Building a Better (and Smaller) Gaming PC!

[@paulshardware]

Edit to add: the giveaway has now closed, thanks to all who entered! I'll be making a community post on my channel Monday to announce the winner. 🙏 Hey All! So I made a big mistake on this one -- as pointed out by @mastermind6000 and others, I did not see that ASUS sent two versions of the TR120 fan, with one 3-pack being "reverse airflow." So I installed the bottom intake fans as if they were standard (fan hub pointing up), meaning they were actually sucking air DOWN and fighting with the fans on the ASUS Prime RTX 4070 Super. Long story short -- I fixed it, temps dropped from ~80°C to ~65°C, and GPU fan speed is around 50% instead of 80-90%. Framerates / gaming performance are still the same. I made a short showing the fix and the results that I'll post as soon as it's ready too. Thanks again to everyone who noticed and jumped down to the comments to let me know!

[@pe3ke117]

i was wondering why there are so high temps... usualy seen about 70°C max. on rtx 4070 with decent airflow... , no wonder nickname of wise user "mastermind" 🤣🤣🤣

[@americathefree3708]

Thanks for keeping it real Mr. Paul! 👍

[@mastermind6000]

looks like you didn't notice that 3 of those TR120 fans are reverse mode. the bottom ones are exhausting as well. the fan chassis has the 'rear side' appearance on the top, but those blades are blowing down. it's going to compete directly against the fan on the front of the gpu.

[@kevinsoo6642]

no.

[@topflloor]

@@kevinsoo6642yes

[@paulshardware]

I've had a long week so I just checked in and saw this -- and I've verified that you're 100% correct. I didn't realize they sent me two versions of the fan and treated them all as standard airflow. Working on a correction now, thank you for spotting the mistake and commenting! 🙏🙏🙏

[@mastermind6000]

@@paulshardware I checked the beginning and saw one box said "reverse" just to be sure. :) I would have never thought twice about it myself, SO used to putting grate side correctly. I love everything you do for PCs and I hope the universe grants you some free time to rest one of these days!

[@Adroit-de2zh]

@@kevinsoo6642 yes.

[@lylerigney6182]

This is literally my dream pc build. A zero compromise small form factor build that you could easily travel to a friend house with. I'd be stoked to win this PC

[@keshe2692]

Same

[@typicalthrill]

For the fans, could you put a shorter screw through only one side of the fan frame? So instead of pushing a long screw through the front side, through the back side, and into the radiator, could you ONLY run it through the back side and into the radiator? You'd need a screw driver that could fit through the front side, but maybe?

[@1480750]

Yes but it is fiddly, especially where two fans are against each other. You wouldnt want to do it often

[@Dan-Simms]

Yeah, it's definitely easier than busting out the drill.

[@Nuds1223]

Could also peel off the vibration pad off the side not on the rad

[@mindurbusiness-b3u]

praying for the winner they dont need to warranty anything...

[@stennan]

Trust can be lost quickly and takes time to rebuild. Hopefully ASUS can correct their customer service, because they claim to be the most premium PC DIY brand. In that brand value you need to include more than higher prices though, EVGA had a strong brand before they called it quits 😢

[@mindurbusiness-b3u]

@@stennan very true. i have multiple asus products over 4 systems in the house, but their recent performance does not incline me to buy their stuff for my next system build! time will tell if they fix the mess they made themselves.

[@vensroofcat6415]

Oh, I have built PCs for quite some time and had issues with pretty much every large name in the industry. If I went by your rules, I couldn't build any PC anymore 🤣

[@HanSDevX]

The winner? That would be me... I can see the future.

[@evlkenevl2721]

Asus has given their reputation a black eye... again. I don't want to support a company that says "Oh well, you'll be back" and just keeps breaking trust to chase pennies.

[@LyricLikeKarma]

I can't lie, that case looks nice

[@leeolivieri]

Finally a gleamio giveaway with just one entry. Thank you, Paul

[@threefeetoffun]

I always love Paul build videos because he breaks down tech and you don't feel dumb. "This screw is bad because" doesn't require a 30 minute side video.

