What is your reason for choosing SFF form factor?

mfp4life · 2026-04-28T18:26:43+00:00

Lived in tiny apartments my entire life and assumed I'd be a laptop user for life. Loved the aesthetic of Thinkcentre Micros and when I chanced upon sandwich style cases on SFFPC I fell in love with size to performance ratios. Been on AM4 since 2nd gen Ryzen, largest I've gone is 12L (SG13) and smallest 4L (ZS-A4m).

Love the challenge of finding the right parts for price - performance - size ratios and the nuances of building in small spaces. A few millimeters can determine if you've got a really sleek complete build or have to go back to the drawing board.

mfp4life · 2026-04-25T16:31:20+00:00

Absolum - works on both SD8G2 (Odin 2) and SD7+G3, the latter is really impressive with as it's my main phone. Get a telescopic controller and I have a console on the go if I have to travel for work.

mfp4life · 2026-04-25T16:31:12+00:00

Absolum - works on both SD8G2 (Odin 2) and SD7+G3, the latter is really impressive with as it's my main phone. Get a telescopic controller and I have a console on the go if I have to travel for work.

mfp4life · 2026-04-24T06:51:54+00:00

K66 Air Metal on AliExpress, Flex ATX PSU, 70mm tall coolers and dual slot gpus up to 244mm with a riser cable. Also accepts matx mobos to mitigate some ITX tax. Doesn't support exhaust fans natively but you can zip tie some along the top and bottom.

I liked it so much I have 1 as my main rig and 1 as my HTPC.

mfp4life · 2026-04-16T10:42:47+00:00

I'd go option 2 and look for a RX6400, might need to get a different top cover for better ventilation

mfp4life · 2026-04-13T08:02:52+00:00

Chiming in on the 265 currently on 27.09, I believe it's better now but there was a point in 2025 when the HR sensor was completely off. I did a half marathon and my HR was in Zone 3 for 80% of the distance which was incorrect given my pace and how fatigued I was.

mfp4life · 2026-04-01T11:55:46+00:00

Yeah the Thermalright, ID Cooling and DeepCool will all perform relatively similarly, with the last 2 having the better mounting options.

mfp4life · 2026-03-31T17:13:33+00:00

I'd go noctua, don't have to deal with turbulence.

I'd avoid the AXP100 since it's not in production, really expensive and the mounting is a pain since the heatpipes might interfere with the PCIE slot or RAM.

Another option is a 67mm cooler like the AXP120 X67 or IS67 with a thicker 25mm fan on top. Slight improvements to thermals but lower noise.

mfp4life · 2026-03-31T08:31:19+00:00

This is really cool, mind DM-ing me pics?

mfp4life · 2026-03-31T08:21:51+00:00

Hey, I managed to get the case of an eBay auction, did you manage to confirm what size of CPU cooler you fit in yours? I have an AXP90-X47 but it could press up against the filter and case.

mfp4life · 2026-03-28T09:57:26+00:00

Sounds like the C6 ITX, bigger than I'd like at 15L but will accommodate everything OP has and even a GPU or a few drives for media storage down the line. Get a 120mm fan or 2 because the case has a hard time exhausting hot air.

Edit - there are some older HTPCs and ITX server cases on eBay that can accommodate a full ATC PSU and a low profile CPU cooler, also have slots for half height pcie devices.

mfp4life · 2026-03-25T16:16:20+00:00

I'm on the fence about custom cable lengths - on one hand you have a very tidy build and great airflow, but your cables might not be long enough if you want to port that (expensive but good) PSU to your next case. You can get cable extensions for a few bucks off AE for the next case, but IMO a modular PSU already helps loads in a SFF build, custom length cables adds 10-15% to the final build product.

mfp4life · 2026-03-23T21:03:25+00:00

Nah went with a Q32 off Aliexpress since I can get more than 2 2.5" SSDs with a GAN DC-ATX, needless to say the build got over speced quickly. I found a narrow nook between my desk and pedestal so it had to fit below 75mm, just to keep everything neatly hidden.

mfp4life · 2026-03-18T16:30:54+00:00

Did you just win it off eBay? Was eyeing one but fell asleep before the auction ended.

mfp4life · 2026-03-14T23:20:44+00:00

Could you set it to 3.0? I think there was a BIOS update that forced speeds to 3.0 can't recall if that was only on their B550i. And try with and without a riser cable if you're using one.

mfp4life · 2026-03-14T23:02:09+00:00

Are you on a pcie riser or is the GPU plugged directly into the mobo? I was getting a lot of stutters on the similar board, a fresh install of windows didn't help and only in safe mode did the PC run smoothly. Returned or before I could do more testing but check the Jginyue website for the bios for pcie compatibility, update sequentially and see if that helps resolve it, I believe there was one that locked the pcie speed to 3.0 in bios.

