I'm not a noob when it comes to building a rig but it's been a while and I'm a lil bit outdated. I basically want to build a decent SFF somewhat future-proof gaming rig that can throw quite a punch when needed but also allows me to do other stuff as well. The catch is that I want it to be cool and quiet, and to top it off I was recently relocated and where I live right now availability is rather limited due to some customs imports issues of some sort :S
With that said, let's see the parts I have currently in mind:
RAM: Gskill 16gb (2x8gb) Ddr3 1.6 Ghz Ripjaws 10-10-10-30
or Vengeance Ddr3 16gb (2X8GB) 1.6 10-10-10-27
16b can be too much... but it's barely more expensive than a 8gb kit here.. so if anybody has a good reason why not to choose 16gb over 8gb (like less heat dissipation, voltage consumption, etc) I'm all ears.
Mobo mATX: I wanted Maximus VI Gene but I can't find it, so I'll settle for GRYPHON Z87. Would the thermal armor (sold separately) be of any help?
Does anybody know of a kickass mini-itx that comes near any of this mobos? At least with SATA 6Gb/s ports, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0 support and LGA 1150 socket! preferably Z87. I'm not planning on some extreme OC'ing but I think that with H87 I won't be able to OC k models even if it's a tiny notch. (Correct me if I'm wrong)
I saw Asus Z87I-PRO but I think it's not out yet.
GPU:VAPOR-X HD 7950 or XFX's. I'll choose the smaller one.
CPU:i5-4670K. I will run it at stock levels at first using Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz. In the future I might OC it up to 4.2 max.
From here on... things start to derail fast :S
Case: No, there are no Fractal Design nor Lian Li m-atx cases here, and Silverstone line's scarce. If someone could recommend me a great mini-itx mobo then I'd go for BitFenix Prodigy and solve all my problems. I think the M series is not even out in the States yet... and I'll be 80 by the time it gets here or in a different country. If not..
My first choice was Thermaltake's armor 30. Yeah, I know! I've heard about the unpleasantries regarding airflow and heat tolerance. It has: 90mm x 1 Front (intake) fan, 60mm x 2 Rear (exhaust) I know xDD and 230mm x 1 Top (exhaust). Since there's no 120mm fan support.. there it goes the possibility of some water cooling solutions like Corsair H60 or Antec H20 620.
CPU cooler: Since that case only gives me room for a 90mm cooler I'm pretty much screwed. The best I can do here is GeminII M4 (no GeminII S). And no, no Noctua nor Scythe coolers here either.
Do you guys think I could get relative low temps with all those parts in that case? I really, really need a small case but I don't want to end up with a high tech easy bake oven :/
Now.. if that's a no-no then there are some other cases I could work with that will give me better cooling solutions. The following cases will let me use a GeminII S524 with a 140mm fan.
Temjin TJ08B (but not the evolution) which isn't that good and has only 120mm x 1 Front and 120mm x 1 Rear.
CM Elite 343 with 120mm x 1 Front, 90mm x 1 Rear and 90mm x 1 Side which is more or less similar to the previous one.
And finally CM Elite 330u, unfortunately larger than the previous ones but with more fan options. 140mm x 1 Front, 120mm x 1 Rear, 120mm x 1 Side and 120mm x 1 Bottom.
Btw.. all the CPU coolers mentioned here work well with LGA 1155 sockets, but will they work with LGA 1150?
PSU: rather limited here as well, semi modular for obvious reasons. All those cases support PS2 ATX standard.
Either NZXT Hale82 750W or Coolermaster Silent Pro 700w.
I know 750W can be overkill but at least I'll be (always?) working within the 50~80% range even at hight loads meaning great efficiency, less heat and fan noise which will help my case xD no pun intended! It also gives me room If I ever decide to go Crossfire and OC the mem, GPU or CPU further... and get a bigger case! of course xD
So.. can I stick to the Armor 30 or should I get a bigger case?
Any suggestion will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advanced!!!
With that said, let's see the parts I have currently in mind:
RAM: Gskill 16gb (2x8gb) Ddr3 1.6 Ghz Ripjaws 10-10-10-30
or Vengeance Ddr3 16gb (2X8GB) 1.6 10-10-10-27
16b can be too much... but it's barely more expensive than a 8gb kit here.. so if anybody has a good reason why not to choose 16gb over 8gb (like less heat dissipation, voltage consumption, etc) I'm all ears.
Mobo mATX: I wanted Maximus VI Gene but I can't find it, so I'll settle for GRYPHON Z87. Would the thermal armor (sold separately) be of any help?
Does anybody know of a kickass mini-itx that comes near any of this mobos? At least with SATA 6Gb/s ports, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0 support and LGA 1150 socket! preferably Z87. I'm not planning on some extreme OC'ing but I think that with H87 I won't be able to OC k models even if it's a tiny notch. (Correct me if I'm wrong)
I saw Asus Z87I-PRO but I think it's not out yet.
GPU:VAPOR-X HD 7950 or XFX's. I'll choose the smaller one.
CPU:i5-4670K. I will run it at stock levels at first using Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz. In the future I might OC it up to 4.2 max.
From here on... things start to derail fast :S
Case: No, there are no Fractal Design nor Lian Li m-atx cases here, and Silverstone line's scarce. If someone could recommend me a great mini-itx mobo then I'd go for BitFenix Prodigy and solve all my problems. I think the M series is not even out in the States yet... and I'll be 80 by the time it gets here or in a different country. If not..
My first choice was Thermaltake's armor 30. Yeah, I know! I've heard about the unpleasantries regarding airflow and heat tolerance. It has: 90mm x 1 Front (intake) fan, 60mm x 2 Rear (exhaust) I know xDD and 230mm x 1 Top (exhaust). Since there's no 120mm fan support.. there it goes the possibility of some water cooling solutions like Corsair H60 or Antec H20 620.
CPU cooler: Since that case only gives me room for a 90mm cooler I'm pretty much screwed. The best I can do here is GeminII M4 (no GeminII S). And no, no Noctua nor Scythe coolers here either.
Do you guys think I could get relative low temps with all those parts in that case? I really, really need a small case but I don't want to end up with a high tech easy bake oven :/
Now.. if that's a no-no then there are some other cases I could work with that will give me better cooling solutions. The following cases will let me use a GeminII S524 with a 140mm fan.
Temjin TJ08B (but not the evolution) which isn't that good and has only 120mm x 1 Front and 120mm x 1 Rear.
CM Elite 343 with 120mm x 1 Front, 90mm x 1 Rear and 90mm x 1 Side which is more or less similar to the previous one.
And finally CM Elite 330u, unfortunately larger than the previous ones but with more fan options. 140mm x 1 Front, 120mm x 1 Rear, 120mm x 1 Side and 120mm x 1 Bottom.
Btw.. all the CPU coolers mentioned here work well with LGA 1155 sockets, but will they work with LGA 1150?
PSU: rather limited here as well, semi modular for obvious reasons. All those cases support PS2 ATX standard.
Either NZXT Hale82 750W or Coolermaster Silent Pro 700w.
I know 750W can be overkill but at least I'll be (always?) working within the 50~80% range even at hight loads meaning great efficiency, less heat and fan noise which will help my case xD no pun intended! It also gives me room If I ever decide to go Crossfire and OC the mem, GPU or CPU further... and get a bigger case! of course xD
So.. can I stick to the Armor 30 or should I get a bigger case?
Any suggestion will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advanced!!!
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