[Build Help] Portable (LAN) Build?

[noteworthynerd]

Hey guys.

Lately I've been taking my computer to a lot of different LANs, and as I'm sure you can imagine, a large mid-tower like the Arc Midi packed with a water-cooling loop is not the most portable of PCs, so I've decided to downgrade to a smaller case (and smaller components accordingly).

At the moment, this is what I'm considering:

CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($97.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($97.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($202.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($118.06 @ Newegg)
Total: $616.58

As you can see, this is certainly not an entire computer, I'll be moving the following components from my current build:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K
Video Card: MSI GTX 680
Power Supply: Seasonic X750W
(and all current peripherals).

Any of you have any alternative suggestions? I've done a lot of research into small cases already, and I really like the BitFenix Prodigy, but mITX boards are still pretty rare, and the ones that do exist are stupidly expensive.

[llDemonll]

What's wrong with the ASRock Z77E-ITX? It's $150 which isn't a bad price by any means and you get to run that slick BitFenix case

edit: wow.....now I realllly want one of those cases...that thing is freaking awesome

[noteworthynerd]

I dunno, I'm still going back forth on the Prodigy to be honest. I just feel like mITX might still need some more developing. The ASRock board is a decent price, but the layout leaves a lot to be desired. ASUS also has an ITX board and it has a better layout, but it is $200.

But I do agree, the Prodigy is such a great case. tetris introduced me to it and I liked it immediately, then I watched TTL's review of it and found myself liking it even more. BitFenix certainly pulled out all of the stops, not many case manufacturers could design an mITX case that can fit a 3-rad watercooling loop (source).

[BicycleMafioso]

I still say, suck it up for the price difference.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131840 That daughterboard with those VRMs, worth the price to be the star at the LAN :P

[noteworthynerd]

So... I realized after talking to tetris that the reason I didn't want to go mITX before was because I was planning on replacing my CPU too. Now that I've decided to keep the 2500K (there's really no reason to replace it with the 3570K, should just wait for Haswell), I don't feel so bad spending $200 on an mITX board.

Now the build looks like:

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($195.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($97.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($202.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case ($94.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $706.94

[noteworthynerd]

So, I've made up a semi-new build, decided that $706 was still more than I wanted to pay, and I decided that I like the SilverStone TJ08-E more than the BitFenix Prodigy... Don't get me wrong, the Prodigy is a great case, but the TJ08-E is just more appealing to me for some reason.

That being the case, as of right now, I plan on ordering the following in the next few days:

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($117.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($118.06 @ Newegg)
Total: $325.60

And I'm gonna keep an eye out for the next time the 256GB OCZ Vertex 4 goes on sale.

Does anyone have any last minute recommendations? Or see a compatibility issue I did not spot? I'll be keeping my CPU, GPU, RAM and PSU from my current build.

[Simca]

Saw this earlier as an SSD deal and it looked fairly good: Samsung 830 256GB - $182 and free shipping.

I need a nice SSD like that badly but I'll probably wait until Black Friday at this point.

[noteworthynerd]

Yeah, chaud actually showed me a similar deal on the 830.

I'm like you though, I think I'm gonna wait for a really great deal. The Vertex 4 was down to $179.99 last week, I should have bought one then! >_<

---------- Post added 2012-09-17 at 10:56 AM ----------

Ordered! http://i.imgur.com/WMu5h.png

[lockblock]

Will a D14 actually fit in that tiny case?

[BicycleMafioso]

Oh, it will.
http://www.idg.se/polopoly_fs/1.4145...1360175370.jpg

[inux94]

Excuse me, there's a Prodigy on your D14.

Can't wait to see your new build noteworthy