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[Edit: Please feel free to comment on any mistakes or miss-steps i might have made in writing this all up. Linux Mint is still pretty new to me etc]
The aim of this guide is to show a detailed look at building a modern m-iTX desktop PC and setting it up to dual-boot *Windows 7 and Linux Mint.
*[Why Windows 7? Well because it is not Windows 10 (spyware) and is a tool i use rather than the other way around. It also runs some old legacy software i use, and in general games better than Windows 10 (going on numerous reports).] - ymmv.
This is my second small form factor build, the first i posted a detailed look at here:
https://forum.rockpapershotgun.com/t/ec ... build/9884
Now i've switched from Intel to AMD which saved me a good chunk of cash and enabled me to build a more powerful system for much less than that last build.
These are the new components:
Case: Fractal Design Core 500
Mobo: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC
CPU: Ryzen 5 1600 (65W) @ 3.2Ghz
GPU: Nvidia 1650 Super (4GB) - this will be updated later (1660Ti approx)
RAM: 16GB(2x8) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 MHz C16
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550W
SSD: Samsung MZ-76E500B/EU 500 GB 860 EVO
DVD: ASUS DRW-24D5MT
Old components to use in this build are:
SSD2: Samsung Pro 128GB (my old m-iTX boot SSD, now to be Linux Mint boot)
Components to get:
HDD: 2-4GB probably a WD Black (or other that has min 5yr warranty)
https://i.imgur.com/zepS3f4.jpg
(Above: the case with some storage options)
Reason for this build:
The Ryzen 5 1600 was on a 48% discount when i got it, so i had to jump, having been planning a Ryzen build since the CPU's were first released. I also wanted a CPU i knew i could apply work-arounds to be able to run Windows 7. The latest newest hardware may not want to run at all under Windows 7.
Also i want a system i can use safely online (via Linux Mint) while still keeping my fix of gaming and access to some essential software not available under Linux (this is via Windows 7 in an offline capacity).
I had looked at the prospect of only running Linux Mint, and then running my Windows 7 OS in a VM, but i want 100% performance AND compatibility with all the current software/games i use. Dual-boot seems the best way to ensure that.
Reason for parts used:
1. The case needs to be shoe-box shaped (to replace the Antec-ISK 600 based system linked above) and needed more features (in built dust filters and DVD-ROM slot required). After running a thread on the Arstechnica forums here:
https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic ... &t=1449907
That looked at over 30 cases, the Fractal Design Core 500 was really the only option out there.
2. The motherboard was perhaps the hardest part, and easiest, in that small form factor m-iTX AMD Ryzen boards are still not common.
Finding one that was Windows 7 compatible (declared on the manufacturers website, and had a PS/2 port to get around a probable USB driver issue during installation of Windows 7) and 'Linux' friendly is hard.
I like gigabyte normally, but their B450 m-iTX board did not tick all the requirements. So in the end i really only had one choice, the MSI B450I board.
3. Ryzen 5 1600 is a super low 65w rated part and rated about 1/3 faster than my current Intel. The 48% discount just forced my hand. I could have gone for the newer 2600 or waited for the next AMD's to drop, but that discount was the decider. The great thing about this AM4 platform is i can easily upgrade to those newer Ryzen chips later on (assuming they work with Windows 7).
4. RAM and Ryzen need some decent speed. RAM has been over-priced for a while now, but it has just started to come down a little and the 3000Mhz rated 16GB Corsair kit is well respected, and actually one of the cheaper sets. This RAM also had no problem hitting it's 3000Mhz speed once XMP profile 2 (2933Mhz) was set and after a manual adjustment to run at 3000Mhz in Bios.
5. Next up i look at warranty cover, so things like SSD/HDD's and PSU's all need a minimum of 5 years guarantee before i will buy them. The PSU i chose came with an awesome 10 years of cover, that confidence in a product is worth the small premium imho.
6. I need a DVD-ROM option as i use it as a living room DVD player.
Build steps: A - The Hardware.
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First i'll give a couple links to online guides that will be helpful if you've not built a PC before:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pc ... ,5816.html
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ho ... ,5867.html
Below is my specific version for this particular build, so let's start!
1. Make sure to have some tools (fine long nose pliers and a magnetic philips headed screwdriver as a preference) and a clean clear desk space to assemble the parts on. If you have carpets underneath it is best to use a properly grounded static wrist band when handling parts. At the very least ground yourself first (by touching some metal on your current plugged in (but off) PC Case).
