HTPC gaming build

[Wolfrider]

It's been a while since I last build a pc, and since my current PC is way to big to take to my student appartment I want to build something smaller,

preferably compact enough to fit in a backbag, so it's easy to move. So far I found only one case that fits my needs, namely the Fractal Design Node 202.

I build the pc around it as follows; 

- i5 6500

- Asus B150I pro gaming (cheapest mini ITX board I found with wifi)

- Corsair SF450 450w SFX PSU (seems to be the quietest in this formfactor)

- Kingston HyperX 8gbb DDR4-2400 (1 module)

- Scythe Big Shuriken 2 rev. B

- Samsung 850 evo 500gb SSD

All these parts should fit in the case, and without making to much noise. For the gpu I will use my gtx760, until the gtx1070 sells without the founders edition fee.

I have read complaints about the gpu geting too hot, and there is room for 2 120mm fans above the fans of the gpu. Would it be more efficient to buy a 3th party gpu heatsink, 

two slots high in combination with the 2 120mm fans? That way I buy the cheapest 1070, and still totaling less then what custom boards would cost. Maybe just adding the 120mm fans to a proprietary solution 

yields even better results, I dont know.  The Pc will be used with a 1080p monitor, I might switch to 1444p later, but my main concern is the noise and heat such a tightly packed powerhouse would generate.

What dou guys think? This is an exciting project, please tell me if I overlooked something

Edited June 17, 2016 by Wolfrider

[Braegnok]

The EVGA Hadron Series are worth checking out, for compact ITX chassis.   

 

Air : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1N83U90209&cm_re=evga_hadron_air-_-11-205-011-_-Product

 

Hydro : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811205012

Edited June 17, 2016 by Braegnok

[Wolfrider]

I leve in Belgium, there the hadron series is seriously overpriced, and the node 202 has the gpu parallel to the motherboard, and room for 2 120mm fans above to fans of the gpu. My question was if I should replace the fans of the gpu with a passive cooler or just ad the 120 mm fans.

[Braegnok]

I would wait and see how temps, fan noise are with factory cooling on GTX 1070,.. then if needed add the 120 mm case fans and run with factory cooling on the GPU,.. I'v never tried using passive coolers on my gpu's so can't give any advice on them. http://techbuyersguru.com/video-card-comparison-blower-style-vs-open-air-coolers

 

Personally I prefer reference cards that blow the hot air out of chassis,.. and I adjust graphics card fan speed manually when under heavy load.   

Edited June 26, 2016 by Braegnok

[Wolfrider]

The link was quite usefull. I will opt for a dual fan third party solution (most likely the EVGA overclocked) and if the temps run to high I just add the 120 mills. Should I be worried about fan speed synchronization? If not, than I have my work cut out. Thank you Braegnok

[Braegnok]

I wouldn't worry about fan speed synchronization,.. most important thing is lots of air flow, if you have cool air coming in and hot air going out you will be fine. Just play around with your fan speeds, I normally run all my case fans at 2000 rpm and my graphics cards on Auto when not under heavy load,.. most graphics cards nowadays run fairly quiet with fans manually set at 50% and will start getting noisy the higher you go after 50%.