Please Critique my Build!

[Brandon_1877]

Hey all it's been a while since I've made my current PC in 2010 and it's time to upgrade! This time I want an mITX build, I'm done with big and unnecessarily big cases, it's time to go compact. Without further ado here is what I'm thinking about.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($193.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($185.82 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD - BPX 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card ($743.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design - Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($119.25 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair - Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($18.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair - Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($18.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair - Air Series AF120 Performance Edition (2-Pack) 63.5 CFM 120mm Fans ($26.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: ViewSonic - VX2778-smhd 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2187.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-27 21:42 EDT-0400

This is to be my general workstation and gaming computer. I'm hoping to get 60 fps at 1440p for the next 8-10 years with this setup. Please critique it and make it better and please answer a few questions about it for me. The first is whether or not I should wait for Asus to release their AM4 mITX mobo as they tend to be better quality than ASrock. The second is about airflow. The case has 6 fans, 2 140mm intakes in the front, 2 140 mm exhausts on the top, 1 120mm exhaust in the rear near the top, and 1 120mm intake fan in front of the psu. The radiator will be covering the two front intakes effectively making them useless, will the negative pressure caused by the 3 exhaust fans be ok, or should I go without the top exhaust and only have one exhaust for positive pressure? The third question is about the monitor, I am still looking around for IPS/VA/PLS monitor that has excellent looks, I am a big fan of "frameless," what other good IPS monitors are out there that would be better than what I am thinking about currently?

 

[vapour]

1. 1080ti in such a tiny ITX case is not recommended, no matter how many fans you add, just bad airflow
2. PCPartpicker already tells you psu is incompatible, I don't believe H115i will fit either.
3. 8 gb ram for 8-10 years? Try 16 gb
4. It is going to be too hot in there, all the components will probably age really fast, 8-10 years is hard to maintain.

mATX mid tower may still have a chance to work. Just my two cents.

 

[geofelt]

Love those small ITX builds.
My thoughts.

1. Your budget for cooler is almost the same as for the cpu.
Why not buy a stronger cpu in the first place. A I5-8600K is looking very strong in tests I have seen.
The very best cooler would be s Noctua NH-D15s, But, I think you could do almost as well with a $35 scythe kotetsu.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1391-page1.html

2. I like the case. It has room for two 140mm front intakes which should supply plenty of cooling air for both a GTX1080ti and a 8600K. One problem with liquid cooling is how to orient the radiator.
If you put it in front, the cpu will cool well, but the graphics card will get hotter air. Not good.
If you put the radiator up top as exhaust, it will be fed hot air and be less effective.
I have a GTX1080ti and a 7600K@4.9. My case has only a single 180mm intake fan in front running at half speed.
Heat is no problem, using a Noctua NH-U12s.



3. ASUS has a very nice ITX Z370 motherboard

4. Case spec says ATX psu. Look for a Seasonic focus 650w at half the price.
Rated 9.8 out of 10 by jonnyguru.

5. Buy a quality name brand ssd. Namely Samsung 960 evo m.2 pcie.
It is faster.

Sorry, I can't help on monitors.

 

[Brandon_1877]

1. 1080ti in such a tiny ITX case is not recommended, no matter how many fans you add, just bad airflow
2. PCPartpicker already tells you psu is incompatible, I don't believe H115i will fit either.
3. 8 gb ram for 8-10 years? Try 16 gb
4. It is going to be too hot in there, all the components will probably age really fast, 8-10 years is hard to maintain.

mATX mid tower may still have a chance to work. Just my two cents.

There is an SFX to ATX adaptor for the psu, my build lists 16 gb already. H115i will fit as there are numerous builds with it and the SF600 psu. An SFX psu is a must with this case.

@geofelt
I want to stick with ryzen as I think it will have better performance than intel by the end of AM4's socket life. The case has really poor air cooler support, liquid is much more effective, and mydigitalSSD is MLC vs TLC and was rated number 1 by tom's hardware. It's endurance is 700 TB vs 200 TB for the samsung. I'm going to risk it, especially with such glowing reviews on it. Plus, it's actually the same real life performance as the Samsung.

Oh and here is why an ATX gpu is not recommended at all with this case.

The gpu sucks all that hot air from the psu, with an SFX psu there is much more breathing room.

 

[geofelt]

Most ATX power supplies draw in fresh air from the bottom.
All the intake air for the psu will come from the bottom.
A SFX psu will be some 1.5" shorter, so yes, more ventilation space would be available.
But, the intake draw for your pc will come from the front intake fans.
You might look at a Silverstone Focus 650w unit for less.
It is rated 9.8/10 by jonnyguru costs less, and will have a decent sized cooling fan.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151186

If one insisted on a liquid cooler, I would locate it on top exhausting air out the top.
Two good 140mm front intakes will supply plenty of air for a GTX1080ti as well as the AIO cooler.
Plus, if all your intake is from one source, and is filtered, your case will stay cooler.
I would argue that a nice tower type air cooler will be just as effective. Cheaper, quieter, less expensive, and will not leak.

Ryzen is popular, particularly if your main purpose is production and can use many threads.
If, however, you expect to not be obsolete before 8-10 years, I think you are unrealistic.
If $100 extra is a budget killer, try to buy a I7-8700K.
It is as good as it gets today, and better than a I7-7700K.
As to the utility of many threads for gaming, read this report on a comparison of a I7-7800K and a I7-7700K.
Namely a comparison of 12 threads vs. 8.
In virtually all cases, the superior clock rate of the 7700K edges out the 7800K when using a top end graphics card, the GTX1080ti.
https://www.techspot.com/review/1445-core-i7-7800x-vs-7700k/

 

[assasin32]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($399.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($185.82 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD - BPX 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB ARMOR Video Card ($724.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman - Z3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($10.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Monitor: Dell - S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor ($389.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Total: $2188.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-28 15:20 EDT-0400

Room for another case fan in there. And this monitor has Gsync. The heatsink will work pretty good for a mild overclock, if you plan on making the thing last for 8-10years overclocking may not even be good option or a mild one at best. And realistically I wouldn't expect to be playing games at 60+ fps in 8-10years no matter what you build. My buddy built a machine with SLI 8800 gtx cards around 2006 or early 2007 and they were feeling pretty dated long before that.

I would personally shoot for $1000-1500 build with a monitor and put the rest of the money off to the side for upgrades a few years from now. That will probably keep you current for far longer with the same amount of funds. Just make sure you buy the Retail version of windows so you can transfer it to a different build as the OEM or system builder won't allow you to do that.