SFF build planning, advice sought.
I recently had the good fortune to win an Anandtech contest for a motherboard and video card:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7562/m...itx-video-card
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...2-27173414.jpg
As a result, I'm going to make a new small form factor build around this motherboard and gpu. No, I'm not bragging or :banana::banana::banana::banana: waving, I really honestly do want advice. The folks on this forum were a HUGE help on my first build, and as this is my second build ever (and my first SFF build) I'm still seeking advice.
I'm currently in the process of determining final components for the build. I plan to use this build as a box to play steam games, primarily. It'll be hooked up to a single large monitor of resolution 1920 x 1080. I'll need to store about 0.5 TB of non-steam games and 4.5 TB+ of Steam games. I'd like it reasonably quiet so that I can put it in the living room once in a while. And I'd like it reasonably portable, so that I can carry it to the rare LAN party. I'd like it to look nice aesthetically, so I plan to go with a red and black dragon theme to match the parts I won. The only fixed parts for this build are the motherboard and graphics card. The games I play the most are League of Legends, Starcraft II, and Civilization V, so a single GPU should be able to handle them on a 1080p display, I'd think.
I want to keep the theme as Black with Red accents, so some of my choices are influenced by aesthetics. I plan to post the build log on the water cooling forums, and have my 5 year old daughter help with the build. :)
I'm only planning on water cooling the CPU and not the gpu for a couple reasons. One reason, there's no custom water block for this particular graphics card and I don't particularly feel comfortable with a generic water block for cooling the card. Another reason is that I like the red and black logo on the card that matches nicely with the motherboard, so I plan to keep the existing shroud intact.
So, I need to make some decisions. And rather than running a dozen surveys for each decision, I thought maybe I would ask for help in selecting components on this thread. I've narrowed it down a bit, so hopefully there's just a couple main decisions I need to finish up the choices. Feel free to reply with the letter and corresponding choice of number.
A. Choice of case.
1. BitFenix Prodigy
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...0f43a6347c9128
2. CaseLabs S3
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=37689
3. Lian Li PC-Q08B or other Lian Li case
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29197
4. None of the above (say what you recommend)
B. Choice of power supply. Not sure if I need the higher wattage or not, given that there's just one gpu in this system?
1. Corsair AX860i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139043
2. Corsair AX760i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139043
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
C. Choice of drives to hold steam games
1. Pair of Western Digital Caviar Black 4TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236622
2. Pair of Western Digital Caviar Green 4TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236604
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
D. Choice of boot drive SSD
1. Crucial M500 960GB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148696
2. Samsung 840 EVO 1TB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147251
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
E. Choice of CPU.
1. Intel core i7 4770K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116901
2. Intel core i5 4670K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116899
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
F. Choice of memory
1. G. Skill Trident 2400 Mhz Class 10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231589
2. G. Skill Trident 2133 Mhz Class 9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231617
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
G. Choice of Operating System
1. Windows 8.1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832416776
2. Windows 7 Home Premium
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
H. Choice of radiator fans
1. Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentPro PK-3 140mm x 25mm, 1700 RPM, 27 dBA
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...fb74a726e7625a
2. BitFenix Spectre Pro LED 140mm Red, 1200 RPM, 22 dBA
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=32930
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
I. Choice of pump & reservoir combo
1. EK-DCP 4.0 X-Res
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...f954d7cf930c40
2. EK-DDC 3.2 PWM X-Res 100
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...495d240ae64b21
3. None of the above (say what you recommend)
I also have a few other parts tentatively planned for the build, but I am not aware of a better alternative, so for now, I'll probably stick with these. But please let me know if I'm making a huge mistake, ok?
CPU block. EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ Nickel/Plexi
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...14c1a88af02f0d
Radiator. Black Ice GTS Gen Two Stealth 280
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...213862d4de8e36
Case fan. BitFenix Spectre LED Fan, Red 200mm
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=30946
Fan controller. Reeven RFC-01 Six Eyes Fan Controller - Black
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=36265
Compression fittings. Bitspower Premium G1/4" Black Matte High Flow 3/8" (5/8")
(this size so that I can use the tubing left over from my current desk top build, and so that I can sleeve it if I feel like it).
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=26973
Cooling fluid. PrimoChill ICE Non-Conductive Liquid Cooling Fluid - Blood Red
(no, I don't plan to go with clear fluid, done that before and want to try pretty colors now)
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=37149
Lighting. NZXT Sleeved LED Cable Kit -- 1M White
(left over from previous build, buying a 2M cable for that one and going to use the 1M cable on this one)
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29382
So... anything I'm forgetting? All advice is welcome!
