Feedback on build - small and quiet


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As per my other thread - I have pretty much settled on a build.  I'd just like a little feedback first.  My main issues I know nothing about are the motherboard and the SSD
 
Also, the last time I built a PC and installed Windows, it was all about BIOS and so on.  Now I hear UEFI is around and makes booting significantly faster.  Is this something that just works or do I need to do stuff?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (

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The SSD you've chosen is solid (no pun intended). Don't know enough about motherboards to comment.

 

Not keen on your choice of case, but that is a very subjective view of the aesthetics.

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Your comment on the case is just personal choice on design?

 

Yes - I'm sorry, I should have made that clearer.

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As per my other thread - I have pretty much settled on a build.  I'd just like a little feedback first.  My main issues I know nothing about are the motherboard and the SSD

 

Also, the last time I built a PC and installed Windows, it was all about BIOS and so on.  Now I hear UEFI is around and makes booting significantly faster.  Is this something that just works or do I need to do stuff?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (

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Reviews are mixed on these coolers, I am happy to spend and go with a H100i if it will improve things...

 

If someone's managed to fit a H100i in your chosen case then I would certainly go with a H100i with that i7. They heat up extremely quickly and although a single radiator might plateu out the temperatures over time, you're likely going to see spikes of 80C+ as it whirrs away playing catch up.

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Hello,

 

I'd probably go with Z97 motherboard (Asus Maximus VII GENE) instead of that Z87 motherboard (Asus Maximus VI GENE).  

Z97 is newer chipset compared to Z87 and the price difference isn't really that significant.

 

The CPU is well.. top of the line Haswell. Is that really required? Do you really need that Hyper Threading?

Core i5 4690K is basically the same processor with no Hyper Threading and a little lower clock speed.

Ofcourse, if you are doing some heavy video editing or other heavy cpu multi threading the i7 is the better choice.

 

If you really want a quiet system, closed loop water cooling isn't really a good option. More so with the smaller closed loop coolers like H55 or H60 as the fan has to do a lot more work to cool down the CPU. I have one of the fatter 120x120 closed loop cooler with 2 fans (push pull configuration) and the fans ramp quite a bit under load.

Some Noctua air cooler or dual 120mm closed loop cooler would probably be the way to go.

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Well, 2 fans on the upper grill of your case are going to be more audible than 1 fan inside the case, nevermind the pump. Unless you really care about squeezing every last mhz out of your overclock - a goal at odds with silence - I think it's not worth the higher price, lower reliability (more moving parts (multiple fans, pump) = greater potential for failure) and added noise.

 

Just going by newegg reviews, the H100i has only 50% of 5-star reviews, that means that 1 customer out of 2 found something bad about it. Lots of reviews complain specifically about noise.

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Forgive me for assuming you want to overclock, when you choose an overclocking motherboard, an unlocked multiplier CPU and a heavy duty water cooler :p If you don't overclock you could pay a lot less for this build.

A great silent air cooler is the Noctua U12-S.

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No what I mean is I will pay for the best. It allows me the potential to overlook in the future perhaps. But I am personally more comfortable running stock. Would you be able to show me similar spec that isn't built for over clocking?

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I have a H-100 for everything from 3D work, 2D work, video editing and gaming. While it's not the i version it does an amazing job keeping things cool. You will also have tonnes of room in the machine over an air cooler. 

I would suggest the H100i personally for what you intend to do. Also agree with the faster RAM. It makes a difference. 

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Thank you for the response.  I am amused that through this system, my biggest query is the cooling.

 

Your main culprit will be your chosen GFX card. The design (like many if not nearly all OEM versions) will dump the heat into your case and expect your exhaust solution to take care of it. With the smaller mini-itx cases, your exhaust options can be quite limited.

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