I am in the process of building my first Windows PC in almost twenty years and took a different tack. I decided to build a compact system with the possibility of building a second one in the not-too-distant future using some of the same components.
Build #1 (in progress) component list:
- Case: NZXT H1 (incl. 650W PSU, 140W AIO CPU cooler, PCIe riser), mini-ITX form factor, $350 when I bought it
- Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING, AMD socket AM4, mini-ITX with PCI-e 4.0
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 3700X, 8-core, 65W TDP
- RAM: Patriot 32GB (2x16GB) 3200Mhz DDR4, no heat spreaders
- SSDs (pending delivery): Sabrent Rocket 500GB m.2 PCIe 4.0 + Adata XPG 8200 Pro 1TB m.2 PCIe 3.0
- GPU (previous purchase): Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB (reference card from Nvidia)
Yes, the case price is eye-popping but when you price out a separate 650W power supply, the AIO cooler and the PCIe riser card, it's less dramatic. However, the AIO cooler is fully integrated into the case design (the pump is actually embedded in the radiator so the heat sink is just that). Perhaps more importantly, all of the wiring is pre-routed which makes this a wonderful case for newcomers to the custom build world.
When all of the components are installed, the NZXT H1 is a tight package so the liquid cooler brings relief because airflow is so restricted. There's very little opportunity for modding in this case's tight quarters.
I'm about 75% through this build. I received the NZXT case yesterday and started a preliminary test build with a different GPU (Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB) and installed Windows 10 on an old 2.5" SSD for practice and to make sure the new components work (they do). The Radeon card was originally purchased a few months ago with a Sonnet Breakaway eGPU box that I connected to my Mac mini. It worked fine but I decided to splurge on the Nvidia card and temporarily shelved the Radeon and connected the eGPU to an Acer Swift 3 ultrathin notebook PC (think MacBook Air).
With all of the wiring pre-routed in this NZXT case, it was fairly simple putting it together. It took me a while to figure out how the two cords from the AIO cooler should be plugged into the motherboard (4-pin goes to CPU_FAN which is the 140mm radiator fan, 3-pin goes to AIO_PUMP, set the latter to max in the BIOS settings).
There are some idiosyncracies with the NZXT H1 case, like the I/O panel facing down. Read the Tom's Hardware product review very carefully and look at their build photos. This is not the ideal case if you want to plug and unplug things constantly. I've crafted a six-foot "umbilical" cord for my Oculus Rift S VR HMD (DisplayPort and USB 3.0 extension cables) as well as short 1-foot pigtails for certain other connections underneath. A good powered USB 3.0 hub is pretty much a required accessory with this case.
I'm waiting on the two m.2 sticks to hopefully arrive this weekend. This Asus B550-I motherboard features PCIe 4.0 so I picked up a 500GB m.2 PCIe 4.0 card for my boot drive and a 1TB card with the older PCIe 3.0 tech for my secondary drive (which will be mostly reads, not writes). Early next week, I will yank out my practice 2.5" SSD and the Radeon card, replace with my RTX 2070 SUPER and the super speedy m.2 storage and reinstall Windows. I expect the Sabrent PCIe 4.0 m.2 to blow doors on my venerable SATA-3 SSD (6Gbps).
I decided that I did not want to try shoving a CPU with a 105W TDP into this H1 case so I opted for the most powerful 65W Ryzen CPU instead, besides I don't need
that much CPU power.
I actually already have a case for my future second build, a $66 SilverStone PS15B-G compact tower that supports the micro-ATX form factor. There's a good chance I will bring the Ryzen 7 CPU along with the 32GB of RAM. I can opt to bring RTX 2070 GPU along or leave it in the Build #1 micro-ITX case.
That leaves me with several options with the Asus B550-I motherboard in the current NZXT H1 case. I could buy a less powerful CPU like the Ryzen 5 3600 (or 3600X) paired with a GPU (the Sapphire Radeon? the RTX 2070 SUPER?) or I could opt for a Ryzen 5 3400G with the integrated Vega graphics. I'd probably shove in 16GB of RAM. I could buy a better Radeon card for my Mac mini/eGPU and put the RX 580 back into Build #1.
The Build #2 SilverStone case supports more options. I would likely install a 240mm AIO cooler in the front panel for the CPU. The top panel supports either two 120mm chassis fans or one 140mm fan (I would probably opt for the latter which might run quieter). The case includes one 120mm fan built-in in the rear panel and there's room for a second 120mm fan or AIO cooler. At some point, I might try the latter for a GPU. So Build #2's budget might be heavy on power and cooling (one 650W PSU + two AIO coolers is probably $300-400).
Build #2 would end up being the gaming/VR PC (I'd probably try to keep the software on it as limited as possible) and Build #1 (mini-ITX) would be the daily driver. With the idea of a second build, I have the luxury of knowing that I can move ahead and leave some decent stuff behind.
I sure do like the NZXT H1 case's dimensions and the fact that the cables were pre-routed. With current COVID-19 retail restrictions, I can't easily walk the aisles of my favorite local PC shop and peruse cables, parts, etc.
As for recommended reading, I follow Tom's Hardware very closely, followed by TweakTown, TechRadar, and perhaps Windows Central and a few others. I read Tom's Hardware in the late Nineties back when very, Very, VERY few people were custom building PCs. I'm glad to see that the site is still faithful to Dr. Pabst's original mission.
