My first "spec me"

thewanted

thewanted

thewanted

Soldato
Joined
27 Jul 2007
Posts
6,281
...How very exciting :)

So I am in desperate need of a new PC, and I am quite smitten with the idea of a small case after years of dealing with the behemoth that is the Fractal Define XL.

I have the following components that I would like to re-use:

1) Crucial M4 256GB SSD
2) 4 x 4GB Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2 DDR3 DIMMs (datasheet)
3) Sapphire HD 7850 OC Edition

I have a Corsair HX520 PSU too, but I'd like a new one that is Haswell compatible.

My requirements:

1) Intel 4670K CPU
2) A stable motherboard. I am coming from a Supermicro board so this is very important.
3) Bitfenix Prodigy or Phenom case. I like them both, but I am torn between ITX and MATX for reasons I'll explain below.
4) Space for 1 x SSD and 2 x HDD. I need 2 x 4TB WD RED drives included in the spec.
5) Space for a full-length graphics card.
6) Silence. I think Antec have new PSUs out where the fan stops if there is minimal load?
7) A good, thin mousepad!

What I don't need:

1) No operating system, monitor or peripherals.
2) A "theme". I do not care about the internal aesthetics of my computer (bar tidy cables), and I definitely do not want fans with LEDs.
3) Complicated water cooling. I did all of that 10 years ago and hated the hassle. The sealed water coolers might be of interest if they don't require any maintenance.

I am torn between ITX and MATX for the following reasons:

1) The PSU and HDD placement in the ITX Bitfenix cases is really nice, but I do want to use a modular PSU.
2) In order to install 2 x HDD in the MATX cases, it looks like I'll have to sacrifice the two fans at the bottom of the case.
3) MATX allows me to install 4 DIMMs.
4) I like the placement of the graphics card in the MATX case, since it's at the top which seems like a good idea for cooling.

I don't have a budget, but I'm expecting this to cost roughly £1000-£1100 with the 4TB drives.

If you made it this far and didn't fall asleep, I applaud you :)

Thanks!
 
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I thought you guys would be jumping up and down to help me spend money :)

So I'm thinking something like this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
2 x Western Digital Caviar Red 4TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD40EFRX - OEM HDD £154.99 (£309.98)
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £97.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £94.94
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £74.95
Total : £817.86 (includes shipping : FREE).



Tempted to go for the Gigabte GA-Z87MX-D3H instead, but OCUK don't stock it. If I use two graphics cards, I assume that I can't use a water cooler?

Speaking of which, I'm not sure about spending £95 on a water cooler. Are there any good air coolers that will fit? I also need help with case fans, please :)

I need help choosing a power supply too. I want it to be very quiet, and be able to support something silly like a HD 7990 in the future.

My RAM will work in this board, right?
 
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How does this look?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x Corsair RM Series RM 650 '80+ Gold' 650W Power Supply (CP-9020054-UK) £99.95
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £97.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £74.95
1 x Phanteks PH-TC12DX CPU Cooler - Blue £44.98
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM Low Noise High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050012-WW) £25.99
1 x Corsair AF140 Quiet Series Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050009-WW) £14.99
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound (4g) £6.98
Total : £605.82 (includes shipping : FREE).



I'm torn between air cooling and the refurbished Corsair H100. I feel like I would have to change the fans on the H100 to reduce the noise, and then it would be a lot more expensive than a HSF.

I removed the hard drives from my previous basket because OCUK are out of stock. So in addition to this basket, I have 2 x 4TB drives and 1 x SSD to install, as well as 4 x 4GB Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2 DDR3 DIMMs (datasheet).

I need to order a new graphics card too, but I'm waiting to see what AMD and NVIDIA release this month. I need something that maxes out BF4 at 1440p.

Any opinions would be appreciated because the CPU is only on special for this weekend :)
 
Thanks guys :)

I had forgotten, but you can mount the 3.5" drives to the back of the cage that slots infront of the CPU:

PJa81Of.jpg.png


As Fulax says, this will allow me to place a 230mm fan at the bottom of the case.

I do want SLI/Crossfire to be a possibility, but the PSU concerns me. This page on BitFenix's site says that cards longer than 11" require a 150mm PSU. The specs for the Corsair RM650 says that it is 150mm, so I think it should fit. Oceaness, I'm sure 550w isn't enough to run a 4770k and two cards? Would 650w cut it?

