For this project we wanted something visually a bit different to a normal micro ATX build, and spent hours honing in on the right case, one name kept popping up - Jonsbo. We’ve always been impressed with the quality of Jonsbo products, the materials used and quality of manufacture do not disappoint. The TK1 2.0, a small form factor cube with wrap around glass. It’s certainly a looker and its dual chamber design leaves ample space for larger power supplies and cable management.
Limitations
Let’s get the limitations of the case out of the way early: there is space for two 120mm fans at the bottom of the case and either a further two 120mm fans or a 240mm radiator at the top. You’re also limited to a maximum graphics card size of 280mm. With that in mind we wanted to put together a modest build that still outputs a high level of performance. The aim is 1440p at 120fps at high settings in some harder to run games, with the hardware chosen it is an ambitious goal, more on how that turns out later.
Quirks and Features
The case is not far off a perfect cube at 299mm (W) x 310mm (D) x 345mm (H), the feet make it stand off the desk by 13mm to allow for air intake. The air is designed to be pulled in the bottom of the case and be exhausted out of the top, with a mesh panel in the back to allow for more cool air to be pulled in. There is a magnetic dust filter at the bottom of the case. It will be interesting to see whether this has a detrimental effect on air intake. Luckily the dust filter is magnetic and removable, so we’ll run a test without the filter to see the difference.
We’ve already mentioned the dual chambered design. It’s a really unusual, but welcome feature of an MATX case. We managed to fit in a 850w ATX power supply without issue, used the required standard PSU cables and also some aesthetic cable extensions and we did not feel wanting for more space to be able to properly manage it all.
The Parts List
The aim is to build something aesthetically pleasing on a modest budget using only new parts. The build needed to be current generation, have headroom to be able to upgrade components in future, with that in mind we chose:
Graphics Card: ASUS Dual RX 7600XT (16GB). We specifically targeted AMD for this project, as they offer an amazing price to performance ratio. We went with the RX 7600XT based on a combination of current price and the 16gb VRAM to keep the card relevant over the next few years.
CPU: Intel i5 14400F. It’s a modest chip that should balance with the RX 7600XT perfectly, keeping the overall cost reasonable without bottlenecking performance.
Motherboard: TUF Gaming B760M-Plus II it’s a very capable board for the CPU, whilst also coming in at a reasonable budget in line with the rest of the hardware.
AIO: NZXT Kraken Elite 240mm AIO. The Kraken Elite is quiet and more than enough to keep the modest CPU cool and allowed us to get GIFy with its screen.
Fans: Lian Li Uni AL120 ARGB Fans. These should provide enough force to keep up with cooling demands and also bring vibrant ARGB to the build. Our favourite features with these fans are their modularity, they clip together for cable-less connection between units and then use a single cable run to the Lian Li controller: cutting down on cable spaghetti.
RAM: V-Color Manta XPrism 32gb (6000mhz). It’s enough RAM to support the system planned, leaving 2 slots free for future upgrade if necessary. We love the RGB and texture on the top of the modules - the custom Mr Matt Lee logo was a nice touch from V-Color.
SSD: Kingston KC-3000 2TB. We feel this is enough storage to get going, and Kingston always offer amazing quality and reliability. There are slots for an additional two M.2 drives on the board ready for future expansion.
Power Supply: TUF Gaming 850w Gold. A solid power supply, offering the consistency and reliability that the golf standard affords. It has become one of our go to ATX PSU’s. For this build you could switch this out for the 750w and save yourself $50.
Airflow and Performance
Going into airflow testing we were a little worried, the case is bottom intake only and stands off the desk by just 13mm. Before the airflow testing we were considering the possibility of having to replace the feet on the case to aid in the airflow, but it turned out to be unnecessary. We started the testing with the dust filter removed, to see what the case would do in its least restricted configuration: it performed admirably. The smoke in the test was taken in quickly, passed to the key areas of the build and then ejected, all in an efficient manner. Then we added the dust filter back and tried again, there was a difference in airflow, but it was so minor that we don’t believe it will make a noticeable difference to the end user. We would recommend that all users keep the dust filter on to help with the longevity of the build.
We then put the build through game testing. We picked out 2 demanding titles, targeted 1440p at 120fps with high settings. We used a 120hz monitor and limited frame rates to 120fps. Below are the results:
Forza 5 High 1440p
CPU 40°C
GPU 65°C
FPS 120
Forza 5 Ultra 1440p
CPU 49°C
GPU 69°C
FPS 101-118
Spiderman Remastered High 1440p
CPU 46°C
GPU 69°C
FPS 62-80
Spiderman Remastered Medium 1440p
CPU 47°C
GPU 68°C
FPS 79-105
The operating temperatures were optimum for both games, around 70°C seems to be a sweet spot for the RX 7600XT and the CPU was keeping pace without stuttering. The performance in Forza 5 was admirable, even when pushing it to Ultra settings! Throwing in Spiderman Remastered was, I must admit, ambitious. The game ran well, no major hiccups and was perfectly playable; even in action heavy sequences. It wouldn’t hit a consistent 120fps, even when we dropped to medium settings. I was quite happy playing it this way, and as we know with graphics cards - you get what you pay for! It is worth noting that while gaming the setup stayed quiet - good quality fans are always worth the investment.
Roundup
This is a beautiful build from all angles, the panoramic curved glass combined with the excellent ARGB provided by the fans and cooler really pushing the aesthetics to the next level. We loved the cable management provided by the case, as well as being able to house almost any PSU. The CPU and GPU were chosen to help keep the build modest, but also a 3 fan graphics card wont fit (we tried multiple) so we have had to work within the limitations of the case. We’re happy with the performance and surprised that the cooling support was so good considering the limitations. We may even go as far as to say that this build was one of our favourite micro ATX builds this year!
Watch the full video here:
Blog written by Sam Thwaytes
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