Corsair Bulldog with 1080 or smallest PC for high performance VR

kgd

New member
Hi

I'm trying to configure a PC that's as small as possible while still giving best VR performance. The Corsair Bulldog case seems to be ideal for this (although I'd still like it smaller) but I'm not sure it can take the heat etc. I've kind of maxed out the configurator for it but really am mainly bothered about the graphics performance in a very small case. Price is not much of a problem because it's for business.

Here's the spec as I currently have it. Will this work?

Case
CORSAIR BULLDOG LIVING ROOM PC

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z170I PRO GAMING: Mini-ITX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000 MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

1st Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

M.2 SSD Drive
128GB INTEL® 600p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 770MB/sR | 450MB/sW)

Power Supply
CORSAIR 600W SF SERIES™ SF600 POWER SUPPLY (BULLDOG)

Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling
Corsair H5 SF Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT + WIRELESS 802.11 A/B/G/N/AC

Many thanks!
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Very adventurous lol.

I would probably go for a 1TB SM961, if that's an option, and ditch both the 850 and the Intel. Other than that the options are fairly limited. Everything else looks fine.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I can't find any professional reviews of the bulldog, but given that Corsair are selling it for 4k gaming and know people would do that with the chassis anyway, I imagine it's fine. "Imagine" may not cut it for a £2k spend.
I did find this: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterra...full_corsair_bulldog_build_log_with_pictures/ where someone built a bulldog and put a GTX 970 SSC in there (which will run about as hot as a 1080 so for thermals it's not a bad indicator). It has thermal images as well.

You don't have a whole lot of configurator options for the bulldog so there's not much to tweak. The only thing I'd say is that if you're buying a 1TB Samsung Evo SSD as your mass storage, you probably want at least a 256gb SM961 as your M.2 drive. The intel drives are a lot slower.

Note that under the "2nd hard disk" menu there are options for regular HDDs, if you feel like saving over £200. You can't not have an SSD in the first slot (for some reason...) but even with a 120gb UV400 SSD there and a 1tb HDD in the 2nd slot it's still £230 less.

that's as small as possible
It depends what you mean by small, but have you considered the regular mini ITX cases off this menu?

I would avoid the Node 202 at all costs with high end hardware, but the
Obsidian 250D - 351mm x 277mm x 290mm
Or Fractal Node 304 - (W x H x D): 250 x 210 x 374 mm are fair options.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2012/09/19/fractal-design-node-304-review/3
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2014/01/21/corsair-obsidian-250d-review/3

The bulldog being: 457mm x 381mm x 133mm for reference.

e.g. as a matched spec for your above with a modular gold-rated PSU and liquid cooling


Case
FRACTAL DESIGN NODE 304 Mini ITX Case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170I PRO GAMING: Mini-ITX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
M.2 SSD Drive
128GB INTEL® 600p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 770MB/sR | 450MB/sW)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN PORT + Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi excluded on H110I-PLUS)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £2,071.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-sff-gaming/KzjmFGBUbX/
 

kgd

New member
That's really great, guys! Many thanks. I thought I would get email notifications when somebody replies to my post but was wrong hence my late reply. I'll have a look at all these and will then do an order.
 
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