craftyhack

Happy to help!  Here is a pic showing the difference, the pad on the right is the aurvana pad, the pad on the left is a bluecell replacement pad (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009SFASAA) I saw recommended in several threads because it is more comfortable than the relatively stiff stock pads (I don't have the stock pads to show).  The bluecells are close to the same dimensions as the stock pads (almost same internal circumference)... you can see how much more room there is with the aurvana pads.  How they work out for you depends on your ears of course :).

Awesome, subbed!

Ordered the Gigabyte from the Amazon link above, $549, shipped in 2-4 weeks, sweeeeet.  I JUST got the 780Ti Asus Matrix Platinum which is a beast and pretty too, but, in my mITX with 450W, running that with a 4790K hurts.  This 980 should cure those underpowered SFX PSU blues.  Also, when DX12 is out, I am assuming that the 980/970 will get another big boost in performance, if DX12 is like mantle as I have previously read, except I would expect DX12 to get more traction in the next year or two of course.

I haven't really tried it in 16x, but it's been cutting through workloads pretty quickly at 4x, they don't seem to need that much bandwidth.
Noise levels aren't great, but still tolerable as it's slightly below Delta fans.

TL;DR:  I have and love this case as well, and have a similar config, but power is indeed a major concern, as is cooling.  With the right gear (you need a 780Ti with a GREAT cooler, the Nvidia reference blower vapor design isn't good enough, at least not the one on the 690...).  As Z97-M8 is on the way,after what I am going through with this Z87-M8, everything I want and more is in the Z97-M8 version, the cooling problems can be dealt with (and if you have the guts, you can do even better than I did to make it both cooler and quieter if you cut a hole in the plexi ).
 
I researched the heck out of this case, watching Tek, Linus, etc. and reading Tom's review (best of all reviews I think regarding info) plus as many forum posts and reviews (Newegg has the best) as I could find, and then decided to take on the challenge.
 
1)  ASRock shows a Z97-M8 at PAX that not only goes with the Z97 that more natively supports Devil's Canyon (Z87-M8 doesn't show a compatible BIOS update on ASRock's site and I cannot find anyone running a 4690k or 4790k in the M8, even though ASRock did update their standard Z87-mitx BIOS , so I dunno if i series Devil's canyon will even work correctly in Z87 M8... yet).  ALSO, and more importantly, the Z97-M8 has a 600W 80+GOLD PSU, Z87-M8 has 450W 80+ bronze.  So something to think about:  http://www.asrock.com/Nettop/overview.asp?cat=Memory&Model=M8%20Series%20(Z97)
 
2)  ExoticPC has options to build you an M8 with a 4790k and Matrix Platinum ROG cards, very power hungry beasts.  But, for their top two tiers, they don't give you a choice on sticking with the stock PSU, you have to upgrade to the SilverStone 450W.  I assume this is because the dang 450W FSP PSU in the Z87-M8 has 2x18A 12V rails  (according to the sticker I found on the M8 PSU) instead of the single 37A 12V rail like the Silverstone ST45SF-G, and perhaps it also has higher quality caps that will last at higher sustained operating temps combined with the fact that it should run cooler as the SilverStone is 80+Gold vs. the Z87-FSP PSU being 80+Bronze.  I have looked at getting the Silverstone myself(either the 450 or the new 600 would be even better), but it would be a PITA, and more expensive than just upgrading to the Z97-M8(after selling the Z87 version) given the included cabling with the SilverStone's doesn't work AT ALL for the M8, for routing(cable length and style (flat vs. round & sheathed) very important for the M8 given it's weird but fairly inflexible config on component placement, especially given the three cables running along the back you can see through the left window), the number and type of terminators, etc.
 
