Big power in a small package with a tight (budget)

[MrRockliffe]

I've just received all of my parts and am ready to start building my new Mini ITX system. It's been a long time coming. As a student, I've been saving for a while, and due to my small budget, which relied on me selling my old parts, I've gone second hand/cheap new.

Main reason for the upgrade is because I'm tired of dragging my H440 around with me. But damn I love that case. The red and black just did it for me. So now I've had to compromise and go with a red and black manta

Specs are as follows:

• 6700K (Cex - 225 pounds and used a voucher with a value of 220, which I got at 81%)
• GTX 1070 (eBay - 290 with a 20 pound voucher from my nectar points - I knew over spending at Sainsbury's was worth it!)
• 16GB DDR4 (Cex - used a 10 pound voucher I had lying around and bought a 50 pound voucher at 80%)
• Z270i strix (Alza had a great deal and gave me 5 pounds off if I signed up to their newsletter)
• H100i (Maplin - I had completely forgotten to get a cooler, and Maplin price matched Scan)(sorry Scan!)
• 500GB Samsung 850 Evo which I got a year ago during prime day
• 120GB HyperX (My first SSD)
• 1TB Barracuda (From my first PC)
• NZXT Manta (On sale from Amazon)

I came from the specs listed in my info.

Pictures as the build progresses.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Post some pictures please when the build is done!!

[EndlessWaves]

You have strange definitions of a small case and a tight budget.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the Strix Z270i though, I'm considering the mid-range version of it as the front mounted M.2 slot is a rarity.

[MrRockliffe]

Small as in ITX based that can still support a radiator and doesn't cost through the roof. Tight budget as in I wanted something that performs better than my last build while paying roughly the same as I did before.

[MrRockliffe]

The equipment:


Damn this case is pretty!


Thanks NZXT for the great QC!


Thankfully, I was able to get hold of their online manual


This is going to really, really annoy me...


Clearly it isn't my night...


Thankfully Maplin are top notch


With cable management, my strategy is "shove it in and hope for the best" (not indicative of other areas of my life)


Side note - this resulted in me breaking my sata splitter cable. I spent a good half an hour trying to work out why the SSDs weren't showing in the BIOS

GPU is in


Before (minus my 970)


After! (with successful first time post! - apart from my SSDs not working)


And yes, the motherboard is RGB! It wasn't intentional...

(actually wasn't)

[MrRockliffe]

Things to take note of:

• Hard drive installation is really tricky, and if you have a 90 degree angled sata power cable - good luck.
• I recommend routing cables and installing radiator first - it's very difficult to do after you've installed the motherboard.
• This case, while big for an ITX, is much more compact than my H440, and definitely recommended if you don't need more than 32GB RAM and a single GPU, as well as a couple of HDDs (could always use a NAS).
• The setup is silent at idle. Much MUCH quieter than my previous build.
• Integrated fan controller on the case supports fan speed controlling - the H440 didn't.
• The motherboard DOESN'T have a USB2 connector, so you'll need a separate cable to setup your H100i (or other cooler).
• The motherboard has an integrated AIO pump header, which while fantastic, doesn't support the H100i, as without a CPU fan plugged into its own header, it won't boot. With a fan splitter and controlling them through the motherboard, it'd be quite effective.
• You'll definitely want a short PSU like my CS550 - you'll struggle hiding cables otherwise (especially with an HDD installed).