Great pics, Luca! That Zalman is huge, just like the NH-D14; it appears that it's just near the limit of the Define Mini supported size. I'm glad it's working well for you, though it looks like you're limited to two RAM slots--those RAM sticks are about the tallest I've seen! Thanks for the link to ...

...it doesn't mention Ripjaws V which, according to G.Skill site, is 1mm taller... That 1mm taller taking it to 42mm which could be really tight for the NH-L12. I would guess that even if Noctua say there is clearance with the Ripjaws V it would only be a millimetre or two. The Noctua NH-C14S has 6...

Luca, thanks for that great list of coolers! I guess you may have some options even there in Canada, with your somewhat typical, local nasty pricing... Yes, unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about that :cry: ! The passive coolers, though I love the total lack of noise, kind of worry me. The t...

Picked up the Fractal Design Define Mini at a local computer store today, for $108. Now just need the parts to put in it :lol: ! Also, Noctua's NH-L12 RAM compatibility list shows G.Skill Ripjaws 4 RAM being okay; it doesn't mention Ripjaws V which, according to G.Skill site, is 1mm taller. I've e-m...

Everything at SPCR is viewed through the lens of "how can we make this PC quieter?". This is the sole reason why I don't recommend a Gigabyte mobo unless you are doing a Hackintosh build (as Gigabyte historically has catered toward this). RAM: GSkill has RAM with short heatspreaders. As does Kingst...

If I prefer low-profile, would the one I mentioned be a good choice (would it be quieter/outperform the stock cooler), or are there other, better low-profile ones? The Noctua NH-C14S at around $103 delivered could be worth considering. Clearance in low-profile mode (fan underneath) is 115mm; in hig...

Thank you for your valuable comments. RAM: Which do you like/recommend? Define Mini: Has six 120mm fan locations; comes with two fans, but they are not PWM. Other than that, not sure of their specs. Among my parts, I found three new Scythe Slip Stream Kaze-Jyuni sy1225sl12l 120mm fans, and a new Ene...

Anyone have any thoughts on the above?

Based on all of the above (and much, much reading here at SPCR and elsewhere), I'm leaning towards doing another uATX build in (again) a Define Mini. Thanks to Steve, I've decided an i5 will be sufficient (rather than i7). As mentioned in the first post, integrated graphics, no overclocking. So, her...

In general, for the current crop of boards, as compared to mITX, the uATX boards offer: 1. VRM heatsinks, as opposed to no heatsinks 2. Better power; six- or seven-phase, as opposed to five- or even four-phase 3. Eight-pin power connector, as opposed to four-pin 4. M.2 socket on top of board, as opp...

So I've been spending some time concentrating on some mITX mainboards, specifically these comparable boards from Gigabyte and MSI: H170: GIGABYTE GA-H170N-WIFI MSI H170I Pro AC B150: GIGABYTE GA-B150N PHOENIX-WIFI MSI B150I GAMING PRO AC H110: GIGABYTE GA-H110N MSI H110I Pro Feel free to make any co...

May something like this build be a viable option? You mean the Antec 110? I did look at those, but I really don't want any silver/chrome--just black. The 300, on the other hand is all black. They would make good desktop cases, but below the desk it puts the USB ports right down near the floor and h...

one user on ncix.com (for the silver case), said you could reverse the build so that the mainboard was the normal way up--I take it he meant reversing the side panels, and also flipping the rear panel. From your experience, would this actually be possible? The wonderful thing is that the case comes...

Affiliate links: try replacing the .com with .ca for Amazon and Newegg. It might work. NCIX home is in Canada, so maybe their .com will work for you. Thanks, Steve. I tried those, and all three actually did take me to the Canadian site, with the affiliate info still in the address, so they might ac...

My experiences with the Raijintek Metis have been very good. Amazingly cheap and may fit the criteria you have specified. Whether or not it is available to you locally I do not know. Thanks, edh. Great build, by the way :) . After your post, I've read many reviews of this case (and yes, it does see...

