Build me an itx rig!

[absyrd]

I stopped reading/participating in PC forums a couple of years ago, and I have no energy to get back into it. I figured many of you are knowledgeable and could throw together a list of parts for me.

I need:
-itx form factor
-smallest case possible that is not flashy
-speedy yet ability to undervolt (I enjoy getting highest clocks while undervolting as much as possible)
-QUIET!!!!!! It needs to be pretty much silent as I have problems with white noise. I currently use a seasonic PSU that the fan never runs unless I'm doing something intensive.
-very light gaming ability (TF2, Torchlight, etc)
-cheap

Thanks in advance for all advice, help, builds! 

[tp4tissue]

I stopped reading/participating in PC forums a couple of years ago, and I have no energy to get back into it. I figured many of you are knowledgeable and could throw together a list of parts for me.

I need:
-itx form factor
-smallest case possible that is not flashy
-speedy yet ability to undervolt (I enjoy getting highest clocks while undervolting as much as possible)
-QUIET!!!!!! It needs to be pretty much silent as I have problems with white noise. I currently use a seasonic PSU that the fan never runs unless I'm doing something intensive.
-very light gaming ability (TF2, Torchlight, etc)
-cheap

Thanks in advance for all advice, help, builds! 

it's impossible to build a  M-itx that's quiet inside a "small case",   if you're worried about white noise..

Unless it's the really slow kind of M-itx that doesn't require much cooling..


What's ur budget..

[IvanIvanovich]

This build fits most of your requirements...
mobo w/quad core
memory
ssd
psu
case

it is cheap with a total of $386, and built based on silence rather than powerful... though it should still have enough power to do typical browsing, multimedia, office tasks and light gaming on medium setting.

[tp4tissue]

This build fits most of your requirements...
mobo
memory
ssd
psu
case

it is cheap, and built based on silence rather than powerful... though it should still have enough power to do typical browsing, multimedia, office tasks and light gaming on medium setting.

That would be so epic slow... you wouldn't want to use it..

[IvanIvanovich]

Actually those Bay Trails have very good performance for the price and are no worse than a faster clocked dual core Pentium when you get down to it.

[Findecanor]

Look at HTPC cases for small and quiet. They are often like old-time's desktop cases. Much smaller than a cube case. Most are not made to fit a graphics card, others are able to do so with a riser card.
The quietest cases are fanless with the case being the CPU's heatsink, but those are somewhat flashy because they indeed look like large finned heatsinks. Others have a large fan right over the CPU cooling everything.

I use an EeeBox as my daily home machine. I choose it because I found it feasible to modify it to be completely fanless but then I found the fan to be quiet enough. Those are not very powerful for gaming, though and I notice the fan noise more now a few years after I got it.

[jalaj]

how about the NUCs? They're even smaller than iTX builds.
Intel, Gigabyte, Zotac and few others make them.
The additional hardware you need to add is just RAM, HDD/SSD, and/or a WIFI card.

Here's an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856164011

[tp4tissue]

how about the NUCs? They're even smaller than iTX builds.
Intel, Gigabyte, Zotac and few others make them.
The additional hardware you need to add is just RAM, HDD/SSD, and/or a WIFI card.

Here's an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856164011

yea these are small..

but for $500... you could do 4670k + mini ITX board.. + mini itx case..  and that @ 4.8ghz would pwn the **** out of a 4570R,


I haven't owned a computer under 4.5ghz for a LONG time...   All I can remember is them being quite unpleasant..

[blackbox]

Since he wants to overclock and for it to be quiet and small, I would recommend this(If not the NUC and ivanivanovichbuilds are geat) :



cpu:
]http://ark.intel.com/products/80811/Intel-Core-i5-4690K-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz?q=4690]

cpu:
http://ark.intel.com/products/80811/Intel-Core-i5-4690K-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz?q=4690

mbo:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/H81IPLUS/

case:
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/obsidian-series-250d-mini-itx-pc-case

cpucooler:
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/hydro-series-h100i-extreme-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler

psu:
Just use you seasonic psu

ssd:
http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/pc-peripherals/solid-state-drive/ssd-840-evo/MZ-7TE120BW

hdd:
Use the one you have for extra storage

memory:
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/cmx8gx3m2a1600c9

Fans:
stock fans or noctuas for extra quiet operation.

