Advice Request Looking for a nice horizontal mount mATX case.

[Cleo]

Hi MT.
My new digs is very space limited but I still want a small desktop PC at some stage.
Here's what I've bought:

Intel i5-12490F (via jd.com - coming by Chinese sea mail - fingers crossed)​

ASRock PG Riptide B660M (as above)​

Acer BiFrost Arc A770 (From NewEgg USA via freight forwarding company in Portland (+$200AUD to Australia. Ouch!))​

Lexar NM800PRO w/o heatsink (via Amazon USA - ETA Jan 27)​

I'd like to seat the motherboard flat if possible and was leaning towards a Thermaltake Level 20 VT MicroATX Desktop Case.
Has anyone here seen any nice cases of similar design recently and if so, could you nominate them?
What other mATX cases (standard vertical mount) have you had a good experience with and how so?
C.

 

[Bot]

Hello C,

If you're specifically looking for a horizontal mount mATX case, the one you mentioned, the Thermaltake Level 20 VT MicroATX Desktop Case, is a great choice. It offers excellent airflow and supports a range of motherboards, including yours.

If you're open to vertical mount cases, the Fractal Design Define Mini C TG is a popular choice among PC builders. It features a sleek and minimalistic design, tempered glass side panel, and has ample space for cable management. The Corsair Obsidian Series 350D is another good option that offers a spacious interior and supports water cooling solutions.

Another great option is the Silverstone Fortress FT03, which features a unique vertical design with an aluminum outer shell that offers excellent heat dissipation. Its unconventional layout may take some getting used to, but it offers a space-efficient and visually appealing alternative to traditional tower-style cases.

I hope this helps, and good luck with your build!

 

[Cleo]

Hello C,

If you're specifically looking for a horizontal mount mATX case, the one you mentioned, the Thermaltake Level 20 VT MicroATX Desktop Case, is a great choice. It offers excellent airflow and supports a range of motherboards, including yours.

If you're open to vertical mount cases, the Fractal Design Define Mini C TG is a popular choice among PC builders. It features a sleek and minimalistic design, tempered glass side panel, and has ample space for cable management. The Corsair Obsidian Series 350D is another good option that offers a spacious interior and supports water cooling solutions.

Another great option is the Silverstone Fortress FT03, which features a unique vertical design with an aluminum outer shell that offers excellent heat dissipation. Its unconventional layout may take some getting used to, but it offers a space-efficient and visually appealing alternative to traditional tower-style cases.

I hope this helps, and good luck with your build!

Thanks for the suggestions. I finished my build with the Thermaltake Level 20 VT. It looks pretty fly. It is however still a little bit bigger than ideal.
I have a couple more half-built systems in the works and need cases for both. One is a strange MaxSun i7-11800H soldered socket motherboard. I haven't yet
identified the form factor but it measures about 19.5cm by 24.5cm. The other is a budget ITX B550I board that I spotted on sale for $90: The Sapphire B550I Ultra Titanium.
I have a new "OEM" Ryzen 9 3900 and a VastArmor RX 6650 XT ready to go assuming it's all compatible (not sure about the chip). None of these parts appear
on pcpartpicker so compatibility checking is pretty much me running Chinese advertising from JD and AliExpress through google translate.
The heat dissipation on the Fortress FT03 might be what I need as cooling 12 cores quietly can be tricky.

 

[Bot]

Glad to hear you went with the Thermaltake Level 20 VT and it looks great! As for your next builds, it sounds like you have an interesting mix of motherboards and components.

For your MaxSun i7-11800H soldered socket motherboard, it's possible that it uses a custom form factor since it's not listed on pcpartpicker. However, if it measures around 19.5cm by 24.5cm, you may want to look into mATX cases that can accommodate motherboards of that size. The Silverstone Fortress FT03 that you mentioned earlier could be a good option for heat dissipation, but you could also consider the Fractal Design Meshify C Mini or the Cooler Master MasterBox NR400.

For your budget ITX B550I board, the Sapphire B550I Ultra Titanium, you'll need an ITX case. The Silverstone Fortress FT03 won't work for this one since it only supports mATX motherboards. You could consider the NZXT H210i, the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX, or the Cooler Master Elite 110. These cases are all small form factor and can accommodate ITX motherboards.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your builds!

 

[Cleo]

Glad to hear you went with the Thermaltake Level 20 VT and it looks great! As for your next builds, it sounds like you have an interesting mix of motherboards and components.

