Hey all! It’s been many years since I last posted here so I doubt anyone remembers me, but I have been doing some more PC building recently getting everything up to date. The main rig will get its own thread, but my previously documented LAN PC, lovingly named LANMASTER, is back with absurdly powerful hardware now.
Here it is! Now running current gen AM5 hardware, it’s been able to run even Helldivers 2 on high settings up to 120FPS on just a 65W eco mode CPU and on a 600W PSU.
The parts installed are:
- AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
- 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR5 Crucial Pro 6000MT/s PC5-48000 CL36 RAM
- ASRock B650i Lightning Wi-Fi mITX motherboard
- Powercolor Reaper 9070 XT
- 1TB SKHynix Gold M.2
- 480GB Inland 2.5in SSD
- 600W Silverstone SFX PSU
- Thermalright AXP-90 x47 full copper CPU cooler
- ID-Cooling TF-9215 A-RGB 92mm PWM fan
- Sintech PCIe 4.0 5cm riser cable
- and most importantly, the legendary Dr. Zaber Sentry case
- oh, and still Windows 10 since I am not moving to Windows 11
Now, it was a real challenge to update a lot of the hardware since the original build was meant for parts in 2017. Back when PCIe 3.0 was the current standard, GPUs had real reference designs with blower style fans, and there were very limited options for CPU coolers. In order to update, I needed a new riser cable, a card that actually fits dual slot without being too tall or wide as well, and a better cooler if I was going to run a more powerful processor.
I researched for days to see if any current GPUs would even feasibly fit and there were seemingly only a few (AMD) options. (I have never used Nvidia cards and refuse to start, especially now) The best fit was the Powercolor Reaper 9060 XT which is only a two fan design that is nice and short and slim compared to other models. That was my first try just to see if it was possible for room for a 120mm AIO but it wasn’t feasible. Reconsidering a better GPU for the cooling, the Gigabyte GAMING Overclocked 9060 XT 16GB would also fit the dimensions and should run cooler overall, so that was my next goal. That was, until I noticed Powercolor’s Reaper 9070 design was very close but only a bit bigger than their 9060 XT. Now, it is 1mm wider than the official clearance stated by Dr. Zaber team, but it was worth the gamble to try. I am glad to conclude that it is compatible and usable in this case, and it is so exciting to get such a powerful card in such a small case.
The other aspect was getting a PCIe 4.0 or better riser cable that would fit this case. There’s no point getting a better card if it has to be limited to 3.0 bandwidth. I could not find anything 5.0 that would work, including the LINKup cables that are often suggested. The reason they don’t work here is the installation mechanism is two longer screws that do not go into the PCB holes but rather above them such that the receptacle is retained in place. The quick release latch on the LINKup cable interferes with the intended screw placement, so they shouldn’t work here. The original riser cable was included, but I didn’t know what the length was, so I took a chance on the 5cm Sintech that I did find. The original must have been like 2.5-3cm custom because the 5cm was longer, but it was more flexible; flexible enough that I could bend it away and turn it over to reach the slot for it without damaging anything. This was the biggest relief as the entire point of the GPU hinged on this one part. Changed the PCIe to 4.0 speed in UEFI and it’s golden.
Last things on the process, I did grab a shorter SATA cable for the 2.5in drive that helps cut down on cable bulk. The AXP90-x47 cooler is great and just short enough to fit the case, but does press up against the side a little. Originally trying it out, I found the cooler to be enough to keep the 9700X from overheating but the fan was louder (or just higher pitch) than I liked, so I grabbed the ID-Cooling fan as it was supposed to be slimmer and pretty similar performance but with a more pleasant fan noise. It works great, and it could be nice to use the RGB but I don’t really care either way. If it works, it works, and it does. Technically, I could try to fit another 2.5in drive in but I don’t want to stress the riser cable any more than necessary because the drive mount bracket is already pushing down on it a little given the bend over the cable has to do.
With all that said, how does it perform?
At default thermal settings and the 9060 XT 16GB I tried first, it was able to run Helldivers 2 on high settings at 60FPS in the most intense super helldive missions just fine (I forgot I had V-sync turned on though, and this was still using the PCIe 3.0 riser cable and included heatsink fan). Very smooth but I felt it could be even better, hence the other parts in the final build. The CPU was pulling 105W staying under 95C threshold but fan was definitely going full blast. GPU was fine and not too stressed since I wasn’t pushing it all the way yet. After the part changes, it can easily do 120FPS now (which I also limited since the portable monitor is only up to 120Hz anyway), even on a 65W TDP limit via the eco mode. CPU didn’t exceed 85C and GPU at 78C. I could definitely push it more but I wasn’t exactly trying to A/B test it. Just making sure it all works without overheating or something, and thankfully it does great. This thing is a tiny, powerful beast of a machine truly worthy of its namesake.
I’m super glad to keep this case alive and modern as there have been more competitors in the SFF mITX space in the years since its release. Some even less than 7L internal capacity, but all of which are not the slimmer console-like style as the Sentry. The reason I love this style in particular is that it comfortably fits in a 17in laptop bag while the other cases need wider bags to carry them.
And if you see in the first pic, the R6 Siege bag literally can hold everything included here. The portable ViewSonic 120Hz monitor, all of the cables, wall wart for the monitor, mechanical keyboard, mouse, mousepad, SteelSeries Arctis 7 wireless headset and dongle, and still have some room for other small things. A complete one bag desktop setup that can game with the best of them. Hope this has been interesting for y’all to see and I had a ton of fun working through it all to get here :3