Small Quiet Efficient Build

[Coruscater]

Hi everyone. I've been doing an increasing amount of video conferencing with my home PC and it performs very poorly, so I am looking to get something new. I also do a little very light gaming, and I would like to be able to do a little software development on my PC. I'd like something that will last me a while, so I am looking to go beyond the minimal specs for the applications I have today. I'd also like something compact, quiet, energy efficient, and reliable (no overheating!). Here is what I have come up with so far:

BitFenix Prodigy White
Intel Core i7-4790S
GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI
Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ballistix Tactical
MSI GeForce GTX 970 GAMING 4G
Antec 550W EarthWatts Platinum Series EA-550 Platinum
Crucial 512GB MX100
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
LG WH14NS40 DVD/Blu-ray Burner

Price for parts (PC Hound): 1,389.15
Price (AVADirect): 1,675.33

I'm still undecided about whether to buy parts from the PC Hound vendors or buy the whole system from AVADirect. It looks like AVADirect is about $300 more; that seems like a reasonable premium for assembly AND a three year warranty on the system as a whole. So I am leaning that way.

Some thoughts about the build:

a) I like that the MB has built in wifi, but I don't really need it. Probably I will use an ethernet cable all the time anyway.

b) GTX 970 is probably overkill for me now, but I am concerned that if I got a GTX 960, I'd want to replace it in a couple years. I feel like a 970 buys me a little more time before the machine becomes obsolete.

c) When I started thinking about this build, I was dead-set on NOT getting an overclocked video card, because I wanted to prioritize efficiency and reliability over squeezing out a little extra speed. However, I have read such good reviews of the MSI GeForce GTX 970 GAMING 4G in terms of cooling, quiet operation, and energy efficiency that I have this one on the list now, but I am still on the fence about it.

d) I've thought about changing to mATX (and a Prodigy M) so I could put 32GB RAM into the machine. However, 32GB of RAM is really expensive, and I don't think I need it.

d) I've also thought about changing to an mATX x99 board and putting in an i7 5820K, but once you add in the cost of DDR4 RAM, the price premium is just too much; I just don't think it is worth that much extra money.

e) The Kimera Industries Nova case looks great, but it won't be available soon enough for my purposes. The NCASE M1 V3 looks good too, but the BitFenix Prodigy seems fine for my purpose and is much cheaper (and the NCASE M1 is not available from AVADirect).

f) Should I get a 3rd party CPU fan? I would guess not because I would think that the stock Intel fan would be fine for a non-overclocked 4790S. However, I am unsure.

g) It looks to me like everything on my list should fit into the case I have chosen, as best I as I can tell from googling. I could be wrong.

h) I like the 4790S because I care a lot about temperature, noise, and energy efficiency. However, I am still on the fence since a 4790 or 4790K would provide more processing power.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?



I've filled out the long form below too, just in case it matters:

1. What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming, Photoshop (or other intensive programs), Web browsing, strictly HTPC/Playback, etc. (If you have multiple things you want to do with the system, make sure you rank them from most important to least important).

Video conferencing, email, connecting to remote servers by VNC or NoMachine, spreadsheets, word processing, web surfing, maybe programming (probably Java), light gaming, plenty of other things TBD

2. Will you be overclocking? (If so, are you looking to watercool?)

No

3. What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included in this budget? Is your budget flexible? Is cost a driving factor in component selection?

Flexible, but I don't want to spend a crazy amount because I think a mid-priced system is probably sufficient for my purposes.

4. Where do you live? Do you have any big B&M (brick and mortar) computer chains nearby (e.g. Microcenter, Fry's, etc)?

Somers, NY. No, but there is a small computer repair shop. I will check them out.

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need (especially if you will need 3.5" hard drives or expansion cards as these may restrict case options).

See above.

6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. For reused parts, list brands, model #s, and, if applicable, firmware revisions.

None.

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Thunderbolt? Crossfire or SLI support? How many USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s? etc.

I'd like as much USB 3.0 as possible; I always run out eventually and hubs are always flaky. Maybe I should consider using M.2. I don't know.

8. What resolution output do you need? 4k playback, 1080p playback, etc for HTPC or give a vertical/horizontal resolution for gaming SFF rigs. Do you need multiple monitor output?

I'd like to have a 4k monitor some day, but I am happy with lower resolutions for gaming, which isn't really a major priority for me anyway.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space and do you need an optical drive?

