First post and first build

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Sjuridogxoxo
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 01, 2016 7:03 am

First post and first build

Post by Sjuridogxoxo » Sun May 01, 2016 7:46 am

Hi,

I stumbled upon this forum when I was in search of a new silent PC.

I've had quite a good stationary PC for about 4 years now, after my brother had it for 2 years. It makes a high pitch squeeling noise, the fans are noisy, the wifi is unstable and it randomly glitches and starts up and restarts when it goes to the login screen.
I'm tired of it and I want to start fresh. I tried to silence it by replacing the harddrives with SSD (120gb samsung), a new graphics card (960 gtx msi) and a 212 evo cooler. It became a lot better, but my mind is set.

I'm thinking of taking the SSD and graphics card with me. I do heavy web browsing (I have a problem with tabs), and a little 3d rendering (various math programes). I have two screens at full HD.

Here is the build so far:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J4GZ4D/by_merchant/

Keep in mind I'm new to this and have no experience with building. Input is very much appreciated.

I'm not sure about the case. I want a cube-shaped case, preferably the sweet spot between size and quietness. I live in Norway so some cases are unavailable to me. I am considering node 304/500 or Corsair Obsidian 250D, but honestly I would like a tad more 'premium' looking case.

The motherboard is on sale today, aswell as any ram, so if anyone has another ram in mind it's no problem to choose.

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
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Location: ITALY

Re: First post and first build

Post by quest_for_silence » Sun May 01, 2016 10:48 am

Sjuridogxoxo wrote:Here is the build so far:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J4GZ4D/by_merchant/
Seemingly nothing much to say: the D15 would not be my first pick: if you want to stick with a dual tower, on a mITX board I'd rather the D15S, or the Silver Arrow ITX.
But above all them, a smaller cooler (though I don't mind about height).
About PSU, in Europe I'd rather (over any Seasonic) a Super Flower Golden Silent (either 430W or 500W), a Corsair (either RMi or RMx) and eventually a Be Quiet P11.

Sjuridogxoxo wrote:I am considering node 304/500 or Corsair Obsidian 250D, but honestly I would like a tad more 'premium' looking case.

First of all, I don't like TT, but the V21 is a good base to tinker with.
Then the Obsidian IS premium looking: it's not suited to host large air coolers such as a dual tower, though.
About looking, at first I'd think to the Cooltek W1 and W2, the Lian Li Q10 (WX for better looking), the Parvum X 1.0, X 2.0 and S 2.5

Abula
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Location: Guatemala

Re: First post and first build

Post by Abula » Sun May 01, 2016 11:15 am

Sjuridogxoxo wrote:Keep in mind I'm new to this and have no experience with building. Input is very much appreciated.

I'm not sure about the case. I want a cube-shaped case, preferably the sweet spot between size and quietness. I live in Norway so some cases are unavailable to me. I am considering node 304/500 or Corsair Obsidian 250D, but honestly I would like a tad more 'premium' looking case.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you go with something small it will harder to build, as you don't have much space or cable management becomes more challenging, etc. Not saying you shouldn't do it, but since you mention you don't have much experience, just saw it worth mentioning.

That said, beauty is on the eye of the beholder, for some laid back and plain is beautiful and for others flashy aggressive design looks better. For me some of the best looking cases are from Lian Li, their finish on aluminium is pretty good, although you do have to be careful with it as the grease in your hands can stain it. One case that its not cube, but a little more rectangular from Lian Li, is the recently reviewed by SPCR Lian Li PC-Q10 Mini-ITX Case

Looking for a big cooler like NH-D15 (or s) will restrict a lot of compact cases, as a lot of them have the PSU over the CPU cooler, a very common design on lian li cases. But a big cooler will help you keep the cpu under recomended temps while spinning the fans down. Cases like Node 304 is pretty good into fitting a big cooler in somewhat small case, that said the PSU is very limiting if you go with a big video card, as there is very few that can fit while still having access to the cables. I would probably recommend you consider also the Scythe Kotetsu as very good cooler, it will be much easier to mount and build on the node 304, and much cheaper. A great place to start grabbing ideas for Node 304 build is the OCN [Official] Fractal Design Node 304 Owners Club.

You should also check SPCR Quiet Mini-ITX Gaming Build Guide #2: NCASE M1 Edition, a very peculiar case thats able to fit a lot of hardware inside, but as you can see from the pictures there is very little space to work with, so its a challenging build.

Another very instersting small build is edh Metis + Ninja4, he fits a very large cooler for a small factor case.

Sjuridogxoxo
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 01, 2016 7:03 am

Re: First post and first build

Post by Sjuridogxoxo » Sun May 01, 2016 11:25 am

Thanks for the feedback.

