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With the release of Threadripper, I build myself a new rig and have a bunch of spare parts, so I decided to build my mother a new PC. She's currently using an old AMD from 2010, and not really a great CPU from even then, so my 6600k and parts should give her a nice upgrade. However, she has requested a horizontal case. mATX size factor and the ability to handle a full-sized graphics card required. (MSI R9 390 Gaming 8G) Number one priority: it has to be easy to work with. No really hard to reach screws (especially necessary screws like pcie slots... In my new build, I failed in using the Corsair 780t because of that piece of metal sticking out over the pcie screws) or anything similarly awkward please. I am not fully able bodied and neither is anyone in my family. If it can support a 280 mm radiator and a full-sized power supply, that would be a very nice bonus. I have a budget for this of about $150 CA, but I will spend more if necessary if it has those last two features above, which would save me from having to buy a new cooler and power supply. Does anybody have any recommendations?

Hello, I am planning on building a new setup inside of a Corsair Air 240 with a micro ATX mobo. I already have two EVGA 1080Ti FTW3 edition for SLI, however I am afraid that because it is a mATX mobo, there is only one slot between the two PCIE slots, basically making the cards stack one on top of the other with VERY little to no room in between. My question is, will this cause the second card to heat up quickly (since they are both open air design) to the point where it is not worth it? I am currently running a mid atx build (upgrading from Sandy Bridge to the 8700k) and there are two slot spaces, which gives it enough room to breath and stay moderately warm. What do you guys think? And yes, I really want to do a micro ATX build for this next rig. Thanks!

Well the title says it , this will be my first desktop build in like ....um..... 10-12 years of using laptops.I would appreciate any and all comments and suggestions about the parts picked.One thing I have to mention is Im a bit limited on part variety since Im getting all the parts from the same shop where Ill be getting them on leasing (dont have the cash to drop at once).This is the site for the shop for whoever wants to look at prices or what I can pick from , please have in mind site quality is bad and the currency is in Bulgarian Lev. - www.most-sz.com/ SO on to the build and why it is as it is - I wanted a small pc (ended picking Mid tower build for more Cpu cooling options) , which will MOSTLY , but not only be used for movies , youtube , music and such , and sometimes Dota and other not so high and mighty games. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel - Core i3-8350K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - V8 GTS 82.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz) Motherboard: MSI - Z370M GAMING PRO AC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($168.99 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: Crucial - 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($43.50 @ Newegg Marketplace) Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon) Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox 5t ATX Mid Tower Case ($76.89 @ Amazon) Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($65.98 @ Newegg) Total: $709.23 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-27 18:12 EDT-0400 Or the other case with other CPU fan ( since the V8 wont fit in this one ) PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel - Core i3-8350K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - MasterLiquid 240 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($87.69 @ OutletPC) Motherboard: MSI - Z370M GAMING PRO AC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($168.99 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: Crucial - 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($43.50 @ Newegg Marketplace) Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon) Case: Fractal Design - Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz) Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($65.98 @ Newegg) Total: $676.03 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-27 18:17 EDT-0400

I'm looking at cases. I'm willing to spend more than $50 on a case because a good aesthetic never goes obsolete. So far the Carbide Air 240 looks like both the sexiest and the most capable case. However, are there cases that are better looking and more size efficient?

Most MATX cases just seem like Mid-Tower builds with the top 25% chopped off, which won't save much deskspace. Or they're almost as wide as a 90's printer Right now I'm leaning toward the Carbide 240 Air because of the sexiness, even though it is not the smallest MATX.. Any good MATX cases that are almost small enough to be ITX.

Collecting results.

