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Noctua Themed build in the Antec pro case.







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last updated –
posted 2026-Jul-30, 7:54 pm AEST



posted 2026-Jul-30, 7:54 pm AEST










User #567584573posts

Audible

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWKe2

posted 2026-Jul-1, 6:15 pm AEST

edited 2026-Jul-1, 6:22 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWKe2

posted 2026-Jul-1, 6:15 pm AEST (edited 2026-Jul-1, 6:22 pm AEST)





O.P.

One lazy afternoon I was scrolling vid’s on you tube and came across a build video of the Antec Noctua Pro PC by Mr Matt Lee And well, I was smitten like a kitten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMeZKcfItzo

Before I knew it, the irresponsible inner child in me had added the GPU and case to an online cart and plugged in the credit card numbers before I could stop him.
Seems that I’m building a new PC for myself. Ah well, my current system is 6.5 years old.

So the new system will be a Noctua themed build and a few parts have already been determined. But there are a few parts I’m unsure off, rusty and would welcome advice and scrutiny.

PC Usage.
Gaming. Currently the most hardware intensive game I play atm is Cyberpunk 2077/Phantom. Current RTX 3070 is struggling.
I also do photo editing, lossless audio play back, streaming movies from NAS, usual browsing, MS office and whirlpool.

Budget.
Would like to keep the rest of the system under $4k, but, I realise there is no point putting a firm price cap on this. The entire system should match the items already determined so, the budget is basically to build a matching system for the best price.

Items already determined. (not part of budget)

• RTX 5080 Noctua edition & Antec Noctua edition case.
•Asus PG-279QE G-sync 165Hz 27 inch 2560x1440 IPS Monitor.
•Keyboard and mouse. K95 and some Asus ROG strix mouse.
•PSU: The Noctua Seasonic Prime 1600 watt seems overkill to me for a RTX5080 at $950. Saw Corsair’s new shift range with the connectors on the side and the 1200i was on EOFY special, so into the cart it went. 1200 watts should be enough, right?

So onto the remaining components.

CPU cooler. Noctua off course and air cooled. Sorry AIO fans. Two choices. Re use my NH-D15s from the old system or get the new G2.
Reason for the choice is that I have the NA-HC2 black chromax covers for the NH-D15s so this could be an aesthetic choice, blacked out Heatsink with Noctua brown inserts and the Noctua brown fans.
On the other hand, the new G2 air cooler could be 5-7 degree’s superior cooling compared to the 15s and I do not mind the look of standard heatsink at all in this case.

CPU/Motherboard. The usual battle of the CPU’s, Intel V AMD you’d expect.
I have an Sound blaster ZXR sound card in my current system which I could re use. Also considering upgrading the card to something better. Thinking that the way this will go is that I’ll build the system, listen to the Mobo audio versus ZXR, see how the ZXR looks and installs, does it obscure anything and then from there, could repaint the ZXR or replace it with another sound card or external?

I am doing research here so more than happy to hear any suggestions, products I may not know about, solutions etc to help Audible get some good audio from the new system.

You tube video used the Asus Pro art Motherboard. It looks the part, is it Good, is there better?

Storage. Is two M2’s the way to go still? One smaller premium M2 for the OS and another larger one, around 2-4Tb for apps? Samsung still good here? Storage is expensive so Im hoping to save some $$$ here. I don’t need bulk storage here, got the NAS for that. It’s just for the OS and app/program installs.

RAM. Ok, rust is showing again. I know the basics of clock and latency, but no idea of what best suits modern systems and getting it wrong could bottle neck the system or waste money better spent elsewhere. Seems the inner child will get another splurge just buying RAM at todays prices
The You tube video build used Teamgroup T-creat expert. 6000Mhz CL30-36-36-76 2x16Gb at about $800. Good, bad, better?

RGB. NO! Well, maybe. Do not want any flashy RGB in this system from fans, mobo or ram. Did it with current system, I’m over that sort of RGB.
But, I am considering ambient lighting to fill the case with a brownish Noctua themed light to complement the interior.
System is on prominent display in my custom made it myself stained timber computer desk which matches the Noctua case/wood trim/Noctua browns. Hence why I was smitten with this build.
Something subtle like 2-4 RBG strips and just dial in a single colour that complements the browns of the interior. (PSU has an icue link controller hub built in) I think it could be a nice touch, flavour and enhancement. I could try it out by temporarily rigging up something from my old system.
I’m familiar with Corsair ique so feel free to suggest, condemn or applaud this idea.









