Need advice for a balanced gaming build

[highlanderfil]

I absolutely love my Cooler Master N200. Great microATX case.

At a different point in time I'd probably agree, but if you look at what I currently have and the two I've linked to, they are a bit different from the design direction standpoint. What I'd really like is a Rosewill Legacy, but prices on those are a bit ridiculous.

 

[madmatt30]

The Hyperion is a superb little case mate.
My only argument would be that in the UK its both cheaper ,& comes with a 200mm intake & 3x 120mm exhausts prefitted.

Good good cube case though , will take a lot of components & fans should feel the need.

 

[highlanderfil]

So here's another thought. I have a Silverstone Milo ML03 case from an HTPC build. Could I get away with using it for this build? My main concerns, obviously, are heat and video card/CPU HSF sizing...

 

[madmatt30]

The ml03 won't take a full size GPU mate so its not really an option.

 

[highlanderfil]

The ml03 won't take a full size GPU mate so its not really an option.

Damn it. Weird, because the comments on Silverstone's own website seem to suggest it will. Ah well, the search continues.

 

[madmatt30]

Definitely doesnt mate (I do a lot of Silverstone htpc builds)

ml series are low profile only, the gd series will all take full size cards up to 300mm long

 

[highlanderfil]

Definitely doesnt mate (I do a lot of Silverstone htpc builds)

ml series are low profile only, the gd series will all take full size cards up to 300mm long

Cheers, appreciate the experienced view. I hate shopping for a case sight unseen... The Raijintek looks sleek enough, but the PSU location is kinda wonky. And the Raidmax looks just as chunky as my current case. Trouble is, finding a non-black compact case is tough...

 

[madmatt30]

To be fair most matx cubes are going to be a similar size mate.
The Hyperion is 4 inches shorter on depth but exactly the same width & height.
Any dual chamber case needs that 14 inch width.

Have you looked at the bitfenix phenom m & the aerocools Ds cube ??

Both very good (the Ds is a firm favourite & comes in an insane amount of colour finishes)

 

[highlanderfil]

To be fair most matx cubes are going to be a similar size mate.
The Hyperion is 4 inches shorter on depth but exactly the same width & height.
Any dual chamber case needs that 14 inch width.

Have you looked at the bitfenix phenom m & the aerocools Ds cube ??

Both very good (the Ds is a firm favourite & comes in an insane amount of colour finishes)

I have. I actually tried out the Phenom and found it too cramped. I absolutely LOVE the looks of the DS, but it's nigh impossible to find one priced below $100 in the States. Should have gone to a PC parts store when I was on your shores in April...

Hm, there's a red one on eBay for $60+15S&H. Just my luck - the one color I don't like.

 

[madmatt30]

Yep mate don't understand the international pricing at all .

Every colour, windowed or not is available in the UK for just over £60, for every 5 instances where we get robbed comparitively against US prices there is always an item that will be substantially less.
The DS is one of those rare instances.

 

[highlanderfil]

Yep mate don't understand the international pricing at all .

Every colour, windowed or not is available in the UK for just over £60, for every 5 instances where we get robbed comparitively against US prices there is always an item that will be substantially less.
The DS is one of those rare instances.

I think in the U.S. it's less pricing than availability. I can get a white one for $90, but the other colors are either unavailable or have to be imported.

It's the Ford Focus RS all over again.

 

[madmatt30]

I think that if you really want a white case the Hyperion is where its at mate really.

I've only used the black one but it's an excellent case
Well designed, easy to build in.

On your shores Ithink it only comes with 2x120mm fans .

Swap the included front one to a top rear exhaust , & buy a 200mm fan for the front intake & the cooling capability on it is absolutely first class (better than cases costing twice as much)

 

[highlanderfil]

I think that if you really want a white case the Hyperion is where its at mate really.

That's the problem - I want a bit more color than that...

 

[CTurbo]

What exactly are you looking for in a case? You are going with the ASRock H97M Pro4 right?

I think you should reconsider a miniITX motherboard and get a mini case as well.

Shopping for the case is supposed to be the fun part. It's certainly the most personal part so it's most important that YOU find one that you like. After all, you are the one who has to look at it.

 

[highlanderfil]

What exactly are you looking for in a case? You are going with the ASRock H97M Pro4 right?

I think you should reconsider a miniITX motherboard and get a mini case as well.

Shopping for the case is supposed to be the fun part. It's certainly the most personal part so it's most important that YOU find one that you like. After all, you are the one who has to look at it.

I want it to look, for lack of a better word, pretty. The Dead Silence case is perfect from that standpoint - gives you an idea of the look I'm after.

I already ordered the motherboard. I could cancel and return, I suppose, but I really don't want to limit myself to the two RAM slots.

 

[CTurbo]

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/VmgPxr/apevia-case-xqpack3wht

 

[highlanderfil]

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/VmgPxr/apevia-case-xqpack3wht

I actually considered this one before buying the DIYPC. Might look at it again.

 

[madmatt30]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853010&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

as crazy looking as a box of frogs in all honesty

 

[highlanderfil]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853010&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

as crazy looking as a box of frogs in all honesty

I had that yellow one for the same build that is currently housed in the Silverstone. Looks positively nuts (not to mention cheap in a bad way), I couldn't live with it.

I went and got the Aerocool DS in red for $65 shipped. Maybe I can write to them and ask if they sell replacement color plates. Or get enough Ayrton Senna McLaren decals to make it look presentable.

 

[highlanderfil]

The black-and-red DS cube came with a broken bottom. I ended up ordering a custom one from Aerocool - white with a blue insert. Should be here on Wednesday.

 

[highlanderfil]

The motherboard turned out to be a bit cramped - I couldn't install both the sound card and the wireless LAN card, so looks like I'll have to make do with onboard audio.

 

[madmatt30]

Didn't know you had a soundcard??

What board did you go with??
Most boards have decent audio anyway in all fairness.

Are the cards both pci-express??
A mini riser would likely do the job if you were that bothered.

 

[highlanderfil]

Yeah, I think I mentioned somewhere in this thread about having an Audigy FX. I went with this motherboard. The crossfire setup is what's screwing me up, because the 480 is blocking one PCI slot and there is no third PCI slot on the bottom and I can't use that bottom slot for my video card because I doubt it would fit (and even if it did, I'd have nowhere for the fan to blow out). In retrospect, I should have probably thought harder about the positioning, but oh well. Not worth getting a different board over it. I'm not super fussed about it, though, precisely because I think I'll be alright with the onboard sound.

This is what the custom case looks like, but now that I think about it, Aerocool screwed up by using the black top panel. They have an all-white case, so they should have used panels from that one to put mine together.

 

[highlanderfil]

Finally booted it up today. After a false start (poorly seated CPU), it's now up and running well, but the only problem I detect now is the Rx480 runs really warm (66 degrees Celsius at idle). The rest of my internals is at 35-45 (CPU is at around 40), so I'm wondering why that might be...