I want relatively small form factor. I'm going with Raijintek Styx (MATX) or Raijentek Metis Plus (ITX) for the case. I want to overclock very well, but I don't need 2-way SLI or liquid cooling. Only the ITX boards have Wifi built in, and they're pricy at $115-150. Is the built in Wifi good? Would I be better off getting the cheaper $80 MATX board and buying an adapter to go inside the case? Is MITX very limiting in what air coolers it can accomodate? Would going the MITX route result in significantly higher temps and noisier fans?

united states. ryzen. recording studio. micro atx. low idle noise. 1080p 60fps gaming. $700-850 budget. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kMsL3F CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor Motherboard | ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard Memory | G.Skill - Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory Storage | Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive Video Card | EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB Case | Fractal Design - Define Mini C with Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case Power Supply | Rosewill - Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Case Fan | be quiet! - Pure Wings 2 61.2 CFM 140mm Fan x2 Monitor | Acer - H236HLbid 23.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor Keyboard | Apple - MC184LL/B Bluetooth Wireless Mini Mouse | Logitech - M325 Wireless Optical Mouse Other | Autley 600Mbps USB Wifi Adapter, Dual Band 802.11ac Total Spent | $741.62 Will see if 8GB is enough for my needs before buying another stick. I would add in a Hard Drive if it won't be too noisy. May get a BQ Pure Rock Slim cooler if the Wraith Spire isn't quiet enough. As for the Wifi adapter, I'll see how it works out before spending $40 on a PCIE adapter. Are two case fans enough?

Seems like everyone can agree that at this time, Asus has the best Micro ATX AM4 boards (for B350 at least). That's fair. Yeah...right, good. Except that they have basically two options: the Prime and the Tuf. The Prime (both versions) looks fine. Except that I'm going to have MANY case fans in my rig, and the Asus Prime has ONE case fan header. Can you blame me for being unsure if I should attempt plugging 5-7 case fans into one header..? And sure, there are hubs, but if I want PWM control, even if that's the same control for all of the fans identically, I'd still have to use that one header. Let me know if you've done that successfully, but for now I really won't touch that. The Tuf on the other hand has two headers, which I feel better about using splitters on each to separate the load. So that's kind of a win. My issues with the Tuf are as follows: there are no reviews for it on Amazon US which is where I'm buying my parts. That makes me pretty uncomfortable. Also, the yellow detailing....it's...not exactly what I'm looking for. I actually like it, it just doesn't go with my build. My point is this: Where's the selection??? If everyone says MSI B350's suck and that I should get Asus B350's, but both Asus options feel like I'm settling for less, and when what I REALLY want is a proper X370 in a freaking Micro ATX form factor, then what the heck is the answer..? I can't not get a Micro ATX build. I don't have the space for a colossus. I'm also a fan of medium towers in the cube shape. I need many case fans because not only do I want RGB to show off my build, but I want a very strong positive air pressure to keep out most of the HUGE amounts of dust I have in my closet of an apartment. I thought that mid tower Micro ATX builds were on the rise in a really big way in terms of popularity and all. Does anyone find it a bit odd that there's no diversity in mATX boards for the AM4 platform..? I know it's new, but it isn't THAT new. No enthusiast boards for AM4 Micro build?? Furthermore, does anyone have experience with any other B350 mATX boards..? Gigabyte maybe? Reviews are EVERYWHERE, and the only consensus seems that Asus is good, MSI is bad. But again, the Asus option includes two boards. Maybe someone can share their experience with Tuf..? Maybe I can drown out the yellow lol I really want to hear what people have to say about this. Maybe I'm completely misguided on all of this. Thanks for stopping by though!

Hi guys, I need a good value case for a micro-ATX gaming rig. I was going for a SFF slim ITX case, however looking for a bigger size for better cooling and overall lower prices in mobo and PSU. I prefer to avoid cube-like shapes for better portability tho (e.g. ability to travel with it in a luggage). What do you recommend? Thanks.

