Well I finally finished my first SFF build (and first PC build since 2013)...
Not exactly well timed with Zen 3/Big Navi/RTX3000 GPUs out or soon to be released but I was sick of waiting on parts I'd probably have little hope in getting, and my old PC was starting to bsod more often (CPU overtemp, suspect AIO coolant had evaporated after 7+ yrs of use).
Specs:
Coming from a Fractal Define R4, i7 3770k/Z77/H100i, RTX 2080ti FE (purchased on release as an upgrade to a GTX 690...yep). and SATA SSDs, this new build is a night and day difference. It's generally quieter but under load the GPU still gets loud even with a slower fan curve + undervolt. Hoping to deshroud a 3000 series or RDNA 2 GPU as the next upgrade. Overall responsiveness just feels much, much quicker. Probably a lot to do with going with M2 drives. Lightroom especially just feels so much snappier.
Build Issues:
Things I still need to do:
Not exactly well timed with Zen 3/Big Navi/RTX3000 GPUs out or soon to be released but I was sick of waiting on parts I'd probably have little hope in getting, and my old PC was starting to bsod more often (CPU overtemp, suspect AIO coolant had evaporated after 7+ yrs of use).
Specs:
- CPU: Ryzen 9 3900XT (yes... I probably should have just gotten the 3900X but the cost difference seemed minimal, may try and go for a 5900X and return the XT).
- Mobo: Asus Strix X570-I (I should have gone for the B550 board, this was just bad research on my part).
- Ram: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB 3200/C16
- GPU: RTX 2080 TI FE (got it on release to replace my aging GTX690... hoping to replace this next year with a RTX 3000 or RDNA2).
- Case: Ncase M1 V6 (was tossing up between this and the Ghost S1, this happened to have preorders open and the S1 was sold out).
- Cooling: Noctua all around. A9x25 as exterior rear intake (had this inside the case and it didn't fit, replaced with a9x15 and that was loud). 2 x A12x25mm exhaust on NZXT X53 (should have bought something cheaper like the ML240 but I had just watched Optimum Tech's review and it seemed like it fit well in the M1). 2 x A12x25mm intake below the GPU. Plan to upgrade the GPU next year as availability improves. Ideally something to deshroud and use the 12x25mm fans with.
- Storage: 2 x HP EX950 2TB (figured I'd take storage space over raw speed, maybe upgrade down the road)
- PSU: Corsair SF 600 Pt (jumped on this when it came back in stock around May/June, didn't think the new 3000 series would be so power hungry).
Coming from a Fractal Define R4, i7 3770k/Z77/H100i, RTX 2080ti FE (purchased on release as an upgrade to a GTX 690...yep). and SATA SSDs, this new build is a night and day difference. It's generally quieter but under load the GPU still gets loud even with a slower fan curve + undervolt. Hoping to deshroud a 3000 series or RDNA 2 GPU as the next upgrade. Overall responsiveness just feels much, much quicker. Probably a lot to do with going with M2 drives. Lightroom especially just feels so much snappier.
Build Issues:
- Glad I read M1AFs build guide because cable routing in an ITX case sucks. Fan cable orientation was also very important, had to rotate
- Front panel cable routing. Got fed up dealing with these and just took out the front IO. Placement for the onboard audio header on the Strix X570i is horrible btw...
- A9x25mm does not fit inside with a 240mm rad... I should have known this. Might have purchased it when I had still planned to go with a C14S. Replacement A9x15mm seemed to be much louder running off the same fan curve. Decided to just mount the 25mm fan on the outside of the case. Still need to add a dust filter.
- Routing AIO tubes. I need to play around with this some more, right now the tubes exist the block towards the RAM which is pushing on the sticks.
Things I still need to do:
- Sleeve PSU cables. Purchased a bunch of stuff from TItan Rig and need to find a weekend to do it.