It does not really need to fit into a space, but compact is nice (not really essential for me though). Optical drive is nice to have but not really essential. I'd like to be able to archive data to Blu-ray.

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring? What tools do you have (Screwdrivers/Leatherman, Drill, Dremel, Metal snips, Soldering Iron, Bending Brake, CNC/Welding machines/Plasma cutter, etc...)?

Extremely uncomfortable due to very limited eye hand coordination. When I try to put things together, I usually break them. Even simple things.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem? HTPCs typically want to be quiet while all-out SFF gaming rigs don't care

I would like it to be fairly quiet. It doesn't need to be insanely quiet though.

12. How mobile does this system need to be? Need a carrying handle or carrying straps? Is weight important (carry-on bag, etc)? Water cooling quick disconnects, etc?

Mobile is nice but not really that important. Mostly it will stay put.

13. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Remember that OEM copies of Win7 have issues with new motherboards

I do have an old Win7-64 disk that I can transfer to this machine, or maybe I Would buy a new one and leave the old one on the old machine it is on. I need Win7 to be able to connect to work email and servers.

14. When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Immediately, in a couple weeks, 3-5 years?

Hopefully this month.

 

[Zap]

What actual games? Name them. What type of games do you play? Are you demanding of maxing out image quality? Why I ask is that this is super important for graphics card choice. Plenty of games are perfectly enjoyable on much lower end graphics. For instance, are you a Diablo III or League of Legends fanatic? You can probably play just fine with a GTX 750 Ti or GTX 960 for a couple years. This choice can greatly impact cost, noise and heat output. Higher end graphics cards use a lot more power than CPUs, and create a lot more heat. Regarding wanting the graphics card to "last a few years" before being obsolete, what's wrong with upgrading it when you need to? The two easiest parts of a computer to upgrade are the RAM, followed by the graphics card (as long as you aren't power/cooling/space constrained). By the time you need a faster card, there will be newer generations. A faster card NOW that you don't need is in a sense a waste of money. I can understand not wanting to have to upgrade things like the motherboard because that would be gutting the entire computer and maybe even doing a Windows reinstall, but graphics card is super easy.

Nothing else that you listed other than gaming requires anything more than a Core i3 with integrated graphics, a lot of RAM and an SSD.

For video conferencing, you need a good camera on your end (for benefit of whoever you conference with) and a good internet connection. Oh, and maybe a good microphone.

Don't get the S CPU. You talk about wanting that for temperature, noise and heat but then talk about high end graphics cards. CPU is a fraction, maybe half of the graphics card, plus you can easily put on a big aftermarket cooler. If you are concerned about that, any aftermarket air cooler will work great in the Prodigy (except for $60+ beasts).

For PSU, get a low wattage and cheaper Gold. Too much premium for Platinum that you will never recoup in savings.

For RAM, I'd say either the cheapest 1600MHz of your chosen capacity, or low profile. The reason is that there is very little performance gains to be had with expensive RAM, plus ITX boards place the RAM directly in the path of the airflow. Thus, the Crucial Ballistix Sport or Tactical "low profile" would be decent. Note that these days some companies say "low profile" when they aren't really low profile but rather just don't have oversized heatsinks on them.

The Prodigy is huge for an ITX case, and will fit everything you listed with room to spare.

If not overclocking and not needing the WiFi, get a cheaper motherboard that doesn't have WiFi and doesn't use the Z chipset.

 

[WiSK]

What Zap said!

Especially about the "I care a lot about temperature, noise, and energy efficiency"

The -T and -S CPU chips throttle themselves to lower maximum heat dissipation, but for general use you won't see much difference in wattage/consumption (between 10-50W depending on load and how many cores). These chips are just the "less hot" versions, intended for small enclosures where you might not have space for a fan.

For GPUs its a much more serious difference in energy consumption. A 970 is very efficient but it's still going to be pulling 120W+ on a modern game if you let Geforce Experience "optimise" your settings. A 960 would be a little better, but still pulls over 100W. The easiest trick to dramatically lower power consumption on those cards is to switch on v-sync and set your monitor to 60Hz. Best of all would be a 750Ti which provides a fair amount of processing power but draws less than half the electrical power of the 960.

 

[Coruscater]

Good points, Zap and WiSK!

@Zap: I am not playing any games right now but I assume I will want to play something sooner or later. I agree that I don't really need the Z chipset, but I really do want the wifi because I think there is a decent chance it will come in handy sooner or later.