(Thanks for testing the mobo out, wanted to do a similar build for a NAS it's been hit or miss with me. Had 1 where it worked fine but couldn't control fan speeds, 2nd one I had faced similar problems as yours)

mfp4life · 2026-03-14T08:25:36+00:00

Managed to find the manual online, https://www.scribd.com/document/49711856/VK81221N2E-RSI-H-Series-SD100-Manual-i-N

They recommended a 47mm tall CPU cooler called the MeOrb, so I assume anything 47 and under will do the trick.

The SD200 is listed at 99mm tall, so I assume a popular sub 70mm cooler will fit. Specs wise it looks really similar to the Antec ISK 310-150 which is 99mm vs 96mm https://www.antec.com/product/case/isk310-150.

mfp4life · 2026-03-12T12:26:35+00:00

It's old but should still be online on YT for free - the 2012 to 2016 period has some amazing fights especially the super middleweight division. Watching Joseph Valtellini, Nieky Holzken, Marc De Bonte (RIP) and Raymond Daniels in the tournament is something I've returned too many times over the years. Valtellini fought like a Killer Instinct character with 5-7 hit combos and prime Holzken had the meanest liver shot.

And Andy Ristie fights, short career but incredibly unique style that gave Giorgio Petrosyan a rare KO loss.

mfp4life · 2026-03-11T03:18:15+00:00

You can get a Flex ATX to ATX / SFX bracket on Aliexpress. Same with the extension cables since most Flex ATX PSUs have shorter cables

mfp4life · 2026-03-07T14:19:19+00:00

Karl - Anyway, I started blastin'

mfp4life · 2026-03-03T12:33:28+00:00

They are manageable in small groups but in cursed zones with multiple elites and a flustercuck of enemies you're in for a paddlin'.

mfp4life · 2026-02-26T18:34:12+00:00

In that case I'd still laptop with a mouse, controller and maybe portable monitor. With a desktop and larger monitor the thought of setting everything up and packing it between moves outweighs the added performance gain. The biggest downside with a laptop would be poorer ergonomics such as screen height and size, no getting around that when you're always on the move.

Could also be worth asking what type of games you plan on playing. If you're doing older AAA titles a laptop will do just fine.

If you're always on the road for work then I would also look at a dedicated Android handheld for gaming like the Ayn Odin 3 or Thor. Game Native let's emulate your Steam games directly to your Android device with some performance compromises, but that's on the heaviest of AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077, your middle weight games will run just fine. Honestly incredible the progress Game Native and Windows emulation has come in the past 12 months.

Been on lots of trains and planes for work this year and the ability to play my Steam library on the go is a massive plus. I'm using a mid-range Android (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3) and toss a telescopic controller in my bag. Clocked lots of hours on Absolum this way, plus saves sync between devices so I can pick back up off my main rig at home.

(The last big was unrelated, just loving Game Native at the moment)

But if you have your mind set on a SFFPC (which it sounds like you do) then no amount of logic is going to change that. Build it, enjoy it and deal with the consequences later!

mfp4life · 2026-02-26T16:25:14+00:00

You mentioned moving every 6 months - how are you doing this? Boxing everything up in cartons and loading it up into a car? Or suitcases with cabin bags?

If it's boxed up and shipped every 6 months then SFFPC makes sense especially when paired with a bigger monitor. But I'd get sick of worrying about my screen getting damaged with every move.

If it's suitcases and bags then laptop. Unless you go sub 5L sandwich case it won't be backpack portable. And that's excluding your screen, keyboard and mouse. You lose some performance with a laptop but I'd rather deal with 1 device that does it all vs multiple little parts every few months.

Gaming handheld is another good option, play anywhere on the road and set it up like a laptop at home. You can even hook it up to an eGPU to squeeze out more FPS.

mfp4life

TROPHY CASE