Mini Cube — H110MSTX-HD3 — i7-7700T — RX 560

[craighazan]

Power switch wired, after reading about @Charlee78 cable ties and shrink tube, I realized I had some suitable cables. I clipped down a USB connection to fit the F_Panel PW+ & PW- pins. I shall tidy up the cables and work on the LED.

 

[craighazan]

Decided to cut the rear off, it’s a little messy!. Nothing is glued or fixed yet, glue arrives tomorrow, and to be honest the gap below the 3D printed IO helps a lot with opening it up.

 

[Charlee78]

Nice! looking good! Is it just me or you have a gap between the rear I/O and the board?

 

[craighazan]

Nice! looking good! Is it just me or you have a gap between the rear I/O and the board?

Yes there is a gap in this photo, the motherboard isn’t fixed down yet and the IO is held in place by the case, not glued to the base. I’m wondering if I actually need to glue the IO, it fits really well and it’s also easier to open. The CPU fan though, with the case complete, I’m not sure it’s able to draw enough air into the case, it idles at 48 C, which seems a little hot to me!. I didn’t bench or game but when it boots up it will hit 68 C, I’m not comfortable with those temps. I could remove the foam strip covering the dvd slot and see if that makes a difference but I’m also thinking about a different cpu cooler too.

 

[craighazan]

I'm not sure this CPU cooler is right for this build, I kept it idling for 45 minutes and set the fan to full within BIOS half way. But it looks to me that it's just getting hotter with no effect from cooling. I did remove the foam strip from the DVD slot and although it booted cooler it doesn't seem to have much effect over time.

 

[P1LGRIM]

I'm not sure this CPU cooler is right for this build

Maybe it is just insufficient airflow.
Try running without the I/O shield in place and see if there is any noticeable difference.
How does it perform out of the case ?

 

[trs96]

I didn’t bench or game but when it boots up it will hit 68 C, I’m not comfortable with those temps. I could remove the foam strip covering the dvd slot and see if that makes a difference but I’m also thinking about a different cpu cooler too.

Also note that many Macs Apple sells hit cpu temps in this range all the time. MacBook Pros and Mac minis especially. When pushed even a little they reach temps in the 90 degrees C range. It's due to constriction in airflow primarily.

Tom's hardware did some testing on the 2020 Macbook Air. Here's what they found during a basic stress test:

The average CPU speed was 1.6 GHz, and the average CPU temperature measured 99.4 degrees Celsius (210.9 degrees Fahrenheit), which is just shy of the maximum temperature for this CPU of 100 degrees Celsius. You could really hear the fans running during this test.

 

[craighazan]

Maybe it is just insufficient airflow.
Try running without the I/O shield in place and see if there is any noticeable difference.
How does it perform out of the case ?

Definitely insufficient air flow, I removed the top and you can see the difference in temperature, I also set fan speed in BIOS back to normal. With the top on there's about 3/4" - 1/2" of space above the fan, and because it draws air from above I'm guessing that's not enough room.

Also note that many Macs Apple sells hit cpu temps in this range all the time. MacBook Pros and Mac minis especially. When pushed even a little they reach temps in the 90 degrees C range. It's due to constriction in airflow primarily.

Tom's hardware did some testing on the 2020 Macbook Air. Here's what they found during a basic stress test:

Yes Jony Ives case designs do like to run hot, those temps worry me a little, even though the i3-7100 can handle up to 100 C. I do have a back up plan though, it's been on the back burner just in case. I saw this a while ago on Thingiverse and I think I could adapt it to allow venting above the fan.

 

[trs96]

Yes Jony Ives case designs do like to run hot, those temps worry me a little.

When you're a multi millionaire like many that work at Apple, you don't care how hot the CPU runs. "I burn out the CPU in my MBA and it stops working." "So what, just buy another one for 1000 dollars. Pocket change."

 

[P1LGRIM]

I saw this a while ago on Thingiverse and I think I could adapt it to allow venting above the fan.

Not sure about all of those holes in the top, caution says something will fall in and jam the fan.
I had a loose FDD power cable snag a CPU fan once, the CPU fried instantly.

Maybe if you mounted the board upside down and had all of the vents in the underside ?