So most people are probably interested in the case. I'm actually going to swap the case out should the !nverse come out (indigogo page https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nverse-the-most-versatile-small-computer-case-design)

I've been wanting to do a Mini-ITX build for the better part of a year and a half so I finally pulled the trigger and put one together. All parts were ordered off Amazon, total came to 2048 after shipping and tax.

This was actually easier than I anticipated with one caveat. Everything fit as well as it could consider it's a mini-itx build. Cable management was near impossible but it all fit. The only problem is the GPU ports for HDMI are REALLY close to the case so I've ordered a slim HDMI extender. My gaming monitor uses DVI-D so that wasn't an issue but my second monitor is DVI or VGA so I had to whip out the DVI - HDMI cable, which was quite thick and doesn't plug in all the way, hence the slim HDMI extender. Just be aware if you order this card and this case and plan to use HDMI that you will want to get slim cables.

The CRYORIG C7 came with it's own thermal paste which is nice but I opted for the TUNIQ TX-4 and did the line method, although honestly as long as you have enough paste and it's not overflowing any method will do, just that line/dot method is the easiest (for me).

Speaking of the CRYORIG C7, it was probably the easiest after market cooler I've ever installed. You put the paste on (after you remove the tape covering the plate) and then slap the backplate on and bolt it to the board with the included tool. Easy as pie. Seriously, could not have been easier, which was nice because I had to change the orientation. I had it in the wrong orientation and had to rotate it 45 degrees so that the cable for the fan would fit exactly where it needed to be with no extra cable. Again it was a super easy install so wasn't a big deal to remove it, rotate, and screw it back in, even after everything else was installed.

I was worried the 1080 GTX wouldn't fit but there is a removable bracket on the case where the GPU goes that I needed to remove first, install the card, and then re-attach. Pretty easy once I figured it out. I took pictures but my phone didn't save so I'll try to take pictures again of it and upload them later. Right now I'm too busy enjoying my massive FPS to be bothered ;)

For storage I opted for 2x 500GB 850 EVOs in Raid0 as opposed to 1TB SSD. I wanted to get a M.2 SSD but the largest I could find was 512GB which I might get later. Installing windows on the MB with the drives in Raid0 was the hardest part because I had to use the legacy raid mode, which is fine. If I used the EZRaid Windows couldn't install to the raid and if I used the UEFI raid, the MB wouldn't boot from USB. Putting it in Legacy Raid solved this issue.

On that note, my issue with the MB is the BIOS, I prefer ASUS' over Gigabyte's. However ASUS doesn't have a Z270 Mini-ITX motherboard. Gigabyte does offer some nice features though such as Ultrafast boot process that gets me to the windows login screen from power on in about 10 seconds. However it's so quick that after I enabled it I haven't been able to get back into the BIOS as it doesn't appear to be enabling my USB keyboard during ultrafast boot.

The Gigabyte GA-Z270N also comes with Bluetooth which I wanted so I could pair a Xbox One White Controller to the system without the Windows dongle and it works like a charm. I don't really need the wifi but it's a nice bonus should I take this with me on trips.

With regards to the power supply, I installed it in the wrong direction, with the fan facing inward which I needed to fix. Additionally to install the motherboard I had to remove the power supply bracket but once everything was in I was able to put it back on. Wasn't too bad and power supply otherwise fit perfectly, as it should.

I will probably go back and try to do some better cable management because it's honestly a hot mess but it's a super small case so I expected cable management to be poor. I will say that all the cables do fit, it's just not very pretty.

The memory is what it is. It's the fastest 32GB kit that would fit. All the 32GB kits (16GBx2) seem to only come in 3200Mhz sadly as I wanted to try 4000Mhz. However the memory fit perfectly with room for the cooler and everything else so no complaints.

Finally the temp is a little high for my liking but I'm accustomed to much larger fans in much larger cases. I'm going to play around with it a bit. I haven't installed any fan tweaking and I think if I kick the fan up I can bring the temp down closer to 40 - 45 range. Additionally once I do get an !nverse case I'll throw on a 240MM closed loop radiator so this is fine for now and it's incredibly quiet even under load, but I'm used to the Air 540 which is much much louder with a ton of fans so YMMV.

I'm otherwise completely happy with this build.

Edited formatting