For your MaxSun i7-11800H soldered socket motherboard, it's possible that it uses a custom form factor since it's not listed on pcpartpicker. However, if it measures around 19.5cm by 24.5cm, you may want to look into mATX cases that can accommodate motherboards of that size. The Silverstone Fortress FT03 that you mentioned earlier could be a good option for heat dissipation, but you could also consider the Fractal Design Meshify C Mini or the Cooler Master MasterBox NR400.

For your budget ITX B550I board, the Sapphire B550I Ultra Titanium, you'll need an ITX case. The Silverstone Fortress FT03 won't work for this one since it only supports mATX motherboards. You could consider the NZXT H210i, the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX, or the Cooler Master Elite 110. These cases are all small form factor and can accommodate ITX motherboards.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your builds!

Thanks Bot.
It turns out the Ryzen 9 3900 (OEM) CPU is not compatible with the Sapphire B550I Ultra Titanium yet.
I pulled a Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G from an old mini-pc and it runs fine. I also pulled the 280mm Radiator and pump that I had planned on using which freed up so much space in the chassis. The Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G idles at 47C and pushes 80C under full load using a little baby Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 cooler. This CPU can't manage PCIe gen 4.0 but at least it's 8 lane limitation isn't bad with an RX 6650 XT graphics card. It doesn't seem possible to enable resizable BAR in the BIOS as the only settings are AUTO and DISABLED. AUTO isn't enabling it! I feel like my Novabench score is pretty low for my GPU so maybe getting a better BIOS and a CPU with PCIe 4.0 capability is a small upgrade to aim for.

 

[Bot]

Thanks Bot.
It turns out the Ryzen 9 3900 (OEM) CPU is not compatible with the Sapphire B550I Ultra Titanium yet.
I pulled a Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G from an old mini-pc and it runs fine. I also pulled the 280mm Radiator and pump that I had planned on using which freed up so much space in the chassis. The Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G idles at 47C and pushes 80C under full load using a little baby Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 cooler. This CPU can't manage PCIe gen 4.0 but at least it's 8 lane limitation isn't bad with an RX 6650 XT graphics card. It doesn't seem possible to enable resizable BAR in the BIOS at the only settings are AUTO and DISABLED. AUTO isn't enabling it! I feel like my Novabench score is pretty low for my GPU so maybe getting a CPU with PCIe 4.0 capability is a small upgrade to aim for.

View attachment 273637View attachment 273638View attachment 273639View attachment 273640

You're welcome! It's good to hear that you were able to find a compatible CPU and cooler combination for your budget ITX B550I board. It's unfortunate that the Ryzen 9 3900 isn't compatible yet, but it's always good to double-check compatibility beforehand to prevent any issues.

Regarding the resizable BAR feature, if it's not showing up in the BIOS, it may be worth checking if your motherboard's BIOS is up to date. If it is up to date and the feature still isn't showing up, it's possible that it may not be supported by your specific motherboard.

As for upgrading to a CPU with PCIe 4.0 capability, it could be beneficial if you're looking to maximize the performance of your GPU. However, it's important to consider if the cost of the upgrade is worth it for your specific use case. It may be worth checking out benchmarks and reviews to see how much of a performance boost you can expect before making a decision.

Good luck with your upgrades and let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[Cleo]

You're welcome! It's good to hear that you were able to find a compatible CPU and cooler combination for your budget ITX B550I board. It's unfortunate that the Ryzen 9 3900 isn't compatible yet, but it's always good to double-check compatibility beforehand to prevent any issues.

Regarding the resizable BAR feature, if it's not showing up in the BIOS, it may be worth checking if your motherboard's BIOS is up to date. If it is up to date and the feature still isn't showing up, it's possible that it may not be supported by your specific motherboard.

As for upgrading to a CPU with PCIe 4.0 capability, it could be beneficial if you're looking to maximize the performance of your GPU. However, it's important to consider if the cost of the upgrade is worth it for your specific use case. It may be worth checking out benchmarks and reviews to see how much of a performance boost you can expect before making a decision.

Good luck with your upgrades and let me know if you have any more questions!

Thanks for the suggestions but this time the effort was too much. This motherboard was an Asia or China release only and there's nothing available in English including a manual or QVL's or CPU support lists for compatibility. I did my best with Google translate. The BAR feature does show up in the BIOS however the option I picked to enable it is not working sadly.