How about this as a second draft?

PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H97N-WIFI ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ballistix Tactical ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 02G-P4-3757-KR ($139.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 450W SSP-450RT ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial 512GB MX100 CT512MX100SSD1 ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy BFC-PRO-300-WWXKW-RP ($90.41 @ Mwave)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 ($67.89 @ Amazon)
Windows: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit ($89.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $1,179.21
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound

 

[Zap]

@Zap: I am not playing any games right now but I assume I will want to play something sooner or later.

No games right now? Use integrated graphics. Serious. Also, you can keep using it depending on the game. I have played (barely and at 1366x768 but it worked) Borderlands 2 on Intel integrated graphics on my two-generation-old ultra low voltage dual core Intel CPU. I use this notebook (Dell Vostro 3360) semi-regularly when I travel, and play League of Legends on it. Last trip I went to a garage LAN party and played some old school Halo PC on it. The 4790 will be clocked higher, paired with faster RAM and with 25% more Execution Units than what I use.

Another reason for this is because who knows what the future will bring. Maybe you will get into gaming big time, and a GTX 750 Ti ends up being a waste of money as you have to upgrade it soon. Alternately, maybe you end up not gaming at all. Or, maybe AMD comes out and leapfrogs Nvidia with better performance in a lower power envelope?

The takeaway from this is to buy for future needs... in the future.

And again, a reminder that a graphics card is one of the easiest things to upgrade in a computer like the one you are building.

No on the CPU cooler. Your mental pendulum totally went from "stock S CPU cooler" (which BTW is typically not even as good as the ones included with the faster CPUs) all the way to a super expensive offering. Also, IMO the downwards blowing cooler won't be as efficient in the Prodigy case because it has very strong front-to-rear airflow. I think it would be better to "go with the flow" on the cooler choice.

Here's one example of a more reasonable choice cooler: ZALMAN CNPS10X OPTIMA
I like this particular heatsink because of the staggered heatpipes (not all in a row) plus the wider spaced fins. Wider spaced fins are particularly good for low noise because a slower fan can push air through. Most heatsinks have closer space fins, which cool better than wider spaced fins when there is more airflow. More airflow = more noise = more cooling. But really, just aim for something under $35 that uses a 120mm fan, is the "tower" style, bolts on (not push pins), and has at least 4 heatpipes.

Something else of note is that while the Prodigy can handle all kinds of grotesquely large fans for the front intake, it comes from BitFenix with a mere pedestrian 120mm intake. Still, you probably don't need any more than that for your purposes, especially if you forsake (for now) a graphics card. You can probably get by with leaving all case fans unplugged.

 

[Zap]

Something else I want to point out is that you may not want to be set on the exact brands/models, plus since you are only a few weeks away from the build you can take advantage of sales and start buying.

For instance, the Prodigy has often been on sale. I picked up my black one for $50 shipped. This is probably something you don't want to change on the model, other than possibly color (if you are okay with that) since this is what you see all the time. Also, there's little that can go wrong with a case.

The rest of the parts? They will be inside the case, so who cares what brand/model they are as long as they are equivalent? Once inside the box and playing a game, is an EVGA GTX 750 Ti any different than an MSI or Gigabyte GTX 750 Ti? Does it matter if you have a Gigabyte or Asus or ASRock motherboard as long as they all have the same chipset and roughly identical features?

PSU for example... plenty of 400-550W 80Plus Gold PSUs on the market, which appears to be your target range. The one you choose was regular price. Leave that purchase for last... in case something goes on sale, like this one: XFX TS Series P1-550G-TS3X 550W PSU - 80+ Gold for $40 with free shipping after rebate. Also, AFAIK Seasonic manufactures all XFX PSUs.

That Crucial SSD has been on sale recently (sale already over) for $170. Also, you probably won't notice whether you are using this SSD, or a Samsung 850 EVO, or this $176 Transcend 512GB SSD. There were also other recent deals (already dead though) for reasonable 480GB OCZ Arc, Crucial M500 and PNY XLR8 for $160 or less.

 

[Coruscater]

Thanks Zap,

That makes a lot of sense, but I think you are also convincing me that I need to think more about what I want to do with the computer in the near future. I think next I will spend more time learning more about what games are out there now that I would want to play if I had a computer that could play them, and then factor that in to figuring out what I need now and what I can add later instead.

