Question Looking for advice about new SFF rig

[bellabichon]

Hi all, I'm looking for some help planning a new SFF build that I can transport across the country for school. I've put together a loose parts list, but I've honestly been pretty ignorant of the PC space ever since I built my last rig a few years back. Any advice or modifications would be much appreciated, thanks!

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/CFZDbK

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month or so, I'm not sure whether I'll build it here and take it with me or assemble it when I arrive

Budget Range: About 2500-3000 Canadian Dollars (including tax), but obviously the cheaper the better

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (mainly FPS games but also some strategy, single-player, RPG, etc), school and creative work (photo and video editing w/ Photoshop and Premiere Pro)

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, any recommendations there would be great too, was thinking something around 30-32" at 1440p (and high refresh rate would be great)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm pretty flexible but delivery time is a consideration, so Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, Canada Computers, Memory Express, etc would be preferred

Location: Canada, either Vancouver or Montreal depending on where I decide to build it

Parts Preferences: Was thinking of switching to Intel this generation, but I don't have strong feelings either way, same goes for GPU

Overclocking: Yes, if possible

 

[Why_Me]

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/8VqPxr/intel-core-i7-13700-21-ghz-16-core-processor-bx8071513700

Intel® Core™ i7-13700 Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.20 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i7-13700 Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.20 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

www.intel.com

Processor Base Power: 65W
Maximum Turbo Power: 219W

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product...8585-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-r-lt520-bkamnf-g-1
Deepcool LT520

One single 2TB SSD

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/Fv8j4D/samsung-970-evo-plus-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-mz-v7s2t0bam

 

[geofelt]

You could build as is.
I have some thoughts:
13th gen will run hot, but they are designed to run at 100c. for best performance.
Read this article:

Core i9-13900K Cooling Guide: Testing Intel's Flagship With Budget Air and Big AIOs

The Core i9-13900K can push even the most capable liquid coolers to their limits, but you don’t lose that much performance if you go with budget-priced air cooling.

www.tomshardware.com

Or, in video form:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFgswzTvyc

You can cool equally well using a good air cooler.
The NR200 can handle a 155mm tall cooler.
Noctua maintains a list of suitable coolers. Here is the list for the 13700K:

INTEL Core i7-13700K | CPU Compatibility | Noctua Compatibility Centre

Series: Raptor Lake-S, Socket: LGA 1700

ncc.noctua.at

Notable is the NH D12L at 145mm tall.

NH-D12L

The NH-D12L is a low-height 120mm class CPU cooler that has been conceived to combine outstanding quiet cooling performance with superior case compatibility. At a height of only 145mm (13mm lower than Noctua’s regular 120mm models), it fits many 4U enclosures as well as narrower tower cases that...

noctua.at

The canada price is outrageous, but also look at the lian li TU150 case.
Light and portable.
It can handle even a NH-D15 cooler.

https://www.newegg.ca/p/2AM-000Z-00051

I think I would simply use a single 2tb m.2 device up front.
There is no performance value in two devices.
One device is easier to manage space.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

5800X3D option with 6950XT:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($374.50 @ shopRBC)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool CASTLE 240EX WHITE 64.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($79.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Western Digital)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 319 Radeon RX 6950 XT 16 GB Video Card ($869.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Corsair 2000D AIRFLOW Mini ITX Tower Case ($154.99 @ PC-Canada)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 SFX GOLD 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($183.99 @ PC-Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($136.05 @ Vuugo)
Monitor: LG 27GN800-B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 144 Hz Monitor ($382.65 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2617.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-13 12:21 EDT-0400


If you want a 4070ti @ 1000CAD: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product...e-rtx-4070-ti-12-gb-video-card-zt-d40710j-10p

 

[bellabichon]

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/8VqPxr/intel-core-i7-13700-21-ghz-16-core-processor-bx8071513700

Intel® Core™ i7-13700 Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.20 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i7-13700 Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.20 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

www.intel.com

Processor Base Power: 65W
Maximum Turbo Power: 219W

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product...8585-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-r-lt520-bkamnf-g-1
Deepcool LT520

One single 2TB SSD

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/Fv8j4D/samsung-970-evo-plus-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-mz-v7s2t0bam

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely switch to a single SSD, no idea why I specced out two in the list. I'm still not sure whether to go air-cooled or AIO, but that Deepcool model looks pretty nice (and much cheaper than the Corsair).

 

[bellabichon]

You could build as is.
I have some thoughts:
13th gen will run hot, but they are designed to run at 100c. for best performance.
Read this article:

Core i9-13900K Cooling Guide: Testing Intel's Flagship With Budget Air and Big AIOs

The Core i9-13900K can push even the most capable liquid coolers to their limits, but you don’t lose that much performance if you go with budget-priced air cooling.

www.tomshardware.com

Or, in video form:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFgswzTvyc

You can cool equally well using a good air cooler.
The NR200 can handle a 155mm tall cooler.
Noctua maintains a list of suitable coolers. Here is the list for the 13700K:

INTEL Core i7-13700K | CPU Compatibility | Noctua Compatibility Centre

Series: Raptor Lake-S, Socket: LGA 1700

ncc.noctua.at

Notable is the NH D12L at 145mm tall.

NH-D12L

The NH-D12L is a low-height 120mm class CPU cooler that has been conceived to combine outstanding quiet cooling performance with superior case compatibility. At a height of only 145mm (13mm lower than Noctua’s regular 120mm models), it fits many 4U enclosures as well as narrower tower cases that...

noctua.at

The canada price is outrageous, but also look at the lian li TU150 case.
Light and portable.
It can handle even a NH-D15 cooler.

https://www.newegg.ca/p/2AM-000Z-00051

I think I would simply use a single 2tb m.2 device up front.
There is no performance value in two devices.
One device is easier to manage space.

Thanks for the reply! Didn't even occur to me that I could fit a Noctua tower cooler in the case, but looking at the measurements it seems like there shouldn't be any issues. I've had a great experience with the NH-D15 in the past so I'll definitely check it out. That Lian Li case looks sick, but I'm a bit trepidatious about a tempered glass panel in something I'll be lugging around even in a padded suitcase.

 

[bellabichon]

5800X3D option with 6950XT:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($374.50 @ shopRBC)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool CASTLE 240EX WHITE 64.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($79.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Western Digital)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 319 Radeon RX 6950 XT 16 GB Video Card ($869.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Corsair 2000D AIRFLOW Mini ITX Tower Case ($154.99 @ PC-Canada)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 SFX GOLD 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($183.99 @ PC-Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($136.05 @ Vuugo)
Monitor: LG 27GN800-B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 144 Hz Monitor ($382.65 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2617.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-13 12:21 EDT-0400


If you want a 4070ti @ 1000CAD: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product...e-rtx-4070-ti-12-gb-video-card-zt-d40710j-10p

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely look at AMD systems to compare.

 

[Why_Me]

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely switch to a single SSD, no idea why I specced out two in the list. I'm still not sure whether to go air-cooled or AIO, but that Deepcool model looks pretty nice (and much cheaper than the Corsair).

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/deepcool-ak620-review

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/deepcool-ak620-dual-tower-cpu-cooler/

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGM6FcLDckk