MG0518

Enthoo Pro M seems indeed better suited for airflow. Build quality is under the Evolv, but it should be something like half for the price.

Evolv ATX is already displayed on Phanteks' website for couple weeks now, but nothing about Enthoo Pro M

I regret that Fractal Design does not simply makes it a R5 with different layout, it's very slightly under (door mecanism, no anti-noise foam at the back of the front panel), and I was therefore looking at the R5. I've decided for the Define S as I liked the clean inside, unobstructed airflow, full size front filter. I can live without ODD (I've bought a mini-SATA to USB converter for my laptop's DVD writer), I found stupid to pay for HDD cages I'm not going to use (just bought a SSD, have all my data on a NAS), and I like the fact I still have 3 locations for HDD/SSD in the S ("à la" Corsair). Having 2 * USB 3 ports on the top front is enough for me, I have a monitor with a USB hub. All the rest is on par with the R5 (cable management, velcro strips, number of fans). I will install a Kraken X61 (280mm AIO) at front; unfortunately I supposedly can't fit another fan, which you can if going for 240mm AIO. I've just received the case today, and had a very quick look (never seen the R5 with my own eyes). Yes, the doors could have had a rail like the R5 but it's not that bad. Will start building maybe during the week-end or rather next week when the wave of heat has gotten out of western europe

Thanks all. Consensus remains GTX 970 or GTX 980ti @Prysin: thanks for the detailed post. I agree with you that performance and technology-wise, AMD has strong arguments with the 390X, but I favor GTX 9xx as they're more quiet and more watt-friendly. Your hypothesis about what Nvidia can do with Pascal/HBM2 cards makes sense, meaning 2016 might still be too early to go for that new technology. For the moment, I've decided not to buy anything and suffer with my GTX 275 for couple of weeks and see what's going on with pricing. I should (finally) receive my new display by end of July, so it will be time to decide. Will unburry the topic in couple of weeks

Picked one too, will get it Thursday Will put a Kraken X61 with 2 * Noctua NF-A14 PWM at front

Ordered 2 * NF-A14 PWM

Thanks guys! I had a look at both, but their static pressure performance wasn't very good The A14 or others Redux 1200 only provides 1.29 mm H2O compared to 1.97 from stock NZXT, I'm afraid it's too small no? A14 (PWM or FLX) at 1200rpm are also 19.6 dB(A), but provide 1.51mm H2O, so I guess it's a better choice, no? Or the Redux 1500 (1.91mm H2O). I'm OK paying a bit more as long as the fan is worse it, so I'm OK with the A14 (even if the color is a shame, knowing they make the Redux grey/black :angry: ). But maybe I'm missing other good alternatives, maybe from custom loop vendors.

Thanks guys, seems there's a consensus around the fact NOT to go to either GTX 960 or GTX 980 I guess I'm gonna hold my horses and be patient a couple of weeks to see if the rumor of price drop becomes a fact. Sympathize with me as I'll be running a GTX 275 :wacko: For either GTX 970 or GTX 980ti, what are your recommendations brand-wise? I like Asus Strix for they are completly silent until medium load and have very good build quality. MSI and EVGA seem too, but the latter is less common in Europe.

Maybe I should wait a bit more http://wccftech.com/nvidia-price-cut-maxwell-2-graphics-cards/