 

[Phuncz]

Zap makes excellent points: if you aren't gaming right now, you don't know for sure and you don't know what games, it's very important to think about it. There is barely any reason to buy a GPU not to game, unless you need to mine or compute, need more than 2 screens or need to decode high quality 4K video.

If you want to give gaming a try, the GTX 750Ti is a good step-in and the GTX 960 is a very good mainstream card that will play modern games @ 1080p at High or better graphics settings.

In the end a GPU makes the noise, heat and efficiency of your PC a lot more complicated, as a GPU uses extra power even when just viewing the desktop, generates a lot of heat while loaded and are sometimes supplied with loud cooling.

And as been said, integrated GPU's have become better.
i7-4790S vs i7-4790K vs i7-4790 iGPU benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8774/...-core-i3-4130t-i5-4570s-and-i7-4790s-tested/4
(spoiler: it's well within the error margin)

 

[Zap]

Coruscater, if you aren't 100% set on that exact case or color, here's another possibility.
Thermaltake Core V1 Extreme Mini ITX Cube Chassis $35 with free shipping after coupon code (on page) and rebate

I have a number of ITX cases in my possession that hold the motherboard horizontal, cube style.
BitFenix Prodigy
Thermaltake Core V1
Silverstone SG05
Antek ISK 600
Cooler Master Elite 120

I have to say that unless you are targeting absolute minimum size, the Core V1 would be my top choice. Comparing it to the Prodigy:

Prodigy PROS:
Built like a tank.
Very well represented in the enthusiast community, in case you have questions/issues.
Optical drive support, for those who use them.
Possibly better cooling than the Core V1.

Prodigy CONS:
Weighs like a tank, immediately obvious any time I try to move it.
So huge that there are many micro ATX gaming towers which are smaller in volume.
If not on sale, expensive normal price.
Optical drive support, for those who don't use them.
The top/bottom "handles" are flimsy plastic.
Possibly difficulty with huge PSUs, resulting in reduced ePeen.

Core V1 difference:
Cheaper base price as well as sale price.
Lighter in weight, but of course feels flimsier before you put side panels on. Once panels are on and you aren't handling it, probably fine.
Get the same general layout and holds roughly the same hardware as the Prodigy, but in a smaller size.
Comes standard with a 200mm intake fan, versus 120mm on Prodigy.
No top fans (but I'm not using the ones in the Prodigy), rear fan size is bleh with dual 80mm.
"Front" ports/buttons are on right side, versus left side. Might be an issue one way or another depending on your desk layout.

There is barely any reason to buy a GPU not to game, unless you need to mine or compute, need more than 2 screens or need to decode high quality 4K video.

Gaming, mining or GPU computing, yes.

Haswell (and I believe even Ivy Bridge) can support triple monitors and 4k playback, with limitations. Actual monitor and resolution support ends up being depending on what the motherboard manufacturer implemented as to the monitor outputs.

 

[Quartz-1]

Hi everyone. I've been doing an increasing amount of video conferencing with my home PC and it performs very poorly,

This is usually indicative of poor bandwidth rather than a poor PC. And not necessarily at your end. Have you got at least 1 Mb/s upload speed? Fix that before the PC.

 

[Coruscater]

This is usually indicative of poor bandwidth rather than a poor PC. And not necessarily at your end. Have you got at least 1 Mb/s upload speed? Fix that before the PC.

Hi. I have excellent bandwidth (more than 30 Mb/s). It is definitely a PC issue: when I am on the video conference the whole PC becomes extremely slow. The mouse becomes nearly unresponsive. It takes a very long time to switch between the video conferencing program and my email client (and I need to be able to check email during long video conferences). Closing down everything else on the system seems to help a little, but not nearly enough. The PC is a laptop and it is not possible to add RAM. My first guess is that it needs more RAM, but I could also believe that it is some combination of the CPU and integrated graphics that can't keep up with the video conferencing. I tried switching to a Logitech C920 webcam because I read that it offloads some of the compression from the system, but that did not seem to help at all (it is a very nice webcam though, so I am definitely keeping it for the new PC). It could be the integrated compression in the webcam is not compatible with the video conferencing client I am using (Cisco Jabber). I suspect that many video conferencing clients are lighter weight, but I don't have any influence over the video conferencing platform that we use for these conferences.

 

[Coruscater]

I have to say that unless you are targeting absolute minimum size, the Core V1 would be my top choice.

