Aug. 20, 2014
The BitFenix Colossus Micro is a perfectly practical case. However, the components we chose to put in it are not what you'd expect to see in a Micro ATX form factor. It was the perfect storm - we had both an Intel i7-4790K CPU and a Sapphire Radeon R9 295X2 video card on hand. That's right - the dual R9 290X video card with the attached closed loop cooler. The question was - can it fit? Yes! Barely.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $338.99 @ NCIX US |
| CPU Cooler | Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $89.99 @ Newegg |
| Motherboard | Asus MAXIMUS VII GENE Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $199.99 @ NCIX US |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $79.99 @ Newegg |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $79.99 @ Newegg |
| Storage | Plextor M6S 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $135.98 @ Newegg |
| Video Card | Sapphire Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Video Card | $1499.99 @ Newegg |
| Case | BitFenix Colossus Micro MicroATX Mid Tower Case | $109.00 @ Amazon |
| Power Supply | Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $199.99 @ Amazon |
| Total | ||
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $2733.91 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-20 15:09 EDT-0400 |
We knew from the start we'd likely run into some fit issues. Putting two CLC radiators in such a small case was going to be problematic. Just fitting the 295X2 in the case when it also used a vertical mount power supply was tricky. Most power supplies that have enough wattage for the 295X2 are too long. Fortunately the Corsair AX860i had sufficient wattage and left roughly 1/2" of clearance for the video card. Like I mentioned - this build was not about being practical. It was all about what we could manage to squeeze into the case. I had the 295X2 on hand, so it begged to be used. For science!
BitFenix had warned me beforehand that the cable management on the Micro ATX version of the Colossus would be trickier than the mini-ITX version due to the more compact internal layout. I took that as a challenge. With custom cables it would certainly be possible to make it look cleaner, but all in all I'm happy with how it turned out.
Before anyone comments that we should have used part X instead of Y, or Q instead of Z, know that this part selection was not aimed at practicality. Different use cases prefer different part selections. Maybe you don't need an i7. Maybe you don't need 16GB of RAM. Or maybe the 295X2 is a tad more horsepower than you need to play Minecraft. I chose these parts for a couple reasons:
- I enjoy smaller form factor builds and the associated cable management challenges.
- The i7-4790K and Radeon R9 295X2 were already on hand (for benchmarking, the results of which hopefully everyone will see soon).
- Because we could.
That being said, it was a challenging, but very fun build. When I have a chance to benchmark it and check the thermal performance, I'll be sure to provide a follow-up post.
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