Reddit reviews CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H55 AIO Liquid CPU Cooler, 120mm Radiator, 120mm Fan

A few suggestions:

• Decent mid range CPU Cooler either big block or water like this one. Reduced system noise under load and improved overclocking / turbo boost frequencies if your CPU has those features.
  
  
• Small / cheap SSD to boot from i.e. something like this. Enough space for Windows + 1 or 2 decent sized games, although $/GB ratio isn't great.
  
  
• RAM. Even with the inflated prices RAM is going for at the moment a decent 8GB set like this one can be had for $65 and will give a bit of breathing room if you are currently on 4GB or less.
  
  
• A decent keyboard or mouse ... Razer happen to make decent models in both cases at the price point but obviously alternatives from Logitech, Steelseries etc are equally worth considering.
  
  
• A combo USB 3.0 / SATA 6 PCI-E card like this if you have an old motherboard without those interfaces and want to extend its lifespan
  
  Things not to buy:
  
  
• Graphics card (unless building a HTPC)
  
• CPU
  
• New motherboard with an old socket
  
• Hard Drive
  
  Reason being is that in these cases the performance / capacity / longevity (delete where appropriate) of parts in this price range is severely impaired compared to spending $100 ... for half the money you get way more than half the product. In almost all cases, if replacing an existing component parts bought at this price will not be a worthy upgrade unless you are upgrading the MIR space station...
  

You don't need a liquid cooler for that cpu at all its overkill unless you want to buy it now to get it over with. Buy something like the evga clc 120 rgb. The rgb one is the only one that fits socket am4 or ryzen. I have the similar one that fits my 1700 or the corsair h55 I used both in the past.
EVGA CLC 120 Liquid/Water CPU Cooler, RGB LED Cooling 400-HY-CL12-V1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9X3HY1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_yLDIBbCT88EE3
CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H55 AIO Liquid CPU Cooler, 120mm Radiator, 120mm Fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mNDIBb9XBFP5T

My friend and I just finished building his first PC, and went the route of using AIO coolers for both his CPU (i7-8700k) and GPU (ASUS GTX 1080 Turbo).

This was built in an NZXT S340 Elite case, which had some radiator restrictions that you do not have, so you have a little more leeway on your cooler choice, but the overall results are phenomenal.

For CPU, we decided on the NZXT Kraken X62 280mm AIO cooler. The performance is one of the best for overall cooling performance, and is a breeze to install, plus he really liked the design of the unit. This was mounted in the front of the case as an intake with a push fan config (we had no choice on this due to the case, but I don't know that we would have done it differently regardless). The EVGA CLC 280mm is another very good 280mm cooler, but this comes entirely down to design preference. There are plenty of other options if you prefer a 360mm rad instead, but you can do the research and decide which one you like best (IMO 280mm is the best for noise/cooling performance). Ultimately almost all AIO coolers are rebranded Asetek coolers anyway, so they have the same overall design with different names and RGB LEDs.

For the GPU, we removed the factory blower fan and installed an NZXT Kraken G12 bracket, and paired it with a Corsair H55 120mm AIO. One thing to be careful of, the G12 is mostly universal, however some aftermarket cards have different PCB layouts for the board itself, and the G12 MAY NOT WORK for your card. If you can look up your card and send me the info, I should be able to look up the PCB on google and determine if it will work for your card. Since you have more options on your install, you could instead change this to a 140mm radiator for better cooling performance, however this is not necessary unless you want very significant overclocks, and will be more expensive depending on the unit you choose. One note for the GPU portion of this swap, the AIO swap MUST be installed in one of two ways. Either 1) you use fan headers on the motherboard to control GPU temps, or 2) you must buy this adapter to control the AIO fan from your GPU. If you choose option 2, you can also buy this fan splitter to power the G12 fan (its a constant RPM fan, no speed control) as well. We personally went with option 2 and added the splitter as well to control everything from the GPU fan header using MSI afterburner (IMO, it is definitely the best way to go). The 120mm AIO was mounted in the rear as an exhaust with a push fan configuration.

Some other related notes: 1) Many individuals will shout from the rooftops that you MUST buy VRAM heatsinks because the G12's fan will not be able to adequately cool them. We did not buy heatsinks, and have zero temp issues at a +600 memory OC. I personally do not feel this to be necessary, but heatsinks are cheap, so if you want to be absolutely sure, feel free to grab them. 2) If you choose to go with a different GPU cooler, say like the NZXT Kraken X42 with RGB lighting or pump speed control, MAKE SURE you have enough USB headers on your motherboard! Most likely you will need to grab a internal USB hub like this to run them all.

