Advice on some builds

[Eastman51]

Budget (including currency): as low as possible while being quality and compatible

Country: USA

 

I build PCs for fun, and do like to use most if not all of the systems I build. Today's topic is Haswell.

 

Currently I have an HTPC with an i5-4670k, Cryorig C7, 32GB DDR3, Asus Q87M-E/CSM, a 1070, Seasonic 650W Gold, 1TB HDD, 1TB SSD, DVD burner, and is in a Silverstone Grandia GD09.
I recently acquired an i7-4790k, a Phanteks PH-TCD12X, a Gigabyte Z87x-UDH4, and some DDR3. 

I have a spare case (Corsair Carbide 100R), with spare fans, a GTX 960 and 970 (both are Asus Turbo cards), and a lot more spare DDR3.

 

I want to build a Haswell tower to provide a nice range of PCs for my collection. However, the i7 provides an interesting idea. Why not swap the Z87x and the i7 into the HTPC for a bit more grunt? My only concern with this though, is that the i7 might run hot on the slim Cryorig C7 and hurt performance (not to mention produce a lot of heat). In which case, putting the i7 in the tower case would be a better idea since it would have a better cooler and more airflow. 

 

I also had the idea of taking the 1TB HDD out of the HTPC, it doesn't need it, and saving it for something else. Plan is for a 256GB SSD in the Haswell tower, I won't use it a ton and won't play too many games on it; I have plenty of spare HDDs if the Haswell PC needs more storage. 

 

I also have a Ryzen based ITX machine I recently built. It ran great when I was testing it out with the 970. However, when I got my new used 1080 in, CPU temps rose by about 10C. Its a Silverstone Sugo SG13, Ryzen 5 2400G, and an EVGA 1080 FTW. I was thinking about swapping the stock Wraith Stealth, but slim CPU coolers are a little overpriced imo. Currently its got a Corsair SP120 at the front for airflow. I noticed during some benchmarking that the GPU is blowing hot air out the front of the case, and think this might be part of the CPU temp problem (in addition to the fact that its gone from an older blower style to a newer downdraft style cooler). I was thinking about trying a higher airflow fan, something like an Arctic P12; but was not sure if that would actually help. I'd be looking, ideally, for 10C drop in temps; but even getting the temps below 80C would be good enough. I know the SG13 is technically made for AIOs and supports ATX PSUs; however I have an SFX PSU so there is some extra clearance (but I am not sure if using SFX is the 61mm of clearance they are talking about), and the large 1080 FTW would likely get in the way of an AIO. I do have a Corsair 120mm AIO and accompanying AM4 bracket, so I suppose I could test that.

 

So, now we get to my questions.

How do you think the 4790k will do in the GD09 with the C7? Would it be worth it to swap? I doubt I will OC, especially if its in the HTPC (I typically don't OC anyways). 

I have found a couple of reasonably priced EVGA bronze PSUs, 500W for $60 and 600W for $74. I think I would go with the 500W if the tower gets the i5, but would probably get the 600W if the tower gets the i7. Would those wattages make sense? Or would I need to use the 960 over the 970 due to power limitations?

The HTPC will likely retain 32GB, if only because why not and I have so many 8GB DDR3 sticks. I could put 32GB in the tower, but its probably not worth it. 

What fans would you recommend for the ITX PC? Or should I just get a new CPU air cooler instead? Or do you think the AIO would fit?

 

[OddOod]

The 4970k should do fine under most any aftermarket cooler, just don't crank the OC

I think the 500 would be fine with an i7/970

MOAR RAM IS BETTAR RAM, go 32

I'd go Noctua and skip AIO in an ITX
https://amzn.to/33sxv4G

[AndrewZScorpion]

I doubt the C7 could keep up with the 4790k. Listed TDP for the C7 is 100w, 4790k draws 120w at stock.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-4790k-devils-canyon-overclock-performance,3845-9.html

500w should be enough for 970/i7

[Eastman51]

3 minutes ago, AndrewZScorpion said:

I doubt the C7 could keep up with the 4790k. Listed TDP for the C7 is 100w, 4790k draws 120w at stock.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-4790k-devils-canyon-overclock-performance,3845-9.html

500w should be enough for 970/i7

Yea, I figured the C7 likely wouldn't be a good idea. if I didn't have a DVD drive I could probably get away with a taller cooler; but part of the point of the HTPC is to playback movies and such. 

That's 2 for 2 on 500W for i7/970, my wallet is liking its chances right now

[Eastman51]

I ended up sticking the AIO into the ITX machine and saw a significant improvement. As I have experienced in the past, Ryzen is pretty temperature sensitive. I gained a good 30 points in Cinebench R15 and am running about 10C lower overall. 

 

Leaning heavily towards leaving the i5 in the HTPC at this point.