well no you don't need the cooler, but it will make it significantly cooler and quieter, you can always get it later, I changed it to the Gene V I was looking at another fractal case that was AXT and had a ATX mobo in it, so I changed it to that, the ram I choose was 1866 with 8-9-9 timings at 1.5v, those dominators are not
its really, REALLY not a good Idea to move a custom looped computer around more than you have to
yeah just use acrylic paint
primer and spray paint on the case part, you can also remove the PCI-E bracket from the GPU and Spray paint it red
Weird because I saw a forum post where someone said it will be fine. For example:
That kind of movement puts any watercooling in a precarious position. I'm not sure how sturdy your watercooling would be hauling it around but one thing you should definitely do if you purchase a kit or put it together yourself is use non conductive liquid as your coolant - something like FluidXP or PCIce (which is what I use). They retail for around $20 per bottle - typically a 32oz size. One bottle is enough to fill a modest size kit. There may be other recommendations for liquids of course but if you value your components, well, anyone who has watercooled for some time can tell you that we don't always see where a leak could come from - even after looking over a system.
PCIce does work like it supposed to. I've spilled it on a running PSU and on a powered GPU and nothing happened. It scared the crap out of me when it happened but I was relieved to find out that it truly is non-conductive.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Also can't I just get very good fittings the seal very tightly?
no, those have 9-10-9 timings and are more expensive
for timings you want them to be low and for freq (1866Mhz) you want it to be high, games benefit from low latencies, and render programs benefit from high freqeucies
well if you are going to do a custom loop, try and make sure the computer stays in the orientation it runs at the whole trip, don't drive like a maniac, go REALLY slow on bumps/pot holes and check your PC before turning on
One more thing I forgot to ask. How do people get the custom sleeves? I want to get them in red.
I have this all planned now. I am going to spray paint the case grills red. Then I will paint the yellow highlights on the GPU red. Then I will get red sleeves. After maybe get some red tubing (because coolered coolant gunks up apparently). For the water cooling, how often do I have to refill the coolant? Is there anything I can do to keep it from getting all dirty?
I won't be driving, I will probably be holding the computer in my hands.
This point towards OCZ is no longer accurate. OCZ is an entirely new company now due to their executive staff overhauling. And with that they introduced the OCZ vector. Which is on par with the Samsung 840 and the Intel 520.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112348
Has a handle and is pretty high quality. Mini ITX is kinda lame though I'd probably look for micro. NZXT has/had a LAN Party case I think but it's plastic and like 70$ so I have doubts on the strength.
This case is pretty big but I mean I wouldn't really be bothered carrying it around; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119245
Hey somefound some guy found the i7 3770k for 230 at microcenter. If you haven't got the i7 get it from there!
For a lanparty pc don't go for custom watercooling stick with a h100i or simulair. Its so much safer! itx is not futureproof. You can't extend it with extra pci cards.
Krypt, the i7 3770K is the same with the i5 in gaming performance just that one has H/T and the other does not.
I know about this, but the damage has been done and it is very difficult to gain back trust.
16GB will do fine, if you want the best, then get 32GB.
All things being equal, yes, lower CAS latency will mean faster memory, but don't forget that jumps in frequency are generally bigger than jumps in CAS.
( 1/[speed in Mhz] ) x CAS = time in nanoseconds to actually refresh/read from/write to memory. If the latencies aren't all identical (e.g. 8-9-9 vs 8-8-8, then calculate all three, and average the results.)
So for example, here's how some of the most common Mhz & CAS options compare:
- 1600Mhz CAS 8-8-8 = 5.00ns
- 1600Mhz CAS 9-9-9 = 5.63ns
- 1866Mhz CAS 8-9-9 = 4.64ns
- 1866Mhz CAS 9-9-9 = 4.82ns
- 1866Mhz CAS 10-10-10 = 5.36ns
- 2133Mhz CAS 10-10-10 = 4.69ns
- 2133Mhz CAS 11-11-11 = 5.16ns
- 2400Mhz CAS 9-11-11 = 4.31ns
- 2400Mhz CAS 10-12-12 = 4.72ns
- 2666Mhz CAS 11-14-14 = 4.88ns
- 2666Mhz CAS 12-14-14 = 5.00ns
- 2800Mhz CAS 12-14-14 = 4.76ns
EDIT to add, for the new RAM you linked (G.Skill @1600, CAS 7-8-8) your average access time will be ~4.79ns, not technically as fast as 2133 10-10-10, but so close you won't notice a difference.
Ok, back to the OP.
Like others have said, I'd also suggest micro-atx instead of mini-itx, it's always better to at least have an option for 4x memory slots, 2x GPU's, etc. And the boards are a lot easier to work with, better connecter layouts, usually better VRM too.
For SSD, I'd actually recommend the Corsaid Neutron/GTX series. They do not have the absolute highest speed, but they're so close you won't notice a difference in real world usage, and they do have an exclusive enterprise grade controller, with better performance consistency when the drive is close to full than even the top-performing Samsung 840 pro, or the OCZ Vector. (See here: http://www.testsite.anandtech.com/show/6489/playing-with-op)
The watercooling kit you linked is a weird setup. The dual D5 pumps are stupid overkill, and would be able to easily handle a loop with 4-way sli/crossfire, but the included radiator would never handle that. So I'll second the recommendation of the H100 or H100i, both great units.
The memory is purely aesthetic, there's no functional benefit to buying the dominator platinum over similarly spec'd ram. If you're OK paying for the way it looks, go for it, otherwise I'd suggest either the samsung 30nm ram, or the crucial re-brand of the same chips
This crucial kit has faster stock XMP settings, and better overclocking room since it defaults to 1.35v:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148657
Otherwise the HDD looks fine, the GPU is an OC favorite and a good choice, CPU is fine, though a 3570k would be more than enough for gaming too.
Good luck on the build!
Bitfenix alchemy, or you can get someone to do the sleeving for you.
This is what I would build if I have $2000
I know this is not what you ask but it's way better for just little over $2000
- CPU Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K
- Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- RAM Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory Model KHX18C9T3K2/8X
- Case NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
- PSU XFX P1-750B-BEFX 750W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
- GPU ASUS GTX670-DC2-4GD5 GeForce GTX 670 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
- HDD Western Digital WD Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
- SSD Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3B/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Upgrade Bundle Kit)
- CPU Cooler CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Water Cooler
- Monitor LG D2342PB-PN Glossy Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 3D LED-Backlit LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 (2D) / 100 cd/m2 (3D) 1000:1 (Static) / 5M:1 (DFC)
- Keyboard and mouse ROCCAT ROC-16-222 Talk Gaming Bundle
Total = $2034,89