mITX Build advice

KNGMNKY

KNGMNKY

KNGMNKY

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Hi, I'm looking for a little input into a new mITX build. This is what I have so far:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Z97I Gaming AC - Devil's Canyon i5 4690K CPU & Mini ITX Motherboard Bundle **£18 Saving** £259.98
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £159.98
1 x Kingston HyperX 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (HX24C11BRK2/16-OC) £125.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Flo Bundle - Black £84.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £60.98
Total : £701.48 (includes shipping : £8.00).



I'll be adding my 7950 to this from my current setup. I also have a Corsair HX520w to reuse.

16GB RAM is probably a bit overkill, I suppose, but I would be doing some video editing and some Illustrator work where I've noticed my current system (4GB) really struggling with bigger files so thought this might help. Tell me if I'm being silly though! :)

My budget was around £800 but since I'm reusing my 7950 I want to limit it to £700 to save a little. I'll replace the gpu later in the year/early next year. Doing this means I can spend a bit more on other parts like the SSD.

Not planning to overclock initially, so just use the stock cooler for the time being?

How does it look? Any input appreciated.

Cheers.
 
Watch out for CPU coolers and the MSI Z97I motherboard. It's CPU socket is low. Make sure you have clearance between cooler and GPU.
 
Yes, I was going to mention that. The board will be lying flat in this case won't it? Will that make a difference to how much clearance it'll have?

Just watched a review of the case on youtube saying there's room for 175mm coolers...

Doomedspeed said:
You can get the same Hyper X memory (even same colour) 2133mhz or 2400mhz. :)
Click to expand...

Ok, great!

Danny75 said:
Make sure you have clearance between cooler and GPU.
Click to expand...

Just re-read that. I see what you mean now.
 
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KNGMNKY said:
Just re-read that. I see what you mean now.
Click to expand...


If it's any help, the distance between each screw hole for the 1150 socket, is 75mm. Using that, you can more or less gauge what size cooler would fit by looking at a pic of the board. My estimation is that a 120mm fan cooler won't fit, unless you turn it in a different direction (and even then, fitting would depend on the size of the heatsink). Might be wrong though. A 120mm cooler might just about fit.
 
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KNGMNKY said:
Ok, so found this which confirms no 120mm cooler.
Click to expand...

Good find.


KNGMNKY said:
Any alternative coolers then? Or maybe alternative motherboard?

Any recommendations, thanks?

Raijintek Zelos Low Profile CPU Cooler?
Click to expand...


That budget Raijintek may not allow for more than a mild overclock.

Here are some motherboard alternatives, and also cooler alternatives for the MSI Z97i:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £122.99
1 x Asus Z97I-Plus Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £110.99
1 x ASRock Z97E-ITX/AC Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £101.99
1 x Thermalright AXP-200R Low Profile High Performance Cooler ROG Edition £48.95
1 x Be Quiet! Shadow Rock Topflow SR1 CPU Cooler £39.95
1 x Raijintek Pallas 140mm Low Profile CPU Cooler £33.95
Total : £661.03 (includes shipping : £76.86).



The Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI doesn't have mosfet heatsink so I would avoid that one. AS Rock don't have as good a reputation as others but if there's nothing wrong with the motherboard it should give you all you need. My personal picks would be the Asus Z97i-Plus or Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5.

If you want to keep the MSI, the Be Quiet ShadowRock looks like it would fit no problem. Has very good RAM etc clearance too. The others you'd have to check.

Here's a post by someone who fitted the Thermalright AXP on a MSI Z97i - http://www.overclock.net/t/1496183/asrock-z97e-itx-with-thermalright-axp200/20#post_22527477


Could also go for a 120mm liquid cooler of your choice.
 
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Danny75 said:
Could also go for a 120mm liquid cooler of your choice.
Click to expand...

Tbh, I have no clue about these! Something like this?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Hydro H55 Quiet Liquid CPU Cooler £52.99
Total : £56.90 (includes shipping : £3.26).





How does this look?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £189.95
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £151.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £122.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Flo Bundle - Black £84.95
1 x Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (HX24C11BRK2/8-OC) £67.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £707.45 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Thanks for the help btw Danny75, appreciate it.
 
KNGMNKY said:
Tbh, I have no clue about these! Something like this?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Hydro H55 Quiet Liquid CPU Cooler £52.99
Total : £56.90 (includes shipping : £3.26).

Click to expand...

Yes.




KNGMNKY said:
How does this look?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £189.95
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £151.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £122.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Flo Bundle - Black £84.95
1 x Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (HX24C11BRK2/8-OC) £67.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £707.45 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Thanks for the help btw Danny75, appreciate it.
Click to expand...


That should all work and you're very welcome.

This is an alternative with the MSI and a different liquid cooler:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Z97I Gaming AC - Devil's Canyon i5 4690K CPU & Mini ITX Motherboard Bundle **£18 Saving** £281.94
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £151.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Flo Bundle - Black £84.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £59.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 950 Liquid CPU Cooler £37.99
1 x BitFenix Spectre PRO 230mm Red LED - Black £16.99
Total : £703.44 (includes shipping : £8.00).




2133/2400MHz RAM makes no difference.

Big 230mm fan for the front (they fit, and run nice and quiet with the included 7v molex adpter). It'll help wash air across the mobo if you go for the liquid CPU cooler. Feeds GPU a tad too.
 
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Danny75 said:
This is an alternative with the MSI and a different liquid cooler:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Z97I Gaming AC - Devil's Canyon i5 4690K CPU & Mini ITX Motherboard Bundle **£18 Saving** £281.94
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £151.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Flo Bundle - Black £84.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 950 Liquid CPU Cooler £37.99
Total : £686.45 (includes shipping : £8.00).




2133/2400MHz RAM makes no difference.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I like the look of this now and under £700 which is great. Intrigued by the liquid cooler as well, haha!

My Corsair HX520w will still be sufficient for this build, yeah?

Edit: Just saw your update, I think I will be ordering that in the morning.
 
KNGMNKY said:
Yeah, I like the look of this now and under £700 which is great. Intrigued by the liquid cooler as well, haha!

My Corsair HX520w will still be sufficient for this build, yeah?

Edit: Just saw your update, I think I will be ordering that in the morning.
Click to expand...

The HX520 @ 150mm depth should fit. The Prodigy case is better with non-modular PSU's interestingly (not much room in the PSU cage when you add the modular connectors and you have to bend the cables at a point very close to the connectors) but you should manage.

All the best, whatever you go for.
 
Out of interest then, what PSU would you recommend bearing in mind I'll probably upgrade from my 7950 in the next 6 months or so?

Also when I do, my gf will prob get my current setup, with the 7950 back in it and most likely the HX520 as well.
 
The SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550 or 650 would be my choice. Larger ones like the EVGA SuperNova G2 or SuperFlower Leadex won't fit, unless you do a bit of modding, and even then the back of the PSU will stick out a bit from the case.
 
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