3)  I fell in love with the case as well and picked it up on a sale from the egg for $400 (new, after dumping the bundled games that came in the promo), and thinking it was only temporary until I could sell older parts to get better components, I went with a G3258, 1 256GB 840 EVO, and 16GB (2x8GB GSkill Ripjaw F3-1600C9S-8GRSL).  I put in my old GTX 690, and it ran OK, but MAN DOES IT GET HOT.  And this is only at a 4.2 GHz overclock, where I am using the Zalman CNPS8900 (based on Tom's roundup of low profile coolers, where they picked the Zalman even over the Thermalright for the M8, and I agree the Zalman works well in this case).  After modding the case a bit I got it to a much better place with airflow (removing ALL filters inside the case including ripping out the steel filters spot welded on the bottom fans as they were worthless given I secured all cables so no worries there and that really impacted airflow and lowered temps AND noise in a big way. I also flipped the bottom fans to be both intakes and the tops to be both exhausts, replacing all 4 fans from the stock "FD127010LB-H" to "FD127010HB-H" models, see chart here (http://www.ystech.com.tw/ysfan/products_detail.asp?id=43) for the rather large difference percentage wise in both CFM and SP.  Finally, I custom mate feet for it to sith on that raise it about 2.5" as when it sits on the tiny rubber feet the intakes on the bottom got almost no air.  After all of that I got CPU temps under control, never getting above 67 C (27C ambient) running AIDA64.  Now the GPU on the other hand was another problem (and I have no idea what the PSU temps look like ).  Even though it was a blower design which I thought would be better for this case... not so much, probably due to the lack of enough fresh air intake, it would regularly hit 90C+ on Unigen/gaming and continue to creep up.  I was also having some issues with games I shouldn't have been with a card of that caliber (like <30FPS in TR2013 @ 1440p with all of the recommended tweaks and medium settings, this is not a CPU intense game, so something with the 690 maybe).  Not wanting to cut a hole in the side for additional intake as ASRock will NOT sell me another side panel no matter how much I begged (just in case ), I looked for alternatives.
 
I found the ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum 780Ti on sale for $560 on Newegg (price mistake, but they shipped it, now sold out though), and not only did it fit PERFECTLY(aka BARELY ) both regarding size and color.  It also has the best air cooler for the 780Ti I know of on the planet (stock anyway, that you can buy, that is 2 slot).  All of my game play capabilities have increased dramatically, AND the card boosts to 1250 stock yet never gets above 78C or so GPU after hours of gaming on TR2013 Ultra settings, 1440p (I think I did over 10 hrs straight of TR with no crashing, etc., min frame rates in the 60s on Ultra everything, even turned on after effects and other cool but taxing stuff, no hairfx or whatever tho ).  THe thing that sucks is that the VRMs hit 100C, but they are rated for 105 steady according to ASUS here so I shouldn't worry (http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?46389-ASUS-GTX780Ti-DC2OC-_-VRM-are-Very-Very-HoT!/page3), and supposedly I can increase the fan curve and also add some thermal pads so the VRM components are in contact with the back plate to lower the temps a good bit.  As my VRMs being able to boil water bothers me I plan on doing that .  The big problem is with this M8 case design, the backplate for this card (and pretty much the back of any card is a mere 1 or 2 mm from the riser card frame, so there is almost 0 airflow going across the backplate .  I have some work to do to see if I can tame this problem as the VRM temps make me nervous,, 3 year warranty is great, but I would rather not deal with RMA BS.
 
Finally, the most important part... power consumption.  First, I have no idea how the 780Ti is performing as well as it is with an 18A rail, but it is.  Maybe the FSP sticker that is on my PSU is wrong and it really is a single rail, I dunno?  Anyway, using a Kill-A-Watt, when running Aidi64 (including GPU stress) or Unigen Heaven/Valley, I average about 380W from the wall, highest it ever hit was 400W.  I know that PFC can screw things up, but I only got what I got to measure with .  Anyway, using the highest efficiency bronze is rated at (85%), that means that my current config is pulling 340W.  I would really like to put at least a 4690k in it for other more CPU intensive games (and to be able to run antivirus, etc. without my gaming suffering ), but I am worried I will be pushing the power envelope too far.  Obviously I would much prefer a 4790k for a mere $80 more(Microcenter rocks) to get stock increase of 500Mhz, HT, more cache, etc., but again heat goes up and power at load goes up even more.  FInally, I don't even know if the dang things will run in this Z87-M8 board correctly since ASRock hasn't released a BIOS that says it is compatible .  Finally, I certainly want to add more drives to this, one of the reasons that I got it was for 5 SSD/2.5HDD capability for a huge installed steam library, media for HTPC usage, etc.... again more power needed though .  Even if all that runs, if I plug an iPad into the USB slot, will my PSU then blow up?  I dunno, but living on the edge like this sucks, and who knows how long the PSU will last running like this, I have no idea of the quality of the caps in this thing, no reviews whatsoever of this FSP 450W SFX PSU that I can find .
 
