Suggestions on compatibility and components choice

Bookcase14

Honorable
Mar 25, 2013
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10,520
Hi everyone. Just started ordering parts for my new PC. I haven't built a PC in about 10 years, so I'm essentially a newbie again. PCPartpicker says the components are compatible, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts to make sure my case selection and components will provide ample cooling. Also, what is a good PSU for my build? Should I go modular or semi-modular? How many Watts?

As an FYI: I won't be overclocking anything.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7pPNdC
 
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As long as you overall have more RPM intaking than exhausting you'll be in positive airflow so you should be good. A lot of people replace rear exhaust with the radiator and fan as the exhaust. That will work fine, you could opt to add another exhaust, probably that 80mm fan. Then the front intake and do an intake on top or two depending on how loud it'll get. Do keep in mind most motherboards only will control voltage over the CPU three pin PWM posts so you may want to purchase a PWM Hub if you're going to be adding fans.

http://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-8W-PWM-SPL-ST-Way-PWM-Splitter-Sata/dp/B00IF6R4C8/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1448940208&sr=1-2&keywords=pwm+hub

Do keep in mind the h60 will fit, but it'll be a tight squeeze...


We need to know this to answer weather your build fits your need. As for PSU wattage, for you current build, a 550-650W high quality power supply would work well. See the list of power supplies here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Full or semi modular does not much matter unless you plan to sleeve your cables. If you plan to do no modding, both will work great.
 


I will be mainly using the PC for Audio Recording/Music production (FL Studio, Reaper, Cubase, VSTs, etc), as well as photoshop and digital art. Any gaming will be secondary, as the older I get the less time I have for such pleasures! I'm building this to be pretty future proof for my needs. I will be running at least three monitors (2 standard lcds and a digital art tablet).

I hope that helps!
 


I would recommend getting the processor that is not unlocked and stick with the stock cooler if you do not plan on overclocking. Also you do not need a Z170 motherboard. It is overkill for a non overclocking application. Get an H170 or H110 to save some money.

On the other side, if you want to get even more performance get a 2011v3 socket with a 6 or 8 core CPU. The X99 chipset provides this. You will have better performance with your use that way but it will cost more.

Last I would recommend a different case than that. I am not a big fan of the cooler master ITX cases myself. For how expensive of equipment you are putting in that machine, get something better to hold it.
 


Would this be a better option? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RWJGI6/?tag=pcpapi-20

I don't want to get into liquid cooling if I don't have to...I do not have any experience with it and I wouldn't be comfortable building with it. That is, unless I am being a baby about it and it's easier than I think!😀
 



Thank you for the info. Do you recommend any case that is about the same dimensions? I like the form factor/compactness of the Coolermaster.
 


Not a great cooler.

About water cooling. AIO (all in one) water coolers are even easier than air coolers IMO. Super easy to install and give you tons of room to work. I have put them in ITX cases before with great success. The Corsair H60 is just one example of a 120mm radiator cooler that is super easy to install.
 
Not a great cooler.

About water cooling. AIO (all in one) water coolers are even easier than air coolers IMO. Super easy to install and give you tons of room to work. I have put them in ITX cases before with great success. The Corsair H60 is just one example of a 120mm radiator cooler that is super easy to install
.

Thanks! I think I might go with the H60 then and return the Noctura I ordered. As far as the other parts you mentioned in your previous post, I'll probably stick with the motherboard considering it's already ordered and will leave me some additional (I'm assuming) room to play with in the future. However, I may look at going the unclocked route with the 6700.

 
What configuration do you plan on running your SSDs? As this is a productivity workstation, I'd recommend getting an APS battery backup as well if you don't already own one as sudden power losses and SSDs don't mix well. I would go with the unlocked series, especially if you're going to have the Z board. You might not overclock now, but it'll give you room down the road. Since this sounds like a work computer, it also could allow you to undervolt which would save you on the electric bill which could help in the long run. I haven't seen too much on undervolting the skylake series, but I'm sure with how much headroom they have it can be done.

All in one watercooling is great. Definitely do not shy away from it. Like gilbadon said, they're easier than air. Just try to orient them as an exhaust and not an intake. For sound editing, I don't think you need to deviate from where you've gone so far, especially with wanting to future proof.

Going back to the SSDs for a minute, you might want to consider a backup data drive like a 2-6tb hard drive to dump stuff onto if you don't have a NAS system or some other config already set up. Extra redundancy never hurts.

I have two Intel 750 in RAID 0right now and it's incredible, definitely would recommend it if possible, especially for editing.
 



Great reply and VERY helpful! I think I'm going to wait for the case to come in and check my clearance before I order my CPU cooler/return the Noctura. Also, my thoughts exactly on my original reason for the 6700k.

Thanks for the heads-up on SSD. This is my first go with them outside of a laptop environment. I did plan on getting an external/standard HDD to run as a back-up, but maybe I should have one internally instead? I haven't played with RAID in over 10+ years, so I've probably forgotten everything about it. I will definitely research it though. Thanks!
 
Yeah, internal would be fine, I just meant apart from your array of SSDs. If you're getting two SSDs you should put them in some sort of array. Definitely research which stripe size works best, but a simple breakdown:
RAID 0 = performance splits task between both hard drives (250gb+250gb=500gb)
RAID 1 = redundancy, backup each task is written to both drives (250gb+250gb=250gb)
RAID 5/10/etc you would need more drives.

In my opinion, get a cheaper HDD like a 3TB, then partition it into a backup drive the size of you RAID 0 SSD array to have your SSDs backed up and then use the other partition to store any larger catalog of files you aren't necessarily working on that second.

Clearance shouldn't be too much of an issue and I'm sure a quick google search will show you tons of peoples water cooling setups in it to see what will fit, but that's definitely the best way to go for your CPU cooling, a single 120mm should do fine if you're not overclocking off the bat.
 



I cancelled the Noctua and will probably be ordering a H60. One more question regarding your comment about making the WC an exhaust and not an intake: The way the Coolermaster Case is oriented, all fans aside from the PSU in the back should be intake, including the front fan where I would most likely attach the WC. Any suggestions?
 
As long as you overall have more RPM intaking than exhausting you'll be in positive airflow so you should be good. A lot of people replace rear exhaust with the radiator and fan as the exhaust. That will work fine, you could opt to add another exhaust, probably that 80mm fan. Then the front intake and do an intake on top or two depending on how loud it'll get. Do keep in mind most motherboards only will control voltage over the CPU three pin PWM posts so you may want to purchase a PWM Hub if you're going to be adding fans.

http://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-8W-PWM-SPL-ST-Way-PWM-Splitter-Sata/dp/B00IF6R4C8/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1448940208&sr=1-2&keywords=pwm+hub

Do keep in mind the h60 will fit, but it'll be a tight squeeze. Definitely be mindful of that.
 
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