[@JuiceBoxScott]

I appreciate that the giveaway doesn't ask us to tweet anything

[@malccy72]

Armoury Crate (shudders!) - A Halloween nightmare !

[@strkilla89]

Exactly why I'll never buy another asus board/laptop and I used to love asus motherboards

[@peterwstacey]

Agreed that Armoury Crate is awful (like most of ASUS's software). But you can always just not install it. I have ASUS motherboards in Linux dev PCs and everything's as OEM as you could wish for if you set the BIOS up correctly and just install the OS

[@83Xxela]

Worst piece of software EVER

[@titanuranus2136]

With most bottom air intake cases I find they benefit from being raised up, easy to test if it helps by standing it on some books. When I realised the benefit I used a hole saw to cut some 22mm thick MDF disks, painted them black and stuck them on the existing feet with double sided tape. I would consider the Jonsbo D31 or the Lian Li DAN A3 over this case.

[@firedrapeon6012]

The problem with this case is that if you have a 3+ slot GPU and a MOBO that has its top slot used for m.2, you end up with insufficient space to install any fans at the bottom. Micro ATX mobos in general are bad if you use 4slot GPUs like the 4080/4090 where the GPU blocks off all the pcie slots, preventing usage of an additional pcie card (wifi 7)

[@benefitthirteen]

It's a nice system. Thanks for the opportunity to win it.

[@jeremybarber2837]

I appreciate the middle ground of the SFF-ready components. Great looking build 👏.

[@afino61_]

12:55 don't worry, with my last build, I did the same thing definitely a "well, there's your problem!" moment

[@whiskeredgundam7765]

I have had to counter sink screws on fans several times for coolers and such. it works just fine... as long as you don't drill to far. Or you could just remove the pads.

[@oldtimergaming9514]

Or you could just get the correct screws.

[@RobotKitsune]

I remember my very first pc build from 2012, and it was after watching one of your build guides back then that i decided I would wait to put the side panel on until after a successful post, just like you. To this day, after dozens of rebuilds, upgrades, and case changes....i still have that same superstition, but now it feels.more like tradition and a way to honor the build guide that gave me my love of building computers. Amazing build by the way, I'm an Asus fan myself and now i want that mobo heh heh

[@hardlyworgen71]

Liked for Joe's laughter when the memory fell down.

[@demometalico]

Small form builds always feel so clean

[@mikemariano4012]

"It's very fast memory." 😂😂😂

[@pe3ke117]

dissapearing in nowhere..very fast...

[@ianollmann9393]

Use a drill press to countersync. It has stops to prevent you from going too far, and it will hold the bit better than a hand held drill. Less bit wander when starting the cut.

[@Falathos]

This is what I love about your channel Paul, even someone like you who does this almost all the time (building pc's) can make mistakes like this. I feel less bad about it if I forget to plug in something :D. Thank you for everything!

[@WarHawk-]

I just completed my second build a few days ago (22 Oct) to replace my first build, completed in July 2019: AMD Ryzen 7 7700x 4.5 Ghz (AM5) CPU, ASUS Tuf Gaming B650M-Plus w/wifi MB, EVGA GEForce GTX 1660ti SC Ultra graphics card, Corsair ICUE H100i Elite Capellix XT 240mm cooler w/pump upgrade cap Corsair ICUE AF 120mm case fans (2), Corsair 'Vengence' 32 GB (2x16) DDR5 5200 RAM, WD 'Black' SN850Me M.2 2280 1TB Pcie-Express SSD (2), Corsair RM750 full-modular 80+Gold PSU, ASUS ROG Strix 27" monitor, Corsair K70 Pro gaming keyboard, Razer 'Deathadder' wireless gaming mouse, Creative Labs T-20 desktop 2.0 speakers, Sennheizer 'Game One' gaming headset w/mic Everything is in white, stuffed into a Jonsbo TK-1 (V.2) micro-case, and running Windows 11 (Home).

[@maxitalksfishing]

3 hours to the count down. Good luck to all applicants

[@brendanpeery2655]

Instead of running the drill forward, just slowly run it backwards so it doesn't bite and drive itself through the plastic potentially causing it to crack and keeps the drill from walking around the hole

[@MicahRayburn]

I love this case! I’ve had mine for about a year now. I crammed a 7900XTX with 6x 120mm fans + the stock rear fan into it somehow, and she looks and runs great! 👍🏼

[@HHarold]

Question, would it over heat with everything so tightly together?

