Smaller desktop build

[Delirious]

After initially planning to build a smaller htpc. It became evident to me that the smaller case all have their issues. Especially considering cooling and the hardware I was planning on using. Therefore my current desktop will be repurposed as htpc and I will be building a new reasonably quiet desktop. This build will be only for basic use. Might function as a Media Server, might be used for light gaming at some point.


Case: Fractal Design Nano S

Reasonably size might be a bit big for m-itx, but should be easy to work with. Nice aesthetics also in my opinion. I kind of want to stay with m-itx motherboard size as it would be easy to swap parts between both system at some point. MAX 1 pcie slot is needed. I am planning to use the igpu for now, but want the possibility to use a gpu as well.

Another Node 304? A little bit boring and familiar but would work.


Something completely different?


I am not completely dead set on m-itx, but I am not sure if I have any need for all the features of a larger motherboard.



RAM: 2x8 gb Corsair Vengeance LPX

CPU: Intel i3 6100

Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING

Good quality, good socket placement

PSU: ???? Passive/Semi passive ATX of good quality. Thinking about the x400 platinum fanless

SSD: Samsung 850 250 gb
HDD: might use a 3.5" hdd at some point

CPU Cooler: Scythe Kotetsu

Case fans: Scythe SlipStream 800rpm will be used


Once again. Any suggestions are welcome

[quest_for_silence]

I am not completely dead set on m-itx, but I am not sure if I have any need for all the features of a larger motherboard.

On the mITX scene Cooltek W1, Fractal Design Core 500, Lian Li PC-Q10, Bitfenix Prodigy are all more proven options (though the Nano sports probably better stock fans).
For the larger mATX boards, the Fractal Design Node 804 looks also promising.

PSU: ???? Passive/Semi passive ATX of good quality. Thinking about the x400 platinum fanless

There's plenty of options (along with Seasonic I would quote Be Quiet, EVGA/Super Flower, Corsair).

[edh]

It looks like a pretty low power setup so you can make things really small if you wish. As you are already interested in the Z170i Pro Gaming coincidentally I have one and the CPU socket placement makes it near ideal for use in the Raijintek Metis.

[Delirious]

The Fractal Core has been considered, but then I would rather get the Node 304.

The Lian Li PC-Q10 looks good. I would like to see it without a window though. Unfortunately it is not available in my country.

I owned the prodigy case earlier, but I did not like it for its design/wobly feet/size

The Cooltek W1 looks nice, about the same size as the nano s.


The Metis does look good (and small) but what about cooling performance? Also might be bit to small thinking about future expandability.

Edit: I saw your build thread. Interesting build.

[Delirious]

Both the Metis and the Cooltek/Jonsbo W1 is not in stock and delivery time is uncertain. It is also only sold by one reseller, which I rather avoid buying from.

Will you guys kill me if I go with the nano s?

I do not think anyone at the forum has seen one/bought one yet. But is there anything suggesting major flaws in the design? Of course there is the issue with the size. However there are also some other rather larger m-itx cases on the market. One other thing which could pose a problem is the distance between the psu and a potential gpu. Also I would think that some sacrifices has been made with the strong focus on watercooling.


Regarding cpu-cooler I am sticking with Scythe I think. Is the Scythe Kotetsu or the Ninja 4 recommended for such a build? Seeing as it is very small difference in price.

[quest_for_silence]

Will you guys kill me if I go with the nano s?

No but just if you will do a user review with lots of pics: a comparison with the proven 304 would be welcome too.

Regarding cpu-cooler I am sticking with Scythe I think. Is the Scythe Kotetsu or the Ninja 4 recommended for such a build? Seeing as it is very small difference in price.

Whether there's no price difference, the Ninja is just more bulky, that's all in my opinion: with a Core i3 you shouldn't notice any performance difference.

[edh]

Will you guys kill me if I go with the nano s?

No, I'm sure it's a good case but is it best for your relatively low power components?

