Case and cooling upgrade

[Genoson]

Hi,

    I'm new to the forums here but have been watching Linus for years now. I built a new gaming rig 2 years ago and am looking at investing a little bit into it over the next few months to get ready for a future cpu/MOBO upgrade.

Current specs:

GTX 1070

I5 7600

16 gb ram

500 GB Evo 960

B250 mobo

 

I cheaped out on the case, power supply(450w) and am currently only using stock cooling options and those are the components I'm looking to replace in this round of upgrades. Looking at having a 300-400 dollar budget, with future proofing to accomodate a much beefier cpu in mind, what recommendations do you guys have on a great case, PSU and cpu cooler?

[ch3w2oy]

CPU cooler I would get a good air cooler like the Dark Rock Pro 4. If you want liquid cooled get a corsair unit, I love my H150i Pro. A good air cooler will offer just as good performance. I just like the look of an AIO more. 

 

For PSU, I would get a good 650-750w Gold rated unit like the EVGA G2, Corsair RMx, Seasonic Focus+ Gold/Prime Gold, Bitfenix Whisper M, etc.. Sometimes you can find Platinums on sale. 

 

Cases is more personal preference so that'll be hard for me to guess for you. A few you can check out are the Entho Pro M (what I have), p400s, P600S (not sure if released yet), Meshify C, be quiet has a few nice ones like the silent base 601, NZXT is popular, Cooler Master has some really great ones like h500p, mb530p, mc600p.. Just look on pcpartpicker.com and Newegg, you'll find something you like. 

[ch3w2oy]

Oh and I recommend using cable extensions to help clean up your case. They look way better to. I spent 30 bucks on mine. They're absolutely not necessary, though, and I wouldn't buy them if it meant sacrificing another parts quality. 

 

[Genoson]

Thanks! That really gives me a narrower focus as I shop around. The sheer volume of options was a little overwhelming. The enthoo case you recommended really speaks to my function over flash and anti RGB esthetic. I think I'm going to go with that. Especially seeing your build inside.

I'm hoping to drop an 8700k into my build with a new MOBO next year and want to have the PSU and cooling in line with that. An AIO was what I was planning, the h150 is just a little over budget for me.

400$ Canadian budget,  ~$160 presently online for that case leaves me about 120 dollars each for PSU and an AIO. A bronze as opposed to gold 650w PSU gives the budget more room for a bigger AIO , something like an h100i.

Anyone with an 8700k have an opinion on an AIO style liquid vs high quality air cooling options?

[ch3w2oy]

You can get the 115i pro. It's the 280mm one, nearly just as good as the 360 that I have. This might actually be better if you have any  3.5" hard drives because I removed my hard drive cage to mount my 360 in the front. With the 280, you won't have to remove it and you get nearly the same performance. Going back, I would have done this, but I got mine on sale and just said fuck it. As for air coolers, the Dark Rock Pro 4 is one of the best. So is the Noctua NH-D15, but I don't like it's aesthetics lol (you can always make it look better with the chromax caps and different color fans, though). 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU Cooler	Corsair - H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$149.99 @ Canada Computers
Case	Phanteks - Enthoo Pro M Tempered Glass (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case	$134.99 @ Amazon Canada
Power Supply	Corsair - RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Canada Computers
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$424.97
	Mail-in rebates	-$40.00
	Total	$384.97
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-04 14:24 EST-0500