[@RobertF]

I built in that case last year. I love it, so much air flow! And room!

[@KindaSortaAsian]

This is basically the exact same build I did this summer except I got the ProArt 4080s in it, honestly a phenomenal composition of parts

[@lordmage]

As always Paul thank you for such a simple entry system and a sweet build there

[@lordmage]

FYI The gleam details and terms May need an update look at the bottom snipped for your referenGiveaway ends 12/18/2023 at 11:00 AM PT -- winner will be notified via email. PRIZE MUST BE CLAIMED WITHIN 24 HOURS OR ANOTHER WINNER WILL BE PICKED. ce

[@robgreenstein5917]

Stunning system. The RGB seems subtle but can be modified.

[@arcaneidolriots]

I've been working on putting together a new PC build and have been debating about whether to go with a micro-atx case. The AP201 is actually one of the cases I've been considering. As someone who's 5'3" I sometimes have trouble moving or picking up my current mid-tower, and I would like my next PC to be a more manageable size for me! 😂

[@MeneGR]

3:05 Dropped down memory lane

[@pkpnyt4711]

That thing is still huge for me (33 liters). I have a 15 liter ITX case that fits a 280mm rad and can fit a 7900XT or 4080 in it. Now that's smaller and better IMHO.

[@MediaRebel]

what's case is it? couldn't find one smaller than my old cooler master matx case. edit: also, yeah, the ap201 is bigger than it looks on the video.

[@pkpnyt4711]

@@MediaRebel SSUPD Meshlicious.

[@MediaRebel]

@@pkpnyt4711 nice thanks! might have to try an itx build one day.

[@chadwickmccarty4944]

Good luck to everyone entering & myself fingers crossed. Also, just thanks for the chance.

[@Z.FA89]

As other comments have mentioned, the bottom fans are in the wrong orientation. They're reverse blade fans. Hope Paul sees some of these comments and rectifies it. :)

[@docmanh20]

Thanks for giving us a chance to win. I've been in the market for a Micro-ATX case and while I'd like something a little bit smaller, this is really nice.

[@teemo_9905]

best way to get airflow is to have intake: 1 in the back 3 in the bottom , exhaust: 3 top and 1 or 2 in the side, 2 side fan only if you have aio if you have air cooler you can only use 1. thay mount to the side using magnet. it's better to cover the backside with cardboard so gpu dont pull the air from the back and collect dust,and use filter for the backm fan if you want to use it as intake This is what I did in my case,the result is lower fan speed and little bit temp drop

[@florinip1978]

Nice build, great job Paul.

[@diyathkumara2443]

The microATX case looks pretty slick as a mini ITX user myself i wouldn't mind the increase in space it'll take up on my desk if i end up winning this as an upgrade

[@shadowblade1942]

I know the gpu temps are within spec, but that seems like its running hot for how much fan speed you have along with having bottom intake case fans.

[@JamesChurchill3]

I have the white version of this case with the mesh side, absolutely love it. A pleasure to build in, looks nice and sits behind my monitor on my desk. I have a small area to fit my PC into and the small size means it can live on the desk instead of the floor.

[@pwcorgi2000]

I wish there were more mesh side panels options like this, to use instead of tempered glass. (In General)

[@coryglueckert1665]

its good to see high end motherboards and gaming pc's using the m-atx motherboard format. when the mother board platform was mostly low end.

[@_Turbocat777]

This is a really nice case at a decent price, I was looking for a smaller case and ended up getting the G.SKILL LT1 (35L) and this is slightly smaller than that. Finished build looks sick, been wanting to upgrade from my 3600 for awhile.

[@watersMO]

RIP, that poor 30mm fan. Great looking build, Paul!

[@misguidedpanda3209]

Love the case used in this build. I used the same case for a home server build last year!

[@HHarold]

Question, will it overheat with everything so tightly together?

[@misguidedpanda3209]

@HHarold temps are really good due to the mesh panels. Never had any overheating problems and I even keep the server in a cabinet that is closed most of the time.

