Going small

tintin82 · 21 May 2016 at 21:01

Hi guys, looking for a bit of advice regarding a potential new build.

I have a 2500k @4.6ghz, 980ti, all housed in a HAF-X tower.

The PC is located in my lounge and my wife always says, its a 'monstrosity'. Over the last few months I have been considering changing the case and while I am at it removing the last of the mechanical HDD, optical drive, and really downsizing the system.

I am really liking the look of the Fractal Design Define Nano S, although I do not think this will fit my Thermalright Silver Arrow cooler.

My biggest gripe seems to be the lack of decent audio on mini boards. I currently have a PCIE XFI titanium for my SP2500 speakers and love it. I would not be willing to run these speakers from onboard codec. Any suggestions?

Thanks

tintin82 · 21 May 2016 at 22:38

ultralaser said:
To be honest bud it might be an idea to let us know what you actually want to do with it? Is it a media player, a gaming PC....

Apologies, high end gaming, heavy OC. Keeping the 980ti.

tintin82 · 21 May 2016 at 22:57

Yeah I was just looking at Fiio DAC's. I have no idea about DAC's, all I know is that my X-fi twinned with my SP2500 sounds great.

The main aim of this is to downsize and simplify my set up, so an external DAC is not ideal.

Maximus VIII Gene Intel Z170 looks pretty decent audio. Possibly go down that route with a Prodigy case.

tintin82 · 22 May 2016 at 02:37

A bit of both! But mostly the sheer size. I must admit though I would like something a bit sleeker than the HAF-X.

tintin82 · 23 May 2016 at 05:31

Acme said:
Does she call it a monstrosity because of its size, or because it is a horrible looking case? Perhaps clarify, if it is the latter it will be much easier to resolve... Put it in a Fractal or soemthing.

Thanks to your suggestion I have just ordered a Fractal R5. I showed it to the Mrs and she said she really liked the design to the point where she wouldn't care about the size let alone it being the lounge. So everyone is happy!
Cheers, never looked at Fractal cases before, looking forward to the R5!