Long time lurker and new member here, it's great to be able to post. I'm building a new work PC to replace mine from 2007, and I'd really appreciate your feedback as I try to optimise and perfect the build.
Goals for the build:- Powerful
- Quiet (accept I will hear HDD, and OK to hear GFX card when gaming. Otherwise... not audible in quiet house please)
- Compact
- Low energy use (often leave the computer on 24/7, and UK electricity ~$0.20/kWh and increasing)
I'll be using it as a work machine, programming, running VMs, running simulations. It'll live in a home office so I'll be gaming occasionally

Nothing too taxing on the gaming front though!
I really wanted a mITX build for compactness, but in the lifetime of this PC (5 years) I expect to need 32GB RAM which mITX boards don't support?
Current build plan:Xeon E3-1230V2 (69W TDP, no integrated graphics, similar performance to i7 3770)
I picked the previous generation Xeon as cheaper and
lower TDP than the latest one.
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVOPeople have said use closed loop water cooling - I see it as being more noisy than air cooling so chose this.
ASRock H77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 MotherboardChosen after reading a few reviews, I know nothing about motherboards
Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX PSUDitto - looked for power efficient one, but needs case finalising first!
Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 MemoryCheapest 1600 I can currently find. Will add another 16GB in a few years
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" SSDSamsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard DriveMy 5 year old one is quiet & reliable, however need a 2TB drive. Don't trust Seagate or WD Green. Suggestions?
GTX 750Ti (<60W TDP)Probably MSI TWIN FROZR as
seems quietest, but see below
Full component list hereQuestions:DisplayPort is new since I last built a PC and bought a monitor. I like the idea of 4K monitors but will not have for 3-5 years. Therefore thinking I don't need DisplayPort? If not needed, I can choose any GTX 750Ti too. Currently I run 2 screens, 1 x 2560x1440, 1 x 1920x1200.
CPU cooling: is there a better option? My current computer has issues with the size of the air cooler (it won't stay clipped in the motherboard, the computer now has to lie down) so I'm trying to find a compromise between cooling power and size/weight.
Finding a compact μATX case is a nightmare - many are as big as my current ATX case! The case needs to support an optical drive (slimline is fine), USB 3.0&audio, preferably look nice, and help everything stay quiet (no mesh?). I've put together a
spreadsheet of case sizes during my research. Styling is personal, but what have you used that has adequate cooling, quietness and compactness?
Thanks in advance, and I really appreciate the wisdom, sharing and sane conversation in this community.