I do not have any pictures on hand right now, but there are multiple Youtube videos you can look at to see what it all looks like and entails, just search for "Kraken G12" and you will see multiple videos detailing install procedures, cooling performance, and how it looks.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. My friend has never been happier with his build, and the performance numbers are outstanding.

Server before a recent upgrade

Server before a recent upgrade

My old system was rather simple and straight forward. It was a dual Xeon workstation motherboard (standard ATX) installed in a Rosewill 4U Server Chassis. The center rail perfectly fit the radiators of two Corsair H55s. The bracket works extremely well for the LGA1366.

Server after a hasty upgrade (not finished)

Center Rail

Back

Front

I upgraded my system about two weeks ago. Not finished yet - but it's functional. Since the new motherboard was an oversized EATX (13.2 x 13 inches) - I had to modify the case to get everything to fit. I noticed with 18 sticks of memory, the heat was a bit higher than the previous build. So, I have the radiators sandwiched with fans on both sides. This increased the airflow significantly and the fans are 120mm, so rather quiet.

However, with the fan sandwich, the center rail needed to be pushed back 1.5 inches. In the photo, I only pushed the rail back one inch so far. One of the sandwiches fit (the rear one), but you will notice that the one closest to camera isn't yet fitting. So, I need to pull everything out and drill new holes a half inch closer to the front.

The other thing I didn't realize is that when mounting standard ATX power supplies with an EATX motherboard, the chassis will need to have the power supply suspended above the motherboard and not on the side. You will see that the motherboard takes up a portion of the area where the power supply should go. So, I cut a hole above the i/o plate and moved the power supply mounting bracket that came with the case. Surprisingly, it holds extremely well and has nearly 1 inch of clearance between the power supply and one of the CPU water blocks and memory.

I also plan on 3d printing a shroud that will channel the air from the center rail out into the giant hole in the back and adding two 90mm fans as a proper exhaust.

Water cool it!

Otherwise, yeah the bigger the fan the quieter. And Noctua makes some pretty quiet fans. Look for the decibel rating of your existing fan to compare. You could also slow the fan.

Of course, how cool does it have to be and how do you know when it is too hot?

https://www.amazon.com/Kraken-Matte-Cooling-Black-RL-KRG12-B1/dp/B06ZYHRMYP

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Quiet-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009VV56TY

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NT-H1-Thermal-Compound-Retail/dp/B002CQU14A

Those three things are what you need to convert the card to hybrid cooling.

I have one of these water cooled all in one deals on my amazon wishlist. Just waiting so see how the temps go and for funds.

And a link to it:

https://www.amazon.ca/CORSAIR-Liquid-Cooler-Radiator-120mm-Fan/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=corsair+h55&qid=1567193031&s=gateway&sr=8-1

I'm having a hard time finding anything wrong as well. Just a suggestion from me would be a sealed water cooler. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009VV56TY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1382465481&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
These install quickly, are almost silent and provide high-end air cooling performance.
If you choose to keep the 212 plus however, its been the champ of budget air coolers for years.

here is my most recent build

waited like 3-4 years for an upgrade and replaced everything but PSU, GPU, and HDDs.

Could look a bit better but i had no zip ties and didn't want to cut any wires. also a non-modular PSU.

and now i am getting coil noise from PSU :'(

not really sure i could do to make it look any better other than a new PSU with plug in ports like these sexy guys




parts links:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EB6O4N8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CRJSXR4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KPRWAX8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009VV56TY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/ENGTX560_Ti_DCII_TOP2DI1GD5/

I was just in the samr boat as you. I have a strix r9 390 that I was also having temperature issues with. For $120 you can get an NZXT Kraken g10 Corsair h55 aio, and vrm heatsinks to mount on your card. Brought my temps from 90C under load to low 60s.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ITTFO8M/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492781463&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009VV56TY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492781493&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=corsair+h55&dpPl=1&dpID=41C3tKli1NL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00K73F60E/ref=oh_aui_i_sh_pre_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

No way you can do custom water cooling for two cpus for under $100. Best you could do is get two separate AIO units like this. These will give slightly better performance than a comparable air cooler.

