# Micro ATX Build



## MegaMan (Mar 30, 2013)

*Any Thoughts?*
I'm already aware hasewell is coming in June but I have a great sell price on another system that I can't pass up and Hasewell seems to only have a 5-10% increase.

*6/2/13 update:*
Since I've waited this long I'm going for Haswell, don't care if it will be a 50 dollar premium.
I switched cases to get a 240mm rad and have decided my main goal is noise reduction.

*6/17/13 update:*
Changed my mind on the motherboard, ordered the case, and decided to get a better sound card and buy it used on ebay.

*7/9/13 update:*
I received the remaining parts last week however the motherboard didn't like the ram so I ordered different ram.

*Note:*
I already have a CORSAIR HX750 that will be used.

*Newegg list:*
 Once You Know, You Newegg

*Items in bold are already owned.*

*Corsair Obsidian Series 350D*

*ASUS MAXIMUS VI GENE*

*Intel Core i7-4770K ($300 from microcenter with taxes and having it shipped indirectly)*

*CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Water Cooler*

*G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 2133*

*SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7970 3GB*

*Samsung 840 Pro 256GB*

*Xonar Essence STX*

AcoustiPack ULTIMATE Professional Sound Dampening Pack


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## Animalpak (Mar 30, 2013)

We can discuss only the budget if you will but if is not an issue for you that is a really good setup, go for it ...


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## PopcornMachine (Mar 30, 2013)

MATX fan here. I have maximus IV Gene-z. Wonderful motherboard.  You will enjoy.

All other selections look very nice too.  Not a sound card guy, but I'm told they do make a difference.

And 7970 will do anything you need to do.

Will need pictures.


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## Aquinus (Mar 30, 2013)

MegaMan said:


> I'm already aware hasewell is coming in June but I have a great sell price on another system that I can't pass up and hasewell seems to only have a 5-10% increase.



Yeah, but that neglects all the other features that Haswell will offer. If it does have a flexible bclk, that alone would make the upgrade worth it IMHO.


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## MegaMan (Mar 30, 2013)

Aquinus said:


> Yeah, but that neglects all the other features that Haswell will offer. If it does have a flexible bclk, that alone would make the upgrade worth it IMHO.



What is bclk?
The system in my profile (with a cheaper case) is going to get me $540 cash, that's why I'm rushing this.


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## Norton (Mar 30, 2013)

Just a quick note- the Silverstone TJ-08E and PS-07 cases are not that kind to modular psu's due to limited room between the psu and drive bays. It will be a tight fit.

I did a PS-07 build and tried it with two non-modular psu's (CX-430 and TX-750) and there is more than enough room to route all of the cables behind the mobo tray and to tuck the unused cables back there neatly and cleanly.


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## MegaMan (Apr 3, 2013)

Anybody have any objections to getting a i5-3570K instead?
It is 110 dollars cheaper plus 10 dollar giftcard on newegg right now.


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## Kaynar (Apr 3, 2013)

Yeah for gaming just save the money and get the 3570K. Also since you are tight on space and heat output I strongly recommend a gtx670, especially thinking of the new mini-DCU from Asus. The HX750 is quite big in size too. You may also want to consider H60i or another AIO unit cause the radiator sizes are quite different (surprisingly). My flatmate has the old H60 which does 55c on 4.4Ghz overclocked 3570K


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## MegaMan (Apr 4, 2013)

Kaynar said:


> Yeah for gaming just save the money and get the 3570K. Also since you are tight on space and heat output I strongly recommend a gtx670, especially thinking of the new mini-DCU from Asus. The HX750 is quite big in size too. You may also want to consider H60i or another AIO unit cause the radiator sizes are quite different (surprisingly). My flatmate has the old H60 which does 55c on 4.4Ghz overclocked 3570K



I already have the hx750 so at the very least I'm going to try it.
The 7970 is on par with a 680, there should be enough length, as for the heat I have no idea.
As far as the h80i vs h60i I haven't gone through these threads to see what people have installed.
I should mention I plan to remove the three 3.5in hard drive bay as I plan to only use 2 ssds.


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## Kaynar (Apr 4, 2013)

You simply have to look at the TDP of the card to estimate the heat output. But anyway if the 7970 will fit then its good. As for the cooler, the H80 will be like 10-15% better but its all about the radiator size problem in a very small pc case.


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## thebluebumblebee (Apr 4, 2013)

And it will look like this: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





That shows how the H80 fits.  That is not my system.  It was a system listed on CL that I was interested in.


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## Geekoid (Apr 4, 2013)

Looks good. I've had problems with Radeon drivers in the past though so I'd go with an Nvidia card, such as the 680 or Titan. For me, it doesn't really matter how fast a bit of hardware is if the drivers glitch and crash.


