best itx motherboard? and psu

[Hicks12]

Moved house last week and I have come to the conclusion that the xigmatek Elysium is just far to big and that I need a major down size asI currently have barely any room for it.

Current specs should be in my PC section but its an i5 250pk at 4ghz and a 7950 both water cooled. I have seen the bitfenix prodigy case and it looms brilliant great size and easy for LANs lol, I have looked at water cooling photos and builds and it seems I should be able to fit my water cooling setup in there without much issue (240 rs and a 240 rx). So the plan is to change my system , need to replace thos Asus board with an itx board.

I can't see myself upgrading yet as my system is only 2 years old, will be waiting for another 3 so unless someone tells me otherwise the planis to get a socket 1155 board. Cheaper is bbetter but it depends really, less than a 100 pounds would be ideal as I would like something similar to my Asus p8z67-v with at least 2 sata 6gb and 2 more sata ports.

I'm going to have a look on my lunch break tomorrow but thought I would ask ahead as I haven't followed motherboards for awhile haha. Also any PSU recommendations? My current one is fairly loud and I want a silent one (I really mean silent...) Budget of around 60 quid modular is a must and I think 600w is correct for an over clocked i5 and 7950.


Any help is appreciated!
Thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you want to overclock still,look at these two motherboards:

http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-p8...rds&origin=pla
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/evga-...i-displayport-

They are expensive ,but I am not sure if I would want to overclock far on the cheaper Z77 mini-ITX motherboards due to their lack of VRM cooling and the fact you are using water cooling,meaning no air directly blowing over the VRMs too.

Edit!!!

I am not sure you can get a decent modular 600W PSU for under £60 which is quiet and uses decent parts.

[martober]

I don't think you need 600w for an itx build. Multi gpu isn't an option so you should be ok with a high quality 450-500w unit. Manufacturers often inflate psu requirements because they're based on you using some junk £20 800w psu that explodes if it goes over half load.

You'll also have to consider space requirements for a modular psu in the prodigy. The psu enclosure is relatively small and some modular psus over 16cm can end up with not enough room for the connectors.

[Pob255]

I'll also say I hope you're up for some modding because AFAIK putting two 240 rads into the prodigy is going to require some modding.
Space for drives is also going to be limited with two rads in there.

CAT has already mentioned the two best 1155 mini-itx boards

[martober]

For a small modular power supply Silverstone are probably your best bet, but you'll likely have to go over budget a bit. Scan has a modular 500w 140mm unit for £64.

Seasonic are also worth considering. Their units are 160mm deep so the fit will be tight but others have had success with them in the prodigy. Scan has the 620w m12ii for £71, and you could also consider the newer G series 450 or 550w. 450 might not be enough if you're heavily overclocking but it should be fine for stock speeds.

[Hicks12]

Thanks for the swift replies guys . Yeah mild over clocking I will be doing and I have seen an as rock that looks pretty good, not going to lie the price premium is a bit rich so I will have to have a good hard look tonight.

PSU wise I was only throwing it out there at 60 quid, my current one is solid but loud and I just thought 600w as a very rough figure. Will also look at these later but it isn't a pressing matter as I have a spare xclio somewhere that I will try first haha. Worst case is I buy a new one or rip out the fan of this thermal take and replace with a silent one.

In regards to the case I have seen a few builds with a 7950 240mm RX radiator and I think a second slim line one which is good as I currently have an rs and an RX. Don't mind shoving one outside but on the top . Again though its something to look at and I appreciate the heads up , not set in stone on the case but its high on my list, been very rushed moving so I haven't researched as well as I should have.

Air floe shouldn't be to much of an issue as fans on the radidtors should be keeping it all coolish but yeah Ill look at this in detail.


Again thanks for the help guys I will post back today or tomorrow with my my considerations and better research . Ta

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The XFX PRO PSUs are quite short so would do the job,but are not modular.

[Hicks12]

Looked up numerous reviews and it seems the ASus you mentioned CAT is the best bet, thought it would be as you mentioned it haha. I will splash out and have it, get paid from my new job next week so I shall treat myself.

Been looking at the Bitfenix prodigy more and more, pretty much 9999% sure I will order this, trying to decide on colour now either white or black but it seems as if the white is lacking the mesh at the front which is rather odd (looks nice but not sure how badly this impacts cooling).

Saw this guys build (http://www.overclock.net/t/1275419/b...build-white/50 post 57) and it is pretty much what I would do, either the thick 240 at the top or front and the thin on in the other area, can easily remove the ODD which I wont be using anymore and I will only have SSD (2) in my rig now and these attach to the side panel . My system looks identical to his in terms of how I plan to locate things.

Looks good and my thermaltake psu is 160mm modular so it should be fine, I will consider replacing the fan myself now though .

Appreciate the effort guys, hoping to start this in a couple of weeks so may well post up a build log .


Edit. Forgot to ask if anyone has a rough idea how much I could sell my p8z68-v for? Works flawlessly. And my xigmatek Elysium which has a few cosmetic damages but still solid. I'm going to guess around 60 70 for the mobo and 40-50 for the case.

[Hicks12]

Got another question, would it be worthwhile me upgrading to haswell? If I just went by CEX trade in prices It would cost me only £120 not sure if it was worth actually upgrading at the same time as the boards are similar.

Thinking its not worth the cash but wanted to double check .

[aidanjt]

If you're willing to wait a bit, the EVGA z87 Stinger will have a CL Sound Core3D chip integrated, as well as a HP amp. Which will probably run hoops around ASUS's realtek HDA affair.