I'm shortly going to pull the trigger on a new build now Haswell is out (current machine is 4 years old and really needs replacing).
I'm not planning to o/c, and my requirements are good performance for software development/running VMs with occasional light gaming, while being quiet. The ambient temperatures in my office can be quite high in summer (easily mid 30's Celsius), so I value lower power draw to keep excess heat down, and even though I am not going to O/C air-flow is important because of the high ambients that need to be coped with.
Since I only game lightly I am thinking to go 7790 for graphics (low TDPs, good enough performance - current machine I have a 6850 in and it's been entirely adequate). Because I need to run a couple of VMs for software testing purposes, memory is important, so I will be equipping the max (32G) RAM, and going all SSD for storage (Crucial M5 960G once I can find any available!). For CPU, I'm thinking 4770 (not the K as I don't plan to O/C and I DO want TSX support), with an after-market cooler (thinking TRUE Spirit 140 probably)
The only point I'm unsure about is case. I really value quietness, but need reasonable airflow. My last two builds have been in Antec P180/P182s, and the airflow hasn't been ideal without turning the fans to max (though my previous builds were at (somewhat) higher TDPs than what I now plan, it has to said). I really like the look of the FT02, but keep hearing great thing about the Define R4. The price difference is not a major issue. I was considering the FT04 also, pending release and reviews, but it looks like Silverstone is just taking too long to actually get it released, so it's probably out of consideration now (need to go on this by about the end of the month).
Anyone have experience of both the R4 and the FT02? Any thoughts or counter-suggestions?
I'm not planning to o/c, and my requirements are good performance for software development/running VMs with occasional light gaming, while being quiet. The ambient temperatures in my office can be quite high in summer (easily mid 30's Celsius), so I value lower power draw to keep excess heat down, and even though I am not going to O/C air-flow is important because of the high ambients that need to be coped with.
Since I only game lightly I am thinking to go 7790 for graphics (low TDPs, good enough performance - current machine I have a 6850 in and it's been entirely adequate). Because I need to run a couple of VMs for software testing purposes, memory is important, so I will be equipping the max (32G) RAM, and going all SSD for storage (Crucial M5 960G once I can find any available!). For CPU, I'm thinking 4770 (not the K as I don't plan to O/C and I DO want TSX support), with an after-market cooler (thinking TRUE Spirit 140 probably)
The only point I'm unsure about is case. I really value quietness, but need reasonable airflow. My last two builds have been in Antec P180/P182s, and the airflow hasn't been ideal without turning the fans to max (though my previous builds were at (somewhat) higher TDPs than what I now plan, it has to said). I really like the look of the FT02, but keep hearing great thing about the Define R4. The price difference is not a major issue. I was considering the FT04 also, pending release and reviews, but it looks like Silverstone is just taking too long to actually get it released, so it's probably out of consideration now (need to go on this by about the end of the month).
Anyone have experience of both the R4 and the FT02? Any thoughts or counter-suggestions?