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Smallest mITX case for OC 6700K with GTX 1080?

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Antisthenes

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Aug 15, 2015
Building a high-end gaming rig for travelling on trains and planes, but noticed that the Node 202 is too low for OC, so will appreciate it if anyone can recommend the smallest mITX case possible for overclocking the 6700k to at least 4.6. It has to fit the GTX 1080.

A slim case would be best, but a cube is also possible if the case is designed to give the GPU solid support during travel, and small enough to take onboard a plane.

What cooler, PSU, 500gb SSD and 16gb RAM will you recommend?

(I know the 6700k is not necessary for gaming. Already have a 4790k, overclocked to 4.9 on my old stationary, but I'm travelling soon and the store I buy from only has the ASUS H81I-PLUS, Socket-1150. Is that mobo good enough for high-end gaming?)
 
No, will only move the mITX 1-3 times a month, when travelling between hotels. Being very vigilant that no accident happens to it during the journey.
 
I do not think that mobo is going to meet your expectations. First out is an h81 chipset do it will not offer overclocking from the factory. Second it only has a 3 phase power delivery system so you will definitely not want to try overclocking a i7 on that thing even if you were able to.
 
Ok, thanks, good to know, though I was not planing to OC the 4790k on that mobo, only considering it as a cheaper alternative to buying a mITX with 6700k.
 
If I were building a mITX right now to house the GTX 1080 I'd be looking at the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX. It has plenty of room for your GPU and a good amount of airflow. Airflow will be your biggest concern if you decide to OC in an ITX. Look into the blower style cooler for the GPU as this will blow all the hot air caused by the GPU straight out of the case. This case also has enough room for up to 200mm tall CPU coolers. It will fit the Noctua NH-D15 or a Phanteks PH-TC14PE.
 
Thanks for suggestion, appreciate it, though the case seems too large to be portable enough: 230 mm x 375 mm x 395 mm (W x H x D) OC not safe in anything smaller than that? If not, then I guess the best option is to run 6700k without OC in a Node 202. At least that will be very portable.
 
I would say in any of the slim cases you would really be limited on OC if it's even possible. I would choose the Silverstone Raven RVZ01 over the Node 202 simply for airflow purposes. The Node 202 does not have exhaust fans. I'm sure it's a good case but that would be a deal breaker for me personally.
 
No Node 202 then... Tnx, you saved me from buying and returning a product :)
 
Not recommending it, but I built a VR system around the Silverstone Sugo SG13 as the smallest case I could realistically get. It does have many flaws. Firstly, I got the wrong version of the case. It comes with either a solid or mesh front. The solid one looks better, but kills airflow if you want to use the front fan mount, so I re-bought the case in mesh version which helps a lot.

I used Silverstone's Tundra TD03-E watercooler for the CPU. The fans it comes with are too noisy and I need to work more to tame it while maintaining enough CPU cooling. It is adequate for gaming CPU loads (undervolted 6700k at stock clocks) but close to meltdown under harder loads. Currently it is running 80C hottest core with equivalent workload to Prime95 big FFT. I'm running the included fans push-pull, and think I will go for a single later when I get some time. There isn't really the height to use a good conventional CPU cooler unless you're far more creative than I am. GPU wise I'm using a 1070 FE which is fine.

I went for the Asus Z170I Pro Gaming. It doesn't like my Corsair 3000 ram but does work with my Crucial 2666. I dislike the wifi antenna arrangement on it also...

Currently I'm watching the Dr Zaber Sentry case with interest. It is not available yet.
 
Thanks for reply! Since you are not recommending it I think a bit larger case is better. Any good and small cubes that have room for the gtx 1080?
 
Check out the Thermaltake Armor A30i, Aerocool DS Dead Silence, & Corsair Carbide Air 240. Some may be bigger than you think though. The Thermaltake is actually a mATX but the way it's laid out it's smaller than a lot of the mITX cubes.

There is a link in my sig that might help too. :)
 
The Air 240 was actually my first pick, but read that 980 Ti was too wide for it. Will the 1080 fit inside it?
 
Which 1080? They will all vary in size a little. Check the dimensions on the card you want. The case specifications should tell you how large of a gpu will fit. And then you have an answer. :)
 
Which 1080? They will all vary in size a little. Check the dimensions on the card you want. The case specifications should tell you how large of a gpu will fit. And then you have an answer. :)
 
I'm only buying an mITX to play games while staying in hotels and apartments when being abroad for months during the winter, so I'll be happy with one screen at 1080p, max 24', but more likely 20'. I would have bought a laptop if I was not going to use the mITX at home with the Asus 27" LED G-Sync ROG SWIFT PG278Q (1440/144hz).

I'm totally allergic to microstuttering, so actually rather play on a 1080 res than a 4k screen with stuttering.

My store has both the Node 202 and the Gigabyte 1070 Mini ITX OC. Will this smaller GPU work inside the Node, with a 6700k, despite the lack of airflow fans? Just asking because the Silverstone is out of stock in Norway now, and I prefer a slim case when downgrading to a 1070.

The Node 202 seems to work well with the 1070 and 6700:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/vG7hP6

Though nice to get a second opinion from the pros in this forum here :)

Read that 1080 and 1070 are too wide for the Air 240 (makes we wonder what Corsair was thinking about when not making the 240 just a few mm wider, but guess they didn't know what Nvidia would do in the future).

And what PSU is good for a slim case? How much watt is necessary to run a 1070 and the 6700k without OC?
 
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