@Abula: Thanks a lot! Yes, I think I will heed your wisdom, and go for one 120mm on the CPU and one 140mm in the case (or 2x 140, depending on the final setup). And yes, I'll probably move away from the 212 Evo to something better -- and possibly the Macho, given your report on the stock fan that co...

@CA_Steve: Impressive! Yes, you are correct I meant Arctic Cooling 550RF even though I wrote Antec. Corrected now. :) I didn't consider Scythe coolers because of the (anecdotal) stories about current Scythe coolers possibly crushing Skylake CPUs . You're right though, and I will look at other cooler...

Dear all, After Christmas I'm going to get myself a proper present. :) A mid-range gaming build, optimized for near silent running. I could do with a critical opinion / checkup on my choices: Mobo: Asus H170 Pro Gaming CPU: Intel i5-6500 RAM: 2 x 8 GB generic DDR4 RAM MSI GeForce 970GTX (already own...

Dear all, I read the "Braswell motherboards" thread, but didn't quite find what I am looking for -- I'm looking for an Intel Braswell mobo with 2 LAN ports, preferably powered by an Intel ethernet chipset. The closest I've been able to find is the Supermicro X11SBA-LN4F (way too expensive) or the As...

@dr_traktor, you hit the nail on the head. I'm thinking very much along the same lines; whether building in mATX is worth it vis a vis the size difference between 'good' mATX cases versus full-ATX cases like the Define R5. Thank you very much for your observations on your build!

@Abula, @Joxx, thank you both very much for your excellent replies. :) The Fractal 804 looks like a great case to build silently in. Unfortunately it also exemplifies something I personally don't want: MicroATX cases that have a volume close to that of full-size ATX cases. If my case is going to be ...

Dear all, My question is short and simple: Which micro-ATX case would be the simplest, easiest to build a truly quiet midrange gaming PC in? By midrange gaming I mean Haswell CPU, one NVIDIA 960 GTX, and one SSD & 2½" HDD. I guess the answers would be either Fractal Define Mini, or perhaps Cooler Ma...

Thank you both, that clears up my confusion.

Dear all, Long-time reader, first post here, and I feel it's a kind of n00bish first question... :oops: But I haven't found anything good on this. Assume that the extra cost of current closed loop "all in one" watercoolers is not a concern. Assume that the case has a good mounting position for a AIO...