Hello so my case is made for an ATX mobo but I have an matx board in it some I'm wondering if there are any risers out there that will let me put an card in one of the insides slots from my mobile being smaller The build is a server with a gui-less interface and I need room to put an old GPU in because I need cli access and the cpu (ryzen 3 1200) doesent have an igpu I can use to my old VGA monitor for administration and setup of the system so I thought maybe I could get a 1x to 16x riser and put the GPU in the extra space by my mother board because it's in a case made for a bigger board

Tricky but fun. I've a phanteks enthoo evolv matx, planning to go full air cooling So, the stock chassis has got a sp200mm and sp140mm fan, my plan is to take on another 2 x af140mm, tricky bit is where to put the AF or SP, so here goes: mockup 1: Design restrictions on the mATX non TG, I stack a sp140mm behind the sp200mm, with an 2 x af140mm exhaust on top and rear, with an optical drive mounted at the back mockup 2: my planned setup, screw the optical drive, 2 intakes 2 exhausts, with 2 SP fans to create positive pressure in front and 2 af fans for exhaust. However, as you can see there is a gap between the filter and the intake sp140mm, will it be better to use the af140 instead to recycle air around, and use the sp140 as the top exhaust that punch through the covered filter? mockup 3: be more creative than phanteks themselves, instead of mounting the optical drive at the slot at the back, swap place with the fan and mount it sideways, each time you want to use it, you swing open the glass cover Sff workstation mainly, not alot of gaming, little oc, should I opt for a blower gtx 1070 for air temps inside chassis? I need inputs, let me know what you guys think yea, cheers

I am currently helping one of my friends build a new computer, he likes the White MSI arctic motherboard. So we need to find a white mAtx case.

I would like an opinion or two about my first, proposed, venture into liquid cooling. This is the case I have: Fractal Design Define Mini It has 1x120/140 radiator/fan mounting area at the top of the case. It also has 1x120 fan mounting area at the back of the case. For the CPU alone, I am considering a 140 radiator at the top and a 120 radiator at the inside back of the case. 1 2x5.25" drive bay available for a resevoir. Q1: Will this suffice to liquid cool a i9-7900x ? Q2: Two separate radiators connected in-line for the CPU an "Ok" or "Passable" strategy? The positioning of the top 140mm radiator might negate the back radiator because of the locale: Top Back 140mm and Rear Top 120mm radiator are in the same proximity. But, it might work. Q3a: Will a single 140 radiator/fan suffice for cooling the CPU? Q3b: Will Q3a allow the CPU to run at 4.3/4.5 GHz? I plan on running this at 4.50 GHz or maybe less, like 4.30 GHz. OC'ing the CPU is not something that I really need or that I "have to have." Not overclocking the GPU. Budget is maybe $400 USD to $500 USD for liquid cooling. Looking for comments/concerns.

It's like all the manufacturers of motherboards got together and decided to not manufacture a single mATX that has basic features like: Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec latest WiFi standard, or even just any WiFi option more than one system fan connector more than 2 DIMM slots What's going on, why is the mATX format so completely neglected? Especially now when we have fantastic mATX cases like Define Mini C.

Hi all, I'm building a cheap computer for my friend with a low budget. I already own an i5-2400 and a micro-atx motherboard for it, so I'm planning to just stick with this. I'm hoping to spend at max $450, or close to that. Will this hold up in modern games? I know PU:BG is very unoptimized, but will he be able to play it at minimum settings? PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel - Core i5-2400 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 LED 66.3 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon) Motherboard: MSI - B75MA-P45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (Purchased For $0.00) Memory: Corsair - Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($59.98 @ Newegg) Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Best Buy) Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.97 @ Amazon) Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card ($150.00) Case: Cooler Master - N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($49.18 @ Amazon) Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.98 @ Newegg) Total: $467.09 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-07-22 02:13 EDT-0400 Thanks!

