Build Advice - First ITX - Dan A4

[MBLucid]

Hello, I haven’t built a PC in 10 years and was hoping to get some advice.

I’m building it to game and work in UE4. It needs to as quiet as possible, because it’s going in the bedroom. // I lost my office to an infant.

The only part I already own is the motherboard, which was a gift.

I’m currently leaning toward a Dan A4. There’s been a lot of hype around the Ghost S1, and while it looks awesome (and I love the modular potential), all the comments about build quality and the shipping delays make me nervous.

• Board: ASRock 390i Phantom
• CPU: 8700
  • While OC would be nice, It’s not a must for me. And I’ve heard that the K will run significantly hotter / louder (the noise being a major turn off). The delid process sounds intimidating – but I’d consider undertaking it if people think that the K runs that much better and wouldn’t be any louder.
• CPU Cooler: LP53 w/ Noctua’s 92mm A9-14
  • It seems I can find these parts on various sites/ebay.
• GPU: 1070 Gaming X
  • The noise reviews here seem really good, and I can pick up a used one on ebay for a reasonable price. I was told to make sure the listing says that it wasn’t used to mine crypto, which makes sense. My plan would be to upgrade to the 20 series in a year or so.
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32gb LPX
• Harddrive: Samsung EVO 970 NVME 1TB (OS - Backside), and future additional drive on the front.
  • I've heard that getting to the back, after installation is a pain, so I'm planning my OS drive back there. ~Given the comments, it sounds like it gets hot, but not too hot.
  • I'll add a second NVME to the front side down the line.
• PSU: Corsair SF 600 Platinum
  • It sounds like the cables on the Platinum are a lot better, and that cable management in ITX cases can be rough….
  • Does Platinum mean that it runs more efficient, running quieter with less heat?

 

[Solo]

M.2 drives will get on the warm side on the bottom of the motherboard in the A4 since there literally isn't any fresh air being sent back there. But I mean, it's not going to get so hot that you'll kill the SSD. Secondly, the 860 Evo isn't an NVME drive. Those run at SATA speeds. The 970 Evo is though and I'd recommend getting one of those over the 860 for either your boot/storage drive any day of the week.

Higher efficiency rating can mean marginally cooler, but if a Gold unit and a Platinum unit are using the same fan, you can probably expect the same noise levels.

 

[kittysox]

I’d look around to see if others have put one of those gaming x cards in the dan as they are massively tall. Also why spend 80$ and wait a month in shipping an lp53 and noctua fan to only barely outperform the l9i at half the price. Otherwise it looks great and you’ll love the dan.

 

[MBLucid]

Here's a link I found, someone else using the MSI 1070: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=69680, nice and quiet.

Thanks, I'll update to a 970 EVO. I don't know what "too hot" means for these, or if it will be just fine "warming" up. If you think it's okay (not too hot behind the motherboard), I'll pick up a second drive for the OS, and put it on the back slot.

As for the l9i, I'd read that the LP53 with the A9-14 would be quieter. I haven't been able to quantify how much quieter though... If you'd recommend going with the L9i instead, I'll make the swap. At this point, I'm pretty far out of comfort zone, and everything I know (sketched out in my initial post) is purely theoretical.

Thanks!