My new Super-Small-Form-Factor apu build

So for awhile now I've wanted to do an APU build as sort of a steambox / htpc type deal and see what kind of performance you can get out of an APU. I'll probably end up selling the system if I'm happy with the results.


CASE:
To make things a little more interesting I've also decided to try and shove everything into an M350 case.

Two pictures I took of another system I have built using this case to show size
http://i43.tinypic.com/vwpurn.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/14ccmm0.jpg

APU
AMD A10-6800k Processor. I have a feeling I'll probably end up undervolting / underclocking the CPU a bit due to the small case / heatsink. I went with a 6800k instead of one of the lower TDP models hoping that since the 6800k is binned higher than the other cpus it will be able to run at a lower voltage / TDP at the same frequencies as the lower TDP chips. (+ it was $15 off)

MEMORY
G.Skill Ripjaw X 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) 2400MHz Decently Cheap 2400MHz ram + I like G.Skill. I had another pair of Ripjaw X laying around and I quickly lined it up against an M350 case and it seemed like it will fit, getting a little worried now that it might not fit because I completely forgot about the HDD and CPU cooler but I believe it should be out of the way.

MOTHERBOARD
Gigabyte GA-F2A85XN-WiFi. I absolutely LOVE Gigabytes mini-itx -WiFi motherboards and am so excited to see it in a socket FM2 flavor. Wifi + bluetooth + an AWESOME back panel I/O. A little bit disappointed that that it doesn't include 2 Ethernet ports like the intel versions but still AWESOME nonetheless.

HARDDRIVE
500 GB Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200 RPM 2.5 inch drive. Was considering an SSD but wanted a bit more storage for this system to store games and movies and I didn't really want to spend a whole lot extra for an SSD. I'm a fan of western digitals black drives so I decided a 500 GBer will do.

HEATSINK
Akasa Low Profile AMD CPU Cooler. Basically the smallest FM2 compatible cooler I could find. A little bit worried about how well it will preform and I wish I could have found the copper core edition of this heatsink in stock somewhere. I'm hoping to have a few extra MM of space so maybe I'll be able to swap the stock fan out for one slightly thicker / bigger for a little extra cooling + I'll probably use some Artic SIlver 5 thermal paste to help out a bit.


Most of the parts should arrive on Thursday. I'll update this thread with some pictures of the build / finished product and maybe post some info regarding temps / noise / etc.

 

Sounds really cool, I look forward to seeing your progress.

 

Seconded, I'm definitely intrigued by the size of that case. Do some gaming benchmarks with that APU and post your results!

 

Have you had the chance to put it together yet?

 

Been running into a few road blocks and been busy and haven't had as much time as i would have liked to to play around with it, here are some pictures of it built.






Primary issue right now is that sometimes it will not turn on and the PSU will emit a whining sound. From what I can tell and what little information I could find online it's an issue with the motherboard requesting more standby power than the PSU can provide on the last 4 pins of the 24 pin connector. Right now I can get it to work it work by inserting the 24 pin connector at an angle, but once the power is completely cut from the system and reinserted it has the same problem so I have a 24 pin -> 20 pin cable on order right now which should hopefully solve the problem, however I'm not sure if I'll have room for it in my case!

Had to extend the Power and pwr led cables to reach, probably going to extend them a bit more so I can tuck them around nicely.... and I'm going to find some electrical tape that isn't so hideous.

Currently I'm working on undervolting the processor. I found a really neat command line tool called AmdMsrTweaker that allows you to manual adjust clock rate and voltages for different P-states. Quiet impressed so far with how low I can drop the voltages and remain stable.

I regret getting an HDD over an SSD. Went with an HDD with the idea that I would have a lot of games stored on it + it's cheaper but I'm not very happy with the amount of heat it generates.

Hoping I'll have some time this weekend to play some games on it and see how it runs!

 

Very intrigued by this, will be following this thread.

 

Which PicoPSU did you use with the M350?

I was thinking about trying this also and using the picoPSU-160-XT-192w.

 

Such a small case, delightful!