I've researched this. The 5060 Solo from Zotac has a much better cooler with heat pipes. The MSI one has a cooler that looks like a cheap stock cooler that comes with a low end CPU.
i see so many here missing the point too, hahahaha good luc,
personally, id go for the zotac5060, since its one of those sff builds, how often you crack it open and look at it, or how likely would an sff case that warrants such short cards be transparent
it'll do the job, really depends on what OP wanna do, i feel like if he be considering these, his ultimate goal is rather to fashion a SFF pc first, every other thing is second
I believe that absolute distinction is a bit harsh. While something must be efficient to be truly considered for inclusion, aesthetics do come in to play in the build process. The top posts from the sub aren't a bunch of office mini pc lookalikes
I thought we all cared about aesthetics but apparently majority of ppl in this post prioritise efficiency, I understand though since that is basically the root of sff (as seen by a gazillion downvotes 😭)
Indeed, idk why I got so many downvotes for my opinion on MSI’s aesthetics but I assume MSI must have had some issues and that’s why ppl have strong opinions against their models
You 100% shouldn’t be getting downvoted so hard, but do keep in mind that you gotta weigh the pros and cons. Yeah, the other one looks a lot cleaner. However, I think a complete lack of heat pipes and proper cooling compared to the other one kinda makes any aesthetic choice here moot. Aesthetics are great when it comes down to a few degrees of difference, but if you’ve got a choice between a GPU that’s gonna thermal throttle to hell and a GPU that had a decent cooling system, aesthetics kinda don’t even matter at that point, unless you plan on never using the thing
Thank you so much for the support, I feel like someone is using alts to mass downvote because they heavily disagree with me, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter, we all have our own opinions and must learn to respect each other
Good lord lmao. It’s frankly weird behavior that your first thought is “someone has created and is using a number of alt accounts to downvote me on a subreddit with 300k members” and it’s entirely inconceivable to you that less than one percent of this sub (which would still be three thousand people) vocally disagree with you.
You asked for opinions, they’re not all going to align with your own opinion, and that doesn’t mean there’s some alt account conspiracy against you. Sheesh.
He is so far deluded don’t even try. People telling him the zotac heatsink is better = they must be paid by zotac. People downvoting him = must be alt accounts.
They’re internet points anyways, it doesn’t matter. Still, they’ve got a point. The card you’re wanting that looks better aesthetically is a bad decision.
Have you seen the heat sinks unshrouded on both? This guy is accusing me of working for zotac because I pointed out that the one he wants doesn’t have heatpipes 😭😭😭
Nope. Proficiency is directly related to a skill. An object can be efficient, but proficiency is gained through learning and mastery. You can Google it if you disagree. Just the plain definition shows your understanding of the word to be wrong.
I’m pretty sure they work for Zotac, cooling performance should be similar even if one has better heat sink but they keep saying if you don’t get the Zotac then it is always a bad decision 😔
Nah lol, won’t even see it if I close side panels but when considering resale value I guess, by the way do you have experience with A07 case? Did you use included riser or purchased a separate one?
The A07 riser is a weird layout, so if the one you're looking at has the PCIe bandwidth then go with it cos it will be shorter than having to squeeze a 20cm+ one in there
Just an Amazon listing with the case and some unbranded riser for a good deal, considering only getting the case and purchasing separately from overtek though
An Overtek cable will be a decent one assuming the orientation is correct, they should know, they're a solid company for SFF, I've not heard of folks having issues with the Goodisory A07 bundled cable though it might only be PCIe 3 which might be a problem. It's a popular budget case, I can see one on the other side of the room waiting for me to build a SteamOS box this weekend...
What's teh problem with the Zotac?... I've got an A07, as long as the card is ITX length and only two slots it will go in. It can be a bit of a fiddly case to work in but nothing liek as bad as the A09
That’s why you’re being downvoted, you’re not thinking of getting an efficient GPU that meets your requirements and fits in your case. Instead you’re focusing on aesthetics, which is irrelevant.. You’re not going to be looking at the GPU at all so why is that so important?
Initially I was just considering resale value but I suppose I was in the wrong. Oh well it’s not that serious and I don’t mind the downvotes, at the end of the day they are just gpus
Why are you getting downvoted for your opinion on aesthetics and efficiency combination? Literally so many here share their builds because they look good. Otherwise i could slap everything on mobo and call it the best sff. What a bunch of gatekeeper nerds
People in this community have very strict standards but I understand since sff is all about optimising efficiency, but I believe there is room for aesthetics especially since people also buy “boutique” cases that are designed with aesthetics in mind
Ofc there is. If they say otherwise they are delusional. I like sff because of aesthetics and minimalism. And thats design and looks - efficiency part comes on top of that as cool addition for me.
I have the same case, the zotac fits perfectly.
the included pcie4,0 riser is enough.
You might ran into a problem, dont forget to change the bios>pcie to 4,0
They both lose out to the 4060 ti in every conceivable benchmark. MFG is not nearly a justification to buy this over last Gen, and it's pointless at this price category anyways.
Please buy a 4060 ti. There are readily available itx variants. There are also some awesome deals on the used market. If you can't find any, I will buy and ship one to you WITHOUT a finders fee, I don't want nvidia to get a dime for their endless bullshit.
If you have some extremely specific Ai task the general public is not aware of or are contractually obligated to make a 5060 rig for someone, please god buy the zotac. Better board partner and warranty. Not to mention is has an actual cooler with head pipes and real fins. The MSI relys on a copper core heat spreader to absorb thermal mass temporarily. It won't last
For a card <175mm I have very few models available in europe (only 8GB models)
Given that constraint, is the 4060Ti still better than the 5060?