Hello everyone, This is not an urgent question or query, more a curiosity to know which cases everyone "rates" in the Micro ATX (mATX) category from the last year or so. I'm an avid water-cooler and am planning several projects in the near future, but any suggestion regardless of water-cooling ability are welcome. I also appreciate the "value" options, below £100 / $130 / €155 suggestions would be great, but again, all suggestions are welcome. Let me know what you think, and thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Does anyone know of a matx case that supports a 280mm radiator at the top (30mm thick + fans). While at the same time a 240 mm rad at the front (also 30mm thick + fans). I would go for a full tower but my new matx z270 board would look a bit weird. I've found some. however all the cases i've found arent the traditional tower style. They're more cube shaped. I would like to know is there are any like the traditional tower style. Acrylic or tempered glass windows would be a nice bonus, but not a must have. Thanks for your time. : )

EDIT: The case will be wall-mounted / floated well about the custom desk/workbench I am building and the bottom of the case is filtered Hey everyone! First time poster here. Long time Linus and Crew fan. This is my 2nd pc build and it has been a LONG time... 6 plus years I humbly request some input from you Gurus I'm using the In Win 301 Case that has two filtered inputs in the floor, 2 outputs in the front to the side, and 1 standard output in the back. ----The front fans output to the hidden right side of this chassis and is fairly choked with tight space and an octagonal pattern vent So, I bought a five pack of these fans... There are a few issues I have. I bought a ASUS B250G MOBO with only one chassis fan header. I was planning to use 1 splitter to hook the two intake fans to the chassis header (maybe this is wrong) and use a molex splitter for the other three output fans. Though this would leave them on all the time. The rated amperage of these fans is .21 amps. I have read that most chassis fan headers output between .8 and 1.2 amps. Theoretically, I could then use three and only three fans on the chassis header...but this would mix input and output. Generally, how would you guys or gals hook up your fans? including using the one chassis header, header splitters, and molex splitter/converters, and possibly an internal controller of some sort Also note: this case has no external drive bays for fan controllers I would appreciate any input anyone could provide!!! And yes, I should have gotten a better MOBO (probably) One last note: Its not too late to change some of this build if anyone has some general concerns with my build out...and no, I will not be changing the build to get overclocking. THIS BUILD: Intel Core i5-7500 Kaby Lake Quad-Core 3.4 GHz ASUS ROG STRIX B250G EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW GAMING ACX 3.0 Kingston Technology HyperX Fury 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400MHz DRAM Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe CORSAIR CXM series CX650M 650W

In terms of a swift rating on this board I give it: Construction 8/10 Lighting 7/10 Software -infinity/10 Installation All in all this mobo has been pretty hassle free in terms of installation aside from the fact that the mounting holes on the far right don't match up with those in the inwin 301. I am running it without those stand-offs to avoid any damage to the board. Lighting I. Despise. Red. LEDs. I'm putting up with the red front IO illumination of the 301 until I can get some RGB up there but the top right led on the mobo (racing logo) LIGHTS UP RED! In all advertising by Biostar its RGB but in every consumer video I've seen its red... Severely disappointed, I'll be getting out some electrical tape. When I attempted to contact Biostar directly I got no response. Will update as time goes on. The LEDs that actually work work well, a nice little accent to the stock cooler (rgb yee) and I'm kind of surprised by how nice lit up PCIE covers look. Software Awful in every way imaginable aside from, of course, the rgb control software. The LED controller is actually pretty solid with some nice effects and its easy to use. Quite literally everything else is opaque and a pain in the ass to maneuver around from the fan controller doing basically nothing to the simple way to OC (changing the multiplier) being locked but P-state isn't. The interface is also poorly thought out and very dated looking. OC capability Currently running burntest of P95 on my 1700 using all cores on the hottest setting, 3.6Ghz stable on the stock voltage. About an hour so far and no issues here. 3.725 was a bit too much on stock voltages however and when I have better cooling I'll update with higher voltages/OC Pros: Dual bios Surprisingly good manual Already has AGESA (6/15/2017) Good RAM support (untested as of right now) Subdued PCB color RGB LEDs and lots of RGB header Decent VRMs/heatsink for mATX ryzen (4+3) 2 PWM fan headers on top of PWM CPU header Cons: Software is the biggest dumpster fire you will ever find. EVERYTHING is difficult CPU multiplier is locked, OC is based on P-state (still works but... meh) No wifi/bluetooth IO plate is kind of shite IO is mediocre Top right LED never turns off and is red, despite advertising as RGB (software maybe?)

