mini-ITX with BIG demands?

[silentbobbo]

Hi all-

I have a very difficult problem (so it seems) since Google can't find it for me.

I have mini-ITX 1155 boards and CPU -> ASUS P8H67-I Deluxe and i7-2600K. I would like two things, for 2 systems with the same board and chip (probably 2 different cases), both of which seem to be long-shot requirements.

The first is a storage server - a mini-ITX case that will provide 2x 5 1/4 bays for use http://www.centplay.com/affiliate/id_366/ with hotswap 2.5" HDD. We will be able to cram 8x 2.5" SAS into this arrangement.. but of course these specs put the total wattage of the system somewhere just under 300 watts as well.. This is essentially a rackmount NAS-type system, but in a stand up chassis.

The second is a gaming workstation - same spec but single HDD, a mini-ITX case that will fit a 12", dual-slot video card, such as top-of-the-line Radeon 68xx or GeForce 5xx (probably going to be R6870). Again power is also a problem but moreso since spec for this system would dictate ~500 watt or more power? What is the smallest size you can fit a top video card into, because both the length/width of the card and the power draw seem to demand ATX size.

So -

- are there cases that have these dimensions? All the mini-ITX cases I can find have NO 5 1/4" bay at all, and are cube-shaped rather than long/narrow to admit a full-size video card.
- is there any way to get 300 watts in a mini-ITX system? Let alone 2x that much. Do any external power bricks offer higher wattage? All the cases I can find on Google offer 120-200 watts at best.

[tim851]

The first is a storage server - a mini-ITX case that will provide 2x 5 1/4 bays for use with hotswap 2.5" HDD. We will be able to cram 8x 2.5" SAS into this arrangement.. but of course these specs put the total wattage of the system somewhere just under 300 watts as well..

No. The board, memory and CPU will consume under 100w. Eight 2.5" drives, even 7200 rpm models will add 50w, worst case scenario. I don't see this system ever going over 150w.

The second is a gaming workstation - same spec but single HDD, a mini-ITX case that will fit a 12", dual-slot video card, such as top-of-the-line Radeon 68xx or GeForce 5xx (probably going to be R6870). Again power is also a problem but moreso since spec for this system would dictate ~500 watt or more power?

No. This system would probably draw under 250w in gaming. Pushed with simultaneous benchmarks, it might just break 300w.

- are there cases that have these dimensions? All the mini-ITX cases I can find have NO 5 1/4" bay at all, and are cube-shaped rather than long/narrow to admit a full-size video card.

Mini-ITX with two 5.25 bays: Morex Venus, both Silverstone and Lian Li have cube cases that fit mATX boards, but are still relatively compact and come with 2x optical bays.

Mini-ITX for lengthy VGA: Lian Li PC-Q08, Lian Li PC-Q11, Silverstone SST-SG07

[Sunrise]

Mini-ITX for lengthy VGA: Lian Li PC-Q08, Lian Li PC-Q11, Silverstone SST-SG07

How much room do they have for a 3rd party cooler on the GPU? Any box that size would be loud with stock cooling there.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/lianli-pcq08
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/ ... e-review/1 (Only 9,5" for VGA)
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/ ... e-review/1

[tim851]

How much room do they have for a 3rd party cooler on the GPU? Any box that size would be loud with stock cooling there.

OP didn't mention 3rd party coolers. Scythe Setsugen 2 would probably fit. Cards with good stock coolers, like MSI's Twin Frozr, are relatively quiet out of the box.