Just as a side note, that's full of small cases around! Thanks, Luca. I only listed ones that I found at either Newegg.ca, NCIX.com, or the local store. If anyone could point out any other cases, I'd be glad to research the possibility of getting them in Canada! On a related note, some of you have ...

Well, I found quite a few reviews of the In Win cases above, which all reported the same: small, good looking, noisy, and many PSU DOA's. [Those cases are available with either 200W or 300W PSU's.] The noise, some said, was the case fan, others said the PSU fan; still others weren't sure, they just ...

CA_Steve wrote:Huh?

Ooops! My bad . I looked at the picture and didn't see any video connections. Obviously I missed those; was probably expecting to see a DVI port. Okay, so time to look at this board again.

Still struggling with the choice of uATX or mITX. The attraction of mITX is simply the smaller size. But of the ITX cases that are available in Canada (that I have found), most aren't really what I am looking for. A few that I do really like, but have no experience with: Fractal Design Define Nano S...

So, a couple of you have mentioned Asus Z170I Pro Gaming; but, it does not support integrated video. [See first post; no gaming or overclocking, integrated video sufficient for my needs, which are more processor oriented than graphical.]

Yeah, you guys are right. No point in putting more money into this old rig. It should handle Linux plenty well just as it is :wink: . Luca, you convinced me to search for used SSD's; what I found was very disappointing. Judging from the asking prices, a seller seems to think his old stuff is some ki...

Thanks, Steve. I've been leaning towards the 850 EVO over the Intel, and will likely go that way for the new build. AnandTech shows the 750 EVO lags the 850 EVO, but is likely plenty good enough for the old machine(s). Just not sure if I can justify $70 for that old machine (for the middle machine, ...

Having looked at the reviews, not only from Newegg and NCIX, but also from sites like AnandTech and TweakTown, it seems that the available small-capacity, low-cost SSD's like Adata, Team Group, and Silicon Power, and even more well known brands, are to be avoided. So, limiting the selection to Intel...

Would it be worthwhile, performance wise, to add a 32GB or 64GB SSD for $20 or $30, to run Linux? Personally I'd look for something like these: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/322144208605 Thanks Luca, though I'm doubtful about used SSDs. I did find both Samsung and Intel 120GB SSDs for $70Cdn on Newegg and...

Your main benefit with an SSD for the OS is boot time. Don't think it'll speed up the HDD disk copy/backup speeds. That said, my suggestion would be to look for reviews for the specific SSD you are considering. When you get down that small, the SSD is only populated with a few chips, so you lose a ...

The build mentioned above is really much too slow for modern Windows OS. Would it be worthwhile, performance wise, to add a 32GB or 64GB SSD for $20 or $30, to run Linux?

I never had any problems with Asus motherboards. To day I would go for Z170I Pro Gaming. It has what I want: good fan control, WiFi, M.2 (Sata/PCIE), 8 + front USB. And it seems to have decent VRM cooling. However I neither overclock or run torture tests so I don't bother reading reviews :) Thanks ...

So I've just read SPCR's review of the Gigabyte Z170N-Gaming 5 & Z170N-WIFI mITX boards, two boards which are^H^H^Hwere on my list. Many of the Newegg reviewers mentioned the problem of throttling, not just on the Z170N-WIFI but on several other Gigabyte boards as well, many thinking that it is rela...

Thanks, Steve; very helpful. https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z170-H170-H110-B170-Q150-Q170---What-is-the-Difference-635/ A very good article, and it confirms the table in the earlier link. Also, Gigabyte has the worst fan control of the big 4. Forgive me if I'm a bit behind of the current...

GA-H110N (rev. 1.0) definitely says "PCIe Gen2 x4 M.2 Connector with up to 20Gb/s Data Transfer (PCIe NVMe & SATA SSD support)." Am I reading the chart on wikipedia wrong?