Lightroom / Casual Gaming - £2k

[LiE]

My main requirements are:

- Used for office work and lightroom / photoshop most of the time.
- Casually I like to play a variety of games.
- Small but powerful as I have a small office.
- Quality components.
- Aesthetics are important.

Some things I’ve decided on based on my requirements.

1. For the monitor I’ve almost settled on the Dell U2719D which I can get for £344. Looks like a decent panel for editing photos and office work. For casual games it should be fine for 60fps ultra.

2. For GPU I’m settled on the RTX 2060 Founders which can be hand for £329 with a free game. This should be a solid card for 1440p 60hz. The card is small and will fit well in the NZXT H200 case I want. It’s cool, quiet, looks good and is a good price with the free game.

3. NZXT H200 in black, really nice compact case that has decent compatibility. SFX PSU in this case gives extra airflow to the GPU as per GN review.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - OEM= £349.99
• 1 x ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/AC Intel Z390 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Mini-ITX Motherboard= £198.95
• 1 x NZXT H200 Mini-ITX Gaming Case - Black Window= £89.99
• 1 x NZXT Kraken X52 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 240mm= £129.95
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit= £158.99
• 1 x Samsung 970 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £119.99
• 1 x Samsung 1TB 860 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 64 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-76E1T0B/EU)= £134.99
• 1 x Corsair SF Series 600W 80 Plus Gold Modular SFX Power Supply (CP-9020105-UK)= £116.99

Total: £1,312.44 (includes shipping: £12.60)
​

Already have a keyboard and mouse. I think I may need a extension cable for the PSU as the ITX 24pin is quiet short.

I would look to overclock the CPU.

 

[LiE]

The X62 is a bit too big for the H200.

 

[LiE]

This guy fits it in push/pull. But maybe you meant too big for your liking.

May need a fan splitter for the rear and top fan as mobo only brings 3 headers.

With the 2060 I wouldn't have room for push/pull so would only go push. Looks like the X62 fits just about, most other builds I've seen they go over the top of the bar, drop the top fan and rotate the CPU block.

Are you sure you plan to overclock hot parts in a small case?

Good luck if something begins to smell as burnt...

The H200 isn't that small. I'm sure a 280mm rad can cool a 9700k with an overclock. The size of the case doesn't make a huge difference as long as it's able to vent the hot air which will be no issues with 2 x 120mm exhaust fans.

 

[LiE]

The review below suggests that the X62 won't fit. If you skip to 5min in you can see it mentioned.

It fits fine in the H400 mATX if you don't mind a slightly bigger case. Same price as the H200. You can still use the Mini-ITX board.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x NZXT H400 Micro-ATX Case - Black= £89.99

Total: £101.09 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​

It does definitely fit. The front takes 2 x 140mm, the tight spot is at the top where the pipes exit.

 

[LiE]

Another option I’m toying with is to go mid tower (not ideal it would make my desk space cramped). I’d then get a reasonable AMD CPU and replace it with 3000 CPU towards the end of summer. Mobo I’d need help on.

I’d then squeeze in a 2080 and a 144hz IPS. I would also have to get a single storage drive to start with before adding another down the line.

Vega 7 would need to be looked at as well in this alternate build.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Samsung 970 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £119.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 2600 3.90GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £169.99
• 1 x EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Black Edition 8192MB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £679.99
• 1 x Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD 27" 2560x1440 144Hz IPS FreeSync Tactical Gaming Monitor HDMI DP= £534.95
• 1 x Team Group Dark Pro "8Pack Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C14 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/= £169.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £91.99
• 1 x NZXT H500 Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black Window= £74.99
• 1 x Seasonic Focus Plus 750W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £104.99
• 1 x NZXT Kraken X62 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 280mm= £124.99

Total: £2,071.87 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

 

[LiE]

Awesome thanks. Really limited info on that monitor but it does look interesting on paper. Some reports of poor response and ghosting.

Agreed on the 9700k it’s the reason I originally choose it.

 

[LiE]

I’ve been thinking some more today on this build.

In terms of monitor the ideal one isn’t out until Q3 - LG 27GL850G. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a cheap monitor as a stop gap until that comes out. Something around £100ish. I’d definitely want a beefier GPU to drive 1440p high FPS.

The width of the Corsair case is a problem as it will be on my desk which is only 160cm wide.

 

[LiE]

Here's how the build is looking. I'd add a cheap monitor that I can sell later in the year.

Do you know what the difference is between the XC and Black edition 2080?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - OEM= £349.99
• 1 x NZXT Kraken X62 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 280mm= £124.99
• 1 x EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 XC 8192MB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £728.99
• 1 x ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/AC Intel Z390 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Mini-ITX Motherboard= £198.95
• 1 x NZXT H200 Mini-ITX Gaming Case - Black Window= £89.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit= £158.99
• 1 x Samsung 970 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £119.99
• 1 x Corsair SF Series 600W 80 Plus Gold Modular SFX Power Supply (CP-9020105-UK)= £116.99
• 1 x Samsung 1TB 860 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 64 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-76E1T0B/EU)= £134.99

Total: £2,023.87 (includes shipping: £0.00)​

​

 

[LiE]

@LiE

push the aorus board! better VRM - ITX run very hot! my z370 aorus itx has same vrm count as that Z390 asrock and count hit 116c with workloads and 80c with gaming running 8700k at 5ghz !