[absyrd]

Thanks for the builds so far. Saved me tons of time digging through other sites. Geekhack is my one-stop-shopping experience.

[TacticalCoder]

-QUIET!!!!!! It needs to be pretty much silent as I have problems with white noise. I currently use a seasonic PSU that the fan never runs unless I'm doing something intensive.

Quiet is the most important thing for me... Back in the early days of the PCs I was modding alims so that the fan speed would lower when the temperature was low (back then alims had a fixed-speed fan).

Nowadays I'm always checking the lowest max TDP I can find for the CPUs I'm after, before the ability to underclock. Currently I'm running a 16 GB of Ram / Core i5 3450s.  The 's' has a max TDP of 65W if I'm not mistaken, which, for desktop, is lower than what one can typically find.

My alim is a "Be Quiet!": it's very quiet indeed!

At 65W max TDP you don't even need a fan for your CPU. I'm still putting in a Panaflo fan (ultra-quiet but not that easy to find in Europe) but I don't think it's mandatory.

So I'd suggest something like what blackbox suggested but I'd replace the Core i5 4690K / max 88 W TDP with a Core i5 4690s / max 65 W TDP... Then you'll probably not even need to underclock it nor use fancy cooling.

[blackbox]

My alim is a "Be Quiet!": it's very quiet indeed.

So I'd suggest something like what blackbox suggested but I'd replace the Core i5 4690K / max 88 W TDP with a Core i5 4690s / max 65 W TDP... Then you'll probably not even need to underclock it nor use fancy cooling.

Reason for my cooler is that it is more optimal with water cooling when you have the space constraints of a mini-itx case. But shure, the 4690 is good

[FrostyToast]

I would go for a Noctua cooler. Be Quiet is also great, but Noctua fans are just so much better. Although, I don't know how a Dark Rock with Noctua fans would perform if you want to go that extra mile.

[blackbox]

I would go for a Noctua cooler. Be Quiet is also great, but Noctua fans are just so much better. Although, I don't know how a Dark Rock with Noctua fans would perform if you want to go that extra mile.

Dark rock and noctuas are very good, the "problem" is that you need a bigger case for a dark rock pro or a noctua similar sized cooler. A noctua L9a is good choice for a small build.

[absyrd]

It is crazy how the itx market has expanded since I last built a PC. So many options rather than just 2 boards and like 3 cases a few years ago.

I am so torn between building a little powerhouse rig like blackbox made (minus the case as I can't stand windowed cases) or a truly minimalist one like Ivan posted (so inexpensive and still fun to build).

[tp4tissue]

It is crazy how the itx market has expanded since I last built a PC. So many options rather than just 2 boards and like 3 cases a few years ago.

I am so torn between building a little powerhouse rig like blackbox made (minus the case as I can't stand windowed cases) or a truly minimalist one like Ivan posted (so inexpensive and still fun to build).

ivan's post is not inexpensive..

it's about performance/ price ratio..   ivan's build is LOW on that.. even though total cost is also lower.

4690 is a good place.. but for itx  you'd want to delid the chip, and use a 120mm tower cooler, and use a 240mm water cooler for the GPU..

CPU does not need water...that'd just be wasting money

[absyrd]

Water cooling is too noisy for me. Been down that road with many setups, from custom loops to AIOs.

[divito]

Have to head out, will reply when I'm back on my ITX system and what may work for you.

[tp4tissue]

Water cooling is too noisy for me. Been down that road with many setups, from custom loops to AIOs.

what's ur budget..

[The Nude Wizard]

You said you werent interested in watercooled so I wont detail the lenghts i went to to get a near silent OC'd 4770k & 780GTX setup recently but I would recommend Bit Fenix cases regardless (I got a prodigy, but would probably get a phenom as linked if I were to do it over)

They may not be the smallest footprint in mini ITX cases but are quite versatile with what they will accommodate.