If you don't plan on overclocking, the stock Intel cooler should work just fine in a mITX build.

For just over €75, the Corsair H55 is an option. For much less, look for the Arctic Liquid Freezer 120 but it is a lot thicker so you'll have to make sure it will fit in the case you plan on using.

How about this one?
https://primenow.amazon.com/dp/B009VV56TY?m=A2I7O4J2ZRUZ42&ref_=pn_sr_sg_1_img_A2I7O4J2ZRUZ42

This is a basic AiO with 120mmn radiator. If you have a good air cooler, this is not a worthwhile upgrade. If, on the other hand, you're doing a SFF build or have limited cooler clearance, this will be a good choice.

There appears to be decent stock available at time of posting. Shipping is free to store or $8.99 otherwise.

Also available at Amazon, but $60 (no MIR but free shipping/Prime): https://www.amazon.ca/Corsair-Hydro-Liquid-Cooler-CW-9060010-WW/dp/B009VV56TY/

That is basically my build. Here's the thing. Some of the motherboard bits are too close for most air coolers on that motherboard. BUT, for the same money, you can grab this, which I can guarantee works.

so a few things stick out to me

the first being the ram, 16 gigs is quite a bit for gaming, 8 gigs should still be quite sufficient for some time, and when the time comes when it's not, its super simple to just buy 8 more gigs and throw them in there, for now i'd say go with 8.

thing 2 is the cooler, are you planning on really pushing this processor or do you live in a hot place? if neither of those things you could either a) go way cheaper, bor b) go water (if you like the aesthetic)

additionally, HDD space is kinda like the ram in the sense that if you run out, you can just throw in more. i currently have 70 games + 1000 hours of music + 8 seasons of different shows on my 1T hdd and i still have 265 gigs free, so 2T's is a lot of space. the golden rule is to buy what's right for you

2 years is pretty good mileage imo. I mean, I only paid ~£50 for mine.

I've always wanted to try [one of these.] (https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Quiet-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=zg_bs_3015422011_6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=156G9JEJTFK8VNRCQSQ3) Air cooling always seemed more practical though.
The AIOs are usually done with the same design by Asetek, and they're reliably safe, as long as the tubes aren't at any weird angles.
Preset profiles for overclocking have worked fine for me in the past, and yeah, you can assume the motherboard manufacturers wouldn't do anything dangerous. As a side note, generally, temperatures up to around 90 should be fine. After that it starts throttling which sucks, and then thermal shutdown happens at like 100 - 105 degrees if I remember right, so generally, people should worry when it's between 90-100.

H55 new Amazon $60 with free shipping, no tax: https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Quiet-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009VV56TY

Not reburbished.

If you want your 290 to run cooler buy the [bracket] (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Edition-Cooling-Components-CB-9060001-WW/dp/B00MY3TS2C) and a [AIO] (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Liquid-Cooler-CW-9060010-WW/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449728599&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair+h55) to have some cooler temps and be quieter.

That is starting to look like what im going to do will
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Edition-Liquid-CW-9060010-WW/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=wl_mb_wl_huc_mrai_2_dp
Fit in the G10?

Thanks for the info, that's really helpful. I'll take a look at those you recommended.

Quick question, is it worth considering liquid cooling at all? I've found this and this which both seem to be reviewed very well, in your opinion, would they do the job better than those air coolers you suggested? I notice that those fans on those coolers are smaller however so my guess would be that they wouldn't do any better but I'm only guessing.

I do have an SSD, and I appreciate your advice immensely! If it is not to much trouble, could you explain overclocking briefly? Would it be worth it to improve online gaming performance? If so, should I invest in a cheap water cooled heatsink? Like this one?

I've been looking at LGA 1366 and here's what I came up with:

Processors: 2 x six core Xeon X5650 for a total of 12 cores https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-X5650-2-66-GHz-Six-Core-SLBV3-AT80614004320AD-Processor-w-Grease/222402472233 -- total price w/ shipping $80

RAM: 2x16GB ECC for a total of 32GB RAM https://www.amazon.com/Timetec-SUPERMICRO-1866MHz-PC3-14900-Registered/dp/B00VVYCS04/ -- total price w/ shipping $225

MOBO: ASUS Z8NA-D6 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/original-motherboard-ASUS-Z8NA-D6-LGA-1366-DDR3-Dual-1366-Server-Board-Desktop-mainboard-Free-shipping/32831393038.html -- total price w/ shipping $140

CPU cooling: 2 x Corsair CW-9060010-WW Hydro Series H55 Quiet Edition Liquid CPU Cooler https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CW-9060010-WW-Hydro-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009VV56TY/ -- total price w/ shipping $120

Graphics card: ASUS GeForce GTX 560Ti 1GB bought previously for about $30. Might eventually buy a better graphics card but not right now.

