revised best gaming rig

 

this is my new amd 7600x and rtx 4070 moved to a larger box so that i could plug the graphics card right into the asrock a620 mini itx board.

I originally tried it with case fans on the bottom, and another set of thin fans strapped to the pny graphics card. But, it is cooler and more quiet with just a single set of  25 mm thick fans strapped to the 4070. The noctua quiet fans act as both gpu fans and intake fans for the case.

 

there is room for a larger cooler, but that starts to block the air flow in the case. Also, the AMD 7600x surges up to about 100 watts, but typically games at 60 watts, and shows a 4k movie using about 40 watts. So, a huge cooler is not needed. this 90 mm low profile noctua does the job, especially with the 120 by 15 mm noctua fan just above it vacuuming the hot air quickly out of the case.

The 4070 peaks at only 200 watts, and games at more like 150. So it is relatively easy to keep cool.

 

The hdplex 500 watt atx power supply provides ample power, and also leaves room for more airflow lanes through the case and a 3.5 inch data center drive.

this is peak case airflow, with all fans facing up.

it is true that these cases where the gpu plugs right into the mother board typically have hot spots, compared with sandwhich style cases that use a riser cable to house the graphics card in its own private compartment. 

The hard drive is rarely heard, as i use the data center drive as a long term backup for the pair of 2 tb m.2 drives on the motherboard. you can see the samsung drive on the top.

 

the cooling is so good in this sliger case that extra overclocking headroom is enjoyed. I am able to use +237 mhz on the gpu chip, and +900 mhz on the gpu memory. in this mode, the low power chip speeds along, with little delays when it hits its feeble power limit of 200 watts at 1.1 volts. 

the gaming is amazingly quiet, with the 90 mm fan on the cooler being the only fan smaller than 120 mm. And, non gaming operation is silent. you actually have to look for the light on the power button to find out if the system is on.

 

The new AMD graphics cards are out, and it looks like they have hit it out of the park in terms of value. i am eying a small form factor card like the powercolor reaper 9070xt, which could drop right into this system. We will see when the wildly inflated GPU prices fall toward MSRP.