Hi all!

I just ordered a new computer that I will be using mainly for SONAR X2 PE.

Actually I have no idea why I'm writing this ...
Guess I just wanted to share the joy I'm feeling with somebody who understands :-) Feel like a child at christmas!

ASRock Z77E-ITX 
Intel Core i7 3770K 3,5Ghz (Ivy Bridge)
Corsair 16GB (2x8192MB) CL10 1600Mhz VENGEANCE LP

2 x 120GB Intel 330 SSD
2 x 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm SATA 6Gbit/s

PowerColor Radeon HD6450 1024MB
Noctua NH-U9B SE2 
Antec High Current Gamer 400W 80+ Bronze
BitFenix Prodigy White mITX 
Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

Comments welcome!

Best Regards
Ludvig
 

I would have ordered a larger power supply.  400 watts is probably bare minimum for configuration like yours. 

Most systems I see being built are using 600 watt and up power supplies.  Some of the gaming PC's are using 1000 watt power supplies.

I would also use a fully modular power supply, to eliminate the unused power leads that have to be stuffed inside the case.

I'm using a liquid cooler with my new system's i7 3770.

Thanks for the input, Jack!


I've been thinking a lot about the included components, including the power supply. 


I've been using this calculator among other things: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine 
and I cannot get it to show that I would need any more than 300W, no matter how I try. So I just figured that 400 would be enough. This "High Current Gamer" model also features a high-power +12V rail that is supposed to help a bit as well.


Isn't the reason that gaming rigs use such high power the graphics cards they're using?


But I guess I will be keeping an eye on this. I'm pretty sure that I have been using more powerful power supplies in my past builds ...


Comments more than welcome! I've not yet started to build this thing.


I was also considering a fully modular one and also liquid cooling. I have zero experience with liquid cooling and was a bit afraid that it would sound like an aquarium :-) 
What's your feeling about this?


Once again thanks for chiming in!


Best Regards
Ludvig


 

I'm using a Corsair H80, which uses ethylene glycol (auto anti-freeze) for the coolant. 

http://www.corsair.com/en/cpu-cooling-kits/hydro-series-water-cooling-cpu-cooler/hydro-series-h80i-high-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler.html

The only thing the fans are noisy so I added after market "quiet" fans.  No more fan noise. My CPU temps generally are in the low/mid 30's.

I used a Corsair Carbide 500R case and I can record a voice or mike an acoustic guitar (for example) with an SM57 mike pointed within 3 ft of the tower and there is no noise from the PC.

I reckon you should be fine with the psu.
its not a gamer pc.
aslong as the graphics card doesn't draw too much current youve no issues.
your ssd drives draw next to nothing and the new ivy bridge cpu draws about 75watts i think.
so you should be ok.


(Edited for typo)

Ludvig, even though you'd already ordered before posting and it doesn't matter anymore, I'll just add this just in case someone comes across this thread in future and gets wrong info.

You probably don't really need a separate graphics card, the integrated 3770K graphics are more than adequate for a DAW and that motherboard will allow use of multiple digital monitors with the 3770K graphics. Using the 3770K graphics will save on power/heat compared to using a discrete graphics card.

3770K is 77 Watts max TDP (not 25) when run at stock speeds. Will be higher though when overclocked.

The OP will be fine with the 400w PS.

The motherboard only supports four SATA devices... and it's a Cube mini-ITX build... so there will be no more internal drives.

Regarding the video card:
The onboard 4000 series graphics do not work well with video editing apps.   New Blue Titler Pro (used with numerous video editing apps) won't work at all...
Titler Pro works with a HD5450... and it (of course) runs better with a video card with more speed.
Based on the card the OP spec'd, I'm guessing he has video editing in mind.
One of the faster passive-cooled video cards that's readily available...

Jim Roseberry
Regarding the video card:
The onboard 4000 series graphics do not work well with video editing apps.   New Blue Titler Pro (used with numerous video editing apps) won't work at all...
Titler Pro works with a HD5450... and it (of course) runs better with a video card with more speed.
Based on the card the OP spec'd, I'm guessing he has video editing in mind.
One of the faster passive-cooled video cards that's readily available...

Perhaps you missed seeing the OP's earlier inquiry here?:

http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.ashx?m=2662180

Perhaps you missed seeing the OP's earlier inquiry here?:

 
The Mini-ITX case the OP is considering will allow a fairly large video card to be installed.  4000 series graphics is OK if the OP will strictly run DAW apps.
If he plans to get into video editing, it's a major limitation.

Thanks guys for keeping this thread alive!
I've been busy installing things and getting this machine up and running. And man, does it run like the wind ...
All happy so far!

Regarding drives, I did not find any M-ITX motherboard with more Sata-ports. Is there anyone available? There's plenty of space in the case for more drives ...

I'm running a couple of external HD's for backup, music library and things I don't need all the time so it's not a really big problem but it would've been nice to be able to add a couple more SSD's down the road.

Same goes with RAM. I'm maxing this board out at 16GB already but I guess the time I need more I'll wan't a faster computer anyway.

Once again,
thanks!

Best Regards
Ludvig