Hi guys, so, just without reading the rest of the post - how would you upgrade this rig if it was yours? I’m curious, after the spec is some explaining.
i7 8700
Noctua L9i
ASRock H370M ITX
8GB HyperX 2667MHz DDR4 RAM (I’ll upgrade it anyways)
Corsair RM550x
Cooler Master Elite 110
Samsung 960 EVO 500GB
Logitech MK120
LG 29UM59-P
I bought my current PC in the spring. It is a Linux web development machine, because of my difficult moving situation (which is about to end) I went with ITX, so the PC could be shipped very easily, portable and wouldn’t take a lot of space. Something like a DIY mac mini. However, there are some caveats to that. First of all is thermals, my i7 8700 just gets too hot coupled with a very small cooler - Noctua L9i. I can’t mount a proper cooler because of height restrictions in my case. The second problem is that I want to install a GPU (looking at the new RX 590), but again, the case can’t really accommodate a proper GPU, but I need that for video production (I want to start my YT channel) and some occasional gaming (rare, I’m not a gamer at all). I’d also like to have some extra expandability for the future, if I wanted to add a video capture card, a wifi card, or additional ethernet ports.
Now some of my requirements: I don’t care about rgb and looks, but some sleek looking hardware is always is welcome (the sapphire special edition cards are awesome!), anyways functionality first. I need to have wifi, it doesn’t have to be on the board, but just something to keep in mind. Of course good Linux compatibility is a must. I don’t care about overclocking, system reliability always comes first. Yeah it is a mainly motherboard thread… Anyways, like I said this should be very functional, I despise marketing BS like the M.2 heat shields.
I’m wondering if a new motherboard would do the trick (the 8700 is great), or if I should go all in when Zen 2 comes out. All case related input is very welcome, but I’m a huge fan of the Meshify C (mini perhaps?). Oh, and I’ll be shopping for a new, factory-calibrated monitor in the next few months too. Thanks for all replies!
I have one of these and have 3 x SSD’s 2 x 3.5 HDD, a full length GTX 980 (2.5 slots) and a tower cooler (not a massive DH-14 but large enough for the i5).
Here’s a pic with a slightly smaller RX 480 instead of the GTX 980.
Thank you!
I can’t really see a reason why I’d go with Define instead of Meshify - I love the looks and airflow is much better. I also think the frame might be more modern.
I think my biggest problem is with the motherboard, it’s not easy to find a suitable one and I don’t know whom to trust after my issues with ASUS boards. I still don’t know if I’m sold on mATX, since ATX has just so much more expansion.
I might have missed something but if your ITX board works why even change? It will fit into an MATX or ATX case no problem and has 6 SATA ports, wifi and supports 32GB RAM.
Unless you need more PCIE or RAM slots what would you gain?
Yes I do want the extra PCI-E slots. I might not really need them immediately now, but I don’t want to ship for a used motherboard in a year or two when I do. I’ll probably use the ITX board in the new case for some time, but I want to have a motherboard upgrade in mind when I buy the case.
…in that case I think you should probably wait for Zen2 unless you are being held back right now to the point it interferes with your ability to get work done and earn money. Maybe just add another 8GB RAM to tide you over and then look at Zen2 once it’s released?
CPU power is more than fine now, so Zen 2 was just a random thought, it’s a way bigger investment than a new motherboard. Now that I think about it, I’d probably need to replace the RAM then too… meh.
Are there any motherboards you guys can recommend for my use case?
I’ll drop my two cents - or 50 Danish øre (we don’t have cents )
Since you’re looking to get a dedicated gpu in the near future, and potentially a ATX motherboard upgrade in the future, I think you should opt for the full mid sized Fractal Design Meshify C. http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/meshify/meshify-c-bko
This case will give enough breathing room for a Rx 580/590, and allow you to install a bigger noctua cooler on you cpu - a noctua NH-U12S or NH-U14S. Noctua makes AM4 mounting brackets for these coolers, so if you decided to upragde to Zen 2, you can simply order a AM4 kit, and keep on rocking the noctua cooler https://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nm-am4-uxs-mounting-kit
Do keep in mind, that cpu space can be limited on a itx board, so the Nh-U12S is propably the safest bet, and is plenty for a 8700
As for motherboard brand - I only use Asus, since my local hardware dealer is a certified Asus partner, so if I have any problems, I just hand in the the misbehaving hardware, and get a new one immediately.
That said, I haven’t really had any issues with Asus.
But if you don’t want Asus, then Gigabyte or MSI is propably the best bet.
Edit: And more ram, but you mentioned you where going to upgrade it anyway. 16 or maybe 32 gigs. I don’t know how much video editing benefits from 32 vs 16 gig capacity, but that’s something to look into
I’m looking at ASRock Fatal1ty H370 Performance, Level1 even has a video on it. Any thoughts? Also, do you know if I can remove that I/O and audio cover?
Looks like a nice board, - and if Wendell has blessed it, I dont’ see any reason not to pick it. I haven’t seen the video though.
I don’t have any personal experience with Asrock, but Wendell has reviewed quite a bit of them, and generally seem to like them.
But any of the known brands: Asus, Asrock, MSI, Gigiabyte should be a safe pick. So I say go for it, Asrock isn’t too expensive, and to my knowledge makes good products.
And you should be able to remove the io/audio cover by removing a few screws, but why? If you dont’ want the rgb, It may be possible to just turn it off in the bios?
MSI and Gigabyte seem to prioritise looks and marketing features over practicality, unlike ASRock and ASUS. This seems to be changing with Gigabyte though. I had pretty terrible experience with MSI, so I don’t want to use them again really, also my ASUS experience hadn’t been so great. ASRock works great for me though.
I just don’t like how the cover looks like, I don’t like covering of electronics in general. Doesn’t really matter much, but I like it that way more.
Fair enough
The cover should only be held en place by a few small screws, and/or some small plastic clips. So removing it shouldn’t be a problem.
And if Asrock works for you, go for it.
A Meshify C, Asrock H370 Performance, noctua nh-u12s 16/32 gigs of ram and a rx580/590 will be a very nice upgrade
so first of all a larger case is in order so you can put a larger cooler on it, I would definitely continue the trend of recommending a Noctua cooler.
In terms of Video Editing you will want no less than 16 gigs of ram and if you are going to use after effects or need to have browser tabs open you will really want to consider having at least 32 gigs of ram. What graphics card you pick will really depend on the specific software you are using.
I’m not sure how the pci-e lanes are wired on the h370 fatality motherboard. But worst case, you get 8 lanes for your gpu. And 8 lanes is plenty, 8 lanes will only throttle something like a Nvidia titan v.
And as for coolers, for your 8700 I’d take the nh-u14s. It’ll run a little quiter/cooler, and support a CPU upgrade better, for Zen 2 perhaps.
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