Greetings All, I am an architecture student who realized that my current laptop, a Gigabyte P35k-CF1, which has served me well for the past 3 years, is now a limiting factor in my productivity, so its time for an upgrade. My workload involves 3D modeling, 3D rendering, 2D graphics, occasional video editing and uses the following software: Autodesk Revit Autodesk AutoCad Adobe Phototshop Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Adobe Premire Adobe Sketchup Lumion I am also planing to start using Rhino and VRay this fall and possibly ArcGIS in the future. My priorities/objectives with this system: 1. Functionality - If it doesn't increase performance in at least one of the software programs listed above, or doesn't improve multitasking performance (something I often do), then it probably isn't worth it to me. I generally don't have time to play games, so please don't cite improved gaming performance as a reason for selecting a particular component (but on the rare occasion that I do get to play a game, it will probably be Fallout 4, Civ V or VI, Rocket League or Elder Scrolls 6 if it ever comes out - all games that should be run just fine on high settings at 1920x1200 with the hardware required for my workload.) 2. Reliability - I really can't afford to be troubleshooting my system when I have a deadline thats approaching. If I overclock, it will only be a little so I don't risk instability issues. 3. Upgradability/"Future proofness" - I have two years left in undergrad and am likely to spend two more years in graduate school for Urban Planning so I would like this system to last me that long for intensive work. 4. Silence - My current laptop would ramp up the fans to obnoxious levels whenever I was rendering, using Revit for a while, or playing games and there is not much I can do about it, so that's something I want to change when I have a desktop. With those criteria in mind, this is the part list I have selected: Architecture Student Build CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 - A somewhat controversial choice, but it is what I believe to be the best compromise between single and multi-threaded work loads as well as price/performance ratio CPU Cooler: BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 3 - I've had my eye on this cooler for almost as long as I've been interested in PC Hardware or watching Linus Tech Tips (in fact, this build, is my adaptation of the $2000 Silent Workstation Build Linus did four years ago!) Although it may not outperform all AIO liquid coolers or beefy heatsinks, but it looks the best to me, and performs well enough to do overclocking if I ever want to and looks awesome. (I do know that I will have to request an AM4 bracket from BeQuiet) Case: Fractal Design Mini C (w/window) - Again, I have loved Fractal Design Cases since first seeing one, then they released an mATX case, and I feel like it is the perfect size to not have a lot of wasted space, but still have lots of juicy airflow. The window may be contradictory to the objective of silence, but if I'm going to spend this much on a PC, I want to be able to see the hardware Motherboard: ASUS B350 A/CSM AM4 - My least confident selection. Its mATX and AM4 and ASUS, so it will work, but I don't know if its the best option so suggestions are certainly welcome RAM: 32GB 2400 DDR4 Corsair Vengence LPX - Adobe products eat about as much RAM as you give them, so the more the better; also I do a lot of multitasking so extra RAM helps out there too. The 2x16 configuration will allow me to expand to 64GB if need be in the future Video Card: 6GB GTX 1060 - Again, another debatable decision; I definitely don't think that any Quadro I could afford (even used) is better than a GeForce series card in this price range ($300-$350). Lumion does use the GPU to render and VRay has a GPU render option, but I don't know if it's wise to spend more money on the GPU when I can render using an 8 core CPU. Storage: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD and 2TB WD Black HDD - Pretty mundane and balanced storage solution PSU: Seasonic G 550W - Semi-modular, 80+ Gold efficiency, and highly rated by Jonny Guru Peripherals: I already have a Logitech G602 mouse (which I love), a Dell U2415h 1920x1200 IPS monitor (which I like so much that I want a second one and a dual monitor arm, but thats not quite in my budget at the moment), and a K800 Logitech keyboard. Budget: $1500 USD I plan to place my order within two weeks so that I can have it assembled, tested, and set up as well have time to RMA any broken parts if necessary before I go back to school. My country of residence is the United States and my preferred retailers are Newegg and Amazon, but am open to other retailers or Ebay if the price is lower. If you've made it this far, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this post and greatly appreciate any advice or comments that you have to offer EDIT: Im also looking for suggestions for a wifi adapter (I will used a wired connection most of the time, but there will be times when thats not an option). And does anyone know when "Back to School" or end of summer sales start at Newegg or other retailers? I know they currently have Early back to School and the usual daily deals, but I'm looking for the optimal time to buy. UPDATE 08-13-17: I have purchased all the parts except for the processor, extra fan, and wifi adapter (but I will be doing that very soon) and the other parts should be arriving this week with the exception of the AM4 bracket from BeQuiet which I was told would take 10-14 days! Unfortunately, even if all my other parts arrive before the bracket, I won't be able to test anything because I don't have a CPU cooler and all of the "X" series of Ryzen chips don't come with one. On the upside, I got 2666mhz RAM for the same price as I had expected to get 2400mhz, a free copy of Rocket League with the 1060 Strix, and other sales so that's great! I will update again once all the parts come in.

