[Boob_Skillit]

OK! So will it work? or am I just dumb?... YOU DECIDE!

Define 'Work';
1) No compatibility Issues - Never built an ITX rig b4
2) ITX board can handle 6870x2 w/o problems?
3) Play BF3 on Ultra

So, i'm building a rig for my Bro who is going to S.Korea for a year & he's my bud so i wanna build him a sweet little rig to keep him happy whilst he's away from his peeps....

It's gotta be super small yet mighty powerful (enough to play BF3 on ultra) & budget is approx $1500

THE BUILD:
Case: Cubitek Mini Tank -(modded of course

)
CPU: i5-2500
MOBO: ZOTAC H67ITX-C-E LGA 1155 Intel H67
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
GPUowerColor AX6870X2 HD 6870 x2 2GB
SSD: Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III
HDD: WD Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB SATA III 3.5"
PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750

I know you guys are probly gonna say that's the 6870x2 is crap & worthless... if you know a better bang for buck opt. (Single card only of course) then i'm open to suggestions.
IMO i think it looks pretty BA with those huge copper heat pipes so don't try & tell me how ugly it is

(^ same goes for the mini tank)

So there it is sports fans.. Please let me know if i am breaking any cardinal rules of ITX b/c i never built one before... btw, this will be my 5th time rig build

Thanks Sincerely,
Boob_Skillit

 

[Pentium4 531 overclocker]

750W PSU is a bit much... and most people would not throw a graphics card in an ITX board... M-ATX sure, but not ITX, but if this works then Kudos. also a 6870 X2 isn't going to do BF3 max, BF3 needs a **** load of GPU memory, and since you have a dual 6870 card with 2 GB of memory, you will be as limited as me, since crossfire does not share memory, rather each GPU has 1 GB of memory, effectively making it 2 GB physical, but 1 GB usable. hopefully you can mod that case for the VGA card. Cardinals for itx builds? lol usually, no high powered expansion cards for fear of putting too much current in the board, however that's a really extreme precaution, i highly doubt that would happen unless they make a Quad slot dual PCB GTX580 X4 card or something... and usually they have very specially PSU's that run about 300W or less, because think about it.... its an ITX machine... lol also i would invest in a Corsair H70 and mod the case to fit it because it is going to get HHHHOOOOOTTTTTT in there, other than that good luck

 

[Boob_Skillit]

the 6870x2 is a single card dual gpu... so it will have 2gb vram (not x-fire). i'm not too worried about the 6870x2 not maxing bf3... worst case scenario i can go to 4xMXAA

ya, 750w might be overkill... specs for 6870x2 say min 600w.... anybody think 650w is not enough?

 

[Boob_Skillit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pentium4 531 overclocker

...usually, no high powered expansion cards for fear of putting too much current in the board, however that's a really extreme precaution...

if the gfx card is powered directly from the psu then can it still be putting high strain on the mobo?

this is the kind of questions i'm trying to figure out since i do not know much about itx boards...

 

[armourcore9brker]

There is nothing different with an mITX and other sizes.

A 6870x2 will have no issues on that board. If each gpu has only 1gb then it is effective 1gb. It is in crossfire they just do it onboard.

If you are looking for something smaller than the mini tank, check the SG08. It comes with a 600watt psu. It is good quality that can handle 590s and 6990s.

Everything else is fine.

 

[psyclum]

why use 6870x2 as opposed to 7970?

 

[aznguyen316]

Quote:

Originally Posted by psyclum

why use 6870x2 as opposed to 7970?

gonna take a guess because I've recently seen 6870 go for $120 after rebate. So 2x is still less than half the cost of a 7970...

 

[WiSK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pentium4 531 overclocker

and usually they have very specially PSU's that run about 300W or less, because think about it.... its an ITX machine... lol also i would invest in a Corsair H70 and mod the case to fit it because it is going to get HHHHOOOOOTTTTTT in there, other than that good luck

mITX has moved on a bit since the days of Via motherboards with Atom chips

for example the 1155 series motherboards works fine with i7-2600K and there's plenty of mITX cases with place for full ATX PSUs. Also smaller case means less air to move and higher positive pressure to move it, so often a single case fan is sufficient. My GTX560Ti runs under 60C at full load (e.g. while folding on both GPU and CPU) with case and GPU fans running on "silent".

 

[OutlawNeedsHelp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boob_Skillit

the 6870x2 is a single card dual gpu... so it will have 2gb vram (not x-fire). i'm not too worried about the 6870x2 not maxing bf3... worst case scenario i can go to 4xMXAA

ya, 750w might be overkill... specs for 6870x2 say min 600w.... anybody think 650w is not enough?

There is a chip on the card that allows it to use internal crossfire. Each GPU has 1gb.

 

[Boob_Skillit]

Ok, so it sounds like i don't have anything to worry about & just build it like i would any other atx system... thanks for the input ocn

...really disappointing that the 6870x2 can only utilize 1gb of vram. that's lame. newegg has them for $399 w/ free shipping.

7970 sounds insanely awesome but i don't see anywhere less than $550, granted i'm probly not looking hard enough... seems like i might be better off going w/ a 6970 or maybe 580?

edit: 580 still $500

I fell in love with the mini tank at first sight... but i'm starting to wonder if maybe the sg08 would be a better choice... less expensive & smaller....

guess i've still got some thinking to do...

 

[Zap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boob_Skillit

...really disappointing that the 6870x2 can only utilize 1gb of vram. that's lame. newegg has them for $399 w/ free shipping.

It is disappointing to you only because you didn't know how they work internally. The VRAM sizing works that way for EVERY card that is a dual card, no matter what brand or model. GTX 590, Raceon 6990, GTX 295, etc. all has that VRAM limitation no matter how they market it.

For $400, you can buy a nice Radeon 6970 2GB and pocket some cash.

 

[Zap]

*** where's the edit button?

Compare one Radeon 6970 to two Radeon 6870 in Crossfire

The two lower end cards outperform the one higher end card, however it isn't all that simple. Two cards may be susceptible to micro stutter. Two cards draw much more power. A dual card is usually clocked lower than the two separate cards so the dual card you were looking at won't beat the 6970 by as much as the two separate 6870 in Crossfire. The dual card will draw more power, and likely create more heat. If any game goes over 1GB VRAM usage (like BF3 can) then the performance will go down on the dual card. New games will run slower on dual cards or Crossfire, until a profile for the game is added (driver update).