First ITX Build - Please give feedback/help!!

C

crispwc

Member
Good afternoon,

I have put together the below build and was wondering if anyone had any feedback? In particular relating to the cooling?

- Should I get an extra case fan?
- Should I go for liquid cooled?
- Or any other observations of course.

Thanks for any feedback.

Case FRACTAL DEFINE S NANO GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Six Core Processor i5-8600K (3.6GHz) 9MB Cache

Motherboard ASUS® ROG STRIX Z370-I GAMING: Mini-ITX, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM) 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

1st Hard Disk 250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk 1TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED

Power Supply CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling Noctua NH-L9i Low Profile, Super Quiet CPU Cooler

Thermal Paste EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND

Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking GIGABIT LAN PORT + Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi excluded on H110I-PLUS)
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Promotional Item FREE Assassin's Creed: Origins with select SAMSUNG SSDs!
Promotional Item Get Destiny 2 with select GTX 10 Series GPUs! ** Limited Codes Available **
 
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C

crispwc

Member
Me: Yes, I think this is a great build - masterfully put together. You should buy it.
Me: Thank you. Perhaps I will.
 
Rakk

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
If you could let us know your budget and what you'll be using the PC for it'll help forum members give useful comments - and yes, unfortunately sometimes some posts get missed so that'll be more than likely why you haven't got any replies
 
C

crispwc

Member
Good afternoon Rakk,

Thank you for your reply. The budget is around £1,600.00 and the system is intended for gaming and general office use. Games such as Total War (all of them), CIV 5 or 6 or Stellaris. As well as FPS's such as BF1 - amongst others.

I bought a laptop from PCS a few years ago and was very impressed with the build and service - however, this time, I decided to go for the real thing! As for the silly post that is semi serious as from what I understand it is a functional build which I am looking to order next week! (Need to get that Christmas order in as the website keeps reminding me of the despatch countdown).
 
Stephen M

Stephen M

Author Level
For your main drive a Samsung m2 would be much better as they are so much quicker than the normal SSDs. You could swap the WD Black for a standard 7200rpm SATA HDD as it will save some money. A year or so back the WDs were by far better drives but the others have caught up so the extra cost is not really worth it.
 
C

crispwc

Member
Hi Stephen,

That is a superb suggestion, I did not even consider the m2 SSD. Having looked into it the speed is significantly faster than the standard SSD and with your drive arrangement the cost is almost identical!

May your ping always be low and your frame rate high for this information.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I'd suggest you consider a regular ATX system, on the grounds that mini ITX systems aren't actually very mini.

Fractal Nano S: Case dimensions - wtih feet/protrusions/screws: 203 x 344 x 412mm (WxHxD)
ATX case NZXT S340: 445mm x 200mm x 432mm (Approx H x W x D)

So an ATX system would be no wider at all, 2 cm deeper, and only 10 cm taller.

If that makes the difference between being able to fit the system in a given place and not being able to fit it there, you shouldn't be putting your PC in that kind of constricted space anyway.

Mini ITX systems tend to be more expensive, and you get fewer upgrade options
 
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C

crispwc

Member
Hi Oussebon,

Apart from your suggestion blowing my self proclaimed masterful build to pieces - it is a very good suggestion. I had considered ATX but believed them too big - but then I had not fully considered all the case options. As indicated the NZXT S340 is only marginally bigger but allows a range of alterations. In particular the motherboard flexibility and so price difference (possible SLI in the future?)

May you also have exemplary frame rate and very low ping for this information (Spydertracks, you can have mid to good level ping and frame rate, for your recognition of the blessing, but lack of constructive input - I wouldn't want to be unfair).

With that in mind this is the new build - Is she ready to order!?

Case NZXT S340 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (BLACK/BLUE)

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Six Core Processor i5-8600K (3.6GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® TUF Z370-PLUS GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM) 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk 1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
M.2 SSD Drive 256GB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2800MB/R, 1100MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Glad it helped :)

The TUF Plus won't support SLI, but SLI is generally not the best answer to any given gaming need.

How much did the above come to? You could look at the Ultima X01 pre-configured spec which comes in the S340 and has about £1700's worth of hardware for a set £1479 price tag.
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configure-review/238/

I'd generally recommend faster RAM (e.g. 3000MHz) as it will be with you for the lifespan of your system and can have big gains in some titles.
 
C

crispwc

Member
That looks perfect, so much hardware for the price. Where is that hidden away on the website or am I not looking right?

The above spec came to £1,562.00, but with slower ram, cpu and other less premium parts. For me that is a no contest, if the Ultimate X01 is around next week I will go for that! Then to the virtual playground of war.

Again, thanks for all your input.
 
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