New MicroATX build. Your thoughts plesae!

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:40

Hi all,
After sticking with the same PC for the last 5 years or so (Q6600 build) I've decided to treat myself to a new one.
I've specced myself a microATX system as I fancied something smaller than my current system, but as I've not specced a PC for a while I was hoping a kind person could cast their eye over it and see if I've made any mistakes!

I already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. I also have a 2TB hard disk for storage which I'll be putting into the new system and an O/S license.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Geforce GTX 780 Gaming Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £533.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £275.99
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI GENE Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £169.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £155.99
1 x Seasonic X-Series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £129.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD316G2133HC11ADC01) £129.95
1 x Silverstone TemJin TJ08B-E Midi Tower Case - Black (SST-TJ08B-E USB 3.0) £83.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler £57.59
Total : £1,552.43 (includes shipping : £12.50).

I've gone for an i7 and 780GTX to hopefully get some longevity out of the system, as I managed to achieve with my current one.
I would like to do some overclocking, so I hope that the K2 cooler is appropriate, I think it should fit in the case!

Any thoughts welcomed.
Thanks in advance. Ricko

Grimley · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:48

Yep - Are you certain that cooler will fit in that case?

Reason me asking is I owned that cases predecessor, fitting even the smallest cooler was a pig.

stulid · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:48

Must be some black or red coloured RAM in stock?

teppic · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:49

If possible I'd wait to see what AMD does with the new graphics cards, they'll be announced before the end of September.

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:51

Grimley said:
Yep - Are you certain that cooler will fit in that case?

Reason me asking is I owned that cases predecessor, fitting even the smallest cooler was a pig.

Not entirely, no. A review I read suggested 165mm as the max height for cpu cooler, the OcUK spec for the K2 says it's 164mm high. Might be pushing my luck a bit.

Fulax · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:52

What will you be using it for? Gaming? Video editing? Do you have a maximum budget?

While we're at it though, how about a sexier case?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Parvum Systems S1.0 MicroATX Case - Black with Red £139.99

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:54

stulid said:
Must be some black or red coloured RAM in stock?

Good point, changed it to the red version

stulid · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:54

Look at the homepages of the products for dimensions of the cooler and what maximum cooler can be fitted in the case.

Dont take the info on the OcUK product pages as gospel.

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 15:55

Fulax said:
What will you be using it for? Gaming? Video editing? Do you have a maximum budget?

While we're at it though, how about a sexier case?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Parvum Systems S1.0 MicroATX Case - Black with Red £139.99

Gaming yes, with some work with virtual machines but no video editing.
Sorry, I don't like the look of that case.

teppic · 31 Aug 2013 at 16:03

If it'll fit in your case, I'd go for this cooler:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/beQuiet/DarkRockPro2/

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 16:10

teppic said:
If it'll fit in your case, I'd go for this cooler:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/beQuiet/DarkRockPro2/

Certainly looks good, thanks I'll check it out.

teppic · 31 Aug 2013 at 16:12

Ricko said:
Certainly looks good, thanks I'll check it out.

I've got version 1 of it, and it's brilliant. It's the quietest cooler I've ever known (it's enormous, it'll look like you've got a micro-ATX board attached to your cooler rather than the other way around).

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 16:19

teppic said:
I've got version 1 of it, and it's brilliant. It's the quietest cooler I've ever known (it's enormous, it'll look like you've got a micro-ATX board attached to your cooler rather than the other way around).

Looks as though it may be too tall at 166mm, according to their site. 165mm max clearance according to Silverstone.

teppic · 31 Aug 2013 at 16:22

My case stated a maximum of 165mm too, but I saw that others were using and it it fits fine. That might not be the same for this case though.

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 17:08

teppic said:
My case stated a maximum of 165mm too, but I saw that others were using and it it fits fine. That might not be the same for this case though.

Ok thanks, I will see if I can find more info about it.

sastusbulbas · 31 Aug 2013 at 17:22

Regarding the cooler, I find it is not so much the height, but the width and depth that pose problems.

My 1st build had a BeQuiet cooler foul my memory and HDD's. My second with the Noctua NH-U14S and Gene VI left me with no room as the cooler fouled the 1st PCI-E slot.

I am now pondering what cooler to get myself.

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 21:24

sastusbulbas said:
Regarding the cooler, I find it is not so much the height, but the width and depth that pose problems.

My 1st build had a BeQuiet cooler foul my memory and HDD's. My second with the Noctua NH-U14S and Gene VI left me with no room as the cooler fouled the 1st PCI-E slot.

I am now pondering what cooler to get myself.

Good to know, thanks. It looks as though I can remove the lower drive cage and put the hard disk in a 5 1/4 inch bay at the top, with a converter.
So perhaps that will fix the problems with cooler width.

teppic · 31 Aug 2013 at 21:27

You can always DSR the cooler if it won't fit, but it's a hassle.

stulid · 31 Aug 2013 at 21:32

Ricko said:
Good to know, thanks. It looks as though I can remove the lower drive cage and put the hard disk in a 5 1/4 inch bay at the top, with a converter.
So perhaps that will fix the problems with cooler width.

If done a good round up here- http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18512639

The Phanteks is decent and not too chunky, also comes in a red version.

Ricko · 31 Aug 2013 at 22:53

stulid said:
If done a good round up here- http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18512639

The Phanteks is decent and not too chunky, also comes in a red version.

Great roundup, thanks!
From that, it looks like the K2 is 170mm tall thanks to its middle fan, so probably won't fit. I'll change that to the beQuiet cooler for now while I look into it more.

Edit: I've ordered all the kit minus the cooler for now. I'll make some measurements and order the cooler once I'm sure which one will fit.
Thanks for all your advice.