Air-cooled, nothing special. I travel a lot and want my pc to be reliable, quiet and low-maintenance, hence 'super generic' - though I guess it won't hurt to keep a log. WIP.
Preparations
Build Log
There's absolutely no need to swap the thermal pads on the Crosshair Impact, but I did anyways. Removed the backplate and the VRM heatsink shroud, then slotted out the heatsink with fans attached. I left the chipset fan headers attached as there is enough room for manoeuvre if you're careful enough. The chipset pads have a thickness of 1.5mm and the VRM slightly thicker, I'd say 1.7mm. I used 1.5mm pads for both.
Preparations
- NCASE M1 V6.1 Silver
- 5900x
- TUF 3080 OC
- SF750
- Trident Z Neo 2x16GB 3600 C16
- Crosshair VIII Impact
- NH-C14S, NF-A12x25, 2x NF-A12x15, NF-A9
- 970 EVO Plus, Sabrent Rocket 4.0
- 8pin PCIe U-turn adaptor - 2 type B's for the TUF 3080
- Custom cables
I only started researching & planning from early November - the PC component market in the UK didn't look too promising at the time, and it only got worse since then. Luckily, I was able to get some of the more important stuff from Asia, where supply is not nearly as bad (at least for certain sectors). Even after accounting for shipping, VAT and customs, the total cost is often on par with getting them from UK retailers (except you can't), if not lower.
Surprisingly, with the right shipping agent, you can get your parcel delivered within 5 days at a reasonable price - they even do the custom forms for you. My graphics card arrived 3 days after dispatching from Taiwan, and shipping costed £36. The obvious caveat is that domestic-oriented online retailers usually don't offer international shipping, and you have to find the right shipping agent yourself. You'll need to speak the language and have a local payment method. In the end I managed to get the 5900x and SF750 from Taobao, and the TUF 3080 from a Taiwan online retailer.
Surprisingly, with the right shipping agent, you can get your parcel delivered within 5 days at a reasonable price - they even do the custom forms for you. My graphics card arrived 3 days after dispatching from Taiwan, and shipping costed £36. The obvious caveat is that domestic-oriented online retailers usually don't offer international shipping, and you have to find the right shipping agent yourself. You'll need to speak the language and have a local payment method. In the end I managed to get the 5900x and SF750 from Taobao, and the TUF 3080 from a Taiwan online retailer.
1.1 Hardware Compatibility
GPU Compatibility
C14S is the best air cooler for the M1, full stop
Gigabyte and MSI B550/X570 ITX boards won't fit in the NCASE with the C14S the Impact is admittedly a complete overkill
C14S with stock ITX PSU mounting you want the PSU fan facing out for best thermal and noise performance
Custom cable length reference note that this is the PSU-fan-facing-in configuration. Note that on the Crosshair Impact the 8pin CPU power header is positioned differently comparing to other mini-itx boards.
1.2 Build Guides
THE M1AF build guide
Airflow Configuration for the C14S
1.3 Miscellaneous
Chipset Thermal Issues with some Asus ITX boards - I took my Crosshair Impact apart and the thermal pads were there and well applied. I still swapped them with Thermalright Odyssey 1.5mm pads, but this is totally unnecessary. It's at least worth checking if your board has chipset thermal pads at all - if yes, you should be fine.
GPU Compatibility
C14S is the best air cooler for the M1, full stop
Gigabyte and MSI B550/X570 ITX boards won't fit in the NCASE with the C14S the Impact is admittedly a complete overkill
C14S with stock ITX PSU mounting you want the PSU fan facing out for best thermal and noise performance
Custom cable length reference note that this is the PSU-fan-facing-in configuration. Note that on the Crosshair Impact the 8pin CPU power header is positioned differently comparing to other mini-itx boards.
1.2 Build Guides
THE M1AF build guide
Airflow Configuration for the C14S
1.3 Miscellaneous
Chipset Thermal Issues with some Asus ITX boards - I took my Crosshair Impact apart and the thermal pads were there and well applied. I still swapped them with Thermalright Odyssey 1.5mm pads, but this is totally unnecessary. It's at least worth checking if your board has chipset thermal pads at all - if yes, you should be fine.
Build Log
There's absolutely no need to swap the thermal pads on the Crosshair Impact, but I did anyways. Removed the backplate and the VRM heatsink shroud, then slotted out the heatsink with fans attached. I left the chipset fan headers attached as there is enough room for manoeuvre if you're careful enough. The chipset pads have a thickness of 1.5mm and the VRM slightly thicker, I'd say 1.7mm. I used 1.5mm pads for both.
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