Mini Itx Build

[Danzer]

First and foremost, Asus is driving present/future Z87 Mini Itx builders crazy by not releasing their flagship mini itx board - Maximus VI Impact. Anyway, that should be out mid to late August, well hopefully. Here's my parts list for a mini itx build that I'm currently working on. I'd like to get some feedback on an item or 2 so that would be much appreciated.

 

Have:

Case - Fractal Design Node 304

RAM - G.Skill 16GB 1866

Storage - 2tb WD Black

Graphics Card - MSI GTX 660 2GB

 

Need:

CPU - i7-4770k

Mobo - Asus Maximus VI Impact

Boot drive - Samsung 840 Pro 128GB SSD. Should I keep this or try something else?

Water Cooler - Corsair H80i

PSU - ??? I'm thinking Fractal Design 650W. It's small enough to fit behind the graphics card, but I'm not too reliant on their PSU. I'd like to go corsair. Any thoughts?

 

Also, I have a ton of media that I'd like to centralize into one NAS. I'm thinking of getting the Synology DS413j and installing 4 2tb drives. I have 2 2tb WD black already and would like to get 2 2tb WD REDs. Would that work or do all drives need to be the same? It would be going into RAID 5.

Edited August 11, 2013 by Danzer

[VaporX]

I have built quite a bit in the Node and love it. I would stop waiting for the Maximus and get the Z87i-Deluxe. This board looks to have most of the Maximus feature set and is out now.

 

As for the PSU, make sure it is 140 mm in depth to ensure the fit works. I am using a Fractal Integra R2 650 and it fits good. Also look at the Silverstone Strider series, they are 140mm and you can buy a short cabling kit to make management easier plus all modular.

 

I would also look at replacing the two front 92mm fans with Noctua NF-B9 PWM, could also use NF-A9x14 PWM but the B9 pushes more air. The idea here is that you can skip the fan controller in the back and go pure PWM control off the motherboard. I would also swap out the stock fans for the H80 for Noctua NF-F12 PWM. These are expensive fans I know but they are the best mix of low noise, high volume and pressure and the PWM controller lets the fans ramp as needed, no micro managing required. In the Node the fan selection is a bigger deal than in most cases. You have a narrow wind tunnel and you need the most efficient fan setup you can get.

 

I run this setup with my Node but am using a Water 2.0 Performer with a single exhaust fan on it and my system is silent even under load.

[d6bmg]

H80i in a ITX build??
There are many small but very effective air coolers specially made for ITX builds. For example, Noctua L9a: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608030


And for RAID 5 you are going to need drives having same capacity.
You can use different drives from different manufacturer. But it is always advisable to use drives from same manufacturer to gain the maximum potential of RAID5 because of speed difference between 2 different drives.

[VaporX]

H80i in a ITX build??

There are many small but very effective air coolers specially made for ITX builds. For example, Noctua L9a: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608030

With as Haswell the H80 is a pretty viable option for overclocking, personally I would go H60 but the H80 will fit. As for the Noctua L9A, I have used it (for AMD) and the L9I(Intel) and hate them both. There are better low profile coolers out there. However with the Node you have room for full sized coolers so there is no need to use these.

 

The build he is looking at might be better described as Super ITX. The build he is planning is truly ITX in motherboard choice only. The Node is a small case but even it is a LARGE ITX case.

[Danzer]

I have built quite a bit in the Node and love it. I would stop waiting for the Maximus and get the Z87i-Deluxe. This board looks to have most of the Maximus feature set and is out now.

 

As for the PSU, make sure it is 140 mm in depth to ensure the fit works. I am using a Fractal Integra R2 650 and it fits good. Also look at the Silverstone Strider series, they are 140mm and you can buy a short cabling kit to make management easier plus all modular.

 

I would also look at replacing the two front 92mm fans with Noctua NF-B9 PWM, could also use NF-A9x14 PWM but the B9 pushes more air. The idea here is that you can skip the fan controller in the back and go pure PWM control off the motherboard. I would also swap out the stock fans for the H80 for Noctua NF-F12 PWM. These are expensive fans I know but they are the best mix of low noise, high volume and pressure and the PWM controller lets the fans ramp as needed, no micro managing required. In the Node the fan selection is a bigger deal than in most cases. You have a narrow wind tunnel and you need the most efficient fan setup you can get.

 

I run this setup with my Node but am using a Water 2.0 Performer with a single exhaust fan on it and my system is silent even under load.

I've built one myself, too for my employer and it's a great looking case. It's very quiet too even when using the stock fans and heatsink for the i5. I'm actually putting this build together very slowly as to not put too much expense into my pocket in one billing period. Plus, it also leads me to find great deals once they pop up. That's what I'm hoping to do with the SSD since they're expensive (if the price is right, I might grab 2 and put it in RAID 0). I'll take a look at the SS psu as well and compare the two. That's the only bad thing about this case, I'd love to go modular, but there's no way because of the graphics card. Also, those fans are pretty expensive, but since this build will/should last me a very long time, I'll consider getting a few Noctua fans.

 

H80i in a ITX build??

There are many small but very effective air coolers specially made for ITX builds. For example, Noctua L9a: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608030

 

 

And for RAID 5 you are going to need drives having same capacity.

You can use different drives from different manufacturer. But it is always advisable to use drives from same manufacturer to gain the maximum potential of RAID5 because of speed difference between 2 different drives.

I'll like to go liquid cooled with this setup and corsair is known for having great coolers. The H80i is a step up from their other coolers and since it's a single 140mm size, it'll fit in the case.

 

With the NAS, I have 2 of the same WD 2TB drives already. I'm thinking I should put those in the Node case and set them up as RAID 1, then purchase 4 2TB or 3TB reds for the NAS.