I have no preference in CPU cooler, if something smaller gives a better performance (you know what they say..?), then I'm all for it.
The Silver Arrow ITX is unavailable to me, but the D15S is not. Do you have a recommendation for a smaller air cooler?

I gave a search for the PSU's you listed, but the Super Flower Golden Silent is only available in one store I've never heard of before (as well as being out of stock there), the corsair PSU's are all 650W+ and the Be Quiet P11 was only available in 850W+ for twice the price of the Seasonic. The corsair RM650i was cheaper than the seasonic 400W though.

Out of all the cases you listed, the only one for sale is the Jonsbo W2, which currently also is out of stock. I do have to say, I really like the look of this one.

Sjuridogxoxo
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 01, 2016 7:03 am

Re: First post and first build

Post by Sjuridogxoxo » Sun May 01, 2016 11:41 am

Thanks for the heads up.
For me, a neutral, silent and functional case is what I'm looking for. I don't see the need for windows (if it hurts performance), lights and an gamer design.

I agree that the Lian Li and the Ncases cases look great, and I've looked at several models, but I'm afraid no Norwegian supplier sell them. I know I can ship it, but I'd rather order everything from one place to save on shipping costs and ease of mind if it comes to returning stuff, warranty, etc. I stumbled apon BitFenix Prodigy when looking for suppliers, how does that compare?
The Scythe Kotsetu costs 479 NOK(including shipping) compared to NH-D15 for 999NOK (free shipping).

The Raijintek Metis build is interesting though. It's currently on sale in Norway in the store I want to purchase the parts from.

But for now, I'm able to get 20% off on the RAM and the motherboard I listed, but that offer ends today. Are those parts OK?

Sjuridogxoxo
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 01, 2016 7:03 am

Re: First post and first build

Post by Sjuridogxoxo » Sun May 01, 2016 11:50 am

I don't know how to edit my comment after I submitted it. I realized I should probably say I can get 20% off on any of the RAM offered in the store, so if you have alternatives that are better, please let me know and I'll look it up and see if it's available.

Abula
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Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: First post and first build

Post by Abula » Sun May 01, 2016 7:44 pm

Sjuridogxoxo wrote:I don't know how to edit my comment after I submitted it. I realized I should probably say I can get 20% off on any of the RAM offered in the store, so if you have alternatives that are better, please let me know and I'll look it up and see if it's available.
RAM performance is negligible in most cases, go with standard height and with a the brand you trust that you can return in case its DOA, and try to go for a brand/model that its on the QVList of the motherboard manufacturer to avoid incompatibilities.

quest_for_silence
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Location: ITALY

Re: First post and first build

Post by quest_for_silence » Sun May 01, 2016 10:14 pm

Sjuridogxoxo wrote:Do you have a recommendation for a smaller air cooler?

Thinking to less huge (though not really small) coolers, come to mind the various Be Quiet Shadow Rock Slim, Cooler Master Hyper 212X (it deserves a new fan), Cryorig C1, Scythe Kotetsu, Noctua NH-U12S, Noctua NH-L12, Phanteks PH-TC14S (it needs a new fan), Prolimatech Armageddon (it doesn't sport fans), Thermalright True Spirit 120i (it needs a new fan), Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power, though there are probably some other else.

Sjuridogxoxo wrote:I stumbled apon BitFenix Prodigy when looking for suppliers, how does that compare?

It does good.

laststop
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Re: First post and first build

Post by laststop » Sun May 22, 2016 6:57 am

There is nothing wrong with the D15. I use the D14 with an i7 980x OC'd to 4.26Ghz base clock with a slight overvolt inside a fortress ft02 with the triple 180mm intakes and triple noctua fans on the heatsink 1 in push 1 in the middle in push and pull and 1 in pull + 1 noctua as exhaust with coollaboratory liquid metal ultra tim and my CPU stays around 62C under regular loads. That big noctua cooler can dissipate a ton of heat quietly.

CA_Steve
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Re: First post and first build

Post by CA_Steve » Thu May 26, 2016 9:05 am

laststop wrote:There is nothing wrong with the D15. I use the D14 with an i7 980x OC'd to 4.26Ghz base clock with a slight overvolt inside a fortress ft02 with the triple 180mm intakes and triple noctua fans on the heatsink 1 in push 1 in the middle in push and pull and 1 in pull + 1 noctua as exhaust with coollaboratory liquid metal ultra tim and my CPU stays around 62C under regular loads. That big noctua cooler can dissipate a ton of heat quietly.
On the other hand, if the OP has a stock CPU with 65W TDP, the Noctua is overkill, adding mass, volume and price to the build.

quest_for_silence
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Location: ITALY

Re: First post and first build

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu May 26, 2016 9:38 am

laststop wrote:There is nothing wrong with the D15.

Except maybe that he was going to build inside a shoebox (and anyway in a much cramped space than your excellent Silverstone FT02).

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