As you observe, it seems to be more designed for water cooling, plus the gap between the graphics card and PSU restricts the cooling designs possible should you wish to add a graphics card. It looks to me like a silent case intended for putting non-silent components in - big graphics cards with stock blower coolers and AIO water cooling loops. For air cooler systems the space at the front will be wasted and the PSU position will interfere with some of the better (bigger) factory fitted graphics card coolers.

With all of that space, the bigger the CPU cooler the better really, even if the i3 won't show much difference. It'll be very, very quiet in that case with the right set of fans so do consider ditching the Scythe fan as they aren't Scythe's best effort.

[Delirious]

Yes, I will try to take some pictures of the build when I have decided on the parts.

Im pretty sure the nano s is not the optimal case, but what is really. It is all compromises really.


Actually I found a new quite interesting case the Jonsbo/Cooltek UMX 1 Plus

Seems pretty interesting to me. CPU cooler height is limited to 130mm. But it seems to be quite open at the bottom and the 120mm at the top should be very helpful for exhausting the hot air.

[quest_for_silence]

Seems pretty interesting to me.

I don't agree, though perhaps it might be of some usefulness with system like your one (I mean, ~100W power draw at most).

[Delirious]

Yes, it would probably only be suitable for a low power build. Anyway I decided to go with the nano s.

I have now placed my order:


Case: Nano S
CPU: i3 6100
CPU Cooler: Ninja 4
Motherboard: Asus Z170i Pro
PSU: Seasonic X-400 Platinum
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 250Gb
RAM: HyperX Fury Black DDR4 2x 4 Gb


Thanks for all you help!

[quest_for_silence]

Enjoy it and, please, don't forget the "required" user review!

[Abula]

Looks pretty nice build, if you can, and have time, share some pics and temps with us.

The motherboard has 3x 4pin PWM/DC headers (CPU_FAN, CHA_FAN1 and CHA_FAN2), all should be switchable on the bios. Connect the included fractal fans to CHA_FAN1 and CHA_FAN2, and connect the scythe glidestream to the CPU_FAN, enter the bios and cross check that all are setup the right way, the CPU_FAN should be on PWM, and the CHA_FAN1 and CHA_FAN2 as DC. Then run the QTunning option, this will test all the fans for min max rpms/voltage/pwm, then it will give you a suggested graph that you can now setup to to your liking. In my case i had some issues doing this, but it worth a try, if you have any issues with it, then install AI Suite that will have FanXpert on it that will take care of the fan control.

For stopping the fans, if you wish, after running fanXpert, select the silent profile on it (by defult is standard/normal), this profile will make the CHA_FANs stop until certain temperature, the CPU_FAN header cant be stopped, but the others will stop, once certain CPU temp is reach the fans will start, this is a very neat feature that has FanXpert and Asus, specially for a CPU that wont heat up much, like your 6100, this is something for you to test and see if you like it or not.

[Delirious]

Oh man. I have some serious decision-making issues! Just been offered the Ncase M1 from a friend for 100 dollars. And he is probably throwing in a sfx psu.


Many thanks for all your suggestions and guidance quest_for_silence. Whats your take on Ncase M1?


The SFX PSU is the Silverstone SFX500-LG. Should be okay?



Abula:


Thanks for your advice about the motherboard. I will follow your instructions and hopefully I can do all my fan control from the Bios!

[quest_for_silence]

Many thanks for all your suggestions and guidance quest_for_silence. Whats your take on Ncase M1?

Just that it's a nice looking case, and that it may be decent, noise-wise (depending on the parts selection: your proposed ones would seem some right ones, in order to build inside it).

The SFX PSU is the Silverstone SFX500-LG. Should be okay?

I can't say: I've heard on this forum (from some regulars like xan_user and Mats) it might have some fan/controller issue (mainly fan starts/stops continuosly, IIRC).

[Delirious]

Update: I am now the owner of a black Ncase m1 v4. Pretty good looking case I have to say. Also really compact and will be a little bit of a challenge to build in.