Yes, the Core V1 looks great. I would really like to have an optical disk, but I don't really need one, so I will seriously consider switching to the Core V1.

 

[Coruscater]

Hi, all. I think I would really want to play Dragon Age: Inquisition on my new computer. I played both Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Orgins Awakening all the way to the end, and I liked those games a lot.

I would want to play at 2560x1440. From what I can tell (from Googling), a GTX 970 would really struggle to play at that resolution on Ultra quality. However, I would be fine with High quality, and OK with even lower quality. Unfortunately, Google does not provide as much insight as to what kind of card I would need to play at that resolution at lower quality since people who create benchmarking websites seem to mostly focus on Ultra quality (which seems fair). Does anyone have any thoughts as to what video card is most appropriate for this game? Also, any thoughts on anything else in the build that needs to change for this purpose?

I suspect I will need to back off my power efficiency goals for this build some to make this work, but I am OK with that.

 

[Zap]

Hi. I have excellent bandwidth (more than 30 Mb/s). It is definitely a PC issue: when I am on the video conference the whole PC becomes extremely slow.

What laptop do you currently have? Brand/model/CPU?

Yes, the Core V1 looks great. I would really like to have an optical disk, but I don't really need one, so I will seriously consider switching to the Core V1.

Just do like what everyone else is doing, and get a USB optical drive. They go on sale for around $20-25, and unless you lose or break it should be the last optical drive you ever have to buy.

If you are serious about the case, buy it by Monday. That's when the coupon code ends.

One more thing is that the super huge graphics cards won't fit. The limit is 11.2".

Hi, all. I think I would really want to play Dragon Age: Inquisition on my new computer. I played both Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Orgins Awakening all the way to the end, and I liked those games a lot.

I would want to play at 2560x1440.
...
I suspect I will need to back off my power efficiency goals for this build some to make this work, but I am OK with that.

Dragon Age: Inquisition VGA graphics performance review

At that resolution and Ultra quality, no single graphics card can break 40FPS.

A 970 would still be a good choice unless you want to spring for a 980. Those would give you the best combination of performance and low(er) power.

Have you considered going dual monitors instead of one big monitor? You can get two 1080p screens and have your email on one and video conferencing on the other, plus can probably do 60FPS with a GTX 970 on High. Heck, you can even do a larger 1080p screen for the video and gaming, and a smaller one for the second. Put the smaller one in portrait mode even!

 

[Aircoookie]

Go with a 970. Best higher tier value for money at the moment, like a GTX 980 would only give you 15% more power, but is much more expensive. On the other hand, I don`t think a GTX 960 (or similar) would be sufficent, because it performs bad on more than 1080p and 2gb of vram isn`t enough for the newest games either, while you should be able to play it on ultra at 1440p with a GTX 970 (my favorite is the Msi 4G)... I would also look whether amd has something good, i don`t know however, because i`m a bit of a nvidia fanboy

 

[Coruscater]

What laptop do you currently have? Brand/model/CPU?

Thinkpad X1 Carbon i5-3427U. It is very nice for travel, but I don't think it makes a great home PC.

If you are serious about the case, buy it by Monday. That's when the coupon code ends.

One more thing is that the super huge graphics cards won't fit. The limit is 11.2".

I think 11.2" is fine. However, from what I can tell from surfing the web, it looks like you need to remove the big front fan on the Core V1 if you want to put in a card longer than 10". However, that big fan seems like a big part of what makes that case great and I especially want it if I put in a big powerful graphics card. It seems like there are some good options out there under 10 inches but the best ones (in terms of heat, noise, etc.) are a little longer than that. So I am leaning toward going a different way. You listed a bunch of others so I am going to do more research on those and other options. The NCase M1 still looks good to me. It is pricey, but maybe it is worth it.

A 970 would still be a good choice unless you want to spring for a 980. Those would give you the best combination of performance and low(er) power.

I am open to a 980, but I suspect that Aircoookie is right: the extra power you get from a 980 isn't worth an extra $200.

Have you considered going dual monitors instead of one big monitor? You can get two 1080p screens and have your email on one and video conferencing on the other, plus can probably do 60FPS with a GTX 970 on High. Heck, you can even do a larger 1080p screen for the video and gaming, and a smaller one for the second. Put the smaller one in portrait mode even!

