Anyone running a MicroATX i7 rig?

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TheOtis

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Just read a review of the DFI LAN party jr x58. Seems like an all around good board. Can hit 4.0Ghz on a 920 on air. i7's are known to pump out some heat overclocked, which is obviously a concern. In my quest to build something different for my next rig, I thought about going the Micro route. I've done countless full towers, mid towers, and a couple of WC rigs. Used Cooler Master, Thermaltake, DD, and your other typical brands of cases and want to try something a bit different. Smaller, portable, still somewhat of a heavy hitter for gaming.

Are any of you rockin an i7 rig in a MicroATX case air cooled and OC'ed? I've had my eye on the Sugo series and LANbox lite. I'd like something that can fit a decent sized aftermarket heatsink, but I'm not too interested in a Mini Tower case, so I'm not sure of any viable options. Would be nice to be able to fit a GTX260 in, but a smaller card like a GTS 250 would work.

EDIT: I should also add, at the moment I'm not looking to WC a MicroATX case.
 
An i7 in a sugo will probably run 45-50 celsius idle. Your best option would probably be the Lian Li V350 as it comes with two 120mm fans in front and still maintains a relatively small footprint. If you want the best minibox in terms of cooling, then the NZXT rogue and PCdesignlab Qmicra v2.x are good alternatives (however, these are comparatively massive and shouldn't even be considered small form factors). I built three computers so far using the Sugo, and it will definitely limit what hardware you can put inside. The only fan in the CPU area is your power supply fan, which conveniently is spinning opposite of the CPU fan, thus the cooler is always running inefficiently.
 
Thanks for the heads up about that Lian Li. That thing is one of the best looking SFF cases I've seen. That rogue is also really nice looking as well, I'll have to read some reviews of it tonight.

Ya I won't go the Sugo route. I want to be able to OC just as much as I would in a mid tower, multiple 120mm's would be the only route to go. Hopefully the Rogue or V350 can fit a good size heatsink.

Looks like the Rougue might be the best/only option. 5x 120mm fans.

EDIT: It even lets you disconnect the front port cables! I haven't seen that feature on any case I've used.

EDIT2: After reading a couple reviews, the biggest question was almost answered. How big of an after market heatsink can it hold? It looks like the SATA cables or the PSU MIGHT get in the way of a massive one, but it looks like it might be able to fit a Tuniq 120.

EDIT3: HA! It can fit a heatsink up to 130mm. Shucks, looks like it's also limiting the heatsink. Couldn't even fit a Zalman 9900.
 
The NZXT rougue case actually looks quite a good cooling solution despite its size. Most other cases only offer 1 or 2 fans, seems like the only case designed for what you want. i say go for it
 
I know it's perfect for it, minus the clearance for an aftermarket heatsink. 130mm isn't too short. But the best ones to get are larger than that. I'll have to look around to ones for 775 w/ brackets for 1366.
 
Yeah maybe one of the zalman coolers that lay down instead of sideways, or a typhoon type cooler. Doing projects like this is the best, i wish newegg existed in Australia.
 
Yea, maybe like a Blue-Orb? The only problem is getting one and hoping that it has a large enough contact surface to cover the i7. They're a good amount larger than 775's. And getting the right bracket for it. Oh well. Nothing a bit of googling can't solve.

That is a big bummer, you guys have nothing similar to it? I would think one of the major online retailers would be set up down there.
 
looking at the NZXT rogue you might be able to fit a MCR220 in those 2 side exaust fans and then have only one HDD and put the pump in the HDD bay. it could be done.
 
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