It's Real: High-Performance Gaming PC in Micro-ATX!. Page 7

[05/13/2009 11:56 AM | Cases/PSU]
by Oleg Artamonov

We usually assemble high-performance computer systems in tower cases with pretty significant internal volume. However, not all traditions are worth honoring forever. Today we decided to break the common stereotypes and show that a pretty high-performance system with a Core i7 CPU may be put together in a compact micro-ATX form-factor.

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Conclusion

Well, summing up everything we know about assembling a compact system on the DFI LanParty JR X58-T3H6 mainboard (otherwise, what else do we need microATX form-factor for?) we can conclude the following:

There won’t be any problems in cases like Antec Mini P180, the components selection as well as the assembly process will hardly be that different from the full-size mainboards and cases;
In cases like Aerocool M40, Thermaltake LanBox, Lian-Li PC-V351 and similar “cubes” you can easily put together a system on a non-overclocked Intel Core i7-920 CPU and a very powerful graphics accelerator working at a comfortable acoustic level. The possibility of CPU overclocking is questionable in these systems, although possible, with a highly efficient cooler like Thermalright AXP-140.
It doesn’t make much sense to assemble a Core i7 based system in low-profile cases like InWin BT series, for instance – the existing low-profile cooling solutions cannot ensure proper cooling even for the junior Core i7 CPU model. The upcoming Scythe Big Shuriken equipped with a 120-mm fan might be able to cope with this task. We’ll have to wait and see.