[IvanIvanovich]

Yes the one I spec'd up is not a powerhouse... but the whole thing only has one fan in it which is in the PSU. That could be gotten rid of as well if wanted to spend more on the fanless version of the Seasonic. Or, you could go with a pico psu and much smaller case size. With that CPU TDP of 10w cooling is something you don't even need to care about at all. The only real big con with the Bay Trail boards is that they only have a 1x PCI-E slot which make them a very poor choice for adding GPU card. Some of them do have a 16x physical slot, or an open back 1x slot so it is technically possible to run a GPU on it, but it will be fairly hampered. Though, it still might end up being better than intel HD graphics with a discrete gpu running even at only 1x.
As for performance there is more than enough to run source games and other games with similar requirements. Having more power might be handy if decide wants to play more demanding things at a later time of course, but for what was said it is wholly unnecessary. While my main PC was down for a little while, I had to use my server as my main PC which runs a Pentium G620 and I found that fine performance wise with only the hdgraphics coming from an i5 with a proper gpu.

Watercooling can be near silent if you get the right pump which are typically the loudest part. But that usually comes with a high price to do so since the quiet pumps are quite a lot more expensive plus along with additional accessories like vibration killing mounts. My water set up is pretty quiet as long as I take the considerable amount of time and effort to make sure all the air bubbles are cleared or otherwise it makes a terrible racket. My 'case' is all open too more like a test bench so there is nothing to insulate the pump noises from my ear as it sits about a foot and half away from my head. My radiator fans are some lower powered pwm which I have set to stay on low until CPU reaches 50c which doesn't happen too much. When they do spin up during gaming I generally have my sound up loud enough I can't hear the fans anyway. I don't bother to water cool my gpu since full cover blocks are too expensive and generally can't be moved from card to card. By the time you are ready to sell them on they have depreciated 90% or more so are a terrible investment. So with the gpu I spent some good amount of time determining where thermal downclock occurs then adjusting the fan curve to prevent that while still staying on the lower side the rest of the time as to not be noisy.

[Heezy]

I just built mine early this year/around december

Bitfenix Prodigy
8gb ram (reused this from my old pc)
Asus mobo (don't remember the model but it's one of the cheap ones, and very crappy. will probably change to another one next year, there's only 2 fan available on it, i had to wire fans to the psu instead)
520w antec hcg
i5 4570
770 2gb
120gb ssd
1tb hd

it serves me well, and can play any games i want. i'll probably be changing the casing and mobo near the end of this year/next year. looking to get a smaller casing.

i'm looking at this one

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_1290_608&products_id=26861

[IvanIvanovich]

Have you considered using fan splitter cable? I use a 2 way pwm splitter so I can run both my rad fans off the cpu fan header so they are both controlled the same. I also use one in my itx server build as it also only has 2 fan headers one for cpu and one for case for both the case fans on my PCQ08. As long as you mind the wattage being pulled they work great.

[tp4tissue]

Have you considered using fan splitter cable? I use a 2 way pwm splitter so I can run both my rad fans off the cpu fan header so they are both controlled the same. I also use one in my itx server build as it also only has 2 fan headers one for cpu and one for case for both the case fans on my PCQ08. As long as you mind the wattage being pulled they work great.

itx server build?  what is going on with the world...  this is insane

[Heezy]

Have you considered using fan splitter cable? I use a 2 way pwm splitter so I can run both my rad fans off the cpu fan header so they are both controlled the same. I also use one in my itx server build as it also only has 2 fan headers one for cpu and one for case for both the case fans on my PCQ08. As long as you mind the wattage being pulled they work great.

Yeah, that's what I'm doing right now. Had to get 3 extra fans.

[IvanIvanovich]

I actually have 2 itx servers. My main one is a Zotac H67 with Pentium G620 and 8GB memory. The board has 6x sata ports all of which are populated with 3x 2TB and 3x 4TB with each of those groups in a parity refs pool. Then I have a pci-e msata card with a mushkin atlas for the OS drive all in a Lian Li PCQ08 with an Antec basic 500w PSU. Then I have the other one, which is a partial back up server currently as I only have single 2TB disk in there for storage along with ancient intel 80gb SSD for the OS... which is a prebuilt thing, an Iocell netdisk 400t, that I got new dead stock for like $20 off ebay. It's case is really nice with a solid aluminum 1 piece rectangle and 4 hotswap bays and integrated 150w PSU board. It's very small, but it only has a Core2 E4500 with 4GB DDR2. Though really it's fine for it's purposes. The biggest con is the motherboard has a bios bug which makes it hang on post if you have any disks in gpt which ruins it's ability to use storage spaces which I find somewhat annoying. I've been considering replacing the board for one of the newer Atom 8core ITX server boards.

