Looking for advice on downsizing an engineering/gaming PC

crc1622 · Sep 30, 2017

Hi all,

I've previously bought a custom PC fully built with the following components:

Processor (CPU): Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard: ASUS® Z97-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE

Memory (RAM): 16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk: 120GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 410MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk: 2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE

Power Supply: CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling: Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

I am an engineer and gamer who uses the PC regularly for some low demand simulations and gaming. I am interested in downsizing my PC from a mid tower to smaller case (microatx and mini-itx) because I'm moving around a lot and my new house is very limited by space!

I have never built a PC myself and am interested in holding on to as many components I currently have as possible. I have a few questions regarding updating my PC:

What motherboard do you recommend for my setup (most compatible or suitable for a downsize)?

If I want to hold on to my processor/graphics card and any other components, what case would you recommend?

I want to retain or improve the cooling of my PC as I downsize, do you recommend any better cooling systems for my new setup?

Regarding budget, I have no upper limit but am looking to do this rather than buy a whole new PC.

Any other advice regarding build advice or otherwise would be great.

Many thanks.

Chris

blankcr8 · Sep 30, 2017

Something like this would work quite well. Replaced Mobo and case ofc, and also the power supply. The VS series is corsairs lowest quality line, and you'll need to upgrade power supply at some point, so why not now. This case can support the 120mm radiator on your CPU and has great cooling for a mini ITX

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: MSI - Z97I GAMING ACK Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($214.74 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Samsung - 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Gainward - GeForce GTX 970 4GB Phantom Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Thermaltake - Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master - Blade Master 40.8 CFM 80mm Fan ($7.33 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Cooler Master - Blade Master 40.8 CFM 80mm Fan ($7.33 @ OutletPC)
Total: $339.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-30 13:48 EDT-0400

Oh, and I'm guessing the model of your 970 based on the ports you said it had. If you have a really massive one it may not fit when the drive cages are in. You can still use the case without drive cages, you'll just need to find somewhere else to mount the HDD.

crc1622 · Oct 3, 2017

blankcr8 :

Something like this would work quite well. Replaced Mobo and case ofc, and also the power supply. The VS series is corsairs lowest quality line, and you'll need to upgrade power supply at some point, so why not now. This case can support the 120mm radiator on your CPU and has great cooling for a mini ITX

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: MSI - Z97I GAMING ACK Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($214.74 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Samsung - 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Gainward - GeForce GTX 970 4GB Phantom Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Thermaltake - Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master - Blade Master 40.8 CFM 80mm Fan ($7.33 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Cooler Master - Blade Master 40.8 CFM 80mm Fan ($7.33 @ OutletPC)
Total: $339.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-30 13:48 EDT-0400

Oh, and I'm guessing the model of your 970 based on the ports you said it had. If you have a really massive one it may not fit when the drive cages are in. You can still use the case without drive cages, you'll just need to find somewhere else to mount the HDD.

Thanks for the advice, the GPU is a little long for that case but I have another slightly larger case in mind I can get the drive cages in!

Search

Looking for advice on downsizing an engineering/gaming PC

crc1622

Prominent

blankcr8

blankcr8

Reputable

crc1622

Prominent

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page