User #567584573posts

Audible

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWMy1

posted 2026-Jul-4, 1:18 pm AEST

edited 2026-Jul-4, 5:08 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWMy1

posted 2026-Jul-4, 1:18 pm AEST (edited 2026-Jul-4, 5:08 pm AEST)





O.P.

Have been reviewing CPU/mother boards.
Seems Intel are "on hold" until Nova lake which is supposed to be releasing sometime this year. Core ultra on LGA1851 seems like a desperate stop gap and a very poor platform to invest in currently.
Goes to show how rusty I am. I thought there was a battle between AMD and Intel.

Initially I looked at boards from an aesthetic point, the Asus Pro art and Gigabyte aero dark wood. These are nice but are dearer with less features than their closest RGB counterparts.
So I gave up on that idea, figuring that the cooler and GPU will mostly obscure the board anyway. So I have narrowed it down to a couple of choices.

Gigabyte X3D. The Pro as the middle point and either down to the Elite to save some $$$ or spring for the Master. All three boards appear to review very well and tick all the boxes.
Asus offerings are the ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi or pay top dollar for the Crosshair Dark hero. Both of these boards are dearer than their Gigabyte counterparts. Asus premium pricing?
A third board from Asus that I liked, the Crosshair Apex has a compatibility issue with the CPU cooler.

So either the Gigabyte Pro or the Asus Strix X870E-E. Probably flip a coin either way though I am leaning towards the Gigabyte.













User #225717878posts

Frank

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWMGJ

posted 2026-Jul-4, 4:17 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWMGJ

posted 2026-Jul-4, 4:17 pm AEST





Audible writes...

nobody will respond anyway

Sorry what kind of response are you after?

If you like an Noctua Themed build, then go for it.

Audible writes...

The usual battle of the CPU’s, Intel V AMD

Not really. AMD AM5 is the way to go at the moment.

You tube video used the Asus Pro art Motherboard.

Sure is. If you like it buy it.

Is two M2’s the way to go still? One smaller premium M2 for the OS and another larger one, around 2-4Tb for apps?

no. just get one big one. but the pricing at the moment is poor.

The You tube video build used Teamgroup T-creat expert. 6000Mhz CL30-36-36-76 2x16Gb at about $800. Good, bad, better?

For an AM5 platform 6000Mts CL30 is the sweet spot, but also is expensive at the moment.

RGB. NO!

Figure out what you want to the focus to be.

If you are wanting to show off the Noctua theme then don't go for RGB.









User #53638475posts

PlacentaJuan

Participant





reference: whrl.pl/RgWMZL

posted 2026-Jul-5, 8:06 am AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWMZL

posted 2026-Jul-5, 8:06 am AEST





omg i just looked at this case and sploosh i am buying one too.

am about to upgrade my sons pc so will be getting this case for myself and he can have my old case. where did you buy it from?









User #567584573posts

Audible

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWM97

posted 2026-Jul-5, 12:39 pm AEST

edited 2026-Jul-5, 1:02 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWM97

posted 2026-Jul-5, 12:39 pm AEST (edited 2026-Jul-5, 1:02 pm AEST)





O.P.

Further research into the motherboards has removed the Gigabytes from the list. They all have the Realtek ALC1220 chip which is the basic entry level audio chip. The Asus Strix E-E and above step up to the ALC4080 and 4082 which are Realtek's premium audio chips, 32/384 v 24/192. But also the audio section of these boards ramp up to suit meaning they should sound better than Gigabytes and other "entry level" sound setups.

So I could be happy/happier with the motherboards built in sound if it's based on the ALC408X chips over the ALC1220.

Plan B is if I am unhappy with the motherboard sound, to install a sound card.
I have my fears though that the sound card will shroud the GPU and PSU cooling. The GPU card is a whopping 4 slots thick so it will be very close to the card. I intend to try it, but suspect it will be a problem and detract from the visual of the interior.

But there is a Plan C option. The Asus Crosshair Hero motherboard has a SlimSaS connector. This little known connector can enable a Pci-e adaptor board. This can connect a remote installed sound card which there is plenty of room in this case for. The connector is on the back edge of the MOBO, near the SATA connectors.
By luck, I picked the Corsair shift PSU which moves the cables to the side of the PSU and opens up the area in front of the PSU where there is a bracket to mount 2 x 3.5 inch hard drives, easily removed. All I would have to do is make or modify a metal bracket to secure it and then run RCA jacks to the back of the case. Both tasks easy for myself.
There is even a few youtube video's by others who had done it.

