SFFPC Gen2
After making my first SFFPC in the NCase M1 v6.1 a few years ago and really enjoying the experience, I now wanted to make another one, but this time with an emphasis on cool, quiet & efficiency. This won't be a graphics oriented machine, but something that could do 2D and internet well enough, while being completely silent and sipping power, but can perform pretty well when needed.
I had purchased two NCase M1 v6.1's on my first build (a black and silver one). This was lucky because the model was discontinued during the pandemic. I also had a spare set of Noctua fans (including a CPU cooler) and some SSDs. Although I did have a spare GPU, I wanted something a bit more efficient. All I really needed was a Motherboard, CPU, RAM and PSU. but unfortunately, due to the RAM apocolypse, this would not be as cheap as I had hoped. Since my PC is on all day, the power bill alone will save me some money.
Spec
The components that I chose for this build are very similar to my first. In fact, where I used an 8-core AMD CPU in the original, here I am using just a 6-core 5. Despite the lower tier AMD CPU, it actually performs a little better (especially in single core). My reason for choosing this is it uses around half the power. The GPU actually uses a fraction of the power that the previous one did. When doing simple tasks, the GPU should not even be needed since the CPU has integrated graphics that will be much more efficient when just using a browser or remote working.
Case:
MB:
CPU:
GPU:
RAM:
PSU:
SSD:
Cooler:
Fans:
OS:
Sound:
NCase M1 v6.1 (12.7 Litre)
Gigabyte Z870i Aurus Pro ICE (AM5)
AMD Ryzen 7 9700x (8x 5.4GHz - 65w)
Gigabyte RTX 5060 LP (8GB - 145w)
2x16GB Kingston DDR5 (5600MHz cl 36)
Corsair SF1000 ATX 3.1 (80+ Platinum)
1TB Samsung 9100 + 4TB PCIe gen4
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Mini
Noctua Case (2x NF-A14)
Win 11 Pro / Linux CachyOS
Topping D90SE + Teac AX-505
The Asrock B850i motherboard is a mid-range model with a few nice features. It supports DDR5 and PCI-E 5.0, both of which I will be taking advantage of. With us being deep into the RAM apocalypse I settled for an overpriced 32GB, but I would like to put 128Gb in it one day, if the prices ever come down to reasonable levels again. There are plenty of useful USB ports on the back panel, but I should be able to use the NCase M1's front USB A & C ports with the internal connectors to make it even more useful.
With a maximum power draw of 344w the crazy 1000w power supply fan won't kick in (>400w) even when pushed. The other reason I chose that PSU is that I intend to upgrade the CPU/GPU/RAM in this case one day to much higher end components.
Where the previous build I did in the NCase M1 produced idle temps of 43 & 33°c for the CPU & GPU (respectively). The initial results for this new build are 40°c and 28°c. Making it around 5°c cooler, but I need to do better testing to compare what it's like under load.
Custom 3D Printing
The 3D printed shapes I make for this will be significantly larger and more elaborate. There is more that I can do with such a small graphics card, but it also has more potential and will be easier to get to for fitting. I want to make air ducts for not just the GPU, but also the RAM and SSD. That's all from the bottom case fans too. It will be equally important to route air from the side panel to get cool air into the CPU. Being able to squeeze two Phanteks 120x30mm fans (T30) and two Noctua 140x25mm inside a 12.7L case will be really great. Although these components are not too demanding, ultimate my intention is to squeeze a 5080 GPU in here with the same fans.
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The bright rectangle you see below is the size of the 5060 heatsink. Seemingly proportionate to its deminutive power draw, it'll be fascinating to see how well it copes before I engineer any airflow routing. It could be interesting to see how well I could use the front fan (left) to supply fresh air to the CPU and then send it directly out the back of the case. Perhaps the trickiest thing will be finding a way to cool down the RAM and SSDs with the air from these bottom fans...
I will update this section as I put the components into the other NCase M1 and experiment with airflow and cable management...
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