So I've done a CPU refresh. I moved from AMD to Intel, so I also did a motherboard refresh. I then had to upgrade my RAM because DDR3 is just so
passé. I'd long since grown tired of my NZXT case that I've had for ten years, and wanted something that wasn't too ugly to sit on my desk, so that's new too (I have motorised sit/stand setup and sticking the case underneath presents cable management issues).
So, here's my almost entirely new PC.
And behind the old case for a size comparison:
CPU: i5 13600kF
Motherboard: ROG Strix B760-I Gaming WiFi DDR5 Mini-ITX Buzzword Buster Ultra Gaming Pro Over-9000 X
Case: Cooler Master NR200P MAX
RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5200MHz... AMD (I genuinely hadn't noticed it had AMD in the name before posting this)
New secondary storage: WD Black SN770 2TB SSD M.2
And from the old machine:
GPU: MSI GEFORCE RTX 3080 GAMING X TRIO 10G
Boot drive: Sabrent Rocket Q 2TB NVMe PCIe M.2
It's my first small form factor machine, and while it's pretty fiddly getting the motherboard cables plugged in because of how tightly it's all packed in, it's a relative doddle to build. You can actually fully detach half of the back panel, attach that to the GPU before installing it, then you just slot it back into place and clip on the PCI-E riser cable. The case comes with its own AIO for the processor as well as an 850w SFX PSU, which from reviews are apparently both pretty good, as well as the gen 4 riser cable. It's an extremely expensive case at £350, but you'd be spending most of that on the included components anyway. With the AIO and PSU being bundled, it all comes pre-cable managed, and intelligently too, with everything having just enough length to reach where it'll sit on the motherboard. It does also come with a tempered-glass side panel, but I honestly don't want to see that god-awful, overdesigned "let's make our GPU look like an F-117 stealth fighter" cooler, so I'm sticking with the ventilated one that's obviously going to be better for getting air to the GPU given that it's less than an inch away.
I actually don't have any extra fans in there, it's just the two 140mm ones from the AIO, and it's both whisper-quiet (my GPU turns the fans off fully when it's idling) and cooler-running than my old machine (which had twice as many fans, but probably half as many as it needed). A quick benchmark in Cyberpunk, with everything dialled up to 11, had the CPU averaging about 76 - warmer than I'd perhaps like, but cooler than the old one and significantly quieter. It idles a whopping 15-20 degrees cooler than my old machine, which admittedly was using AMD's stock, albeit higher-end cooler. And this is on the hottest day of the year so far.