[tp4tissue]

I actually have 2 itx servers. My main one is a Zotac H67 with Pentium G620 and 8GB memory. The board has 6x sata ports all of which are populated with 3x 2TB and 3x 4TB with each of those groups in a parity refs pool. Then I have a pci-e msata card with a mushkin atlas for the OS drive all in a Lian Li PCQ08 with an Antec basic 500w PSU. Then I have the other one, which is a partial back up server currently as I only have single 2TB disk in there for storage along with ancient intel 80gb SSD for the OS... which is a prebuilt thing, an Iocell netdisk 400t, that I got new dead stock for like $20 off ebay. It's case is really nice with a solid aluminum 1 piece rectangle and 4 hotswap bays and integrated 150w PSU board. It's very small, but it only has a Core2 E4500 with 4GB DDR2. Though really it's fine for it's purposes. The biggest con is the motherboard has a bios bug which makes it hang on post if you have any disks in gpt which ruins it's ability to use storage spaces which I find somewhat annoying. I've been considering replacing the board for one of the newer Atom 8core ITX server boards.

.......... ..............................................   why was the itx form factor "necesssary" for this...

harddrives touching so closely is very bad.. 

and for data purposes,, the matx atx h6,7,8 boards would've been cheaper.. and work just as well , there's also much less crosstalk and electrical noise on larger boards.

[IvanIvanovich]

The HDD are no closer together than they would have been in anything else. All cases have the hdd cages in stacked arrangement pretty much and having them run at moderate warmth is actually good for hdd for longevity as this has been proven in data centers. As far as cost, it was no more expensive than matx boards with the same feature set when I bought it. It was an upgrade from an original era Atom so I stuck with ITX so I could use the case and etc that I already had. Originally the build was more of an htpc but I changed it to a straight up server when I got rid of my television when I moved up to my 27" display on my main pc.

[divito]

Some context before I post this: I'm 28 years old and like some of the other nerds on here, I've been building my own computers, as well as part of my business, for over 15 years. I've gone through the super budget overclockers, gigantic cases with a ton of drives and fans, servers, etc...

In my most recent build, I decided to go for something relatively small, cheap, quiet and capable; no fuss. While I don't keep up with all the latest games as I used to, I still wanted something to could do the job if I wanted to, as well as take care of all my Photoshop, media center and other tasks with ease. As I read this thread, it's actually quite similar to trynds.

Note these prices are in Canadian as of when I bought them (February...not sure what they are now).

BitFenix Prodigy - $90
MSI H81I - $80
i5-4670 - $240
G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB 1600 - $86
Samsung 840 EV0 240GB - $200
EVGA 760 FTW 4GB - $284
Silverstone SS-ST45SF 450W - $80

Total with tax = $1197

Now you never mentioned your actual budget, so you can easily save money with a cheaper motherboard, an 120GB SSD, and a lower graphics card; and since you talk about undervolting, you'd be moving to the 4670k if interested in that tier of performance.

This thing is basically silent. The only time you can sort of hear something (assuming you're not using headphones or don't have sound a decent level through speakers), is when you're pushing it with a certain game and the graphics card fan is going hard. I also had two hard drives that I migrated into this system as well. Full build and pic

It acts as my regular computer with two monitors and a TV hooked up to it, as well as a media center for XBMC on my Nexus 7 and other computers on the network.

[blackbox]

Some context before I post this: I'm 28 years old and like some of the other nerds on here, I've been building my own computers, as well as part of my business, for over 15 years. I've gone through the super budget overclockers, gigantic cases with a ton of drives and fans, servers, etc...