 

[Bot]

Thanks for the suggestions but this time the effort was too much. This motherboard was an Asia or China release only and I there's nothing available in English including a manual or QVL's or CPU support lists for compatibility. I did my best with Google translate. The BAR feature does show up in the BIOS however the option I picked to enable it is not working sadly.

I understand, it can be frustrating when compatibility information and documentation are not readily available in your language. As for the BAR feature, it's possible that the issue is related to the BIOS or motherboard compatibility with the resizable BAR feature. You could try updating the BIOS to the latest version and see if it resolves the issue. If not, it may be worth contacting the motherboard manufacturer's support for further assistance.

Best of luck in resolving the issue, and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!

 

[Cleo]

I understand, it can be frustrating when compatibility information and documentation are not readily available in your language. As for the BAR feature, it's possible that the issue is related to the BIOS or motherboard compatibility with the resizable BAR feature. You could try updating the BIOS to the latest version and see if it resolves the issue. If not, it may be worth contacting the motherboard manufacturer's support for further assistance.

Best of luck in resolving the issue, and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!

I replaced the Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G with a Ryzen 5 3600 but now when I try to install Windows 11 I get a blue screen with the error "A critical process died".

 

[Bot]

I replaced the Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G with a Ryzen 5 3600 but now when I try to install Windows 11 I get a blue screen with the error "A critical process died".

The "critical process died" error can occur due to several reasons, including faulty hardware, driver issues, or corrupted system files. Here are a few steps you can try to resolve the issue:

1. Make sure your computer hardware meets the minimum requirements for Windows 11. Check Microsoft's website to verify that your hardware is compatible.

2. Check your system for corrupt files by running the System File Checker (SFC) scan. Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type "sfc /scannow" command to start the scan. Once it's complete, reboot your computer and try installing Windows 11 again.

3. Update your drivers to the latest version. Go to the manufacturer's website and download the latest version of the drivers needed for your system. You could also use Driver Easy or another similar tool to automate this process.

4. Check if any recently installed hardware or software may be causing the issue. Disconnect any newly installed hardware and uninstall any recently installed software before reattempting the installation of Windows 11.

5. If none of these steps work, you may want to consider performing a clean install of Windows 11 instead of an upgrade. A clean install involves wiping out your existing operating system and installing Windows 11 from scratch.

I hope these steps help you to resolve the issue you're facing. Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[Cleo]

The "critical process died" error can occur due to several reasons, including faulty hardware, driver issues, or corrupted system files. Here are a few steps you can try to resolve the issue:

1. Make sure your computer hardware meets the minimum requirements for Windows 11. Check Microsoft's website to verify that your hardware is compatible.

2. Check your system for corrupt files by running the System File Checker (SFC) scan. Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type "sfc /scannow" command to start the scan. Once it's complete, reboot your computer and try installing Windows 11 again.

3. Update your drivers to the latest version. Go to the manufacturer's website and download the latest version of the drivers needed for your system. You could also use Driver Easy or another similar tool to automate this process.

4. Check if any recently installed hardware or software may be causing the issue. Disconnect any newly installed hardware and uninstall any recently installed software before reattempting the installation of Windows 11.

5. If none of these steps work, you may want to consider performing a clean install of Windows 11 instead of an upgrade. A clean install involves wiping out your existing operating system and installing Windows 11 from scratch.

I hope these steps help you to resolve the issue you're facing. Let me know if you have any more questions!

I get the "critical process died" error while doing a clean install.

 

[Bot]

I get the "critical process died" error while doing a clean install.

If you're still getting the "critical process died" error after performing a clean install of Windows 11, it could indicate a hardware issue. Here are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Test your hardware components: Start by testing your hardware components such as your hard drive, RAM, and CPU. You can use tools like MemTest86 to test your memory, and CrystalDiskInfo to check the health of your hard drive.

2. Check the BIOS settings: Make sure that the BIOS settings on your motherboard are configured correctly. In particular, make sure that your CPU and memory are properly configured.

3. Update your BIOS: Make sure you have the latest BIOS version for your motherboard. You can usually download the latest BIOS from the motherboard manufacturer's website.

4. Try installing Windows 11 on a different drive: If you're installing Windows 11 on an SSD, try using a different SSD or a traditional hard drive to see if the installation completes successfully.

5. Contact your hardware manufacturer: If none of the above steps work, it's possible that the hardware component is faulty. Contact your hardware manufacturer for support and see if they can help you diagnose the issue.

I hope these steps help you to resolve the "critical process died" error you're facing. Let me know if you have any more questions!