I hope it's overkill for everything
Well, I would not say it is overkill, but it is a nice system for sure. I am not a fan of fancy lights on my cases because I believe cases should sit quietly and discreetly off to the side and not bring attention to themselves. After all, I want to pay attention to my monitors, and not the case, and fancy lights do nothing for performance. However, I am a big fan of Antec cases as they are all quality made, sturdy, true (exactly 90° angles) and that Nine Hundred is no exception. However, if you like the Nine Hundred, I might suggest the
Nine Hundred Two for one main reason, it has removable, washable air filters - something no case of mine will be without. I don't enjoy tearing down my systems to lug them outside for cleaning. Washable air filters mean I don't have to clean the interiors near as often - a very good thing.
Also, you may not be aware, and for many enthusiasts it is not a concern, but it is important all readers understand that both Intel and AMD warranty their “retail” boxed versions of their CPUs that come with supplied heatsink fan assemblies as “
a unit". Consequently, both Intel and AMD
require the use of the supplied coolers with their CPUs and using
any alternative cooling solution
violates the terms of the CPU warranties. Note this
IS stated in the CPU warranty booklets that come with each CPU, or can be viewed online at
Intel and
AMD.
Because the CPU makers warranty both the CPU and cooler as "a unit", and since neither wants to replace the CPU or cooler under warranty, both makers provide
excellent coolers, fully capable of keeping the CPU cool, even with mild to moderate overclocking.
It is the case's responsibility, after all, to provide a sufficient "flow" of cool air through the case. And Antec cases provide plenty of that. The CPU cooler need only toss the CPU's heat up into that flow.
The CPU you selected is a boxed "unit" with a supplied cooler. If you don't care about your 3-year CPU warranty, then your decision to use an alternative cooler is no problem. But you need to be aware of the consequences. If you should decide to go ahead and use alternative cooling, you might consider an OEM packaged CPU. They are a little less expensive and don't come with a supplied cooler. But they only come with a 1 year warranty.
IN ANY CASE, I would NOT get a cooler that uses sleeve bearings in it's fan. I would definitely go for superior precision ball, or fluid bearings. And I would NOT get a cooler that is oriented differently than the OEM. That Cooler Master fan fires horizontally, thus in just one direction across the board. Motherboard designers cluster heat sensitive and heat generating devices around the CPU socket so they too can benefit from the
expected fan flow. OEM cooler fans typically fire down, thus disbursing the air in multiple and
anticipated directions.
Therefore, my advice is to skip that aftermarket cooler and go with the OEM cooler. Then (as you should do anyway) monitor your temps. I suspect you will find you don't need alternative cooling - especially with a quality case providing good air flow.
I think that is very nice motherboard, but understand you are paying for on-board graphics (with a supporting CPU, such as the i5-3570K) you don't plan to use. You can get a lessor board and still enjoy the same performance.
Finally, you might consider a larger monitor. A 21" widescreen may sound big, but it is not. Yeah, it's wide, but very short. Note a 24" wide screen has about the same height as a 19" old style 4:3 ratio monitor (~11.75 inches). As seen in the Conversion chart
here (scroll down), a 21.5 inch, 16:9 widescreen will have a screen height of ~26.5cm, which equals less than 10.5 inches. Not very big.