[@HHarold]

@@misguidedpanda3209 thank you, I’m considering building this exact pc and was wondering about the heating and how good it is. Anyway thank you!

[@mikeoleksa]

I really like the aesthetics of the Asus Prime motherboards, now that graphic card and case, too. Especially the ASUS Prime X670E-PRO WiFi from the last generation. It had just enough bling with all the heatsinks covering a good portion of the motherboard, but without the gamery Asus slogans pasted all over it. They just don't tick all of my specification check boxes. I wish they were higher in Asus' product stack. As for that longer mounting screw problem, you wouldn't believe the amount of 35mm x M4, M3, and 1 3/8" x 6-32 screws I've bought from Amazon just for the issue you had with the fan thickness. Another workaround I found is when the corners are open, like the TUF fans in the video, I'll mount the fans using the inside hole, instead of through the entire thickness of the fan. The shorter screws can usually be manipulated into the space and grip the radiator. Then I just run the screwdriver through the top hole to get to the screw head to tighten the fan down.

[@drunkenfarmerjohn42]

The Prime case is such a good one. Though, it's worth noting that it's a badge branding. It's actually an Antec case.

[@paperitgel98]

Are the bottom fans installed as exhaust?? Isn't that gonna make the GPU starve of air?

[@ASUSPRNorthAmerica]

Fans are not required for the AP201 it is partly aesthetic but can be functional in our testing even with a card like a 4080 due to the high passive airflow of the chassis you do not require to have fans install for stable operation ( whether they are intake or exhaust ). Overall it is a fairly moot point and for most AP201 builds will be more aesthetically driven than a requirement to ensure stable/cool operation.

[@jordanm8595]

very nice editing guys, great job!

[@ReckIamation]

Why not use a shorter screw on the AIO fans but put it between the 2 holes (so only one side of the fan connects) then use a thin screwdriver to feed through the unused hole to screw in through the bottom hole (one that makes contact with radiator)?

[@orta4791]

You're awesome Paul!

[@rohesilmnelohe]

Cool video.. And I REALLY love the look of the final build. Would absolutely love to own one.

[@lexman7002]

Interesting build. Not many cards are SFF, in an SFF case the cable management is a task. Would love to see more of those sleeved cables, seems very flexible. Thanks paul!

[@davidj6221]

That build looks so good

[@MrMutterbug]

Love that case. Nice build.

[@anthonymason9855]

I love the Asus ROG Strix brand, I have a ITX pc build with four Strix Components, Strix B550i, ROG loki 750W PSU ROG RYUO 240 AIO and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT. Its running a Ryzen 7 5800X, 32GB G.Skill 2x 16GB Trident RGB 3200 CL 14, My boot drive is a Samsung 970 Evo Plus and a Crucial P3 4TB SSD for my games all enclosed in a Lian Li Dan A4-H2O in the build and ive been using it for a couple years and I just added the Loki PSU to the build.

[@Crimsonoverlord.]

take the triangle rubber gromets out completely, on both sides of the fan

[@Lukiel666]

Yep. Scrolled down looking for this comment.

[@joseberroa4935]

Very nice build !!!!

[@r9delta104]

I really like the look of the case. The mesh looks great

[@Benwayland21]

Great looking build Paul!

[@slimsick1073]

That case looks pretty cool

[@puddleduckist]

What a fantastic compact pc!!! Runs very well!

[@dominic.h.3363]

9:33 - Hah! Some DIY required.

[@user-sw7js4jw7v]

Really nice little SFF build there, Paul

[@poeticsilence047]

JJ is awesome. Definitely has an eye for style.

[@TheCornie06]

Love your video style, i actually learned something!

[@Melvinh_OG]

Beautiful build! Good luck to everyone!

[@caspersmith7112]

09:03 you should have drill in reverse.. Had to do it when had to use wood screws on outer hidden case fans on a custom 3 tier wood chassis server rack.. (fans pulled air in bottom out top in back) ripped fan up did in reverse took less off at time

[@jbarker98420]

Nice build Paul

[@-B.H.]

Actually like the case. It gives me lots of ideas for modding.