In my most recent build, I decided to go for something relatively small, cheap, quiet and capable; no fuss. While I don't keep up with all the latest games as I used to, I still wanted something to could do the job if I wanted to, as well as take care of all my Photoshop, media center and other tasks with ease. As I read this thread, it's actually quite similar to trynds.

Note these prices are in Canadian as of when I bought them (February...not sure what they are now).

BitFenix Prodigy - $90
MSI H81I - $80
i5-4670 - $240
G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB 1600 - $86
Samsung 840 EV0 240GB - $200
EVGA 760 FTW 4GB - $284
Silverstone SS-ST45SF 450W - $80

Total with tax = $1197

Now you never mentioned your actual budget, so you can easily save money with a cheaper motherboard, an 120GB SSD, and a lower graphics card; and since you talk about undervolting, you'd be moving to the 4670k if interested in that tier of performance.

This thing is basically silent. The only time you can sort of hear something (assuming you're not using headphones or don't have sound a decent level through speakers), is when you're pushing it with a certain game and the graphics card fan is going hard. I also had two hard drives that I migrated into this system as well. Full build and pic

It acts as my regular computer with two monitors and a TV hooked up to it, as well as a media center for XBMC on my Nexus 7 and other computers on the network.

Looks like a a nice build, which cpu cooler do you use? I had very good experience with noctuas.

[absyrd]

Yeah. Solid build, divito.

Right now I'm just not gaming, but since all these mobos are "H" branded these days, I can do just fine with the cpgpu until I NEED to buy a graphics card.

And I actually like that Silverstone case linked above. I'd just be concerned about how loud the sfx PSU gets.

[tp4tissue]

Some context before I post this: I'm 28 years old and like some of the other nerds on here, I've been building my own computers, as well as part of my business, for over 15 years. I've gone through the super budget overclockers, gigantic cases with a ton of drives and fans, servers, etc...

In my most recent build, I decided to go for something relatively small, cheap, quiet and capable; no fuss. While I don't keep up with all the latest games as I used to, I still wanted something to could do the job if I wanted to, as well as take care of all my Photoshop, media center and other tasks with ease. As I read this thread, it's actually quite similar to trynds.

Note these prices are in Canadian as of when I bought them (February...not sure what they are now).

BitFenix Prodigy - $90
MSI H81I - $80
i5-4670 - $240
G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB 1600 - $86
Samsung 840 EV0 240GB - $200
EVGA 760 FTW 4GB - $284
Silverstone SS-ST45SF 450W - $80

Total with tax = $1197

Now you never mentioned your actual budget, so you can easily save money with a cheaper motherboard, an 120GB SSD, and a lower graphics card; and since you talk about undervolting, you'd be moving to the 4670k if interested in that tier of performance.

This thing is basically silent. The only time you can sort of hear something (assuming you're not using headphones or don't have sound a decent level through speakers), is when you're pushing it with a certain game and the graphics card fan is going hard. I also had two hard drives that I migrated into this system as well. Full build and pic

It acts as my regular computer with two monitors and a TV hooked up to it, as well as a media center for XBMC on my Nexus 7 and other computers on the network.

This is ridiculous...

for $1200.. 

no 4670k, no z87 / z97  ?

those 2 parts nearly double CPU performance.. and relative to the whole build, only increases the cost by 10% at most..

the 240 evos are $100 in the usa.. so  if we look at that alone,  you can price in the 4670k and z97

$80 PSU,  they often sell 600watt seasonic builds for $50..

$85 gskills 1600,  just last week i got $75 2400mhz kingston

[divito]

Looks like a a nice build, which cpu cooler do you use? I had very good experience with noctuas.

Stock cooler. If I were still overclocking and got a 4670k, I'd probably be using Noctua NH-U14S.

This is ridiculous...

for $1200.. 

no 4670k, no z87 / z97  ?

those 2 parts nearly double CPU performance.. and relative to the whole build, only increases the cost by 10% at most..

the 240 evos are $100 in the usa.. so  if we look at that alone,  you can price in the 4670k and z97

$80 PSU,  they often sell 600watt seasonic builds for $50..

