Need another opinion (X99)

Poneros

Poneros

Poneros

Soldato
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18 Feb 2015
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Hi guys, am getting to upgrading my PC. First phase is complete, got myself an XFX 480 & LG 29'' UW. Currently I also have an i7 6800K on the way and will of course use it. The tricky part concerns case & cooling. I'm looking to build in a case with horizontal motherboard placement. Ideally I wanted to make the build portable enough to take on a flight with me (so had to fit in a suitcase of 50x40x20), I was eyeing the Silverstone RZ02B but since x99 itx mobos are both rare & stupidly expensive I decided to go another route. I've managed to narrow it down to either the Silverstone GD09B or the Thermaltake Core X2. The GD09B allows me to still take it on a plane with me, but has limited options in terms of cooling. The Core X2 has more cooling options, but isn't as portable and bulkier overall. I will also have 1 SSD & 2 3.5'' HDDs to use (maybe 3 if I can fit them and perhaps adding another SSD later on). I'll use the OCZ ZT550 as PSU.

My objectives are to OC the CPU to 4 ghz, so what it will come down to is whether the coolers available to the GD09B can do it, here are my options (I narrowed them down):

- Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B
- Noctua NH D9L
- * (edit found another one) Noctua NH-C14S

OR

- BeQuiet! Dark Rock TF (which I know for sure will do the job but is more expensive and will be a hard fit)

If I were to go for the Core X2, I'd get the Scythe FUMA.

I'd appreciate some thoughts relating to the coolers and whether there's anything you'd say in favour of the Core X2 instead perhaps. Also any thoughts on what's going to be noisier (it matters, just not too much).

Lastly, I'm trying to look at motherboards. From what I can see whether or not the mobos will support the 6800K is a matter of luck (I mean out of the box - already up-to-date on BIOS). I was eyeing the AsRock X99M Fatal1ty Killer (NOT the /3.1 one) but it seems like it will be a crapshoot whether or not it will work out of the box and you can't tell before hand (because you can't tell since when it was on the shelf). The way to make the AsRock work would be to buy a bios chip off the net, but that will be +£~15 (and just seems dodgy tbh). Alternatively, Asus & Gigabyte mobos can update BIOS without CPU&RAM. On this side I was looking at the Gigabyte GA-X99M-GAMING 5 (or the ATX version - can't seem to see the plus of going for the larger version; there's also GA-X99-SLI for just £10 more).

Any thoughts appreciated, cheers!

Edit: I've also found Asrock X99E-ITX/AC for close to £200. What about this + Silverstone RVZ02B, what cooler would you guys suggest then? I know the Scythe Shuriken would fit at least, I also see the Cryorig C7 would but unsure of whether it would cope. This option isn't possible as the coolers don't actually work with the motherboard. Meh.
 
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Not all ASUS+Gigabyte boards allow flashing of the bios via usb.

I know for gigabyte for example its only some certain boards that have a particular white coloured USB port.

4Ghz isnt massive so I cant see you struggling with those coolers.

Edit: I've also found Asrock X99E-ITX/AC for close to £200. What about this + Silverstone RVZ02B, what cooler would you guys suggest then? I know the Scythe Shuriken would fit at least, I also see the Cryorig C7 would but unsure of whether it would cope.
Click to expand...

That Asrock is the only X99 itx I'm aware of, plus it comes with its own cooler, have you checked that fits in those cases?
 
Right now I have a NZXT S210 Elite, which I keep horizontally. It seems to have enough cooling as I have fans at top, back, front and could also put one for the bottom next to the PSU. And it also seems to fit the Scythe FUMA. Any reason for not using it again? I'm growing increasingly dissatisfied with the options I have for new cases.
 
If you're aiming for hand luggage kind of portable, then surely ITX would be ideal?

But, I think that's the only ITX X99 motherboard, and also keep in mind that it will ONLY support Narrow ILM coolers, not the more standard Square ILM layout! I also expect a cooler of that size to be rather noisy to just keep up with a 6800K.

I reckon your best bet would be the Silverstone GD09B and the Noctua NH-C14S (because, as controversial as it might be, personally I don't think you can get a better compromise of performance/silence than most Noctuas, despite their horrid colour scheme). Add a couple of 120mm Silent Wings 3 fans as intake (even consider replacing the supplied 120mm fan) and an equally quiet 80mm fan as exhaust (positive pressure should do the rest) and you should be fine.

The GA-X99M-GAMING5 looks like a decent choice to me, however it doesn't support "Q-Flash Plus" (this is the feature that allows you to update the BIOS from USB with no working CPU). Looking at their lineup of X99 boards, I think there are only ATX models that do. As a side note, my Asus motherboard turned out to support this which was a life saver, I had no other easy way of getting my 6800K to work on it.
 
Yeah, that was the plan, but in the end I can just disassemble it and will send it back in boxes if I move countries again. I'm really leaning towards keeping the NZXT until July when I have to move counties at least, so now I just gotta decide between the mATX and ATX depending on future plans, but even then the best I could get would be still that Silverstone, which accommodates both anyway. Will have to think if there's much advantage to going ATX instead of mATX (even if just for spacing perhaps).

Am really keen on that FUMA cooler, just gotta check and see if it works with Kingston Savage RAM Avexir Core Blue. Hopefully they don't run out of it until end of next week. :D
 
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I have the Asrock ITX X99 motherboard. As previously stated, it's a special ILM socket. That said, it comes with a special bracket which allows you to add an AIO water cooler. Official coolers (AIO) are Coolermaster Seideon. That said, I managed to fit a corsair AIO as well.

Have you considered the Corsair 250D or 380T? Both ITX, both horizontal motherboard placement, can accommodate an AIO and the rest of your kit.

I'm not using my ITX X99, if you cover postage you can have it.
 
Nice one, very generous of you HoneyBadger!

About the case options, why the GD09 and not the GD06? A few litres smaller and MATX should be plenty for a travel system.

Of course now that you'll have an ITX board I'm sure you'll be looking for an ITX case that can fit the cooler eh? =)
 
Yeah, HoneyBadger's been amazing, really grateful to him for his generosity, saved me a lot of £ now! I am looking at doing an itx build now, just not quite sure which case yet. I was planning to get the Noctua NH-U9DX i4 but HoneyBadger is giving me some RAM as well which are a bit tall, so I'll either have to look at new cooler, or simply remove the heatsinks on those ones (Vengeance LEDs). Not particularly keen on CLCs but those are an option, at least I know for sure the CM Seidon works but it's a tight fight for most itx cases (I've also seen people use Corsair H75, 80, 80i, 80 GT, 80 v2, 100, 100i, 105 & and an NZXT Kraken x31 successfully with the motherboard). I kinda developed a crush on the Fractal Design Core 500 now, even though I've been dreaming of the RVZ01-E for so long, I just can't decide! 1st world problems eh? :D


Edit: Or maybe I should use that saved cash and do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di3HeEI0DxM&feature=youtu.be
 
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