What is the best cheap Micro ATX Case which has a side panel window? Thanks!

I'm looking at aftermarket cooling solutions for my Ryzen 5 1600 build (which is currently in a Thermaltake H Versa mATX case). I'm told that an AiO takes up less space, so would be a better option for the case I'm working with. Right now, I'm specifically looking at a Corsair Hyrdo H60. However, I already have an exhaust fan. Would that cooler be alright if I put the fan in the top portion of my case? If that's a bad cooler, what other options should I look at? I'd like a two fan model so that it takes up both fan slots on the top of the case, but it's not terribly important, that's more of an aesthetic thing than anyone else. If water cooling isn't really worth it for that processor, what air cooler would fit in this case size? Thanks in advance!

Hello people, I bring questions and I am open for suggestions on this build intended for a family member on Christmas (a long way ahead but I'd rather know now than later): 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 1400 (I've also considered the 1500X.) 1 x ASRock AB350M Pro4 (Doesn't really follow the modest aesthetic but its one of the ones that were suggested in a couple of posts.) 1 x 2x8GB Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX Black (Single/Dual Channel) (Don't know why the webpage says "for Skylake" in the product title, I hope it works for Ryzen.) 1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 Ti D5 4GB 1 x Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 120 (Almost forgot to include it.) 1 x 240GB WD Green SSD (I'm not sure how good this SSD is; I just chose it because its WD. I might end up going for a 120GB SSD and maybe of a different brand.) 1 x 1TB WD Blue HDD 1 x Corsair CX500M 80+ Bronze (I already have one from a previous build. Also, the "M" version is no longer available on the website i'm using.) I'll answer some of the recommended questions: Budget and location: Everything needs to be purchased in the UK. I don't mind buying components from different stores like Amazon UK, Overclockers UK etc. but I want to reduce the number of deliveries and number P&P charges, so I would prefer to purchase most the stuff from Scan which is close enough that I can collect from store. Now onto the budget, I would like to try and keep the budget to £800 but I don't mind going slightly over or under; if the budget was wildly over £800 then I would have to consult with the other people that are also paying. In addition, we plan to purchase the parts in late November/early December. Aim: This build is going to be a gaming PC with the following attributes: Modest aesthetic - No racing stripes and flashing RGB LED strip lights or fans, sorry. Long life with overclocking capabilities on the CPU - I think I got the overclocking right with the choice of CPU and motherboard. Mini-tower with support for mATX form factor and 5.25" drive bay - the giftee has a marital partner for which they share a room, so they may be expected to move their PC from bedroom to lounge in the evening and vice versa in the morning. Also, the giftee will be playing some old titles which may not have digital versions (apart from pirated copies), hence the 5.25" external drive bay being required. Be able to support quite a few newer, more demanding titles (as well as old titles) - I'm really not sure what sort of game they might play but one of these is going to be a space sim game for which I cannot mention its name (lest we lose the element of surprise) in which the CPU and GPU mentioned above will sit between minimum settings and recommended setting on Steam according to what I could extrapolate from Passmark. For additional clues, this title has some history in the space sim genre, is not in early access and has multiple DLC (for which we