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## Geofrancis (Apr 4, 2013)

Geekoid said:


> Looks good. I've had problems with Radeon drivers in the past though so I'd go with an Nvidia card, such as the 680 or Titan. For me, it doesn't really matter how fast a bit of hardware is if the drivers glitch and crash.



the only time i have ever ran into ati driver issues is trying to use old AGP ati cards with windows 7. but i have owned x800gt, x800xt, x1900xt, 3850, 4850, 4870x2 4850x2, 5850 and a 5970 and i have never had a single driver issue.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Apr 4, 2013)

I would get the Gigabyte 7970 non GE version, then flash the GE bios to it.

Also swap the thermal paste to Arctic Cooling MX4.


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## MegaMan (Apr 4, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> I would get the Gigabyte 7970 non GE version, then flash the GE bios to it.
> 
> Also swap the thermal paste to Arctic Cooling MX4.



The only problem with the gigabyte card is that it only has one dvi port and I have three monitors.
I have one mini display port to dvi already, but that would require me to buy another.
Would 30 dollars to get the adapter be worth the 1100/1500 rate for the gigabyte with flashed bios?


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## MegaMan (Apr 12, 2013)

What do you guys think of a $230 Core i7 3770K Ivy Bridge vs whats likely to be a 350/250 i7/i5 haswell?
http://www.microcenter.com/product/388575/Core_i7_3770K_35GHz_LGA_1155_Processor


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## thebluebumblebee (Apr 12, 2013)

If you set up 2 computers, one with a 3770 and one with a 4770, I doubt that you could tell the difference from just using them.  I'd save the $100.


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## MegaMan (Apr 12, 2013)

thebluebumblebee said:


> If you set up 2 computers, one with a 3770 and one with a 4770, I doubt that you could tell the difference from just using them.  I'd save the $100.



Comparing IB i7 to HS i5, I mean.


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## Hood (Apr 12, 2013)

*Sweet*

Nice system, but I'd make a couple of changes.  First, the Xonar DGX is not necessary, it has the same specs as the Supreme FX III chip built into the motherboard, so that's $50 saved.  Second, 16 GB of RAM is also overkill on what is obviously a gaming system, unless it will be used for high resolution photo/video editing or CAD as well, so another $50 could easily be lopped off the total.  Lastly, the OCZ Vector is a crapshoot; seems that many are arriving DOA or dying after a short time.  A more reliable alternative might be a Corsair Neutron GTX, Samsung 840 Pro, or the new Crucial M500 (which beats the Vector in several real world tests).  And yes, go for the 3770k for $230 if you can get to a MicroCenter (in-store only), that's a great deal.


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## MegaMan (Apr 12, 2013)

Hood said:


> Nice system, but I'd make a couple of changes.  First, the Xonar DGX is not necessary, it has the same specs as the Supreme FX III chip built into the motherboard, so that's $50 saved.  Second, 16 GB of RAM is also overkill on what is obviously a gaming system, unless it will be used for high resolution photo/video editing or CAD as well, so another $50 could easily be lopped off the total.  Lastly, the OCZ Vector is a crapshoot; seems that many are arriving DOA or dying after a short time.  A more reliable alternative might be a Corsair Neutron GTX, Samsung 840 Pro, or the new Crucial M500 (which beats the Vector in several real world tests).  And yes, go for the 3770k for $230 if you can get to a MicroCenter (in-store only), that's a great deal.


I currently have a xonar dg and it sounds better than the sound on my crosshair 5 which is also "supreme fx", it is 40 on amazon.
I already bought the ram for 103 with coupon.
I have decided to get the Samsung 840 pro, which is currently $220.


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## Hood (Apr 12, 2013)

MegaMan said:


> I currently have a xonar dg and it sounds better than the sound on my crosshair 5 which is also "supreme fx", it is 40 on amazon.
> I already bought the ram for 103 with coupon.
> I have decided to get the Samsung 840 pro, which is currently $220.



  If the cheaper Xonar DG sounds better than Supreme FX, I'm sure the DGX will be even better, I was only going by the specs.  I use the optical SPDIF out on my Asus P8Z77-V (Realtek ALC892), and it sounds fantastic through my modest home theater system.
  RAM is cheap, so 16 GB won't break anyone's bank, and a c-note is a pretty good deal for those sticks.
  Good choice on the 840 Pro, after the early firmware problem was fixed, I have heard no complaints at all about these drives.


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## MegaMan (Apr 12, 2013)

Hood said:


> If the cheaper Xonar DG sounds better than Supreme FX, I'm sure the DGX will be even better, I was only going by the specs.  I use the optical SPDIF out on my Asus P8Z77-V (Realtek ALC892), and it sounds fantastic through my modest home theater system.
> RAM is cheap, so 16 GB won't break anyone's bank, and a c-note is a pretty good deal for those sticks.
> Good choice on the 840 Pro, after the early firmware problem was fixed, I have heard no complaints at all about these drives.


