My first PC....please help hoho I'm so scared

lvoer

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
Nov 28, 2018
4
2
Hello, this is the first PC I will ever build and I've already purchased the parts and now the only thing left is for the actual case to arrive... I do realize that the CPU cooler appears to be way bigger than the 48mm restriction so I'll be returning that... (oops), anything else I need to know, or do? Thank you in advance!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($220.98 @ Newegg Business)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H60 (2018) 57.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($105.99 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 2 TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($81.66 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card
Case: DAN Cases - A4-SFX V3-B Mini ITX Desktop Case
Power Supply: Corsair - SF 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($85.43 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-A9x14 29.72 CFM 92mm Fan ($15.95 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-A12x25 PWM 60.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($29.90 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Dell - P2415Q 23.8" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1039.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-28 01:15 EST-0500
 

Tr15

Caliper Novice
Nov 26, 2017
23
32
@ivoer Welcome to the forum and to building in the DAN Case!

As you've already identified, your CPU cooler is not compatible with your parts selection. I would swap this for a Noctua NHL9i air cooler which will be fine for your locked core i5 CPU.

You also don't need the 120mm fan (though its a great fan!) so I would return that.

Lastly, I note you are not using an SSD - you have a 5400 rpm spinning disk. The absolute biggest imporvement you can make to the day-to-day feel of using this PC is to also install some form of solid state drive (which are really quite cheap now) and install your copy of Windows onto that drive. You can keep your baracuda as a mass storage drive too if you want.

Hope this advice helps.
 
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dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,977
8,378
@lvoer The CPU (H60) or better H55 cooler will work but you need a ITX GPU like "Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Mini ITX or MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Aero ITX 8G" to install 120mm AIO + SFX psu. The easiest way to cool the i5 8400 is a Noctua L9i or EKL Alpenfön Black Ridge.

 
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lvoer

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
Nov 28, 2018
4
2
Hey, thank you so much you two! I feel so honored that the creator of the Dan case replied to me as well hehe. I was just wondering if the 120mm fan was good to keep if I just want to keep things really cool or is it just not necessary, and if it can even fit... and if I get an SSD, what would you recommend that would fit in with everything else in there already? I think I could get a small storage SSD like 250 gigabytes and be good with it.

Thank you in advance, again :)

@ivoer Welcome to the forum and to building in the DAN Case!

As you've already identified, your CPU cooler is not compatible with your parts selection. I would swap this for a Noctua NHL9i air cooler which will be fine for your locked core i5 CPU.

You also don't need the 120mm fan (though its a great fan!) so I would return that.

Lastly, I note you are not using an SSD - you have a 5400 rpm spinning disk. The absolute biggest imporvement you can make to the day-to-day feel of using this PC is to also install some form of solid state drive (which are really quite cheap now) and install your copy of Windows onto that drive. You can keep your baracuda as a mass storage drive too if you want.

Hope this advice helps.
 

Tr15

Caliper Novice
Nov 26, 2017
23
32
@lvoer I just don't think you will be able to fit the 120mm fan anywhere! A 250 Gb drive is plenty big enough for Windows, MS Office, productivity apps, and two or three games. Anything more than that and you can store it on your Barracuda. Your motherboard has an m.2 slot on the back so you could go for either that or a 2.5" ssd and you'll be fine.
 
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lvoer

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
Nov 28, 2018
4
2
@Tr15 Okay, thank you!! I'll return the 120mm fan and I'll get this drive. One of my friends also said that I should bump my power supply up to 650 for "power surging/overclocking/future proofing"... would you recommend that?
 
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lvoer

Minimal Tinkerer
Original poster
Nov 28, 2018
4
2

Tada! The lighting is terrible but here it all is :) I've come to name the keyboard P-chan as it's pink and based off of the terrible anime that I watched (Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online). The monitor is of course aptly named M-san, and the Dan case is of course Dan-chan. Very happy with how everything turned out, thanks for all the help!
 
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