2. Prepare the case.
In this example i fitted an SSD (1x500GB) to the front slot on the Core 500 case (by popping off the front cover of the case) and ran the connector cables to be fed through the right hand cut-out hole near the PSU connectors. I then fitted a second SSD (1x128GB) on the front most side mount.
I also fitted the PSU and DVD-ROM and associated cables, tucking cables away to keep the area for the motherboard clear.
Then the IO shield was put in place.
3. Prepare the motherboard.
I put mine on the flat surface of my clean work-desk. Pay attention to touch it as little as possible and not put your fingers/tools all over the chips and circuit board (keep to the motherboard edges as much as possible, away from components).
CPU:
The AMD AM4 slot is pretty easy to use. Flip up the arm next to the socket on your mobo. Next take out your processor (handle it gently) and cast a quick eye over the pins checking for any obvious bent ones (unlikely but it can happen). If you do find any that look obviously bent you can gently use the fine long-nose plier to straighten them as well as you can.
Next check that the little 'golden triangle' on the top cover of your Ryzen chip has one less pin compared to all other corners. Now carefully check the AM4 socket on your motherboard and look for that same one less pin socket. This is where you orientate your chip so it sits with the 'golden triangle' over the missing pin slot on the mobo.
Often this is very clearly marked on the mobo itself (another mirrored triangle motif will guide you etc), however on the MSI B450I board it is not that clear so pay attention you have your chip the right way up.
Next gently lay it into the AM4 socket. Then once it is sitting straight, gently start to push the socket arm down. If you feel any resistance, stop and check you have placed the CPU correctly and double check for bent pins.
Normally all should be fine and it requires little effort to gently push the socket arm down into it's locking position. Your CPU is now in place in your motherboard.
The Wraith cooler that comes with the Ryzen 5 1600 CPU (and some others) comes with a pad of CPU thermal grease already in place (be careful to not touch it before placing it on your CPU!), so you do not need to put any on the CPU itself.
I found fitting the cooler on the AM4 a bit more tricky than in my previous socket LGA1155 build.
First you need to unscrew the in-place mounting brackets on the MSI B450I, these are for a different cooler, so unscrew the 4 screws from the back plate and remove the 2 black plastic mounts.
Next you need to make sure the AMD logo on the CPU cooler is facing away from your memory slots, as it can block access to the first one if fitted the wrong way around. Hopefully the rear heatsink is not too big to interfere with it. If you have to you can unscrew the fan from the CPU cooler and turn it around to avoid the RAM slots and rear heat IO heatsink area's. On this MSI board it fitted fine with the logo to the rear over the heatsink there.
Once you are happy with all that gently place the CPU cooler over your CPU, trying to align all the screws to the holes. Try not to slide it around as you will mess up the pad of thermal paste!
Also pay attention to the way the spring loaded screws on the cooler go into the holes on the motherboard. They can make a nasty noise as you push them down and screw them in. Also you will need to use a surprising amount of force to ensure they bite and go in, so be careful.
Start with one corner, tighten just a few turns, then move diagonally across to the opposite screw (to stop the cooler tipping too much on one side as you tighten them). Aim to get all screws in a few turns before going around them again in sequence to tighten a few turns more until all are fully screwed down. You will know you have finished this process when they feel tight enough you can not easily force any more turns from them. Be careful.
Like i said this process was more difficult than on my previous LGA1155 build, and might just be 'normal' for modern AMD sockets? Just take your time and don't 'force' anything where you could lose control of your tools and damage something!
RAM:
After the CPU and cooler this is nice and easy, but maybe specific to my motherboard, not as easy as it should be. Take your RAM sticks and orientate them correctly to the socket slot near the CPU+Cooler we just fitted. They only go in one way so should be easy to work out.
Your ram slot has a moveable arm on one side, so push that down to it's 'open' position. Next fit the other end of the RAM into the non-open end of the slot. It won't take much force for it to slot into place. You can gently use a little wiggle action to ensure the whole length of the RAM is sitting in place. Once it is in place that open arm bracket will pop back into it's 'closed' position. Then just go along the length of your RAM and push down to ensure it is seated fully. You should not see much (if any) of the gold tooth connection edge once it is seated properly. Visually inspect the RAM to check for a level and secure fit. Repeat this process until all the RAM you have is fitted (there are 2x slots on most m-iTX boards.
I had to pay more attention than normal to this process on this MSI B450I board. On first boot the mobo EZ-debug lights for the SDRAM came on and it would not boot. On further inspection it was because one of the RAM modules needed to be pushed down another 1mm or so to be perfectly fitted (even if the arm was closed and locked in place!).