[@pixelpusher3589]

thanks for the vid Paul :D

[@ericlamont4130]

I’ve been building PCs since I was 16, working at Computer City. I guess I’ve finally gotten too old for it. The fact this video card alone is the same price as a PS5 Pro, is crazy. Full build is several thousand. All for the “graffix”. Give me a PS5, my couch, and more money added to the 401K for retirement instead.

[@ericlamont4130]

And get off my lawn, you meddling kids!!😂

[@calebintal806]

I love smaller form factor lately, nice card too!

[@Corvinade]

I like that this card is sff ready

[@Jzwiz]

Some of those fans are reverse blade fans, wonder if he didnt realize

[@admiralthrawn4363]

Spot on building 😮

[@DaVinciFry]

Sweet build!

[@Lenticular67]

This is awesome Paul!

[@MahbubVai]

Wow such a beautiful pc build 😍

[@hasanmich1504]

Beautiful build!! Those cables arent sleeved though, theyre just rubber moulded to look like that

[@miguelmontoya1320]

Im rocking a 2009 MBP so this would be an amazing upgrade.

[@LOLHoneybadger]

Is it me or are those bottom fans exhausting cuz they're backwards-blowing fans?

[@Dracossaint]

9:20 why not remove the rubber from the side your drilling? the part touching the case and the aio is still going to be dampened by the other pad. it might be enough bite with just that tweak. also as ya mentioned longer screws >.>

[@keshe2692]

Looks nice.

[@----Unknown----]

Thats a clean build 👍

[@0A01amir]

Nice video and thank you. question ? why when it comes to applying cpu thermal paste you people (most assembeling videos) skip the fun part ? let us see and judge your thermal applying techniques. One other thing i learned was the brand new cards are capable of rendering games at sub HD resolutions, it's magical. like paying 800 to 2000$ for a single card so you can play at 600p. i hope 5000 series can reach 480p and give us the true next-gen experience that we deserve while using 600watts of power and generating 150c heat.

[@BrianScotland]

Some people watch “satisfying” videos. This is brain butter melting on my toasted mind

[@ClaudioBarroso]

What you guys think about a QLC SSD for a boot drive? Technology is there yet?

[@FiveFiveZeroTwo]

Isn't the PCI-E 5 slot connected directly to the CPU, that way still making it preferable to use first for the SSD?

[@drunkenfarmerjohn42]

Yup. Generally, even if you aren't using the full bandwidth, you want to put the main drive there. Because even if you get a faster drive and populate that slot, if your OS is still on the slower drive, that will bottleneck.

[@Z.FA89]

According to the manual, both M.2 slots are through the CPU, not the chipset. So in this case, putting a pcie 4.0 drive into the 5.0 slot isn't gonna make a difference.

[@Dan-Simms]

Pretty much my dream build PC.

[@killerbsting1621]

Just built a new one for myself. 7950x3d 4080 super 64gb trident 6000mhz. 1000 platinum corsair psu.

[@josemalpica8417]

What would be a good cheaper cpu alternative to this one in the video? Same question about the motherboard, is another alternative more reliable than this? Thanks in advance!

[@ChaosXification]

Been thinking about doing a new build as well, might do a small FF build

[@blackstaffer]

Appreciate the one click entry on the giveaway instead of the more common 80+ social interactions style on gleam.

[@kasper_429]

Yeah, that's the one part about these KZbin giveaways that I kinda hate, having to click (and sign into) like 400 different things/sites to get more entries.

[@lysias55]

Cool to see a smaller build

[@allenblackman6333]

@9:22 he could have taken a dremel and cut off the top mount of the fans and then used shorter screwed to mount the fans

[@professormoore4876]

Next time Paul does a fun DIY side project like busting out a drill on a RGB fan Joe should just have a side reaction video while drinking a beer, it would feel on theme.

[@RossHouck]

"Set bonus" I dig it.

[@aaron57422]

Nice build Paul! Since you talk to case people, do you hear anything about their interesting about adopting and designing around "SFF ready" when they design SFF cases?

[@alzaman_aljamil]

Great setup I wish it was an Intel setup it would be great for content creation and gaming but it's still great with this exceptional guy. 👍