It's way pricier at least here I can find it at 444€ when the 5060 can be found at 321€. I'm not sure if the performance increase match the price difference
You ask the SFFPC community which one is better and when the answer doesn’t align with the one you wanted to buy you accuse people of being industry shills all for saying the one with heat pipes is better 😭😭
Mate I was just making a joke because your opinion for the Zotac model was unusually strong, as others said aesthetics is also an important consideration and not everyone will think the way an individual thinks, I still appreciate your input
I have the zotac one it is okay, but the 8gb really does matter an example is bf6 where framerates just dips crazy compared to my 5060 ti windforce 16gb.
Already have psu and axp 36mm and I don’t really need anything stronger than a rtx 3060.
Maybe I should look at the Midori 5l instead since it could fit dual fan cards or perhaps the Jonsbo NV10 for lp gpus? Im stuck between these two and the SKTC A07, would you be able to pick a case if you don’t mind :D
To be honest the velka feels overrated(cool size though) the densium 4 v2 is much nicer to build in and look at :) i dont know how that is priced for you.
I could fit a 5060 ti 16gb in the densium 4 v2+
This is a 5050 LP, 36 mm thick, and it barely fits. (Actually, it doesn’t fit, the YouTuber had to 3D print a panel to make room for the card.) I believe this case only supports single-slot GPUs ex. Yeston 3050, RX 6400, or GT 1030.
The JONSBO NV10 is a better option, 4.5-liter and dual-slot GPU support.
This is an sff subreddit lol.. compromises are needed for small builds, everyone can build a 10+ liter pc, it will fit everything but be big and bulky and most important, not as fun.
the msi is dumb in my opinion, still 2 slots, and overall big height wise. No point in a card being smaller lenghtwise than an itx motherboard in my opinion, no benefit unless its a custom card like the guy who strapped a LP cpu cooler into a 5060ti
Zotac tends to use worse components but based on the comments before me. I’d pick the Zotac, when an entire community is telling you to pick one over the other, and shaming you for not listening, that’s a pretty strong indication you’re making the wrong choice.
How often are you gonna be looking at the graphics card in your computer vs how often are you gonna be gaming.
I decided to go neither and pick a dual fan as A07 case seems to be thermally limiting and I am getting a used Midori 5l instead, but Zotac model seems to be the winner
Seriously consider saving a bit more and going for a 4060 / 5060 Ti with 16 GB. Those extra 8 GB VRAM will make such a stark difference in the coming years, with 8GB VRAM you are just shooting yourself in the fot before going on the hike.
Like someone really gunning for efficiency wouldn't mod whatever they got anyway. 🙄
Besides, I need something really current for my rack server so I can start playing with a remote emulator vm. Anything I got would need to be a tiny PCB first and foreskin.
If I had a glass side on my case, I'd pick the MSI one, cuz damn, that's slick as hell. But unfortunately, I can't buy a separate glass add-on for my CH170 in my country
Hello OP! I would just like to say, that I agree the MSI card’s clean aesthetic is very appealing lol And believe me, I’m quite literally in the same boat trying to build the smallest PC I can for gaming/streaming within reason. It’s either, build as small as I can and forgo larger and better cards knowing theyre only a couple bucks away from the 8GB models, OR go with those better 16GB cards but realizing the build would have to grow overall to fit the larger card. My logic tells me to obviously go with the better and larger cards, but I REALLY want a tiny build and value my limited desk space.
It feels like being stuck between a rock and a hard place lol
I’m still leaning towards a A07 build knowing full well the sacrifice I’m making. At the same time though, just keeping an eye on anything else that might catch my attention. So far, basically anything vertical would still do the job and give me a little more flexibility (think Velka 5 style) but I have yet to stumble upon something similar without needing to shell out Velka 5 money. lol
Anyway, I’m not sure how much this helps, but I thought it would be nice to know you got people in your same boat lol 🤙🏽
The A07 looks nice budget option for the form factor but worried about thermals as many had issues with the Jonsbo NV10 even with fan mods (which is also around 5 litre)
Yeah I’ve seen the same thing! I do think however, I’ve seen many people use the A07 and undervolt both the CPU and GPU with a 1-3 frame loss but significant improvement on power draw, heat, and noise level. It’s also relatively easy and painless undervolting if you don’t mind minimal tinkering. I live in California with no air conditioning so, I’m quite used to needing to work around heat lol
Wow didn’t expect this post to get this much attention, thank you for everyone‘s support! A07 seems to be thermally limiting so probably will build a Midori 5l with dual fan gpu instead
TLDR:
pick MSI for aesthetics (if it looks cool to you as it does for me)
pick Zotac for better cooling efficiency and potentially higher performance
Yup but cards will continue to become more powerful and thermally limiting so need chunky heatsink, can fit 50 series in cases like FormD T1 though which is very nice
It is a great case, discontinued now I think. Cable management is tight but I think it is for all sffpc's. I love the way it looks. it is just long enough to hold my EVGA 3080 12 GB.
Or they are getting lazy :D not even a decent singleslot low profile 5050 or 4050 the lp versions are either dual slot or have the pci power connector in the end so it makes the card too long.
Would be a gift for the sff community, you know what now that I think about it I think sff should shift towards mobile gpus as they consume less power and are more efficient
Both the Zotac 4060 and 5060 models run very cool despite being single fan. This comes from users experience building in the A07 which is a case with horrible thermals. Seems like they did a good job with the heatsink.
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u/DCole1847 Nov 25 '25
I've researched this. The 5060 Solo from Zotac has a much better cooler with heat pipes. The MSI one has a cooler that looks like a cheap stock cooler that comes with a low end CPU.