PSU: Corsair HX 650W PSU bought and used for a previous build.

Computer chassis: Fractal Design Define R5 Titanium bought and used for a previous build.

Total cost of components to buy: $565

However, I would also like to overclock the processors to 4 GHz and from what I've read about the only dual socket LGA1366 mobo with overclocking settings in its BIOS is EVGA Classified SR-2 and it's quite an expensive mobo. https://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-Classified-SR-2-LGA-1366-Socket-B-Intel-270-WS-W555-A1-BITCOIN-MINING/263522255945. Total price w/ shipping for the SR-2 is $600.

Then the total cost of components to buy would come to $1025. Would the build be worth it with the SR-2 or would I be better off with something else entirely? Also, would the cooling I've listed be sufficient for OCing this build?

On one hand the SR-2 has a lot of room for adding more GPUs in the future -- up to four graphics cards! On the other hand I might end up never getting more than one or two graphics cards anyway.

A h55 sounds good at that price range, however I'd reccomend saving up for a h100i, huge difference from the kind of thing you'll get at 50-80.

Well you were looking at a refurbished unit.
I've only used mine for about a month from brand new.
Here an Amazon link
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Liquid-Cooler-CW-9060010-WW/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450209061&sr=8-1&keywords=h55
And the box is very large to ship. So I thought $50 shipped was reasonable.

That's why I've got this water cooling unit picked out.

Would something like this on Amazon fit/work with the G350 case?

unless you plan on adding another 8GB later I would get an 8GB ram kit rather than just a single chip you get about a 5-12% gain in performance

I would reccomend scrapping the 60 dollar air cooler and getting this
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Edition-Liquid-CW-9060010-WW/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1419100398&sr=8-7&keywords=cooler+master+TX3

or save some bucks and get this
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419100533&sr=8-1&keywords=cooler+master+hyper+212+evo

now as for video cards SLI is way over hyped there are many games that wont use it trust me I tired an SLI setup its not that great so if your paying that much for a video card get a GeForce GTX 980

Edit: excuse me I ment GeForce GTX 970 not 980

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XDDMPLQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A193GS4C97TJVW

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01D8U2BX2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DOYT6DQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01LXPENRR/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00WHU2J4Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1JKKGXNPKZJIF

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06W9JXK4G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MRZXINR/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Performance-Liquid-Cooler-Radiator/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491598526&sr=8-2&keywords=pc+cooler

Are these good? Am I fine with all that?

i am not in the US so don't really know the best options

via amazon here is the NZXT Kraken G10

here is an example of a compatible cooler, the Corsair H55

and here is an example of VRM heatsinks

i don't know if these are the best priced options just grabbed good examples of what would work

note that this is more modification than people usually do - replacing a GPU heatsink is not too common of an activity but it is not too hard if you are careful

Which cheap cpu cooler would you recommend?

https://smile.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Quiet-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1501195398&sr=1-10&keywords=cpu+cooler&refinements=p_89%3ACorsair

or

https://smile.amazon.com/EVGA-Liquid-Cooler-Cooling-400-HY-CL12-V1/dp/B01N9X3HY1/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

or any others in the 50 dollar range?

2200 build list
CPU- http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Boxed-I7-6700K-Processor-BX80662I76700K/dp/B012M8LXQW/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458134248&sr=1-1&keywords=i7+6700k
Price- $410

\Motherboard- http://www.amazon.com/MAXIMUS-VIII-HERO-ALPHA-Motherboards/dp/B017RI8UYA/ref=sr_1_19?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458134314&sr=1-19&keywords=lga+1151+motherboard
Price- $300

PSU- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-120-G1-0750-XR/dp/B00K85X2A2/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458138651&sr=1-4&keywords=Psu&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011
Price- $90

