[Advise] Mini-ITX Haswell Gaming Build


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So this is a rough estimate of what I'm looking into building.  Not 100% sure on cost as haven't shopped around yet but give a good idea.

 

Had my current PC since 2007 and it's time to go up in the world.  Got an SSD already.

 

It'll be driving a 27" 2560*1440 Dell monitor (gaming) and also a 20" 1680 x 1050 (no gaming).

 

Chose the graphics card as I thought it would look nice through the window with the titan cooler, open to alternates though as long as they're not ugly.

 

Chose the Motherboard because it's asus and I love asus.  Spose I'll use the stock cooler for now but maybe get an H80i in the future.

 

Any thoughts or advice at all?

 

Cheers!

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Don't forget your space ship cold cathode lights!! ;)

 

I've probably grown out of cold cathodes.  I've certainly not grown out of things that look superfluously cool though! :P

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Ah thanks for that I didn't notice.  Will change it.

 

What about the other stuff? PSU / GPU? Am I perhaps cheating myself out of a better performing card on the basis of looks.

 

Also the GTX 770 is 2Gb but the HD7970 ia 3gb? I looked at the DirectCuII version from Asus but unfortunately it's triple slot so won't fit!

 

Cheers.

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You might need to rethink the window side panel for your case because a double slot card in that case will go up close to the panel with no air vents that the standard panel has.


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You might need to rethink the window side panel for your case because a double slot card in that case will go up close to the panel with no air vents that the standard panel has.

 

 

Did think about that but I figured the clearance would be enough.  especially seeing as in a dual/triple sli system the cards probably get a lot less clearance!

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Since you obviously plan on overclocking, you need to think about the CPU heatsink now; this matters even more since everything will be so cramped. Not every heatsink out there will fit a Mini-ITX case; and it certainly won't be fun to disassemble and reassemble everything to change the heatsink so you'd better get it now than later. The stock cooler barely does the job at stock speeds; forget about overclocking with it. If you need a suggestion, check out the Noctua NH-U12S; diminutive size, competes with some of the best.

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I have the H80i, and it was simple as heck to install. And loud you say? Ever try PWM by the BIOS? It is higher in price, but it has better parts in it that cool more effinciently.

 

Sorry Asik, but your opinions mean next to nothing.

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Personally I wouldn't bother with an aftermarket cooler.  But if you must have one, I would agree with the Corsair Hydro choice.  I have the H50 and it's incredibly nice.  It's dead quiet and keeps temps way down.

 

Anyway, overclocking the CPU is pretty pointless at this point.  The CPU is so far ahead in terms of speed than any other component, that the only thing you'll gain is a higher benchmark score.  You won't gain any noticeable performance since the CPU is far from a bottleneck.  Hardly worth the extra strain and heat, imo.

 

My opinion is that you'll be perfectly fine with the stock cooler.

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wow, how i wish parts were this price here... i've spent a lot on my new rig (im very happy with it anyway) let me just show the prices i have paid so you all can fell better:

 

AMD FX8320 : 250USD

MSI 970A-G43 : 150 USD

Corsair vengeance 2x4GB : 100 USD (for both)

1TB Seagate 7200rpm : 100 USD

Gigabyte HD 7950 : 550 USD (yeah i know, welcome to brazil... this one I got from paraguay, here it would be 650 USD + )

23" Philips fullhd screen with speakers : 320USD

Thermaltake V3 AMD edition case: 60 USD

3 cooler master fans, cant remember the model : 14 USD each

 

 

btw, nice rig you got for that price! thats 2.8k reais in here

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Thanks! Can't wait to order it just wanna make sure I make the right choices!

 

Still unsure on the graphics card.  Are there any thoughts?

 

Sort of narrowed it down to the following:

 

 
As it'll be on display in a similar fashion to this aesthetics are a factor:
 
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Thanks! Can't wait to order it just wanna make sure I make the right choices!

 

Still unsure on the graphics card.  Are there any thoughts?

 

Sort of narrowed it down to the following:

 

 
As it'll be on display in a similar fashion to this aesthetics are a factor:
 

 

Stick with the Titan cooler rather than the ASUS custom hsf. The Titan cooler will get rid of all that hot air OUT of the case. Personally I think nVidia reference designs always tend to be better than OEM custom.

Case wise, have you considered mATX instead? You can come pretty damn close to the size of the prodigy but have an mATX motherboard, decent HSF and ATX PSU instead, with excellent airflow, more ports, SLI in future, and above all silent.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-maximus-vi-gene-intel-z87-s-1150-ddr3-sata-iii-sata-raid-pcie-30-%28x16%29-hdmi-matx-plusfree-deliv

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00476U47M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002SLJMQ2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2JL87EGQ8Q89D

 

If interested, see at bottom of this page for build pics:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1523895&highlight=squuiid&page=33

http://www.techspot.com/review/323-lian-li-mini-q-pc-v354/

 

Oh, and as someone else mentioned, change your RAM to CL9:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009YOJZ5E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

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I have the H80i, and it was simple as heck to install. And loud you say? Ever try PWM by the BIOS? It is higher in price, but it has better parts in it that cool more effinciently.

 

Sorry Asik, but your opinions mean next to nothing.

I didn't say it was bad on these points; I said it wasn't as good as the NH-U12S. Check reviews and user opinions if you don't believe me. People report problems much more frequently with the H80i than Noctua's air coolers. 

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I didn't say it was bad on these points; I said it wasn't as good as the NH-U12S. Check reviews and user opinions if you don't believe me. People report problems much more frequently with the H80i than Noctua's air coolers. 

 

I'll second this. +Asik is right. I had looked into using Corsair's watercooling units also, and after reading many, many user reports I decided to go with the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 instead.

There were just too many problems cited with them that put me off. I have no doubt you have a good experience Mindovermaster, but I personally considered it far too much of a gamble and the potential benefit not worth the risk. With a Noctua you just install and you're done. I've lost count of how many firmware updates there have been for the H80i to fix issues along the way. Yes, firmware updates for your cooler, enough said!

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Axel, what did you end up going for?

 

Hi sorry been quiet for a while been mega busy!  I've ordered everything except for the cooler and I'm still torn.

 

Really fancy the h80i but would love to know if there are better alternatives that aren't as ugly as the noctua fans (such a gastly colour scheme!).

 

I have a 50 quid amazon voucher to spend so would rather get it from there.

 

Gimme a sec and I'll post the rundown of componants and the prices.

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Intel Core i5 4670K 3.40GHz Socket 1150 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor ?186.38

Inno3D GeForce GTX 770 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **TITAN COOLER** ?359.99

Asus Z87I PROFESSIONAL Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini-ITX ?145.99

BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black ?69.95

BitFenix Spectre PRO 230mm - Black ?15.95

BitFenix Prodigy Window Side Panel - White ?9.98

Corsair CML16GX3M2A1600C9 Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL 9 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Black ?109.99

?898.24

 

So now just the cooler....

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