Description
Main use for gaming on 1440p. Will eventually use for productivity. First build since 2010. Will update with more info soon.
Part Reviews
CPU
Excessively hot CPU. Fast and more than enough for 1440p 144hz gaming. Most esports titles I play don't use much more than about 25% usage with Epic settings. That would be Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, etc. I put in some PPT Limits and that seems to have lowered temps some without any real performance hit. Will use for moderate productivity in the future.
If I could do it again... I'd just get the 5700x or spring for the 5900x. Both of those CPU's run cooler with no real loss in performance for games and productivity. If just gaming at 1080p... just get a 5600x.
CPU Cooler
Great budget cooler to be honest. Looks great and is perfect size for the NR200p with both panels. Keeps 5800x in check despite the mediocre cooling capable in the NR200p. Main complaint is that it does get loud and considering the 5800x ramps up heat fast just opening Chrome, the updated fans on this Rev. B get loud. At least the slim fan does. Slim fans just don't provide a good balance of cooling and silence. Even slim Noctuas are loud at higher RPMs though. But clearance and fit for the NR200p is PERFECT for both panels.
And the included screwdriver is amazing and magnetized. Pretty much used during my entire build. Thanks Scythe!
IF I COULD GO BACK IN TIME... I would just get the NON- revision B and replace the fans with some Noctuas. I've already replaced the slim fan with a chromax nh-A12x25 fan. Saw a slight difference in temps and noise due to being able to run at a lower RPM.
Motherboard
No real issues with this board. Looks nice and seems well built. Couldn't believe how small this was when I got it out of the box. Heat sinks seem nice. There's about 3 screws you'll need to remove to get to the front M.2 slot.
Looks like there may be some work involved to get to the M.2 drive on the back of the board.
The two fan headers are a little difficult to get to without removing the M.2 heat sink. But it's doable when you take out the GPU.
The Gigabyte software is not the best, but it works. I am having trouble running the board's SIV application since I installed Windows 11 though. Worked fine in Windows 10. For some reason the RGB 2.0 app has to be reopened occasionally to get the GPU leds (which is also gigabyte) to work again.
Memory
No issues. Advertised speeds automatically detected. Very low profile RAM so I was able to replace that slim fan on the Scythe Fuma 2 cooler. (But I had to pull the RGB Vengeance RAM I originally built with pictured.)
Storage
Great drive. Bought because I've been using a 840 Evo for years now with no issues and great speed still. Almost didn't even notice a difference in performance between the two drives. General usage doesn't even come close to fully utilizing the max speed of these drives.
Video Card
So far does a good job playing titles at Epic settings on 1440p 144hz (Overwatch 2, Apex, Jedi Fallen Order, etc). Seems to stay relatively cool. Fans are not super noisy either. Only gripe is the "coil whine" when in games. It's not terrible since I've usually got headphones on when I'm gaming, but still just something I can't believe exists this day and age at this price. Hit's about 80% GPU usage during those games listed at those settings.
Case
Great case for the price depending on what you are putting in it and how you want to use those components. I wouldn't recommend a high-end build even in something this large for ITX, but that's just me. It is still fairly limited when it comes to cooler choices and performance is still going to be just OK. I wish I would have just gone with slightly larger ITX case that has better options for pulling in cool air while having a little wider range of choices for CPU coolers.
Power Supply
First Lian Li product I have ever owned. Had a Corsair PSU that died right after warranty period ended. Then had a EVGA that I really loved. But for this build I needed a white SFX PSU (picture in list does not match my color purchased). So far this PSU has worked great. I was worried the smaller fan for an SFX would be noisy compared to my ATX EVGA that was silent. But I can't hear it at all.
Some of the pins on one of the CPU connectors did not match the motherboard connector shapes, but has worked without issues nonetheless. Has been running for a couple months now.
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