GPU- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Cooling-Graphics-06G-P4-1996-KR/dp/B00Z0UX8TA/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458138400&sr=1-5&keywords=gtx+980+ti
Price- $700

250 GB SSD- http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458138522&sr=1-1&keywords=SSd
Price- $90

500gb M.2 SSd- http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-EVO-3-5-Inch-MZ-N5E500BW/dp/B00TGIW1XG/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458138908&sr=1-5&keywords=m.2+ssd
Price- $160

You can use either option they are both good but the M.2 is my recomendation

RAM- http://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-TridentZ-PC4-24000-Platform-F4-3000C15D-16GTZ/dp/B017QI1V74/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458138836&sr=1-9&keywords=ddr4+3000
Price- $120

CPU Cooler- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Liquid-Cooler-CW-9060010-WW/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458138978&sr=1-8&keywords=cpu+cooler
Price- $110

3 TB HDD- http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Desktop-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458139072&sr=1-2&keywords=hdd
Price- $90

My favorite gaming keyboard but its up to you. It doesn’t have any fancy side buttons just a great feel and excellent build quality- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B00CD1FC6G
Price- $150

total $2130 without the case or windows or optical drive

let me know where it is you would like to go fro here? Is there anything you want to add or take out we can revise this build a couple of times

See if a single fan radiator like the Corsair Hydro H55-H80 series would be too big. There are smaller ones, but they don't seem to have as good reviews.

Price History

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The Corsair H55 should do the trick. I've seen other people use it in their M1 builds. What they do is simply spiral the tubes to make it fit. And you should still be able to use the 3.5 inch hd cage/bracket for your music/video production.

When it comes to AIO water cooling a GPU it's down to cost. The cheapest AIO is going to to cost more than a heat pipe air cooler. As such they only fit them to the most expensive cards.

There is nothing stopping you fitting one yourself. Sometimes I wish graphics card makers would sell you the naked card without a cooler so you could fit what you want.

• GPU of your choice
  
• Kraken G10: https://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-G10-GPU-Adapter-Kraken/dp/B00ITTFNW4
  
• Cheap AIO: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Performance-Liquid-Cooler-Radiator/dp/B009VV56TY/
  
  

Hello shibe!

I'm going to watercool now. I want to do the CPU and my radeon HD 6870. Part of the reason I'm doing it is because the fan on my 6870 broke, and hell, I've always wanted to watercool. So, here's where I'm at.

Thinking this for the cpu, and this for the GPU plus some thermal paste. Now, I don't know if the CPU thing has a resevoir in it, or what. But I think I need to get a resevoir and tubing. And metal bands or something to keep the tubing tight. And I was hoping to get tubes that look crazy or have black light properties.

Anyway! Help me complete my shopping list. Here's some doge! Thanks shibe!

+/u/dogetipbot 100 doge verify

Got any ideas for budget? Also, what software will you be using and what bitrate, resolution and general quality settings are you planning on encoding at? Is it also a necessity for 32GB of RAM? You would probably be able to save a good chunk of money to put towards other parts if you went with 16 or perhaps 24.

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I'm not sure on the display outputs of the GTX 480, however running 3 monitors off of that and one off your onboard graphics chip you should be good to go (aslong as the connections aren't VGA, as corpnewt mentioned; it's quite hit-and-miss). For onboard graphics I'd recommend a motherboard with a HD530 chip, they're pretty well supported and off the top of my head require 2 bootflags to get working.

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In terms of motherboards it's not particularly my forte, so I may be wrong on some of these things. I think it's generally accepted that Gigabyte motherboards are the best for hackintoshing and are all round great boards, so I'd definitely recommend one. As I said you'd probably want a board with a HD530 chip, or another chip with similar support. Assuming you want 32 gig of RAM you're gonna need support for that, and if you go for 16 for now you still might want to go for a board that supports 32 incase you decide to upgrade in the future or if 16 is not enough. I'd also recommend the 115x chipset as imo is going to give you the most choices on CPU with the best compatibility. After some talks with /u/CorpNewt he suggested this Gigabyte board. It's got enough PCI-E slots, supported onboard graphics (HD530), support for 64gb of RAM, ThunderBolt and good hackintosh support which should check all the boxes.

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CPU? 6700k; 4 cores, 8 threads, 4.0Ghz clock speed, it's overclockability gives you some headroom if you ever need a bump in performance, the most powerful CPU you can get on Skylake currently (yes the enthusiast CPU's are round the corner but they are silly money and this should be plenty of power), great longevity, and most of all have good OSX support.

