Making My PC Smaller

[Private Godfrey]

Greetings,

I am looking to rebuild my current setup into a much smaller case to make it easier to transport about.

Currently I have:

CPU: i5 4690k
CPU COOLER: bequiet Shadow Rock 2
GPU: Zotac 970 AMP Omega
MOBO: Asus Z97 A
RAM: 4 x 4GB G.Skill RipJaws DDR3
CASE: NZXT Source 530
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G2
STORAGE - 2 HDD and 1 SSD

I realise I will need to buy a new case and mobo but aim to reuse as many of my other components as possible. Please advise.

Thanks,
G

 

[aatu]

Motherboard:
The four RAM sticks practically eliminates ITX, so the next logical step is uATX. Then again, the bequiet Shadow Rock 2 is also quite big, so that also speaks for uATX. Do you want to keep the Z97 chipset choice? Maybe go for Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H. Problem is, the Socket 1150 is getting old, so you might have trouble finding stock.

Case:
First limiters are probably GPU length (268mm) and CPU cooler height (160mm). When setting these as the requirements, two contenders arise:
Antec ISK 600M (cube 273x290x340mm, 26.88L)
Raijintek Styx (tower 210x335x360mm, 25.33L)


BUT:
If you're willing to ditch half of the RAM (or buy a new dual-kit), this would enable you to consider ITX, and then you might want to take a look at:
Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI
and
Antec ISK 600 (260x195x369mm, low cube 18.71L)
Fractal Design Core 500 (250x213x380mm, low cube 20.23L)

But with ITX motherboards, the CPU cooler's size might obstructs the GPU slot or case wall (or maybe even other components, in general).
Second challenge comes from GPU cooler's height, and whether it has enough clearance against the case wall.

Disclaimer:
These are just suggestions on a quick glance, you'll have to dig deeper to confirm they are indeed suitable for your components.

 

[Private Godfrey]

Thanks for the reply
I've been looking at the Fractal Design Define Nano S, what is your opinion on this case?
Also, do you think I should upgrade CPU (Kaby Lake perhaps) ?

Cheers,
G

 

[aatu]

Fractal Design Define Nano S (tower 203x344x412mm, 28.77L):

Hmm, not sure if I'd go with that.

1) Max CPU cooler height 162mm, so it's a little too close for comfort
2) The space between the last GPU slot and the PSU seems quite narrow, so your 970 might not fit
3) ITX, so the CPU cooler might still bring extra clearance issues
4) Despite being ITX, it's still bigger than any of the earlier mentioned cases, even bigger than the uATX

In other words, despite bringing the ITX challenges, it doesn't bring the size benefit (which is the only benefit ITX has, basically).


CPU upgrade:

Considering Intel has been dragging their feet along but still charging premium prices, I personally wouldn't want to award them for that behaviour with my money. Also, Kaby Lake and DDR3 might bring trouble voltage-wise (max 1.35V), so in addition to new case, MB and CPU, you might have to purchase a new set of RAM, as well.

And now that AMD's Ryzen seems like a good contender, I'd definitely support them, instead. I'd personally wait for the Ryzen 5, but from the current Ryzen 7 lineup I'd go with the regular 1700.

But do note that at least ITX motherboards are still missing in action, so you'll have to wait a while for those. For uATX, if 2x RAM is good enough, then maybe MSI B350M Gaming Pro. For 4x RAM, Gigabyte GA-AB350M-Gaming 3.

But either way, if you're going with a new CPU, that basically means almost a whole new computer (case, MB, CPU, RAM -- £400+ in total, depending on how high you go). By comparison, you could manage with only changing the case and MB. (~£150)

 

[Private Godfrey]

Cheers for the info dude - you've been a big help.
Ryzen 7 is very tempting but maybe a little out of my price range.
I'm thinking I'll probably wait til Zen launches properly at summer and make a decision then.

Thanks man,

G