$85 gskills 1600,  just last week i got $75 2400mhz kingston

1. Those prices were from February, as I stated (and Canada, so subtract a decent amount for US equivalent).
2. I'm done with overclocking, so I didn't need a z motherboard or k CPU. The extra money for smaller benefit of overclocking isn't worth the time. I'd be interested to see a benchmark where you get double the performance.
3. Like I said, February Canadian prices; I also mentioned that he could move to a k processor.
4. The case requires a smaller PSU than most. I went with the cheapest one that would fit because the one I wanted was out of stock.
5. Again, Canada sucks.

And I actually like that Silverstone case linked above. I'd just be concerned about how loud the sfx PSU gets.

That one doesn't seem terrible. Other than the Prodigy that I bought, I was considering the Fractal Design Node 304:

[tbc]

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-itx-elite-series/elite110/

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8193/silverstone-nightjar-nj520-power-supply-review  - if you're good with cable management

gtx 750 or 760 if you need more power

  alternatively, wait from the ASUS STRIX lineup to come out

SSD - w/e you want, not relevant to compactness or silence

ram - w/e you want, not relevant to compactness or silence

CPU cooler - any 120/140mm AIO

fans - f12 (kinda loud still, but it's a pretty good balance)

NOTE:

that SS PSU could be used for wind tunnel sound effects and completely fails to meet any non-compromise standard on SPCR.

source: I have it

that said, if you DON'T need to be SPCR quiet, then it's okay, but there are noticably quieter options out there.

[tp4tissue]

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-itx-elite-series/elite110/

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8193/silverstone-nightjar-nj520-power-supply-review  - if you're good with cable management

gtx 750 or 760 if you need more power

  alternatively, wait from the ASUS STRIX lineup to come out

SSD - w/e you want, not relevant to compactness or silence

ram - w/e you want, not relevant to compactness or silence

CPU cooler - any 120/140mm AIO

fans - f12 (kinda loud still, but it's a pretty good balance)

NOTE:

that SS PSU could be used for wind tunnel sound effects and completely fails to meet any non-compromise standard on SPCR.

source: I have it

that said, if you DON'T need to be SPCR quiet, then it's okay, but there are noticably quieter options out there.

I thought about completely fanless..  but I just couldn't find a fanless gfx card powerful enough to drive madvr scaling..

the most powerful fanless gfx card still says it requires minimal case flow on the box...   i think nightjar is the same.. don't remember from the review.

[tbc]

you're still getting airflow from the radiator fan.

it doesn't need cold air, it needs air movement.  it can take care of itself, but it will do nothing to help other components.  eg, it will NOT generate any airflow that a fanless GPU would need.

especially consider this case, this is an air vent RIGHT above the PSU.

[tp4tissue]

you're still getting airflow from the radiator fan.

it doesn't need cold air, it needs air movement.  it can take care of itself, but it will do nothing to help other components.  eg, it will NOT generate any airflow that a fanless GPU would need.

especially consider this case, this is an air vent RIGHT above the PSU.

I'm just saying.. completely fanless has been a dream for me.. but it can't really be realized without sacrificing 80% performance.. haha..

[blackbox]

If fanless is a dream, a gpu/psu that has a fan that only turns on when its needed is an good option IMO.

[tp4tissue]

If fanless is a dream, a gpu/psu that has a fan that only turns on when its needed is an good option IMO.

then it's not really fanless..   

If I need fans AT ALL..  I might as well stick with low rpm..

[blackbox]

If fanless is a dream, a gpu/psu that has a fan that only turns on when its needed is an good option IMO.

then it's not really fanless..   

If I need fans AT ALL..  I might as well stick with low rpm..

I see, the point i was trying to make was that the fans would not spin under regular load and therefore be as silent as a fanless. But low rpm works too ofc.

[Heezy]

If fanless is a dream, a gpu/psu that has a fan that only turns on when its needed is an good option IMO.

then it's not really fanless..   

If I need fans AT ALL..  I might as well stick with low rpm..

I see, the point i was trying to make was that the fans would not spin under regular load and therefore be as silent as a fanless. But low rpm works too ofc.

