[SOLVED] Z490 Build, ITX or even smaller ATX?

[Gintama69]

I'm planning to build Z490 system for a friend as a present once NVidia RTX3000 series become available. (cos I owe him heaps)

I want to build him something fast(using Intel CPU), very quite, and also small/light.
Which of following two system would be better in your opinion? and why? (they are identical, but just different case and mobo, price is in AU$, and obviously I'm just guessing the rough RTX3070 price oc)

CPU: Intel i7 10700K - $688
HSF: Noctua NH-U12S - $129
M/B: MSI MEG Z490I Unify - $479
RAM: 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200 - $249
GPU: MSI RTX3070 Gaming X - $900
SSD: 2TB ADATA SX8200 Pro - $413
Case: Lian Li PC-TU150 (White) -$185
PSU: Corsair SF750 - $239
TOTAL: $3,282

CPU: Intel i7 10700K - $688
HSF: Noctua NH-U12S - $129
M/B: MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk - $358
RAM: 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200 - $249
GPU: MSI RTX3070 Gaming X - $900
SSD: 2TB ADATA SX8200 Pro - $413
Case: Sliger Cerberus X (White) - $499
PSU: Corsair SF750 - $239
TOTAL: $3,475 (extra $190 or ~6%)

Advantage of Lian Li PC-TU150 - $190 or 6% cheaper, can get all the parts fast locally.
Advantage of Sliger Cerberus X - proper ATX system but still smaller than TU150 ITX, better quality case.

p.s. I have 10700K atm with Noctua NH-D15 and it runs very cool. So I think Noctua NH-U12S should be fine for stock 10700K. But I can change the cooler to Noctua NH-U12A on PC-TU150, and to Noctua NH-C14S on Cerberus X.

 

[gtarayan]

I have 10700K atm with Noctua NH-D15 and it runs very cool.

Can you describe the case it is installed in, and what fan configuration you are using (including the power supply fan).

 

[Karadjgne]

The thing about tiny cases, mITX etc is you gotta get down to the millimeter. You listed 2 nice cases and a really decent cooler. That's a minimum of 10mm too tall. The Sliger only fits a 148mm cooler, but the Lian-Li fits upto 165mm. Which beggars the question, just how do you cool a 10700k with less than 148mm of space. For the Sliger, it was built more for full custom loop, designed to only be wide enough to accommodate a 120mm wide radiator, but it's tall enough and deep enough to mount 2x 240mm rads. For a lesser cpu, an aio will be fine, even a low profile cooler like the Noctua L12S, but the 10700k is a big boy cpu, and demands big boy cooling.

Tiny builds, either SFF or mITX require meticulous planning. It's more than just throwing parts into a standard ATX mid tower. There's accessibility, cable routing, atx or sfx psu, placement of m.2 drives (the ones on the rear really suck in some cases), gpu fitment lengths and card slot depths, vertical or horizontal, airflow blockages,

Etc etc etc...

 

[Gintama69]

Can you describe the case it is installed in, and what fan configuration you are using (including the power supply fan).

I'm running it on top of the desk atm, I bought CoolerMaster H500 case again but using Corsair SF600 PSU now and the cables are too short so I can't install it inside the case. (waiting to buy new PSU at decent price cos there's bit of PSU shortage in Australia atm)

Having said that I also had 9900K/KS inside CoolerMaster H500 case with Noctua NH-D15 cooler(using only one stock fan) with Corsair HX1000 PSU and everything ran super cool and quite all the time.. and 10700K runs bit cooler than 9900K/KS according to all the reviews and also from my experience so far.

 

[Gintama69]

The thing about tiny cases, mITX etc is you gotta get down to the millimeter. You listed 2 nice cases and a really decent cooler. That's a minimum of 10mm too tall. The Sliger only fits a 148mm cooler, but the Lian-Li fits upto 165mm. Which beggars the question, just how do you cool a 10700k with less than 148mm of space. For the Sliger, it was built more for full custom loop, designed to only be wide enough to accommodate a 120mm wide radiator, but it's tall enough and deep enough to mount 2x 240mm rads. For a lesser cpu, an aio will be fine, even a low profile cooler like the Noctua L12S, but the 10700k is a big boy cpu, and demands big boy cooling.

Tiny builds, either SFF or mITX require meticulous planning. It's more than just throwing parts into a standard ATX mid tower. There's accessibility, cable routing, atx or sfx psu, placement of m.2 drives (the ones on the rear really suck in some cases), gpu fitment lengths and card slot depths, vertical or horizontal, airflow blockages,

Etc etc etc...

Thanks for the input, I've also had few ITX setups in past so I know heat is the main issue when building an ITX setup.

I had Sliger Cerberus X case and bequite! Dark Rock TF cooler ready for Z490 build, and I was also really worried about the heat cos I was gonna use 10900K at the start and Dark Rock TF cooler is only rated for 220W TDP.
But long story short, I ended up selling the Cerberus X cos I couldn't even install the crappy Dark Rock TF cooler to the motherboard, it's by far the worst cooler I've ever used and I will never buy another bequite! product again.

If I were to get another Cerberus X(or non X) case, then I might order Noctua NH-C14S from Amazon and I think C14S should be sufficient even for stock 10900K. But since 10700K/10900K seem to run bit cooler than I expected, I think even Noctua NH-U12S should be fine for stock 10700K.