Greetings, I'm nearly done with getting the parts of my upcoming Haswell-E build, and I'm "just" missing the GPU, and would love to hear your thoughts and advice. A bit of background first: I tend to play on a regular basis (1h to 2h a day, sometimes several hours in the week-end); my favorite games are role-playing games, hack n' slash and driving simulations, no interest in FPS. At the moment, I'm playing mostly Diablo 3, but I'm interested in Witcher 3, Dragon Age Inquisition and GRID 2. My current 6 years-old rig is Nehalem i7 920 and single GTX 275, running on a 20" IPS monitor in 1680 x 1050 which works decently (no anti-aliasing). But along with the new rig, I've ordered a 27" 1440p monitor (Dell U2715H, IPS, 60Hz) which obviously is going to put more pressure on the GPU if playing at native resolution I want a Nvidia-based GPU (nothing personal against AMD, but Maxwell-based are far more quiet and watt-friendly) I strongly favor single GPU (quietness, power consumption, stability) I would like to be able to run aforementioned games with best quality possible with acceptable FPS (is 60 the minimum required or is 30 acceptable?) I prefer to be able to keep my GPU several years (I've never felt the need to upgrade my GTX 275, probably due to the low resolution) BUT considering Pascal and HBM2 coming next year, I could go now for a more modest GPU and swap it in 1 year or so My future display seems to handle 1080p very well (http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2715h.htm) so playing at 1080p might be a way to go short-term I don't really have a budget, I'm more looking at having my investment make sense So far, I'm hesitating between: GTX 960: start small and wait for Pascal approach, play at 1080p, upgrade within 12 to 18 months (Asus Strix ~230€) GTX 970: very good sweetspot, not that far from GTX 980 for 2/3 of the price, I could play less demanding games at 1440p and more demanding at 1080p, upgrade within 18 to 24 months (Asus Strix ~390€) GTX 980ti: extreme performance, 1440p games should be fine for couple years, upgrade (if necessary) within 24 to 36 months i.e. mid-life of rig's life (MSI Gaming 6G ~780€) Same as 1 but keeping my GTX 275 and keep on playing on my 20" Considering the "paradigm shift" of moving to HBM, spending now close to 800€ in the "previous" technology doesn't look to me like a smart move. So options 1 and 2 seem wiser. What do you guys think? Thanks!

Greetings, I've ordered a Kraken X61 from NZXT for my new build (case is Define S from Fractal Design). I'm planning to have the radiator at front with push/pull setup acting as intake, and one 140mm fan as extract at the back, creating a positive pressure configuration. The fans from NZXT are very efficient but also very loud, so I would like to order different fans before installing, and my current choice is to replace them with Noctua NF-A14 PWM. NZXT FX V2 140mm Performance PWM => 106.1CFM / 1.97mmH2O / 37dBA (@2000rpm) Noctua NF-A14 PWM => 82.5CFM / 2.08mmH2O / 24.6dBA (@1500rpm) | 67.9CFM / 1.51mmH2O / 19.2dBA (@1200rpm) CFM is lower but static pressure is better, which in my understanding is what makes the most sense for push config with a radiator. As for the push/pull configuration, I would have 2 * NF-A14 running at max 1500rpm for push (static pressure) and then use the 2 GP-14 from Fractal Design provided with the case for pull. I would then get a third NF-A14 to put at the back of the case for extract. Other ideas for airflow fan (for extract at the back or for pull on radiator): - Phanteks PH-F140HP (88.6CFM, 1.64mmH2O, 19dBA, 1300rpm) - Phanteks PH-F140XP PWM (85.19CFM, 1.52mmH2O, 19dBA, 1200rpm) - Fractal Design GP-14 (68.4CFM, 0.71mmH2O, 18.9dBA, 1000rpm) - NZXT FX V2 forced to 5V (??? CFM, 18 dBA, 750 RPM) (see http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1408-page5.html) Any thoughts/advice on this please?

Define R5 is said to have better airflow than H440. If going for watercooling with a R5, you would more likely put the radiator at the front to keep the top vents closed and keep the case quiet (as explained above). I personnally went for the Define S as I didn't need drive bays and ODD and liked the clean inside

+1!

I understand your point of view, I guess it's simply a question of approach first regarding PSU's wattage versus the need, and second regarding lifespan. 1. A 750W will fit I agree, but it will be used close to its max. In my humble opinion, it's not good for components to be pushed that much. Also, as I mentioned, you're not running in the best range of efficiency, and it impacts noise too. 2. As for lifespan, buying 750W now is sufficient mathematically speaking. If @davidst95 is not bothered with changing is PSU often (i.e. renewing it with each build), then no problem. If he wants to put a decent amount of money on a good PSU and keep it several years (possibly across the covering of warranty), then it might limit him if he evolves to Haswell-E/whatever I agree with your proposal of EVGA as a better price/quality alternative. It's manufactured by Super Flower which has very good reputation (see one review here: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=377). I personnally don't like the look of the cables provided, but that doesn't impact the quality. PS: in several rather large virtual environments I've worked in, memory is often the limiting factor. Business applications (the most common) like memory a lot, are not CPU intensive to the extreme, and having contention on memory means swapping at VM or worse host level. I can run 2-3 VMs decently on an i7-920 (4 cores-8 threads) but the memory (12GB) is really limiting me.

I've received it, but not opened it yet as I'm still missing the case and the cooler. I should have everything by next week-end, so I will install it then and let you know my findings