So, if I knew that the 600W 80+Gold Z97-M8 was coming a couple of months ago when I got the Z87 version, I DEFINITELY would have waited.  All of the problems that I need to solve are taken care of in the new version for a few hundred cheaper than if I solved them myself with my Z87 version(buying Silverstone 600W with custom cabling, replacement Z97 for compliance with Dveils Canyon and maybe Broadwell(I would use ASUS Impact VII though), where Broadwell should rock in this case), and the Z97 is the only mITX board I know of with 6 SATA ports and Core3D on board, and I WILL use them... if I have the power .
 
In my case, I am going to get a 4790k and see if it runs just out of curiosity for the short term and probably underclock it and the GPU in the short term (should still game and perform just fine), and do my best to try and get one of of the 600W PSUs from ASRock.  If I can't get one, then I haven't yet decided whether I will get the Z97-M8 or say screw it and completely redo my Z87-M8 with an ASUS Impact VII, SilverStone 600W with custom cabling, and work on some more creative cooling solutions to make this little build even more unique, basically a ROG mITX build with an ASRock case .

Just like you heard on the Tek review if you watched that, yep, it CAN get loud.  With the changes that I made it is much quieter than when I first purchased, even while gaming, but when running benches that push it to 100%, it still can get pretty loud.  I game with volume high though (or with a headset), where in either case it is not a big deal for me.  it would miserably fail Linus' silence test though .  I have 3 different models that I went through(and who knows how many reviews I read for all 20 models of this sized fan that exists), and I have come to the conclusion that there are no 70mmx10mm fans in existence that have the high SP needed for this case, that have a good enough CFM for this case, and operate say below 20-25dB .  That said, it does come with fan control software that allows you to deal with ito a great degree, but you will hear it under heavy load, no doubt abut that.
 
I also purchased some thicker 70mm fans (like some evercool 70mmx25mm) that were much better in this respect, but they will only fit in the top if I am not using my Matrix Platinum... so no go there,  If your card is say 20mm more narrow than the Matrix, then you could probably use those and it would make a difference for half of the fans, but the ones on the bottom would require much more work given they are surrounded my metal framing that prevents any substitution.
 
When I replace the CPU I am going to completely dis-assemble it again (a couple hour project BTW, what a PITA, and I have done it like 10 times, it doesn't get any more fun ), and I will see if I can find any opportunities anywhere to improve cooling performance while making it quieter, perhaps even some type of watercooling (the Impact VI and VII have a full MB waterblock available (CPU, VRMS, and chipset), all I would need to find room for is a res, pump, and rad, and fans for the rad ).
 
EDIT:  anyone know of a 140mmx70mm=10mm fan/rad combo ?  I may be able to get away with 20mm thick combined if I pull out the cutting torch .  I am pretty sure I can find a pump res combo that is small enough to locate somewhere, but none of the usual suspects (frozencpu, frostytech, performance-pcs, etc.) have a rad in any dimension I can find that will come even close to being workable.  I even considered a hole in one of the side windows to mount the thinnest 120mmx120mm rad available (which I bought for this project), but not even close, that window is smaller than it looks, and clearance inside the case is also a show stopper.  I REALLY don't want to build/mod any extrusions for the case, although I am starting to wonder if building and external WC setup that looks cool is something to consider just because... but dang that would be a lot of work and turn an easily portable killer LAN rig into a somewhat clunky solution, I would rather get an N1 MCase and customize the crap out of that instead, I bet some things can be done to make that case a real looker.

NCIX: http://bit.ly/1sjTwta
Amazon: http://geni.us/Bdc
 
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Giveaway rules:
 
Comment on this thread for a chance to win this awesome LTT skinned Xperia Z2 from dbrand! One entry (comment) per user. In your comment, include your favourite part about the Z2, and your favourite thing about dbrand (could be anything from "their skins look awesome" to "they sponsored this video!").

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Entries close Monday, August 11th at 1pm PDT.

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WINNER UPDATE:
The winner of the LTT Edition Sony Xperia Z2 is Razorbeast! Congratulations!