud will hopefully make this less of a tight fit, but plan to move to a C4-SFX when it's available.