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The CPU can be found here. You're gonna want a cooler such as a Hyper 212 Evo or a Corsair H55 AIO (I can vouch for this cooler, have one myself and it's great). If you plan on overclocking or want to just in case, you should probably look at something a bit beefier like a Corsair H100i AIO.

The mobo can be found here.

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Feel free to fire away with any questions you have.

>-Previous threads here-
>
>
>Objective:
>Going back to the original - The $500 build from /u/JDM_WAAAT. Since then, many of those parts prices have drastically increased in price or are unavailable. So new objective, build it better, for less! And oh man did we ever.
>
>
>Rules for buying used server-grade parts on eBay:
>
>1. Buy from highly-rated, reputable sellers
>2. When "Or best offer" is available, use it. Sellers will likely discount parts, often up to 30%.
>3. Shop around. There are many resellers selling the same exact parts on eBay, find the one with the best price.
>4. Scrutinize the details of the auction. For example, make sure CPU stepping / revision is correct to what you need. Make sure components are listed as functioning and not "for parts only".
>5. Do not, under any circumstances buy QA/QC/QS/ES labled CPUs. Only buy official used / refurbished Intel Xeon CPUs. Chips with this label are not guaranteed to work, and might break functionality with something as simple as a BIOS update.
>6. Check sources other than Ebay. /r/buildapcsales can be a huge help with this. Amazon or Newegg often have huge sales on some of the new parts. Shop around people!
>
>Build
>
>http://i.imgur.com/X1NzK7Z.png
>
>http://i.imgur.com/r2d3lQp.png
>
>http://i.imgur.com/AHQJmto.png
>
>Type|Item|Price (eBay) | OBO? | OBO price
>:----|:----|:----|:---- |:----
>CPU | 2x Intel Xeon E5-2650 2.00GHz, 8 core 16 thread | Incl w/ MOBO | |
>Motherboard | Supermicro X9DRi-LN4F+ Dual Socket | $281.98 | YES | $260
>RAM | 16GB (4X4GB) DDR3 ECC REG x 2 | $29.89 ea | YES | $25.00 ea
>CPU Cooler | 2x Arctic Freezer i11 CO | $19.22 ea | |
>PSU | EVGA 450W BT | $24.99 | |
>EPS Splitter | 8 Pin to Dual 8 Pin EPS Splitter | $6.00 | |
>24 Pin Extention | 12" 24 Pin Power Extention | $9.99 | |
>Case | Phanteks Enthoo Pro | $79.99 | $15 MIR | $64.99
>Thermal Compound | Gelid GC Extreme | $12.99 | |
>Other | Tax, shipping, fees | $3.60 | |
>Total | | $517.76 | after OBO | $471
>Optional Extras | Sata cable 6 pack | $7.49 | |
>Optional Extras | Sata power splitter | $6.27| |
>
>---
>
>About this build:
>
>There you have it. If you recall, the original $500 build actually used this same CPU. BUT ONLY 1!. Here, we used 2, gave it more RAM, and all for over $50 less!
>
> General: I recently completed almost this exact build, same mobo, case, etc. Just ended up with different RAM config, and used dual E5-2630L CPU's that i got for a steal. This build will be using two Intel Xeon processors on Intel Socket 2011 motherboard with Quad-Channel DDR3-ECC RDIMM memory. It does not include specifications for SSD or HDD.
> CPU: The Intel Xeon E5-2650 is a high power, 8 core, 16 thread CPU that came out Q1 2012. 2.0Ghz clock, 2.8 Ghz turbo. It has a counterpart, the E5-2600L series who are also 8 cores, but low power. If you don't need quite as much Passmark power, these are also a power saving option at a slightly lower price point. MSRP when it was released was around $1100.00 USD Each. Plex Transcoder has true multi-threaded support and will take advantage of all 32 threads. So while this CPU might not be clocked as fast as what most of you are used to, the sheer amount of cores/threads will more than make up for it. Dual E5-2650's will score 15000 on passmark. Another thing to consider is that since the CPU is so cheap, you won't have to worry about it when it comes time to upgrade in the future. You can replace it with any V1 or V2 E5-2600 series cpu's. Dual E5-2660 V2, 10 core 20 thread, 2.20GHz base / 3.00 Ghz turbo in the future for about +4000 extra passmark score.
> Motherboard: Supermicro X9DRi-LN4F (Link to Supermicro Product Spec Page) This motherboard has dual 2011 sockets with a whopping 24 DIMM slots. With this build we'll be using only 8 of those available DIMMS, so there's a possible future upgrade. 6 SATA ports are standard, along with 2 SAS ports, for a total of 14 available SATA connections. Quad Gigabit NIC is also standard, plus IPMI.