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...1151-ddr4-mini-itx-motherboard-mb-57f-gi.html

also UK RMA

looks like its clock speed, some brands like Gigabyte/zotac you get a thick cooler or more fans

also you DONT need the SFX format , its ATX as standard

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...lar-power-supply-cp-9020178-uk-ca-249-cs.html

10 yr warranty and corsair replace faulty units with brand new ones instead of repairing

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...uid-cooler-280mm-cw-9060038-ww-hs-03s-cs.html

is going asetek unit, corsair uses that latest pump version, again the replace is faulty RMA and RGB- corsair software is better then NZXT CAM !

least then you'll just have one software for lighting of the ram and CLC unit !

I was under the impression the Asrock was the best Z390 ITX.

When Gamers Nexus reviewed the H200 Steve mentioned that with an SFX PSU you gain quite a bit of additional air flow to the GPU.

https://youtu.be/7cBFkGlrAEU?t=487

I'll probably source a Gigabyte Windforce OC 2080 since that looks to fit and a better overall card than the EVGA.

Looks like it will fit with a little manoeuvring - https://www.reddit.com/r/NZXT/comme...og_strix_1080_ti_fit_inside_the_h200i/e8r8rmq

The H115i looks like it's a bit taller than the X62. I also don't want OTT RGBzzz

 

[LiE]

The Asrock is 5+2 ISL99227s 60a. I'll have a look at the Gigabyte board as well.

 

[LiE]

@orbitalwalsh

I've decided, I think I'm going with my original plan instead of pushing the budget and going for a 2080.

I was looking at a different card to the founders 2060, would you agree this is a better card for £20 more?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Gaming OC 6144MB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £349.99

Total: £349.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

 

[LiE]

Thanks, pulled the trigger. Stuff will be here on Monday.

Went with the original spec in the OP except for the Gigabyte 2060 OC, Kraken X62 and went for the Corsair SF750 which was on offer for £125, and is apparently one of the best SFX power supplies.

£2000 all in and I have a great all round machine. For the occasional games the 2060 should be more than capable at 1440/60hz for the next few years.

It's going to be an interesting build fitting the X62 and the 280mm GPU into the case.

@orbitalwalsh do you think I'll need a fan splitter? Asrock board has:


- 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)
- 1 x CPU/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
- 1 x Chassis Fan Connector (4-pin)


There are 4 fans in total (2 on AIO and 2 for exhaust) and the pump.

 

[LiE]

@orbitalwalsh

I imagine 2 of these would do the trick?

The 2 rad intake fans would both run off the CPU Fan Connector, and the 2 exhaust can run off the Chassis Fan Connector?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 2 x Silverstone 2 Fan PWM Braided Splitter Cable= £4.99

Total: £13.46 (includes shipping: £3.48)​

​

 

[LiE]

NZXT H200.

 

[LiE]

might want to set a more aggressive front /cpu fan profile as if the CPU isn't working hard/getting hot that GPU will work up some heat at 1440p gaming so will want good airflow to it

Yea that's what I'm thinking. So a fan splitter on the CPU fan header for the 2 intakes on AIO. I'll set a custom curve for gaming, as you say the CPU won't be that hot in games but the GPU will still need good air in.

The 2 exhaust fans can split off the chassis fan header.

 

[LiE]

Here's another vid of how to fit X62 in the H200 (the first vid I posted has been removed for some reason).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujWM8eKj3DY

Thanks, I watched that one yesterday actually seems like it will be a good idea to get the fans and rad in before getting the mobo in. The GPU is going to be fun.

 

[LiE]

if you put fans in Pull, you'll have more flow into the case. dont need High static pressure when fans are in Pull on-fig. when in push or like video danny posted, need high static to get through the High Fin Per Inch rad and then airflow is cut down . also have less snag with the tubing (learnt push pull from alphacool long ago )

I'll have a play around, but all the builds I've seen they have used push. I wonder if there is a clearance issue with the fans being in pull.

 

[LiE]

@orbitalwalsh

There’s a chance of a RAM clearance issue with the Kraken’s CPU block I think. I could rotate the block but then the logo would be rotated as well. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

Edit:

Couple of options I can see. First is to flip the block as mentioned. I’m not keen on this, the logo being upside down would look rubbish. Another potential option is to get Corsair LPX and see if that is lower enough to sit under the elbow bend of the X62.

 

[LiE]

I may just rotate it tbh. Having the logo at 90 degrees isn’t too bad. If it was up side down then it would be a definite issue.

 

[LiE]

Build is progressing well. Everything in except the PSU which should be here later today. Rotated the CPU Block, no chance of it fitting next to this RAM. GPU fit fine. I can't install the fans in pull config, they need to be on the other side of the rad to offset it enough to clear the IO cables at the top.

So just need to get the PSU in and connect up all the various fans and IO.