Roast my build

[mid_gen]

My dalliance with Mac has been fun, but I need a game dev machine again

Keen to make a nice little itx build, and specced this up. Never done one before and am not really up with the complexities of a modern build so let me know if there's anything wrong here.

I want the intel chip for the QuickSync media encoders. System is primarily for coding and video editing with gaming a lower priority, which is why I've gone for this CPU. Seems good value.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Fractal Design Terra Mini-ITX Case - Jade (SKU: CA-0B0-FD) = £174.95
• 1 x MSI B860I Edge TI WIFI (LGA 1851) DDR5 ITX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-05938) = £199.99
• 1 x Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (Arrow Lake) Socket LGA 1851 Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-INT-03111) = £289.99
• 1 x Noctua NH-L12S Low Profile CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: HS-03G-NC) = £59.99
• 1 x CORSAIR SF Series SF850 Fully Modular 80 PLUS Platinum SFX Power Supply (SKU: POW-CRS-02469) = £174.95
• 1 x PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-PNY-04562) = £229.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 Solid Core 16GB GDDR7 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-04544) = £959.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Borderlands 4 Standard Edition & the Gilded Glory Pack DLC (SKU: DIG-NVI-06102) = £0.00

Total: £2,101.84 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

I use a 6k monitor so I'll be DLSSing the hell out of it, or running at 2:1 pixel mapping around 1440p.

 

[mid_gen]

Actually....the SFF cards going to be necessary for the Terra? I can live with a 5070ti as I can use both it's and the Quicksync media engines simultaneously.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Fractal Design Terra Mini-ITX Case - Jade (SKU: CA-0B0-FD) = £174.95
• 1 x MSI B860I Edge TI WIFI (LGA 1851) DDR5 ITX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-05938) = £199.99
• 1 x Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (Arrow Lake) Socket LGA 1851 Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-INT-03111) = £289.99
• 1 x Noctua NH-L12S Low Profile CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: HS-03G-NC) = £59.99
• 1 x CORSAIR SF Series SF850 Fully Modular 80 PLUS Platinum SFX Power Supply (SKU: POW-CRS-02469) = £174.95
• 1 x PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-PNY-04562) = £229.99
• 1 x NVIDIA - Borderlands 4 Standard Edition & the Gilded Glory Pack DLC (SKU: DIG-NVI-06102) = £0.00
• 1 x Zotac GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Solid SFF 16GB GDDR7 Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ZTC-04898) = £719.99

Total: £1,861.84 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

 

[mid_gen]

Well, ordered now, although I went with the SF1000 psu as there was a b-stock one available, in case I want to upgrade the GPU down the line.

For now I’ve bought a 5070 FE. Maybe upgrade to a 24gb 5080 super if and when they appear.

 

[mid_gen]

Surely that CPU heatsink isn't going to what what you want? I thought Intels always ran really hot, and hotter than AMD? Along with a MITX, that's going to be a bit warm in there?

So the build will roast itself? (sorry!)

Needs must in an ITX build. It's definitely going to run warm compared to my old gigantic full ATX system, with a huge D15 cooler, but should be fine.

I've ordered a 120mm Noctua to exhaust out the bottom of the case as well.

I don't actually game much, more used for video editing and game dev which is mostly fairly light loads, with short periods of intense use.

 

[mid_gen]

Forgive me, I haven't checked, by I'm guessing by your reply, that this case is one of those that only favour AIO's and don't provide proper CPU HSF clearance? As many I've seen do, bar the ones with the rotated GPU mountings that remove the standard mounting option - is it one of those?
Did you actually need it to be MITX versus MATX then? As there's many cases that can do both around the size of yours, that don't compromise on CPU HSF clearance.

Will the video editing be offloaded onto the GPU more then, versus cooking the CPU?

Either way, it looks like a nice lil build dude

You can't get an AIO in the Fractal Terra (no space for a radiator), your only option is a low profile air cooler.

I did look at mATX, but they still look massive compared to ITX, and with my current office setup it'll sit quite nicely on the desk.

Video editing is mainly GPU, I don't use heavy visual effects though, so it's mostly the media engines doing the work (the Intel Quicksync engines on the 265k + the Nvidia engines).

 

[mid_gen]

Well....****. This build isn't going to work.

The Noctua cooler won't fit the motherboard. There's a gigantic metal lump by the backplate on the motherboard which means it can't fit with the fan underneath the cooler in any orientation. I did fine one orientation where it will fit with the fan mounted on top, but then the cooler is such that it won't fit in the case.

What's the deal with returns when this happens? I'm **** out of luck for not knowing this beforehand or what?

Now to dismantle everything

 

[mid_gen]

Ordered a Noctua NH-L9x65, arriving tomorrow. Might be undervolting this build to manage temps. Just as well I saw sense and didn't go for the 5090 over the 5070

The Fractal Terra is lovely. And the SF1000 PSU is amazingly dinky for a 1kw thing! Ah well, build time tomorrow instead.

 

[mid_gen]

It would depend on the shop, but I'd assume they would deduct something if they inspect it, because it shouldn't be resold as new now.

For reference, Noctua have compatibility charts for most coolers on their website, though there's not many entries for the latest ITX boards.

For both of those coolers, they suggest you have no/little turbo headroom with that CPU.

No compatibility for this new 1851 motherboard I can find. I’m pretty sure the L9x65 will fit fine.