> RAM: Here, we're using 8x4GB DDR3 ECC REG for quad channel support, and a total of 32GB of available memory. 32GB is a good value here. Another 2 sets would fill all 24 slots, for a total of 96GB.
> CPU Cooler: There's not much to say here. It's compatible, it's quiet, and it works. We won't be overclocking, so there's not much to worry about so long as it works. Also designed for continuous operations.
> PSU: It's cheap, powerful enough, and works. Not much more to say.
> Case: This case has full SSI-EEB+ (E-ATX with specialized mounting) support. Supports 6 3.5" hard drives two 2.5" SSDs, and two 5.25" bays natively. It's an all-around wonderful case, and it's really well-constructed (I have one, it's great). Also, one of the few cases that actually will fit this massive MOBO. In the front is a MASSIVE 200mm intake fan. Didn't even know they made them that big.
> Splitter/Extension These are necessary with the parts listed above to work. The power supply listed only has 1 8 Pin EPS connection for the CPU. Since we have 2, need a splitter. If you use a different PSU, check on the # of EPS connections. If it has 2, this part is not necessary. This board BARELY fits in the case. I know, I have both! Here's some pictures to show. Because of this, wiring the power can be a bit tricky, and to get it done in a clean way, need the 12" extension.
> Thermal Paste This is the best non-liquid metal thermal compound out there, hands down.
>
>Cautionary notes, other details
>
>1. Server equipment is stripped down to the bare minimum for compatibility and reliability. Because of this, features you are used to having might be missing - for example, some server motherboards don't have onboard audio. Also, most will use VGA onboard.
>2. Use a SSD for your host OS. This is likely where your Plex metadata will live, so if you're going to generate thumbnails and you have a sizeable library, make sure to get an appropriate size. I have about 20TB of media with thumbnails turned on, and 500GB is starting to feel tight. About 250GB is a good start for most people.
>3. Familiarize yourself with the BIOS options. Some may be different than consumer models. Make sure Hyper-threading is turned on in the BIOS. When in doubt, clear the CMOS / reset to default. You should verify that all 24-threads are showing in your host OS.
>4. Almost any OS will work. Includes ESXI, unRAID, FreeNAS, Linux, and Windows of course.
>5. Evaluate your RAID options. This motherboard has capabilities for onboard RAID, but that isn't for everyone.
>
>Upgrades, other parts
>
>1. Cheap storage in the form of $33 refurbished 2TB Hitachi Ultrastar hard drives. These are Enterprise level drives, great for use with RAID arrays.
>2. Sell the pair of E5-2650's & get Dual E5-2660 V2, 10 core 20 thread, 2.20GHz base / 3.00 Ghz turbo for 19,000 Passmark score. At time of posting these were $249.99 OBO w/ free shipping, extremely great value currently. If you're more concerned about power consumption, consider a pair of E5-2650L's for $41.50 each OBO at the time of this post, for a sweet ~14k passmark at only 70w TDP each.
>3. MORE RAM!
>4. Liquid cooling - If you plan on upgrading to V2's this is a good idea. Can get Corsair H55's for $60 each.
>5. DO IT ALL! If you want more power right now, sell the CPU's that come with the mobo for ~80 and grab a pair of E5-2660's for $240. Triple the RAM for an extra $100. Liquid cool the PSU's for an added $80. Finally, upgrade to a 550w semi modular 80+ gold psu for an extra ~$30 (one's on sale @ Newegg for $55 after MIR currently). Grand Total: around $840.
>
>FAQ
>
> Q: Aren't used parts unreliable?*

corsair hydro series is pretty good right now

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Performance-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009VV56TY/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1498676187&sr=1-2&keywords=corsair%2Bhydro&th=1

Well you really overpaid for that H50 then...

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Quiet-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009VV56TY

The replacement model is $10 less.

Show your max temps in realtemp under load?