Cuboid build (plan)

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BrianF
Posts: 151
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:59 am

Cuboid build (plan)

Post by BrianF » Wed Apr 25, 2018 3:08 am

I just love the esthetic of a cube. Puts me in mind of the original NeXT. :) Although its expensive as *&%, the CaseLabs BH4 is pretty much exactly what I want. I think there is great potential for a quiet build here.

Case:
CaseLabs BH4. Probably have to block the top vent aperture in order for airflow to be fully front-to-back. I might cut out the aperture on the bottom for the PSU: the grill pattern they use there (unlike everywhere else) is very restrictive, and totally unnecessary when PSU's have their own finger guards.

CPU, RAM, Mobo:
Intel i5-8400 (unless I find a really good deal on the 8500 or 8600). Any decent uATX 370 board. MSI Z370M Mortar is looking good. Kingston KVM RAM most likely.

CPU Cooler:
Leaning heavily towards the Noctua NH-U9S, pointing rearward. NH-U12S will not fit, nor will the NH-C14S (unless configured with the fan under the heatsink which I'm not crazy about).

GPU:
Some flavor of GTX1070ti. Have to be careful because of the BH4's length limit here, 282mm. EVGA's 2-fan models will fit. Asus' Strix will not. Video cards in general are such a moving target that the exact one will come down to what is not at extortionist pricing the day I purchase.

Fans:
I'm wondering if a pair of Noctua NF-S12A PWM at the front, blowing in, will do the trick. If anyone thinks pressure will be an issue I'll go NF-P12 PWM. Might do an NF-A8 ULN (run as slow as humanly possible) extracting air at the rear of the lower chamber for the sake of the storage drives (may be unnecessary).

Power Supply:
Corsair RM650x. Already have it (and love it).

Storage:
I have a SATA SSD and a WD 1TB Blue 7.2krpm I want to use. This last has a faint whine to it which might be an issue if everything else is quiet enough to reveal it but I'll have to deal with that in due course. A 1TB Black 2.5" might be better.

Thoughts?

Derek Semeraro
Posts: 124
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:49 am

Re: Cuboid build (plan)

Post by Derek Semeraro » Wed Apr 25, 2018 6:29 am

Build list seems solid. If you are using a non-overclockable CPU like the i5-8400, you don't need a high-end air cooler because temps won't get high. If you are buying the hard drive now, you can get a 2TB for just a little bit more than a 1TB. A 1070 is more energy efficient (and effectively, more quiet) than a 1070 Ti, but of course, it does depend on your use case.

BrianF
Posts: 151
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:59 am

Re: Cuboid build (plan)

Post by BrianF » Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:18 am

Derek Semeraro wrote:A 1070 is more energy efficient (and effectively, more quiet) than a 1070 Ti, but of course, it does depend on your use case.
On reflection, you make a good point.

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