There is also Pci-e extension cables that will plug into the MOBO's lower Pci-e slot I could use that support Pci-e 1x. At least with the Crosshair hero mobo, I have both options and the Hero imho looks better than the Strix E-E, though the hero will dent the wallet more.
If I really want to empty the wallet out, I could go for the E-ATX Crosshair extreme board. It has edge connectors along the back of the board, Pci-e gen 4.0 m2 next to the ram for very cool drives and 5 inch screen for I do know what for, but is lavish in blatant overkill as anyone could ever want.

PlacentaJuan writes...

am about to upgrade my sons pc so will be getting this case for myself and he can have my old case. where did you buy it from?

I picked it up locally from PLE computers. They had stock at just about every branch in Perth. Cheaper to buy cases locally as freight would be expensive.
The box measures 66 x 63 x 35cm and the shipping weight of the Noctua edition is 17kg.

There is two versions of the case. The standard Antec Flux pro for around $269
https://www.ple.com.au/products/669559/antec-flux-pro-full-tower-atx-case-with-digital-display-black

Then there is the Noctua version that includes 6 Noctua case fans for $699
https://www.ple.com.au/products/683665/antec-flux-pro-noctua-edition-full-tower-case-eatx-case









User #8152809958posts

mystarey

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWNfc

posted 2026-Jul-5, 3:10 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWNfc

posted 2026-Jul-5, 3:10 pm AEST





Audible writes...

They all have the Realtek ALC1220 chip which is the basic entry level audio chip. The Asus Strix E-E and above step up to the ALC4080 and 4082 which are Realtek's premium audio chips

This isn't really the case, the ALC408x chips are just a sidegrade from the ALC12x0 chips, the main difference being the internal bus over which they communicate on. The ALC8xx series is the basic stuff.

Plan B is if I am unhappy with the motherboard sound, to install a sound card.
I have my fears though that the sound card will shroud the GPU and PSU cooling.

I'd suggest pursuing an external solution instead. What form that takes depends on whether you're pursuing surround audio or just stereo.









User #567584573posts

Audible

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWQDh

posted 2026-Jul-9, 2:43 pm AEST

edited 2026-Jul-9, 2:49 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWQDh

posted 2026-Jul-9, 2:43 pm AEST (edited 2026-Jul-9, 2:49 pm AEST)





O.P.

mystarey writes...

This isn't really the case, the ALC408x chips are just a sidegrade

Thanks for the sidegrade link there. Very informative reading.

After reading that article, it's sounding (pun intended) like I will be more likely to be disappointed with the built in audio from the motherboard with an RTX5080 in close proximity.
I have a far better understanding why high end sound cards like my ZXR are shielded.

I recall listening to my current system's built in audio, being disappointed, ordering the sound blaster card and getting a big improvement and that was with lower quality speakers than my current B&W set up.

So I'll plan on adding a sound card, one way or another.
It is for stereo audio playback primarily. I use media monkey playback of WMA/WAV/lossless files ripped from my CD collection.
Not as concerned about sound quality of gaming though If I get a big downgrade in sound quality playing the games I am familiar with, I'll probably be disappointed with that as well.









User #840639258posts

drvnanook

Forum Regular





reference: whrl.pl/RgWQFk

posted 2026-Jul-9, 3:18 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWQFk

posted 2026-Jul-9, 3:18 pm AEST





Whats powering your B&W's?

As a fellow audiophile I run external DAC and amp

Also If its only CD rips you listen to, a FLAC rip of a CD does not magically fill the missing bits.
Unless you are listening to proper DSD etc files don;t get hung up on 24/192 etc









User #567584573posts

Audible

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWRfH

posted 2026-Jul-10, 11:42 am AEST

edited 2026-Jul-10, 9:32 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWRfH

posted 2026-Jul-10, 11:42 am AEST (edited 2026-Jul-10, 9:32 pm AEST)





O.P.

drvnanook writes...

Whats powering your B&W's?

Fosi audio ZA3. It's similar to the WiiM amps using the TPA3255 chip/class D, except the power supply is external and there is no bluetooth and therefore, it's much cheaper than the WiiM.
It also accepts two inputs, RCA and XLR. Not that I need XLR at all, but using RCA to XLR interconnects enables two inputs, I can switch between my PC and Xbox.

Also If its only CD rips you listen to, a FLAC rip of a CD does not magically fill the missing bits.
Unless you are listening to proper DSD etc files don;t get hung up on 24/192 etc

Reason why I use WMA or WAV, I can't remember which one it is atm is but it's the same format that both mine and the wife's car accept's. Neither will read FLAC/ALAC or other newer lossless formats so it's about the compatibility across all three.
I tried MP3 320kbs files but the difference in sound quality was just too vast.
No real need for compressed audio formats anymore anyway. 700 meg or so for an album, fits more than enough albums onto a 128 gig USB stick and a drop in the ocean on a PC hard drive.

drvnanook writes...