How does this look?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x Corsair RM Series RM 650 '80+ Gold' 650W Power Supply (CP-9020054-UK) £99.95
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £97.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £74.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £34.99
1 x BitFenix Spectre 230mm Fan - Black £11.78
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound (4g) £6.98
Total : £566.64 (includes shipping : FREE).



The motherboard is a placeholder because OCUK don't sell the Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H which supports 2 x PCI-E 3.0 8x. The Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI GENE also does 2 x PCI-E 3.0 at 8x, so I can't really see how it is worth £60 more. I'm going to stick with my existing RAM for now, because I've read some comparisons between 1333Mhz and 1600Mhz RAM, and it seems like it will make very little difference to the performance.

oceaness said:
Also I assume you can still fit 2 fans in the top with 2 GPUs installed?
Click to expand...

I wish I could find a site that confirms this!
 
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Fulax said:
The RM 750w is only £10 extra, and would suit you just fine. Unless I'm being retarded, though, OcUK don't seem to have it listed any more :confused:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I couldn't see it either :(

Are you sure it will allow me to have 2 cards installed? The Corsair site says that the dimensions for the RM750 are 150mm x 86mm x 180mm.

EDIT: I see that the Corsair RM750 is listed as "Pre-order" on another site, so stock must be low. Argh!
 
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oceaness said:
The Seasonic 750W I spec'd is probably a slightly better PSU and dimensions are

L = 160mm
W = 150mm
H = 86mm
Click to expand...

I just saw that on their site, thanks!

New basket:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £97.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £74.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £34.99
1 x Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition Low Noise High Airflow - Dual Pack (CO-9050002-WW) £19.99
1 x BitFenix Spectre 230mm Fan - Black £11.78
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound (4g) £6.98
Total : £606.67 (includes shipping : FREE).



I added the non-PRO version of the 230mm fan because the PRO version seems quite loud. You'll also notice that I added the quiet versions of the AF120s too.

Any thoughts on my choice of motherboard (Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H) and cooler?
 
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Thanks oceaness, but I'm not bothered about a theme and I definitely don't want LEDs :(

The H80 + 2 x Scythe GT 1850 fans seems about as expensive as going for the H80i that comes with SP120s already attached. Would the Scythes be much quieter than the SP120s?

Sorry for all the questions! :)
 
Cool, that's good to know!

I think I've made a final decision:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £97.99
1 x BitFenix Phenom MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £74.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £34.99
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM Low Noise High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050012-WW) £25.99
1 x Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition Low Noise High Airflow - Dual Pack (CO-9050002-WW) £19.99
1 x BitFenix Spectre 230mm Fan - Black £11.78
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound (4g) £6.98
Total : £646.76 (includes shipping : £11.75).



I swapped the case to a Phenom M. I'm still torn!

After watching this review of the SP120 and AF120 fans, I will use the SP120s for the H80, and the AF120s for the case because that's what they're designed for. The Scythe Gentle Typhoons are quite expensive and don't seem massively better than the SP120s. I appreciate the suggestion though!

Stupid question, but how will I get 5 fans to work off this board if it only has 4 fan headers?
 
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It took many hours of searching, but I finally decided on this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x Corsair Professional Series AX 760W '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020045-UK) £149.99
1 x ASRock Z87M EXTREME4 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £113.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £74.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £34.99
1 x Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - Dual Pack (CO-9050006-WW) £25.99
2 x Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition Low Noise High Airflow - Dual Pack (CO-9050002-WW) £19.99 (£39.98)
1 x BitFenix Spectre 230mm Fan - Black £11.78
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound (4g) £6.98
1 x Akasa PWM fan splitter (AK-CBFA04-15) £2.99
Total : £701.64 (includes shipping : FREE).



Just need 1 or 2 graphics cards now ;)

Thanks everyone for your help!

EDIT: I only ordered 1 pair of AF120s. I messed the basket up :/
 
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Does anyone think that 2 x HIS 7950s will fit? The reference cooler is slightly taller than dual-slot which concerns me.

I only have an hour or two to order while they're still on special, but the R9 290X is appealing although a lot more expensive :eek:
 
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Well with the 3.5" drives attached to the panel, the case can apparently accommodate CPU coolers that are 160mm tall. I'm sure a graphics card is nowhere near that, but the heatpipes concerned me too.

One graphics card would definitely be easier, but at a far higher cost. :/
 
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