probably won't purchase). Monitors: For the moment, we will give only one monitor. I would prefer to buy a 1920x1080 monitor for the giftee but we may end up hand-me-downing a 1366x768 Samsung monitor (the giftee's resolution standards are pretty low anyways) as we are currently pushing the budget. Peripherals: Same thing as the monitors, I would prefer to buy a better mouse and keyboard but we may end up hand-me-downing a keyboard and buying a cheap mouse. I would like to install Windows 7 but I'm struggling to find reliable sellers on Amazon without having to pay a fortune, so I won't mind giving into Windows 8.1 (the giftee is already familiar with this version) or Windows 10. Also, we have headphones sorted already. The questions I wish to ask: If you didn't notice, the case on the list above has no external 5.25" drive bay (unless I'm wrong); I'm struggling to find a good one that fits the parameters and I need some suggestions. For the power supply, has there been many cases of faultiness leading to a fire hazard in the Corsair CXM models? I had some suspicion that there was some severe risk of fire in the CXM models but after checking online there is nothing I could find explicitly stating such a thing except that some parts of the CXM models used cheaper brands than the other Corsair models, but I just want to make sure. Update: I've written these questions before including the component list and noticed that CX500M is no longer on the website I'm using but the CX500 is; hope this doesn't mean anything. How likely is the water cooler above going to leak? One of the people paying had heard many reports of leaking water cooling solutions (in general) ruining the motherboard and other components, I said that it was most likely a custom solution not assembled properly and that the it would be very unlikely that good AIO water cooler would leak... but I have been wrong. I'm still persistent on getting a good value-for-money mouse and keyboard, but it still needs to follow the modest aesthetic (so no mice with big, moody men engulfed in flames printed on the front) and that is where I'm struggling since how can you not get a mouse with big burly men on the front? No, I'm joking. I haven't tried many peripherals, so I haven't got much experience on what is a good peripheral and what is a bad peripheral bar knowing that some brands are more akin to having good peripherals than other brands. Similar is true for monitors, but the pricing seems a bit more ridiculous to me. If you have anything extra to say about some of the items mentioned above or want to point out a fatal flaw in my master plan then go ahead. Many thanks.

So this started when i went and bought a 4k monitor. I bought it with no regards to my Macbook Pro 13" 2015 being able to utilize it. Maybe that was stupid, but here i am. I have always loved my Macbooks and never really missed additional power. But as the time has passed, i don't really se myself buying another mac in the future. But i would on the other hand like to try dual booting Mac with Windows just for the sake of trying - but again thats not really the point of this build. The point is on the other hand to have little to no compromises software wise. Not 4k in ultra/mega/monster settings in AAA-titles, but global playability in 1080p with some titles in 4k. Case: Corsair Carbide air 240 Motherboard: ASUS Z170M-PLUS (mATX) CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K Graphics (option 1): GeForce 1070 mini itx Graphics (option 2): GeForce 1060 6gb RAM: Anything DDR4 16gb *edited from DDR3 Storage: mix of Samsungs 850 EVO and a 1tb HDD PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 550W Have i missed anything obvious? Will one of the slim Noctua coolers be able to keep the thing reasonably tempered? Bad experiences regarding the case?