Mitx Gaming Rig

[Luay79]

Finally the Zotac GTX 970 is back in stock and I'm about to click the purchase button in the next 24 hours so I appreciate feedback on my choices.

The build will be for a living room so will be connected to 3TB external hard disk, Blu-ray player, A/V receiver with 5.1 surround and HD TV (1080P, 60 FPS).

Logitech K830 keyboard and Dual Shock 4 joysticks already purchased.

The build

Rosewill Legacy U2-B Window $90
Zotac GTX 970 $330 (fits nicely in the U2)
Seasonic SS-520FL2 $140 (worried if the lack of a spinning fan will trap some hot air inside this tiny case)
Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x4GB 2400 $93 (Games shouldn't require more than that for my resolution should they?)
Asus H97I-Plus $110
Intel Core i5-4590S $205 (switching to K-type for overclocking doesn't improve games much do they? having a low powered, quieter rig seems a better choice)
Noctua NF-S12A Flex ($27.50x2) $55 (replacing exhaust and adding intake to offset the lack of a spinning fan on the PSU)
Noctua NH-U12S $70
Crucial M550 512GB M.2 $280

Total $1,373

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[10e]

Yeah that looks pretty good.

With one video card, overclocking the CPU won't provide you a huge uplift in performance, if any at all unless you are playing at super low resolutions and low quality settings. You'll get more FPS by overclocking the GPU and Video RAM than anything.

The Zotacs are pretty good cards, and nice and compact. The one I tried didn't go about 74 celsius in Heaven running the demo for an hour or so, and the fans were in the 43% range of spinning, which was very quiet.

The Legacy U2 is pretty good but I prefer the W1 if the extra 2" of height isn't a deal breaker for you.

 

[TheDarkLord]

ouch, why $140 on a 500W power supply? Reviews state that some of those power supplies have coil whine, I'd buy it locally if I were you to be able to return it (actually I lied, I wouldn't buy a $140 500W power supply if I were you).

Everything else looks good. You won't need more than that 970 and 8GB of ram for gaming at 1080p 60Hz

 

[Bond007]

GPU/SSD/Ram/Fans/Cooler/MOB should all be solid.

Case I am unfamiliar with, but your call.

PSU is great quality, but I also wouldn't pay that much for a 520w PSU (though I know others would). Maybe save a few bucks by going to a 550-650w seasonic or XFX (seasonic based) that is still gold rated.

I have read reviews on S/T intel CPU, and I would never get one. Basically the CPU is binned any better and doesn't actually give you any more performance per watt...its just lower clocked. I would opt for a 4570/4590 if you don't want to OC, and if you have an issue with heat you can underclock/undervolt. Or if you are really concerned with heat, drop to an i3.

 

[Luay79]

Thanks for the feedback guys but I already purchased the parts. I couldn't risk Newegg running out of stock of the Zotacs! However I did share your concerns but decided to go ahead as it is.

10e

So relieved to hear your experience with the Zotac! They seem like the only brand that gets how the GTX 970 is meant to be used in a living room, and to be able to fit it in such a tiny case, things can't get any better!

As for the W1, a case like that deserves the biggest GPU and a K-series CPU because it can handle serious power output and considering the purpose of this build, which is hitting maximum gaming performance on 1080P in an ultra quite air-cooled setting, the parts seems to fit together perfectly.

Let me however make a case for the W2. That case isn't much bigger than the W1 and can handle full ATX and even bigger. It probably is the reason the W1 doesn't impress me much anymore. As soon as I can afford a 2nd or 3rd generation U-HD TV, that will be my next (my own) build.

Darklord & Bond

For the downclocked i5 and 520W fanless PSU, I wasn't budget constrained and CPU performance wasn't as important as power consumption and 520 Watts is the maximum available for any fanless unit, so shaving 20 wats from the CPU seems like the best way to ease the pressure off the PSU. It actually cost an extra $25 over it's expensive price because I purchased a Noctua intake fan to compensate for the lack of moving air in the PSU area.

However you're right. If I was budget constrained, the i5, fanless PSU and M.2 drive would be swapped with i3, gold rated alternative PSU and a SATA SSD.

Stay tuned for the temps and overall experience! (in a couple of weeks as it's shipping overseas).

 

[Luay79]

ouch, why $140 on a 500W power supply? Reviews state that some of those power supplies have coil whine, I'd buy it locally if I were you to be able to return it (actually I lied, I wouldn't buy a $140 500W power supply if I were you).

Everything else looks good. You won't need more than that 970 and 8GB of ram for gaming at 1080p 60Hz

Thanks for your feedback! I have read in a few forums about this PSU's coil whine, and the problem was resolved by enabling some energy saving mode in the BIOS. Fingers crossed I don't get a dud.