First Time Builder Advice

[Dr Clockworks]

Hello, everyone. As the title reads I am going to be setting up my first build soon. One thing that I am very set on is getting a Modular PSU. The Mobo that I have chosen is a Micro ATX Mother Board and I really want a full sized tower case for all the air flow and upgrade space.

Now, the question is: If I mount a Micro ATX Mother Board in a Full Sized Tower Case will my PSU have any trouble with the cables reaching their respective ports? Or is there really no way to tell unless you open the package and check the cables for yourself?

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[nna2]

if your getting a full tower case why are you settling with Matx?
and what is the PSU, does it give you any lengths on the cords, have you checked any unboxings/reviews?

 

[clutchc]

The mATX board has the same PSU connections in the pretty much same place as an ATX board. The mATX board basically just has extra expansion slots making it longer. However, if you are mounting your PSU at the bottom of the case, the one PSU cable that is always hard to route neatly is the 4/8 pin +12V CPU power cable. It usually has to go to the top left of the board. Some PSUs don't make the cable length long enough to route neatly behind the motherboard plate (and out of sight) and out the top to make the connection. So, you are forced to route it 'as the crow flies' to reach the connection on the board. Having said all that, I wouldn't expect any problems if you purchase a quality name brand modular PSU. The top manufacturers build for the builder.

Also, I have seen extension cables offered for the CPU power cable as well as other PSU cables.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

I see, thank you very much Clutchc.

The reason I am getting a Micro ATX Mobo Nna2 is because it has all the features that I want with enough expansions slots for me to be able to have two Video Cards put in it. If I do ever decide to SLI.

Here is a link to the Mother Board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759

Plus, it's an Asus ROG board. Unless you guys might have a recommendation for me instead of that board? My CPU will be a i5-2500k and the video card is going to be a EVGA Nvidia 560.

I know it really doesn't have anything to do with performance but I would like to give my tower a blue theme. Mostly because I already bought a Razer Death Adder and it has a nice blue/black theme to it. This isn't a "must have" for me, though.

 

[clutchc]

Unless you just like the asthetics of a full sized ATX case, cooling is more about the amount of air moving across the components than about the volume of the enclosure. A mid-sized case with good air flow runs just as cool as a full size case. It's all about 'good' air in and 'bad' air out. That being said, there's nothing wrong with a mATX board in a full sized case.

 

[nna2]

errrr, mATX is smaller? i have Matx, and i have 1 pci-e 2.0, and 1 pci slot

 

[clutchc]

errrr, mATX is smaller? i have Matx, and i have 1 pci-e 2.0, and 1 pci slot

Yes. Micro ATX boards usually have room for 4 expansion slots and ATX boards have room for 7. There are exceptions...

 

[Dr Clockworks]

The board I am going to be getting will have 2 PCI express x16 slots and one PCI express x4 slot. 8 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 (Another 4 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 are on the board for a front panel. If you go to the link that I posted you can see all of its specs.

So, Clutchc, if you had to choose a Mid sized tower case for a build such as mine what would you recommend? I can't find any that have USB 3.0 pots on the front of the case.

 

[clutchc]

The board I am going to be getting will have 2 PCI express x16 slots and one PCI express x4 slot. 8 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 (Another 4 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 are on the board for a front panel. If you go to the link that I posted you can see all of its specs.

So, Clutchc, if you had to choose a Mid sized tower case for a build such as mine what would you recommend? I can't find any that have USB 3.0 pots on the front of the case.

I wasn't trying to dissuade you from the full sized case. That would be a good choice if that is what you would like. Cases are purely a personal choice. If I were to build another system for myself, I would look into the In Win line of cases. For example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583+600006302+600029808+50001320&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=7&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

...and I notice the 1st one in the list has a USB 3.0 port on the front of the case. I haven't checked out the rest, but I imagine most of the rest do too.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Haha, I know you wasn't trying to push me toward one or another. But I think I'm just going to get myself a full sized tower case. A few of my friends and I are going to be building our own computers and a bunch of my friends where I live at will all be playing SW:TOR together and one of them mentioned to me that we all should LAN sometime. Obviously, a Mid-Sized Tower case is much easier to move than a Full Sized Tower case.

But, if I wanted portability I would get a laptop. Since that is not the case here I will go with a Full Sized Tower. Probably a Cooler Master HAF 932. Or maybe the HAF X. I love the rugged look of them both, plenty of air flow, tons of room to work with.

The only thing that I am worried about is I watched a video from Asus about the Mother Board I am going to be getting and it only has 5 fan connectors. Is there a way to where I can extend this amount?

 

[clutchc]

LOL... if you are planning on LAN parties with that case, you may want to add a 2-wheel cart to you purchase. But, the HAF cases are excellent units. My HAF 912 is the baby of the group and it is a really nice case. You won't be disappointed.

As far as fans, any PSU Molex connector will power your fans. You just won't be able to read the RPM, if that's not an issue. And if you don't use a push-pull CPU fan arrangement where you need two CPU fan connections, you can use one of them for a case fan. My HAF 912 has 2 x 120MM fans on top, 1 X red 200MM in front, 1 x red 140MM in the side panel, and 1 x 120MM in the rear. Only the front and rear fans are plugged into the board.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

I just finished checking out the Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus and it looks amazing! Nice black painted interior, plenty of locations for many fans, I don't think I will be getting an After Market CPU Cooler with a push pull configuration. So.. I'm thinking this: 1 x After Market Cooler, 1 x blue/red 200MM on the top, 2 x blue/red 120MM on the front, and 1 x 120MM on the rear. Those should all (hopefully) plug into the Mother Board. If I ever decide to, I will get another 120MM fan and place it on the side panel. Would this work or would I have to purchase Molex connectors for each of my fans?

One other thing I have a concern about is since I am getting a Micro ATX Mobo will an After Market cooler on my CPU give me enough room for 8 Gigs of RAM? (2x 4Gb sticks)

 

[clutchc]

Wowza! I wasn't saying to get the 912 'cause I had it. I was only offering it as a comparison. But, yes, it will be a good case for you. And, it's not as small as you would think.

The board you chose seems to have plenty of room between the socket and the RAM slots. The height of the RAM sticks you choose and the size of the aftermarket HSF will have to be considered, but normally there's no issue. Just check the dimensions of the HSF you choose and the dimesions of the RAM sticks. But, I don't expect any problems.

You shouldn't have to purchase any kind of adaptors for your fans. Usually they come with combination Molex/MB connectors. And the power supply should have more Molex connectors available than you'll use. If you manage to buy a fan without the Molex adaptor, they are cheap.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Haha, I just decided to check out your case and I saw that it had an advanced version and I was completely blown away by it. Although, I wouldn't doubt if my mind changes over the course of the next few weeks but now I have a nice solid idea of what I want to buy. Just to save some time though I might not get all of these fans at the same time as the rest of my build. Just in a situation I don't like the cause for whatever I can RMA to Newegg and chose a different case.

 

[clutchc]

Wise choice. Also keep in mind, more fans = more noise.
And all else being equal... larger diameter fans move more air with less noise.

Enjoy your first build. Don't go overboard. You can always improve later...