I’m not super bothered about peak performance so happy to undervolt or reduce power limits if necessary. Tbh it will be rare the CPU is that stressed anyway is I have a 6k display which is going to bottleneck the GPU hard when gaming.

 

[mid_gen]

Yeah but it should 'just work' and you not have to spend a few days leaving it on 24/7 running XYZ stress test/benchmark and tweaking stuff.
Plus this gimps your future upgrades if you plan on getting a hotter CPU in the future or GPU.
If you're happy though mate, then that's all that matters, it's just a shame to have to compromise with a case that isn't exactly small, and others the same size will happily house a proper HSF and even MATX often.
Not trolling you at all, just gutted, and when I saw that HSF that you'd chosen it did worry me, hence why I said what I did initially.
Fingers crossed your new HSF works and you don't have to faff about Let us know how it goes dude.

There are motherboards that fit that HSF just fine in the Terra, it’s just this particular MSI motherboard that has a stupidly large backplate.

People are running hotter CPUs and 5090s in these cases so it’s not insurmountable. If I wanted a performance at all costs machines I’d have kept my Define R5 and NH-15, but the point of this build is to get something that will fit in a quite small spot on my desk.

I did look at the Lian Li A3 but it is a lot bigger than the Terra and won’t where I want it to go.

I will keep thread updated anyway, hopefully the cooler and the 5070 FE arrive tomorrow and I can get it set up.

 

[mid_gen]

Oh that's crazy, I've never heard of that being a thing? So does it protrude past the hole by a lot then out the back? Like further than an NVME HS would?

I'm guessing those people are using AIO's though? Did you not consider something like a Thermalright AIO? They're very cheap, due to Thermalright producing them themselves, so you don't pay a middleman fee, and proven to be great - if the new HSF doesn't work out, I'd just go down that route if you want to keep the case.

Yeah let us know how it works out mate

Can see the size of the backplate assembly here. Bit daft. Really want this motherboard for the thunderbolt port though, will make switching between my Mac and this PC nice and easy.

I'll just sell the L12s on. Fingers crossed the L9x65 fits

 

[mid_gen]

Are you sure that's going to be an issue with a proper cooler? I've seen MSI boards with that before fit a Peerless Assassin 120 etc just fine? The PA120 can be rotated 180 degrees too, so can sit further away and closer to the GPU Might be worth looking into!

'Proper cooler' isn't fitting in a Terra build!

The L9x65 arrived, installed and built. Windows is just installing now. No problems so far.

GPU hasn't arrived yet.

 

[mid_gen]

What made you swerve just using a cheap but proven decent reliable AIO such as a Thermaltake?

Again, no room in a Fractal Terra

 

[mid_gen]

What the actual...

You must really love this case then

It’s tiny and sits on my desk conveniently underneath the monitor arm that holds my MacBook, fits the space nice. And the green looks good with the plants next to it.

It was a bit annoyingly whiny at first, something about the fan flow was making it whine. Flipped the fan over and it’s much quieter and temps are similar on the CPU. Will have to see how it fares when the 5070 arrives dumping more heat in there.

Some minor issues waking from sleep and my monitor, but think I can sort it.

 

[mid_gen]

Keep us updated.

The 5070 sips power but also responds well to undervolting too, so that's another avenue to help keep things cool and quiet.

Well, plot twist....looks like Nvidia have botched my 5070 order, so I've ordered a 5080 instead. Was what I wanted for this build anyway but was out of stock when I ordered Monday.

5080 it is

 

[mid_gen]

5080 shipped. Think I managed to cancel the 5070 before it shipped but no idea, customer service is terrible with the FE cards.

Ah well. I am quite surprised how good the 265k iGPU is though, running the UE5 editor just fine.

 

[mid_gen]

Nice, what's the ETA on the 5080?

Probably *right* before I have to head out for the missus’ birthday dinner tomorrow I expect. Prob won’t get to install it til Sunday evening.

265k is running 45-50C while running the unreal editor which is pretty good going considering the iGPU is working hard.

 

[mid_gen]

Should mention, I set the power limit on the CPU to 125w. I don’t need to ramping up to 250w which is the bios default.

 

[mid_gen]

Finally got the 5080 installed, and had a few hours to give it some use. Played Star Citizen for an hour or so, at 6k too Looked very pretty and rock solid stable. Need to install Da Vinci Resolve and give it a good thrashing with some video work later.

Final spec is :
Corsair SF1000 SFX PSU
MSI B860i Ti Edge Wifi
Intel 265k
64GB PNY DDR5 6000 CAS 30
WD Black SN770 2TB
nVidia 5080 Founder's Edition
Noctua N9x65
Noctua 120mm fan exhausting out the bottom.

 

[mid_gen]

Is that bottom fan being smothered by those PSU cables?

Glad you got it up and running though dude

The PSU cables do cover part of it, but tbh it's the other side that's important where it's exhausting the heat away from the GPU.

Tbh I'm surprised at the temps overall, the grills on all sides and the top are pretty generous so it's not very enclosed. Definitely gets warm, but will be nice now we're getting into winter

 

[mid_gen]

Well, this didn’t last long. Been away for a couple days. Come to fire it up today and it’s dead. First few attempts the loading spinner freezes, now it won’t even give any signal output. Dead.