Venturing into the world of SFF Builds

[Photographer]

Here's my new build. its not complete but its up and running

Specs
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 (running at 4.5Ghz 1.42v on stock cooling right now)
Memory: 16GB 2x8GB Adata XPG 1600Mhz Cl9 1.5v (running @ 1866 Cl9-10-9-28 1.6v)
Motherboard: MSI Z97I-AC ITX
PSU: Antec Neo Eco 650W
Storage: Samsung 840 Evo 120GB + Seagate 2.5' 500GB HDD
GPU: Asus R9 290 DirectCU II OC (pics on 2nd page)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 ITX

Let the pictures do the rest:

 

[Yasir Nadeem]

Congrats Man! I though You Got the G series Z97I AC Mobo Still That Mobo Looks Good and change that GPU too.

 

[crazyhassan]

congratulations

 

[UzairAhmed]

I am waiting to build my mini itx as well how did it live up to your expectations? especially the motherboard and the case?

 

[Cyclone123]

with a decent cooler 4.8ghz is no issue but pushing it to 4.9ghz or maybe 5ghz is hard, it may require 1.48v, I pushed mine to 4.9ghz with 1.47v on Air but the peak temps were like 98c on the stress test non the less it crashed after 25minz
On a serious note when you run this chip on 4.6ghz it simply works amazing and the more you push it the better performance you get, since its a dual core so overclocking it really makes the whole experience better on the other hand and i5 or i7 overclocked to 5ghz wont make you feel any different in general (web browsing or loading few apps).
Really nice purchase,

 

[Photographer]

I am waiting to build my mini itx as well how did it live up to your expectations? especially the motherboard and the case?

it lives up quite well to my expectations. the case is roomier than i thought. the wire mess you see is only at the top. the front area is completely empty so airflow is unrestricted and flows over the CPU/memory. the case is slightly bigger than i imagined but its nothing i cant live with. its very sturdy and well built for the features it offers in its price bracket

with a decent cooler 4.8ghz is no issue but pushing it to 4.9ghz or maybe 5ghz is hard, it may require 1.48v, I pushed mine to 4.9ghz with 1.47v on Air but the peak temps were like 98c on the stress test non the less it crashed after 25minz
On a serious note when you run this chip on 4.6ghz it simply works amazing and the more you push it the better performance you get, since its a dual core so overclocking it really makes the whole experience better on the other hand and i5 or i7 overclocked to 5ghz wont make you feel any different in general (web browsing or loading few apps).
Really nice purchase,

you got lucky with your CPU. i tried to go slightly faster but it refuses to go beyond 4.5Ghz (1.42v). windows just BSODs when i try to boot with x46 multiplier. it doesn't matter how much voltage i give it. it always ends up BSODing so i guess i've hit a wall with this one at 4.5Ghz but that's still a very good 1.3Ghz over stock and its very snappy at this speed so i'm happy with it.

 

[jack]

Congrats on the pc. :wink2:

May I ask where did you get the processor ?

 

[Yasir Nadeem]

Congrats on the pc. :wink2:

May I ask where did you get the processor ?

he's in china and got it for almost nothing atleast that's what he told me.

 

[jack]

[MENTION=38055]Yasir Nadeem[/MENTION]

ah...thanks for clearing that up....

I have been looking for this processor here in Karachi (in reasonable price) but the only one available is the overpriced version at homeshopping

 

[Yasir Nadeem]

@Yasir Nadeem

ah...thanks for clearing that up....

I have been looking for this processor here in Karachi (in reasonable price) but the only one available is the overpriced version at homeshopping

considering the price of this pro 70$ 10 K isn't bad.

 

[jack]

@Yasir Nadeem

Hmmm....Microcenter had a deal with g3258 + msi z97, both for 89 $.

Sadly there is nobody in Pakistan that can import these items from Microcenter.

 

[Yasir Nadeem]

@Yasir Nadeem

Hmmm....Microcenter had a deal with g3258 + msi z97, both for 89 $.

Sadly there is nobody in Pakistan that can import these items from Microcenter.

Wow that was a great deal.

 

[crazyhassan]

congrats bro

 

[Cyclone123]

you got lucky with your CPU. i tried to go slightly faster but it refuses to go beyond 4.5Ghz (1.42v). windows just BSODs when i try to boot with x46 multiplier. it doesn't matter how much voltage i give it. it always ends up BSODing so i guess i've hit a wall with this one at 4.5Ghz but that's still a very good 1.3Ghz over stock and its very snappy at this speed so i'm happy with it.

Well mine was an ES chip
The lower we get with nano-meter the more silicon lottery will become a thing.

 

[Photographer]

Big Update


so received the ASUS R9 290 DCu II a few days ago. sadly i cant post any screenshots of benchmarks or games because i sent my Display in to be replaced. it had issues with its backlights and would fail when bright white was displayed

but anyway here are some pictures