As a fellow audiophile I run external DAC and amp

Which DAC do you use?









User #840639258posts

drvnanook

Forum Regular





reference: whrl.pl/RgWRxh

posted 2026-Jul-10, 6:23 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWRxh

posted 2026-Jul-10, 6:23 pm AEST





Audible writes...

Which DAC do you use?

I have a NAD D3020 for pc duty









User #567584573posts

Audible

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWRDM

posted 2026-Jul-10, 9:31 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWRDM

posted 2026-Jul-10, 9:31 pm AEST





O.P.

drvnanook writes...

I have a NAD D3020 for pc duty

Oh, thats nice. Thanks for that.

I was looking at a DAC only to hide somewhere to pass USB or optical to the ZA3 but an all in one unit like that would work much better and still do input selection for xbox to PC.
All I need is an motherboard with TOS or S/PDIF output which most have at least S/PDIF except for the Asus Pro art. Very odd for a $900 motherboard.









User #1212243449posts

_Craig_

Whirlpool Alumni





reference: whrl.pl/RgWRI8

posted 2026-Jul-11, 1:45 am AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWRI8

posted 2026-Jul-11, 1:45 am AEST





Audible writes...

RGB. NO! Well, maybe. Do not want any flashy RGB in this system from fans, mobo or ram. Did it with current system, I’m over that sort of RGB.
But, I am considering ambient lighting to fill the case with a brownish Noctua themed light to complement the interior.

Can't really comment on the rest, but lighting in the case is personal. Myself, I have mine set to red in winter, gradually going from green in autumn/spring to blue in Summer (It is also based on the date as well.)

Nothing flashing, changing colours rapidly etc, just a steady colour on everything. Each to their own at least.

With your choice though, does Noctua offer a theme for lighting? Otherwise you may need to set that up yourself (assuming you do go with LED lighting?)









User #567584573posts

Audible

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference: whrl.pl/RgWR7e

posted 2026-Jul-11, 5:37 pm AEST

edited 2026-Jul-11, 6:05 pm AEST



ref: whrl.pl/RgWR7e

posted 2026-Jul-11, 5:37 pm AEST (edited 2026-Jul-11, 6:05 pm AEST)





O.P.

Ok, so I think that I have solved the sound card issue. Well, I hope so. I'll certainly try the onboard audio first, expect to be disappointed. Then I'll likely try fitting the sound blaster ZXR sound card, see how close it shrouds the GPU and detracts from the aesthetics and then order a DAC/amp and run that externally via the motherboards S/PDIF output.

So, eliminating motherboards that don't have an optical output and keeping the aesthetics in mind, there is a clear leader in the pickings;

Gigabyte X870E Aero X3D dark wood. https://www.gigabyte.com/au/Motherboard/X870E-AERO-X3D-DARK-WOOD

As the Asus pro art does not have an optical output, Shame on Asus, a $900 motherboard without an S/PDIF, makes the gigabyte darkwood a good choice for this themed build and the $700 price tag helps the budget.

Oh, so the motherboard needs a CPU. Considering either the Ryzen 7 9800X3D or paying the extra $250 and go for the Ryzen 9 9900X3D.
I'll see how the budget survives being dragged over hot coals aka M2 and RAM.
Not looking forward to this final step.

_Craig_ writes...

With your choice though, does Noctua offer a theme for lighting? Otherwise you may need to set that up yourself (assuming you do go with LED lighting?)

Now that I have picked an motherboard, the Aero "wood" from Gigabyte, does not have an LCD screen for flashy graphics just a basic off white glow from the VRM heatsink which I assume can be switched off in the BIOS.
It could provide a nice ambient back lighting on it's own. Certainly intend to find out.

I have a couple of Corsair RBG strips in my current build I can install into the new case.
No, haven't found any Noctua theme for lightning. Noctua have no involvement with RGB lightning at all that I can find.
I was thinking along the lines of installing 2-4 RGB strips in the case and then using icue to dial in a single orange/brown to a dirty off white. Basically just play with the colour setting until I find it appeals or it doesnt.

It won't cost anything to try at this point and if I like it, buy the newer link RGB strips or just reuse my current strips.









User #2133121243posts

Theron

Whirlpool Forums Addict





reference:
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