I already have the one big monitor, so I plan to stick with that for now. My experience with the Dragon Age series in particular is that some of the larger battles really take up a huge amount of space and it is much better to have a big high resolution screen so you can see everything at once instead of doing a lot of moving your view around. Also the big screen is much better for software development where I can see lots of code and an outline from my IDE, etc. I agree that for video conferencing and email, two 1080p's would be as good or better.

 

[Coruscater]

The Cooler Master Elite 120 and 130 look very nice: a good blend of compact and powerful. From what I can see on the net, there isn't much difference but the 130 does a little better at keeping components cool. Here is a new draft of the build based on the 130:

PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H97N-WIFI ($96.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ballistix Tactical ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 GTX 970 GAMING 4G ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 550W G Series SSR-550RM ($93.94 @ Mwave)
Storage: Crucial 512GB MX100 CT512MX100SSD1 ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Storage #2: Western Digital 2TB WD Green WD20EZRX ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 ($34.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS10X OPTIMA ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Windows: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit ($89.99 @ TigerDirect)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1,420.83
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound

(I don't think that cooler will fit this case though, so I will need to find a replacement if I do go with this case.)

 

[Zap]

Go with a 970. Best higher tier value for money at the moment

I agree.

Thinkpad X1 Carbon i5-3427U.

Not surprised. This is a dual core ultra low voltage (AKA lower clock speeds) Ivy Bridge like what I have in my Dell Vostro 3360. A desktop true quad core Haswell should handily outperform this both CPU and integrated graphics.

I think 11.2" is fine. However, from what I can tell from surfing the web, it looks like you need to remove the big front fan on the Core V1 if you want to put in a card longer than 10".

HardOCP reviewed the Core v1 and they have a picture which you need to see. This should clear things up:

Basically, there is a slot in the case for the end of the card to poke through, to the side of the fan.

The Cooler Master Elite 120 and 130 look very nice: a good blend of compact and powerful. From what I can see on the net, there isn't much difference but the 130 does a little better at keeping components cool.
...
(I don't think that cooler will fit this case though, so I will need to find a replacement if I do go with this case.)

Nope, these smaller cases put the PSU covering up the motherboard. If you go this route, you may end up staying with the stock cooler.

Between the two, go with the 130.

 

[Coruscater]

Hi Zap. The image you provided does clarify, thanks. However, I'm still torn between a more compact case (like the Core V1 or the Elite 130) and one with more room and more ability to dampen sound (like the Prodigy). The Corsair Obsidian 250D looks like one of the latter, but not quite as big and heavy as the Prodigy, so maybe it is a better fit for me.

 

[Zap]

more ability to dampen sound (like the Prodigy).

My Prodigy build is noisier than my previous Lian Li PC-Q11B build.

I think you need to understand what makes noise and how to make a PC quieter.

FACT: It is 1000x easier to make a PC "quiet" by using components that produce less noise, over trying to dampen/block/absorb noise that is already created. Noise is vibrational energy transmitted through the air. Think of how a speaker produces noise. Better to turn down the volume so that it produces less noise, than to try to make it quieter once noise is already created.

Also, "dampen" does not mean noise is absorbed or blocked. It means physical vibrations are attenuated, which may reduce noise that is created by vibrations. For instance, if you have a flimsy tower case with multiple hard drives, you can lightly press on the side panels with your hands and the noise level will go down. This is dampening. It does NOTHING for reducing the sound created by the noise of air being moved by fan blades. You can reduce this vibrational noise by either isolation/decoupling the source of the vibrations, AKA soft mounting HDDs and fans. The noise reduction mats that you stick on to side panels also provide dampening, but are not as good as isolating and decoupling the source of the vibrations.

The noise of the fan blades chopping through the air can be reduced by simply blocking the fan so that there is no line of sight between the fan and your ear. This is why most cases marketed as "silent" or "quiet" do NOT have open fan grills in front but rather rely on slits on the sides. The Prodigy DOES have an open fan grill, and you will clearly hear the fan in front. Another way to reduce this noise is to lower the RPM.

The noise of the actual airflow can be reduced by either lowering airflow (usually through lower RPM) or removing obstructions such as fan grills and filters and heatsinks. You can experience this by pursing your lips and blowing. Not much noise, right? Now, while blowing, move your finger so it almost touches your lips. Suddenly got noisier, eh?

Once noise here are ways to "absorb" noise, by using thick foam baffles, but really that is a last ditch effort that is not very effective in the constraints of a small PC case.

 

[Coruscater]

Hi. That does help clarify a lot, thanks!