And then all of a sudden, it sounds like as if it was tp4 who was looking for itx.

[absyrd]

Hmmm... I do NOT want an AIO water cooler. Is scythe or anyone still making really low profile coolers that fit the mounting holes for these new mobos? I think I still have one for LGA 1155 maybe?

[blackbox]

As mentioned Noctua has some low profile coolers that works on new sockets like the NH-L(XX) 9a/91/12.

[tp4tissue]

If fanless is a dream, a gpu/psu that has a fan that only turns on when its needed is an good option IMO.

then it's not really fanless..   

If I need fans AT ALL..  I might as well stick with low rpm..

I see, the point i was trying to make was that the fans would not spin under regular load and therefore be as silent as a fanless. But low rpm works too ofc.

And then all of a sudden, it sounds like as if it was tp4 who was looking for itx.

I've done the whole itx thing before.. that's why generally I'm against it, because it's so much trouble to clean,  heats up mechanical drives at least 15 Celcius greater than big cases, and because of the tight space,  you need m0ar rpms to keep things cool..

so.. in the end   Itx= looks smaller, but is louder, and uses more power to do the same damn thing.

[tp4tissue]

As mentioned Noctua has some low profile coolers that works on new sockets like the NH-L(XX) 9a/91/12.

Low profile cpu coolers are bad for the same reason why Graphics card coolers generally suck.

because they have the fan blowing hot air ONTO the board itself..

The board then insulates and absorbs heat..  making the whole thing hot..

This is the reason tower coolers came into popularity because it pulls heat AWAY from the system..


I also have a tower cooler mounted on a 7870myst downstairs.. it is by far the coolest running card in the house relative to power use.  and it can handle up to 70% load @ 600rpm, which is whisper silent.

[blackbox]

As mentioned Noctua has some low profile coolers that works on new sockets like the NH-L(XX) 9a/91/12.

Low profile cpu coolers are bad for the same reason why Graphics card coolers generally suck.

because they have the fan blowing hot air ONTO the board itself..

The board then insulates and absorbs heat..  making the whole thing hot..

This is the reason tower coolers came into popularity because it pulls heat AWAY from the system..


I also have a tower cooler mounted on a 7870myst downstairs.. it is by far the coolest running card in the house relative to power use.  and it can handle up to 70% load @ 600rpm, which is whisper silent.

You can reverse the fan so that it blows air away from the cpu too. But low profile coolers will always sacrifice performance for size. I mentioned low profile coolers purely because of the size since OP wanted the smallest possible case size.

[byker]

A few months ago, I built this: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mtnbkyer/saved/PD4NnQ
Here are some pics:




My favourite computer to date. It packs a punch with an I5 and gtx 770 and I love this case. The evga Hadron Air is small, but it fits everything i need and looks amazing. Sorry for the bad quality photos.. Let me know if you have any questions about building itx or anything.

[Heezy]

Honestly, my GPU never made much sound. I'm using x2 24' monitor, and a 27' main monitor. 1 of the 24' monitor always has a movie/drama on, and the other one has browsers and skype/chats/spotify. the 27' always has dota 2 on, and then i play bf4/other games while dota 2 is on. Never had any lag or loud noise from the GPU.

[tp4tissue]

Honestly, my GPU never made much sound. I'm using x2 24' monitor, and a 27' main monitor. 1 of the 24' monitor always has a movie/drama on, and the other one has browsers and skype/chats/spotify. the 27' always has dota 2 on, and then i play bf4/other games while dota 2 is on. Never had any lag or loud noise from the GPU.

[tp4tissue]

A few months ago, I built this: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mtnbkyer/saved/PD4NnQ
Here are some pics:

Show Image

Show Image

My favourite computer to date. It packs a punch with an I5 and gtx 770 and I love this case. The evga Hadron Air is small, but it fits everything i need and looks amazing. Sorry for the bad quality photos.. Let me know if you have any questions about building itx or anything.

I really like the slim profile psu..



whussup with people n0 get Overclock 


40% increase in cpu ipc performance is pretty seriously up there

delidding is free
and the haswell and ivy chips can do 4.8 on 212+ 212evo  which cost between free to $20 on sale.