I decided to not go for the sfx500-lg because of the issues you mentioned. So now the question is should I get the Corsair sf450 or the Seasonic x-400 atx equivalent? The downside with an atx psu is max length of (potential) gpu will be 195mm. Really should not be a issue for me. And also that the cable length will be way to long. The good thing about atx is hopefully more quiet and of better quality.

[quest_for_silence]

So now the question is should I get the Corsair sf450 or the Seasonic x-400 atx equivalent?

With low power parts like your ones, I guess it probably don't make any difference.
Given the space constraints, I'd probably use the Corsair SF450 (you should shave off some money also), or the more modest SST-ST30SF from Silverstone if the price difference over the Corsair were substantial.

[Delirious]

I am going to get the sf450 then. I will have to wait a little bit for it to restock. I already ordered the other parts. The motherboard has as already arrived and looks nice.

Also the cpu will in stead be the i5 6600k. Got it at a reasonable price.

So I was thinking about getting another gtx 750ti. Can get it used for about 50 dollars. I was planning on sticking with the igpu until the gtx 1050/1060 arrived, but after looking into the specs for intel hd 530 I think it will struggle with even the most basic games at 1440p. And there are a couple of games (which are not demanding) that I would like to play if possible.

Is it a good idea?

[CA_Steve]

Or, play the games at 720p with the iGP until the better cards come out. 750 Ti @ 1440p is going to be very hit and miss for games unless they are very lightweight on the gpu (like WoW).

[Delirious]

Hmmm, I guess that is an option. I could also probably get by with some use of the steam in-house streaming function for now. The games I am very occasionally playing is not very demanding cs:go, trackmania, citites skylines, 8-bit armies. And with these games I have been pretty satisfied with the gtx 750ti I have to say.

Anyway I just saw that AMD is releasing the AMD rx 480. Seems like an interesting card but will have to wait for the benchmarks and reviews. That should be a good card for my build I think.


Also I bought the crucial 2400 mhz 2x8 gb ddr4 ram. After some more reading I understand I would be better of with faster RAM? What do you guys think?

[CA_Steve]

Hmmm, I guess that is an option. I could also probably get by with some use of the steam in-house streaming function for now. The games I am very occasionally playing is not very demanding cs:go, trackmania, citites skylines, 8-bit armies. And with these games I have been pretty satisfied with the gtx 750ti I have to say.

Either way, it'd work fine. I've used an MSI Cubi to be a Steam front end, so your system would work well.

Anyway I just saw that AMD is releasing the AMD rx 480. Seems like an interesting card but will have to wait for the benchmarks and reviews. That should be a good card for my build I think.

My guess is it'll be in the same weight class as the GTX 1060. Gotta wait to see how they compare for fps and power use.

Also I bought the crucial 2400 mhz 2x8 gb ddr4 ram. After some more reading I understand I would be better of with faster RAM?

Not with a stock i3 and a midgrade gfx card for a gaming build. Some benefit for iGP gaming...but that's just for a couple of months...and no benefit if you do Stream streaming. Ask again when you get the OC'ed i5 or i7 and a GTX 1080.

[Delirious]

Nice! I think I will be keeping the the RAM then. However I decided to go with the i5 6600k instead of the i3! It should arrive tomorrow hopefully. Unfortunately I have yet to order the psu, as I am waiting for it to restock. No plans of overclocking though...


So it looks like this:

Ncase M1
i5 6600k
Asus Z170i Pro Gaming
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2400 mhz 8 x 2 Gb
Samsung 850 evo 250 Gb

Yet to order:

SF450
Cpu-cooler (planning to reuse a Scythe Samurai ZZ for the time being)
GPU


Also I yet to figure out how to manage airflow in the ncase, even tough I have it right in front of me.

Apparently there are room for 2x 120mm intake fans at the bottom and 2 x 120mm intake/exhaust fans depending on cpu-cooler height and possible 3.5 inch hdd mount. Also a 92mm fan mount at the back of the case.

I am thinking about either only intake fans at the bottom or one 92mm exhaust fan at the back? Probably I will have to do some testing.