Deployment mATX build

[Seabee]

Long story short, I deploy to Japan in ~6 months and I am looking to migrate out of my current full tower setup into a mATX to help save on shipping costs. I want to use most of what I currently have (in sig) to maximize $$ savings but understand I may have to swap out a part or two in order to make it fit.

I am looking at getting the Thermaltake Core V21 Black Micro ATX cube as my case, as I like the look and want to be able to install the mobo horizontally. My main concern about this is if my Corsair RM750i can fit into it as I just bought it recently and don't want to purchase another. If not, what other mATX cases that are very comparable in ventilation and the same mobo orientation that my PSU could squeeze into?

The mobo I am looking into is the Asus M5A78L-M/ USB3 AMD 760G mATX Motherboard. Again, I would like to use my current CPU, DDR3 and have 8 channel audio for my 7.1 Tiamat headphones, so this board seems to be the logical choice. My only concern with this is if I will be able to turn off the on-board graphics and it not affect my R9 390?

The one draw back to moving to mATX will be that I will not be able to use my Thermaltake Bigwater 760 plus in this case as it requires 2x 5.25 bays. So if someone could give me a decent AIO that would be great. I will not be doing any crazy high OC, just a very mild 24/7 OC on my CPU. I don't want to run on air cooled so that I can keep the noise the rig will make very low. The keys to it are that it will still fit into the case above and be on the cheap side.

Any help on this build or suggests about using other products would be greatly appreciated.

-Seabee

 

[bob4933]

Well given by your name, Im gonna assume navy. PCS or TDA?

Where will you be living is important here. Housing in Yokosuka isn't exactly... spacious...

Edit:
Also, water cooling isn't any more quiet than air cooling, you still use fans to move air around.

 

[Seabee]

Of course Navy. Just a 6-7 month deployment to Oki. I will be in barracks and while it was originally built to house 3 people in it, I don't want the full tower taking up floor space.

My water cooling is definitely way more quiet than the stock fan and heat sink, which is no surprise. I know there are air solutions that can be nearly as quiet as water but those tend to be much bigger than what I assume would fit in the mATX case I am looking into.

-Seabee

 

[Bluefalcon13]

I know it's a bit bigger than pretty much all matx cases but the NZXT S340 fits a full size ATX mobo, and is still quite compact. It's height is roughly an ATX mobo on top of a PSU. Then you could fit a 280 AIO cooler and keep a nice overclock. Just a thought. IIRC most of the 760G mobos compromise on the VRMs :/

Edit: forgot the case model number like a nub...

Edit 2: also forgot, the money saved from not having to buy a new board/(maybe) PSU could easily go into paying for shipping as well, just an additional thought...

 

[trents]

Actually, it looks like you have a lot of AOI cooler options because there are several two fan mounting areas.

 

[bob4933]

Considering your rate, not sure what your restrictions on time will be. Plenty of computers on base for internet stuff, and tons of gaming centers around there if you wanna play games. I know its not the same as playing in your room, but Im entirely unsure the beq rooms are gonna have a nice space for you to hook up your computer to anwyay... unless you're a chief, then ignore all that lol.

 

[Seabee]

My room has plenty of space, I was deployed there 6 months ago and the internet is very doable at 20 mb down, 5 up. These rooms were built to hold 3 people, but I will be a resident advisor and therefore have the room entirely to myself.

I was just looking into getting a smaller rig for easier shipping and less of footprint in the room. Although it looking more and more like it would be better to upgrade the rig as the parts I want to keep don't have great offerings in mATX form factor mobos.

-Seabee

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Go big or stay small. Choices.

A little larger case won't hurt if you have the space. My wifes Antec mid tower fits snugly under the desk air cooled with a mild overclock. SSDs and GTX 760. However she is still running a mATX board. Gigabyte 78LMT USB-3 actually. Opteron 1389 (phenom II) OCed to 3.4ghz. Anyhow, the case is just big enough for AIO 120.1 and that wouldn't be big enough for your 1100T @ 4ghz. You may need a full tower for that.

 

[trents]

Cooler recommendation: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835214061

 

[Blaylock]

The Thermaltake Core V21 Black has room for a 200mm long ATX PSU. Yours is only 180mm long so according to the specs it should fit.

Other case options...

Aerocool DS Dead Silence Cube No Ext 5.25 bays

Thermaltake Core X2 Larger than the v21 but has 3x 5.25 bays.

If you really want to scale down. Thermaltake A30i Speed It has 2x5.25 bays but not sure if water cooling would be possible.

Also worth mentioning there are low profile air coolers available now that will have no problem cooling that 1100T with a mild OC. Noctua alone has 2 or 3. EDIT: NH-C14s NH-L12 Scythe Shuriken Rev. B

 

[Seabee]

Alright guys, thanks for the recommendations. I really like the look of that Tt A30i Speed, might just have to sacrifice the water cooling because that is almost exactly what I had in mind as an mATX case.

-Seabee

 

[Blaylock]

You may want to verify the PSU compatibility with Tt. Yours is 200mm long and the one in the review I linked is only 160mm. I don't see any spec on what the max supported is so you might want to e-mail them before purchasing.

 

[Seabee]

Of course, it won't fit. It requires a PS2 PSU.

-Seabee

 

[Blaylock]

Of course, it won't fit. It requires a PS2 PSU.

-Seabee

Don't be confused Seabee. A PS2 PSU is the same as an ATX. Just different terminology.

For clairity

 

[Bluefalcon13]

Disregard the ugly paint color, and giant cable mess, the D5 pump and raspberry pie are there for scale. This is the NZXT S340. Still a mid-ATX, but it is fairly small for a mid-ATX. It's definitely larger than an mATX, but full-size mobos fit (no need to buy a new mobo), as well as coolers as large as the 212 evo(and custom loops with proper part selection, can fit a 280 up front, and another 120 in the rear):