Case Recommendations & a Few Other Questions

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Crag_Hack

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Hi I am gathering information to build a new PC to my replace my aging current 6 year old one.

My main question is can anybody recommend a good case for me? I am looking for a mid tower with a good balance of quiet and cooling capacity. I am a little bored by cases that simply have plain old flat panels on the sides and front and like more angles and honeycomb. I am open to suggestions though. Cost isn't terribly important.

As for the other components, if anybody can present a reason to choose other parts please let me know. I plan on getting a Seasonic PSU with 12 year warranty and LAMBDA A++ noise rating. For mobo I am leaning toward Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro since it's top rated by TechRadar and also the Aorus Gaming 5 & 7 are rated well here at Tom's Hardware. For CPU I am getting a i7-9700k if I can find one and a Zalman CNPS 9900 Max CPU cooler to go with it. Memory I will find G Skill or Corsair probably a well reviewed model. I already have an EVGA 970 video card. SSD I'll get Samsung 970.

Should the CNPS 9900 Max be enough to effectively cool an i7-9700k? It has a Qmax of 300 W which I think is the max TDP it can cool. I don't want to drive the CPU much higher than 50-60 C under stress.

Thanks for the help!
 

Crag_Hack

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Another two quick questions if ya don't mind.

I am reluctant to put a CLC on the front panel of the case - wouldn't this blow hot air into the case and heat up the GPU?

Should a 240mm CLC suffice for a 9700k? If I go with a 280mm instead of a 240mm will I see significantly lower temperatures or would it be somewhat negligible?

Thx!
 

Crag_Hack

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So after much snooping around I am attracted to the Cooler Master Trooper SE/Stryker SE (just different colors of the same model) and the Cooler Master Cosmos II. The Cosmos II has a side fan - but that shouldn't matter much right? Are these guys good candidates? Any relevant important differences I may have missed or other input to offer? Thanks :)
 

Crag_Hack

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One last question that's been bugging me - does Gigabyte make solid mobos? They are in the top mobos list at Tom's Hardware and PCGamer.com. I'm inclined to go with them b/c of that. Some people claim ASUS is plain and simply the best - are Gigabyte ones of comparable quality? Thx so much for all the help :)
 
You can watch Gamersnexus on YouTube. They break down the best motherboards for overclocking etc. for each chipset. Anyone that states to go with one over another vendor is a biased opinion because most people don't have multiple motherboards from different vendors via the same Chipset. Most manufacturers typically have decent warranty support, so i'd do a little bit of research, pick a board that fits your build aesthetically and remember you get what you pay for. If you spend $200 or higher you're most likely going to get a decent quality board.
 
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Crag_Hack

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Thanks SgtScream. Speaking of Gamer's Nexus Steve always says 'There's no such thing as a good brand, only a good product.' No overclocking here though I don't care about an extra 5-10% performance or something around that.
 
If you're planning on going with higher end graphics cards you'll want to go with a 650w power supply:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel - Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($409.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *Corsair - H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($129.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte - Z390 AORUS ULTRA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($238.06 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($170.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1223.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-10 19:32 EDT-0400
 

Crag_Hack

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Thanks dude! You are truly altruistic. Can I use the full 3200 MHz of the RAM even if I don't overclock? I will get the 650W for upgradeability for the future. Also is the i7-9700K far superior to the i5-9600K as long as money is not of much concern?
 
Thanks dude! You are truly altruistic. Can I use the full 3200 MHz of the RAM even if I don't overclock? I will get the 650W for upgradeability for the future. Also is the i7-9700K far superior to the i5-9600K as long as money is not of much concern?
Yes, you just enable the xmp profile on the motherboard and set it to 3200, with one click of the mouse button (very easy). If you don't overclock, you could save a ton of money by waiting for third gen Ryzen or going with the existing second gen. You'll supposedly get on par Intel single core performance for a lot less which will allow you to spend a lot more of your budget on a better graphics card. At this rate (on how old this thread is) by the time you're ready to purchase, it will be so close to 3rd gen Ryzen release that you should just wait and see what AMD has to offer. Right now, if you were to go with this system, you'd essentially be paying very inflated prices for the 9700k, along with having to purchase an aftermarket cooler on top of that, to essentially not use any of it to it's full potential (Because you won't be overclocking). Just to make sure you know this but you're paying extra for the k sku processor and the z series motherboard because of their overclocking functionality.

Here's an example:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($284.99 @ Walmart)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS GAMING 5 WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($170.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $910.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-10 21:06 EDT-0400


Look at how much extra you can spend on the graphics card or a better display! If you're going 1440p or higher resolution, the single core performance difference of Intel is so insignificant, that it doesn't justify the difference in cost. ESPECIALLY if you don't overclock. It's all about shifting the budget to where it counts. With expensive high end systems it makes absolutely no sense to run a resolution lower than 1440p. That being said, my budget is going towards a RTX 2080 or higher on a system like this, because that's where performance and budget is going to make all the difference at 1440p resolution or higher.
 
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Crag_Hack

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A quick question that's been bugging me - where's the best place to put a CLC and which way to orient the fan airflow? Now that I've paid off taxes I'll be buying my new computer in a month hopefully! :)
 
You'll have to experiment with different configurations. There is no one answer to that question as every build is different with different components. Your cpu might run hotter when mounting the rad on top, but if you mount the rad in the front your graphics card with run hotter due to not having as much front intake air flow. You'll just have to monitor temps and test multiple configurations to make the best choice. My tax return is going towards a 200 amp circuit and wiring for a generator!
 
Another one :) Does PCPartPicker ensure memory compatibility with the mobo? Is it prudent to check the memory manufacturer's memory finder for the mobo? Thanks.
Yes, but it wouldn't hurt to check the QVL of the motherboard. However not all memory are on the qvl and would still most likely work. Chances are if you go with a well known brand like G.Skill or Corsair you typically won't run into issues as long as you purchase DDR4.