Hello Recently I've done a first major upgrade in years, current rig below: Xigmatek Utgard -> NZXT H440 Crucial C300 64GB -> 2x 120GB Samsung 840 Evo Asus GTX 580 Direct CUII -> MSI R9 290 Gaming What remains: Gigabyte X58 UD3R i7 920 D0 Gelid Tranquilo 3x2 GB Corsair XMS3 OCZ ZX 850W 2x2TB Seagate HDD's Overall I'm pretty happy. The H440 is lovely and a pleasure to work in, the extra space from the Samsung SSD's is much appreciated (one as system drive/program files, the other is currently played Steam games). The R9 is a bit underwhelming for the money, I haven't noticed a huge jump, though I blame that on still gaming at 1080p (not for much longer) rather than the card. Also there is visible sag on the card, but that's the fault of Gigabyte. I'll make sure the next mobo is rigid. I need some advice on where to go next with this. 1) PSU Priority number one is the PSU. I moved the rig from the floor to the top of my desk and I can clearly hear "coil whine". It comes and goes in a few varieties, the fan on the PSU is quiet, but the unit itself is annoying. My main priority for a replacement unit is for it to be quiet. And it's pretty tough. Reviews mention fan noise, but my guess always was that the review units get tested before being sent out, so any real lemons which squeaked through the factory quality control, don't get shipped to reviewers. I've noticed Corsair are pushing on their website the improvements in quality control (and since they are Seasonic units, then I guess it applies to them as well?), but it's hard to tell how much of it is marketing. Also, out of three Corsair PSUs I bought, two died within a couple months of purchase (HX850 and CX430, at least the RMA process was painless). But I'm rambling now... I'm looking for a PSU which is quiet, fully modular. A 500-550 unit is enough, but then again, many high powered units (750W+) are either silent or very, very quiet when in the 40-60% load range. As a small bonus, short(ish) cables would be ideal, since I plan to use white NZXT or Bitfenix cable extensions on everything visible outside the mobo tray/PSU cover. Shorter PSU cables, smaller mess; but it might be asking for too much. Right now possible candidates include Corsair AX760, Seasonic X650 (pretty expensive, 520-580PLN) and the Seasonic G550 and Corsair RM650W (350-ish PLN). 2) CPU cooling Thinking about an upgrade, but I can't find any info whether current coolers will be compatible with the mounting holes on the X99/Z97 mobos coming out 2H2014/1H2015. I want to upgrade now, but only if I'm sure I'll be able to reuse it once I upgrade the mobo/CPU in a few months. Assuming that I can reuse them, I was thinking about the Corsair H100i with 2 NZXT FN120RB replacing the stock fans, to keep the white fan blade theme going. Another option is to go with a big air cooler and a pair of 140mm fans, but I'm leaning towards my first AIO for the looks more than anything else. Sadly, everything else will have to remain unchanged for a while. I toyed for a while with the idea of buying a 4670K, 2x4GB Corsair Dominators and a Z87 Sabertooth to keep the black and white theme going (and remedy the sag on my GPU), but it's probably a better idea to see what Z97/X99 have to offer since I try to do system core rebuild every 5 years or so and in retrospect the X58 was a stellar choice. EDIT: one small gripe with the H440 - I miss the fan controller from the Utgard, always used to run my fans at slow speeds. The FN V2 fans in the H440 are quiet and the sound is uniform and almost pleasant, but I don't see the need to run them at full speed regardless. How would I go about slowing them down without a fan controller (no bays)?
A recent PSU purchase I made is the excellent and quiet EVGA Supernova G2 750W Gold. I would recommend it highly.
Had a look at those, but the only readily available EVGA G2 model is the 1300W unit.... I'm stuck with Polish shops, I could order from Germany or UK, costs are similar, but the RMA process in case something goes wrong is not something I'd look forward to.
Check out XFX XTR units; they are based on the cheaper Seasonic G series, but have been upgraded with an FDB fan, semi-fanless mode (which is optional) and fully modular.
