Log ITX Build Notes: Gigabite, Fractal Design, Asus, G.Skill, Arctic, Cooler Master

Neophyte

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Aug 1, 2020
35
10
Step one. I got the hardware last night and built the system in my old NZXT Vulcan case.

Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus Pro AX = solid and heavier than other motherboards I've used, cooler choice easily cleared everything, only annoying thing was having to connect the 8-pin CPU power and the cooler fan prior to installing it in the case - just no room at all otherwise.
PSU: Fractal Design Ion 500G (SFX-L) = put the ATX backplate on, installed it, cables are in fact quite flexible, not long enough in my micro ATX case to do any routing behind the motherboard, but enough room to route well... for those of you who are thinking of a larger case. Also, the packaging for the PSU is top notch, with a nice bag for unused cables and some Fractal Design velcro in addition to zip ties.
GPU: Asus TUF Gaming 1650 Super OC = cables for my fans and audio, as well as the 8-pin power fit in the little hole between the slot and the back of the computer, so I didn't have any trouble with that - which I was kind of expecting because of where Gigabyte put the headers. I haven't gone out to load the drivers, because I was already running NVidia Control Panel (ancient GT240) and it immediately recognized the 1650 Super.
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB, 3200, latency 16 = not recognized immediately, but the moment I went into the bios and turned on XMP it immediately clocked at the proper speed. I've always had good luck with G.Skill, so I see no reason to be surprised here.
CPU cooler: Arctic Freezer 7X CO = running fine and quiet, even in gaming. I didn't budget for a cooler and decided to spend the $25 for peace of mind in the short run. We'll see if it is my cooler long term. It is working well in the Vulcan case. Idle is at around 42 C, and when I recorded the temps as I was playing Starcraft II, the peaks were around 60 C. Room temperature is 23-24 C.

I used my existing SanDisk SSD and Arctic F12 PWM case fans, as well as Nexus 92mm in the back that has been in silent service for a decade.

Waiting on my Cooler Master NR200. If anyone has any questions, please let me know. In two weeks, it's all going into the NR200, barring some delay in the 15 August release date for the case.
 

Yoshikan

Cable Smoosher
Jan 18, 2019
11
2
I am waiting for this case too !

MotherboardAsus ROX STRIX X570-I Gaming
PSUCorsair SF600 Platinum
CPUAMD 3700X
FanNoctua NH-C14S
RAMCorsair Vengeance LPX 3200 32Go (2x16)
SSDSabrent Rocket NVME 4.0 1Tb (2x) - Crucial BX500 2Tb
Graphic cardZotac 2070 mini
Case fanNoctua NF-A12x15 chromax (4x)

 
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Neophyte

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Aug 1, 2020
35
10
I am waiting for this case too !

MotherboardAsus ROX STRIX X570-I Gaming
PSUCorsair SF600 Platinum
CPUAMD 3700X
FanNoctua NH-C14S
RAMCorsair Vengeance LPX 3200 32Go (2x16)
SSDSabrent Rocket NVME 4.0 1Tb (2x) - Crucial BX500 2Tb
Graphic cardZotac 2070 mini
Case fanNoctua NF-A12x15 chromax (4x)


Nice. A bit out of my budget, but similar. I'm planning on adding an m.2 drive or two down the road. I just didn't want to wait for 2 weeks and then find that some part I had ordered was DOA. Thankfully, everything worked the moment I turned it on and other than the tight space where the fan and audio connectors have to be plugged underneath the graphics card there weren't any difficult tasks. If I didn't want the smaller case, I'd be happy with the NZXT Vulcan here. It is functioning quite well. Still I'm eager to get a case that isn't so invasive of my space when it's on the desk... so I anxiously await the NR200. ;-)
 

Neophyte

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Aug 1, 2020
35
10
OK, so the Arctic Liquid Freezer II is out, which I guess comes as no surprise to some. Here's the e-mail I received from Arctic support regarding clearance for those of you who are interested:

"There should be 100mm height to allow proper bending of water tube. In his case, the radiator is on top for the cooler. Adding the thickness of radiator and fan, it will be total 166mm for 240 and 168mm for 280. 155mm space will be too tight for the LF2."

Makes sense, but it would have been nice. I guess I'm going with some Asetek solution when I get there, probably the Fractal Design model because I like what they've done with the power solution and their lack of bloatware.
 

Neophyte

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Aug 1, 2020
35
10
Amazon shipped my case a day early, Friday, so it'll be here Monday. Man, do I hate to wait. ;-) Looking forward to building my first sub 20l system. Will post details and pics here, mostly to show fit.
 

Yoshikan

Cable Smoosher
Jan 18, 2019
11
2
And my build is more or less done ! A few little problems with my configuration, will think about how to solve that, could not be too difficult.
That's a lovely case, the building was easy and a real pleasure !

 

Neophyte

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Aug 1, 2020
35
10
Well, I built it without taking pics, and I'm too tired to do it now, but I'll take a pic of the final build. It went quite smoothly and cable management is really quite easy in this case with a tiny bit of planning.

Other than perhaps regretting that I didn't go with a SFX power supply, because the PSU is blocking the second fan slot, I'm happy with the equipment I decided on. And to tell the truth, I'm happy with the SFX-L power supply as well, but be warned if you dream of using two fans up top. I have no other issues at all with the building process. Great case. Sturdy. I didn't even put fans in the bottom beneath my GPU and it's sitting here idling at 36 C. My CPU is idling between 40 and 50.

The thing is dead silent with the two bundled fans, my Arctic 7X, and the fans on the GPU going. I will eventually upgrade the CPU cooling if it tops out higher than the 67 C under load that it topped out at in the NZXT Vulcan case, but I don't think it will be a problem.

If anyone has any questions, fire away. Very happy with the Cooler Master NR200.