Both the Xonar DG and DGX use the C-Media CMI8786, I believe the only difference is pci vs pci-express.
As for the sound quality your using SPDIF output, which is digital.
I'm using the analog 3.5mm with headphones.
If I understand correctly a soundcard won't make a difference if your using a digital output.


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## thebluebumblebee (Apr 12, 2013)

MegaMan said:


> Comparing IB i7 to HS i5, I mean.



HS is only expected to be a little faster than IB, like IB was to SB.  One of the benefits of waiting for HS is that you should be able to upgrade to an even faster processor when HS's successor comes out.  I don't think you will regret getting the 3770K though.  It is a difficult decision, and no choice is wrong.
Did you read this comparison of the 3570K vs. the 3770K?


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## Aquinus (Apr 12, 2013)

The new iVRMs on Haswell (are people really calling it HS now? ) run at higher frequencies than traditional VRMs do and with output ratings as high as they are, I suspect that Intel has improved power delivery. I suspect more stable voltages are to come so maybe higher overclocks?

Haswell is expected to come out this quarter. What I've read says it's going to be a June release, maybe earlier.


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## MegaMan (Apr 12, 2013)

thebluebumblebee said:


> HS is only expected to be a little faster than IB, like IB was to SB.  One of the benefits of waiting for HS is that you should be able to upgrade to an even faster processor when HS's successor comes out.  I don't think you will regret getting the 3770K though.  It is a difficult decision, and no choice is wrong.
> Did you read this comparison of the 3570K vs. the 3770K?


Right but if I can get the i7 3770K for 230 it makes the decision more complicated.


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## MegaMan (Jun 3, 2013)

Been a few months and I've decided to go for haswell, Should be building by the end of the month.
Quick question I have some ARCTIC MX-4 that is about 2.5 years old, is it still good?


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## Aquinus (Jun 3, 2013)

MegaMan said:


> Been a few months and I've decided to go for haswell, Should be building by the end of the month.


Rock on and enjoy. 



MegaMan said:


> Quick question I have some ARCTIC MX-4 that is about 2.5 years old, is it still good?


If it still easily comes out of the tube easily you should be fine.


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## Hood (Jun 3, 2013)

*Taking The Plunge*



MegaMan said:


> Been a few months and I've decided to go for haswell, Should be building by the end of the month.



You lucky dog, you get to play with the new hardware.  I've pretty much decided to skip Haswell and spend my $ on better cooling (my H100 is good but I need a custom loop) and maybe a GTX 770.  They say Haswell runs even hotter than Ivy Bridge when overclocked, so don't forget to include a premium liquid cooler to your budget.


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## thebluebumblebee (Jun 3, 2013)

Hood said:


> ...don't forget to include a premium liquid cooler to your budget.



I don't know, the TPC-812 looks awfully good, especially in the noise department.


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## MegaMan (Jun 3, 2013)

Hood said:


> You lucky dog, you get to play with the new hardware.  I've pretty much decided to skip Haswell and spend my $ on better cooling (my H100 is good but I need a custom loop) and maybe a GTX 770.  They say Haswell runs even hotter than Ivy Bridge when overclocked, so don't forget to include a premium liquid cooler to your budget.



Well I already bought the 100i, so that will have to be good enough for a while.

The last thing I need to figure out is how good the sound on the sniper m5.
I currently have a xonar dg. Since the new board won't have a plain old pci slot, that won't work.
I'm wondering if getting a xonar dgx is worth while and how much better it is than the fancy sound on the sniper.
I have ATH-M50's currently and at some point I might upgrade further.


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## shovenose (Jun 3, 2013)

MegaMan said:


> Well I already bought the 100i, so that will have to be good enough for a while.
> 
> The last thing I need to figure out is how good the sound on the sniper m5.
> I currently have a xonar dg. Since the new board won't have a plain old pci slot, that won't work.
> ...



I would not bother with a dedicated sound card personally. But you might care enough.


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## MegaMan (Jun 3, 2013)

shovenose said:


> I would not bother with a dedicated sound card personally. But you might care enough.



I can tell you I care enough to upgrade from realtek audio, which is what the vast majority of motherboards have.


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## MegaMan (Jun 17, 2013)

Changed my mind on the motherboard, ordered the case, and decided to get a better sound card and buy it used on ebay.


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## MegaMan (Jul 9, 2013)

As it turns out the ram I ordered wasn't compatible with the gene VI.
My last two builds I didn't stick to the qualified list and the motherboards weren't as picky.
So I went nuts and ordered this kit.
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 2133


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