Next i recommend fitting the front panel headers before placing the motherboard into the CORE 500 case. It is much easier than doing it inside a tiny m-iTX case! So get out that motherboard manual and study the diagrams to ensure you fit those tiny little connectors correctly! Also pay attention to thread them through the correct parts of the case so when you fit the motherboard in their cables are in the right places. You could fit other cables now if you prefer (like the main PSU power connector etc) but i find the cables can get a bit unruly.
4. Fit the motherboard in the case.
I removed the rear 140mm fan from the CORE 500 case first, just to give a little more room.
There are four 'feet' on the floor of the case that your motherboard will sit on and be screwed down onto. Be really careful to not scratch/drag the bottom of the motherboard on these as you fit it in. There is not a lot of room with the PSU in place and negotiating the bits of metal on the rear I/O shield make this process a little fiddly.
The best tactic seemed to be to angle the board about 20-30 degrees from front (near the PSU) to back (near the I/O shield). Where the end near the PSU is raised higher than the rear. This will enable you to wiggle the board into the I/O shield slots while avoiding contact with the motherboard connection feet on the rear of the case. Once the back I/O is lined up you should be able to lower the rest of the board down to sit on the 4 motherboard supports. Simply screw those in place to complete the fitting.
5. Attach the GPU, Storage and the rest of the cables.
Check through your motherboard manual and fitting instructions, you don't want to miss anything out!
I fitted an 500GB SSD in the front position of the case (It sits under the front 'face' of the case) and a 128GB SSD on the front most side mount. Later i will add a large HDD and that will be my four SATA-600 connectors used up (the DVD-ROM takes one also).
The GPU, the GTX 1650 Super, was no problem to fit. Keep in mind in this case you are restricted to a dual-slot GPU (so some of those EVGA 3 slot cards will not fit!).
https://i.imgur.com/9vK5QnR.jpg
(Above: That GPU is not a 1650 Super! It's an old 750Ti i had spare when testing for space)
A few notes on the specific hardware i am using. The cables from the front of the case are way too long (maybe twice as long as they need to be for a m-iTX case!) and i ended up having to coil up the slack on-top of the DVD-ROM. Also i was using a modular PSU and that area where the cables connect soon became pretty full of cable. If i was using a long (large) GPU i'd need to come up with a solution for that. As it is the planned 1660Ti (dual fan) i intend to buy at some point should be ok at a max length of around 265cm. Anything up-to 255cm will not reach the PSU cable connections and fit easily, after that you are pushing up against some of the PSU cables.
Also this MSI board just has one fan header, so i needed to get a fan splitter cable as i wanted a second fan to suck air down into the main compartment of the case. If doing this same thing make sure all the cables and fans match up (in my case i went with 4-pin versions). I opted for a 140mm BeQuiet fan set up to suck air into the case from the top-down position behind the DVD-ROM cage.
Once you have connected everything you plan to, have a go at some cable management. There are not a huge number of options in such a small case, but i used all the cable ties i could to keep things as neat as possible and leave the main chamber uncluttered.
6. Plugin the power and flip the switch and power ON.
I still have the case cover off at this stage as i want to be able to see the MSI boards error LED's just in case. For the first power on i got the SDRAM light showing up, and needed to wiggle that one stick of RAM just that 1mm more into place.
Connected to a monitor via a DVI socket (NOTE: HDMI or DP will likely not work under Windows 7 until you have installed drivers!) and with keyboard and mouse all hooked up we are ready to start the machine. Once you have pressed the power on button on the case you will have to wait a little before getting the message that no OS was found on the system. Once you get that message you can be pretty certain everything is working.
However it is a good idea to reboot and enter BIOS (check your mobo manual for the key to do this, on this hardware it was the Delete key).
Once in the UEFI BIOS screen i needed to click XMP (and select 'Profile 2') then do a further tweak deeper in the settings to set the RAM to run at the correct 3000Mhz.
Ran system on for an hour and all temps 30-36 degrees C. The SSD in front was 'hottest', the CPU the 'coolest'. Happy with those results and the very quiet case fans.
It is worth having a look around the BIOS to see where things are. Oh and congratulations if you got this far and everything worked. Next up we will look at installing our OS on this system.
https://i.imgur.com/0giB4Kq.jpg
(Above: Some more on the storage options. As it is with 2xSSD (one boot drive for Windows 7 and Linux Mint each), and the DVD-ROM i just have one internal SATA port left for the HDD. I have two decent options to place it and will probably go with the option above as it is easier to get to, and likely gets a little more air-flow).
That is the end of part 1, which is dealing with the hardware build. Next up i will post the OS installation as i work it out!
