Mini itx build advice please

[decimusbell]

HI all 

wold love some advice on this potential build. I'm looking to build a mini-itx system. This system will be used for office use mostly, with some photoshoping etc. Not for any gaming- no graphics card

Primarily this machine needs to stay cool as it will be on all day, every day. 

I got some feedback from the forums about cases which are designed without a graphics card in mind and got recommended Modivio - http://modivio.com/xcase-l/ I've spoken to them and they have said that the space for the graphics card can be used for a 240mm radiator and the space for the ports can be covered. So i've badly mocked up an idea of the parts for you all to view. 

would love some feedback about the design, and specifically its ability to stay very cool whilst being small. 

 

PARTS LIST

 

Processor- Intel - Core i5-8600 3.1GHz 6-Core Processor

Motherboard- Asus - ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard

Memory- Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

HDD- Samsung - 970 Evo 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive

PSU- Corsair - SF 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply

FANS - 4x AAB Cooling Super Silent Fan 6 - Silent and Efficient 60mm Fan

CPU cooler- Corsair - H100i PRO 75.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

Case- Modivio Xcase L

[RollinLower]

well, since you are going to use a locked CPU with a massive AIO cooler, you are going to see amazing temperatures. eventough the case is very tiny, you will have no problems keeping this cool and silent.

i would recommend removing the 60mm fans from the rad area. more moving parts = more noise, and in that spot they won't benefit cooling very much since the radiator will just pull air through the case.

[ST123]

You could go with Ryzen 7 2700X or the 2700,  with the amd version of that motherboard - Asus Rog X470 I. Its at the same price but gives you better performance for productivity

 

[Airdragonz]

Liquid cooling with a 240mm radiator is pure overkill for your purposes, not to mention that it's going to make cable management a whole lot harder when trying to fit 2 tubes for the liquid. And it will be more noisy. A low profile air cooler, like the cryorig c7 will be plenty enough for your purposes. Even the stock Intel cooler will work. Thermals will not get hot at all with office use, especially with no overclocking or gaming. This is just a suggestion. If you really want to liquid cool, by all means go ahead. It is your build after all. 

[RollinLower]

3 minutes ago, Airdragonz said:

And it will be extremely noisy

i don;t get this.

if he gets the radiator, he can have the fans off during normal office use, essentially making it a passive cooling loop with the only moving part being the pump. only spinning up during load scenario's. how is that more noisy than an air cooler that always has to be spinning?

when silence is a must overkill cooling is usually the best answer, as you can just run the loop passively.

[brob]

I'd suggest replacing the H100i Pro with something like a Cryorig C7 or Noctua NH-L9i. Then use the free space for a GTX 1050 or GTX 1050 Ti. The system will still run cool and the added gpu power will dramatically improve photoshop performance and generally make the system much more responsive.

 

[Airdragonz]

1 minute ago, RollinLower said:

i don;t get this.

if he gets the radiator, he can have the fans off during normal office use, essentially making it a passive cooling loop with the only moving part being the pump. only spinning up during load scenario's. how is that more noisy than an air cooler that always has to be spinning?

when silence is a must overkill cooling is usually the best answer, as you can just run the loop passively.

The pump creates noise. And he needs to have the fans on, else the CPU will become hot because there is no air dissipating the heat from the liquid so it'll result in a massive heat build up within a small case. When using 2 120mm fans, no matter how quiet they are rated even at their lowest rpm, will always create more noise than a small fan around 90mm on a small cooler that's spinning under normal load. Fan curves can also be controlled so the cpu fan does not pick up until higher temperatures, as this is being used for normal office use. Unless the cpu is under constantly heavy load or in an extremely hot environment, temps will remain low enough for the fan to stay low. 

[decimusbell]

Christ what have i started!!!

didn't think i'd get these responses within 10 minutes- but im very grateful

 

i did consider a cryorig c7cu (copper version) as i hear good things- but i am looking for cool overkill- no heat whatsoever. 

i take the point that some of the side fans are unnecessary.

not sold on ryzen- definitely an Intel man.  

 

 

are there any issues you can think of in terms of usability/functionality- i.e. anything that could stop this plan working? or anything ive missed.

also anyone have thoughts on the modivio cases?

 

[brob]

I think you are underestimating the idle noise of an H100i Pro and over estimating its performance at lower cpu temps.

 

The C7cu seems to me to be a very good choice.

[decimusbell]

10 minutes ago, brob said:

I think you are underestimating the idle noise of an H100i Pro and over estimating its performance at lower cpu temps.

 

The C7cu seems to me to be a very good choice.

you make a very god point. my only issue now is that the case is null and void as i wont be using that space for a graphics card. hence the original layout design. 

any thoughts on a case which doesnt include a large area for graphics cards?

[brob]

32 minutes ago, decimusbell said:

you make a very god point. my only issue now is that the case is null and void as i wont be using that space for a graphics card. hence the original layout design. 

any thoughts on a case which doesnt include a large area for graphics cards?

Why not put in a low-end gpu? It does make a difference to user productivity, especially with displays above 1920 x 1080.

 

[RollinLower]

9 hours ago, Airdragonz said:

so it'll result in a massive heat build up within a small case.

Sorry to say, but that's bull****.eventough there won't be active dissipation, the rad will still dissipate passively like from a normal passive cooling system. I run my system passively when under light loads, and temps (even with hefty overclocks) don't exceed high 40's. And that's in a small case.

His case is even more ideal for a system like this as air can just run through the rad as it heats up from underneath and dissipate out the top. Essentially making it have a natural airflow of sorts.

 

Also, smaller fans create more noise. Why is it that all normal casefans are around the 120mm or higher mark? Because smaller fans create a higher pitched noise, which is more easily picked up and found to be annoying.

 

The only reason he shouldn't go with a big cooling system is if he wants a smaller case, tough that would trap heat even more. Even with a normal down exhausting air-cooler

[decimusbell]

according to everything ive read the corsair h100i pro rbg goes from 30-40 decibels, whereas the cryorig is 30 decibels normally. no info on how much it can go up to- so surely the noise level is going to be similar. but the corsair pro must be better for cooling and will have an affect of cooling the surrounding areas? 

any thoughts?