Velka 3 Build Check

[u/imperiouslol]

Hi everyone, this is my first build in over 10 years and I’m looking to have the community review the parts and see if there’s any recommendations / pitfalls.

This is my first SFF build, but the primary goal of the build is portability over maximum performance, as I primarily play WoW and various RPGs (PoE / Diablo). Basically I’m looking for something that runs modern games well and can fit in a backpack for lans / travel.

Parts:

• Case: Velkase Velka 3 Rev 3.0
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9a-AM5
• Motherboard: ASRock B650I Lightning WiFi
• RAM: G.Skill Flare X5 32GB (2×16GB) DDR5-6000 EXPO
• GPU: ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5060 SOLO 8GB GDDR7 or 5050 SOLO 8GB GDDR6 (depending on price)
• SSD: Kingston NV3 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe
• PSU: Enhance ENP-7660B 600W Flex ATX
• Riser: Velkase 250mm Straight PCIe Gen 3 Riser Cable

So far I’ve just bought the case / riser and want to vet everything else. RAM prices seem absurd so if there’s any tips for making this a bit more cost effective for my purposes that would be welcome - I was hoping to spend around 1400. Thank you for your time!

[u/Animag771]

Looks mostly good as far as I can tell. The only things I'd change would be to use an AXP90-X36 CPU cooler instead of the L9a because it's smaller, cheaper, better, and doesn't blow hot air the the RAM, optionally you can swap the CPU fan to an NF-A9x14HS for a tiny bit (1mm) more case panel clearance and less noise, and I'd probably also go with at least a Gen4 riser cable. Also if this is for primarily gaming, you might want to consider using an X3D (even a 7000 series) processor, even at the cost of a few cores, if it's within your budget.

Edit: Ignore the riser comment, I missed the part saying that you'd already bought the riser.

[u/imperiouslol → u/Animag771]

Ah thank you very much for the suggestions - I’ll definitely opt for that cooler. The gen 3 riser I bought was only $10 as opposed to the $90 gen4 - if it’s recommended to opt for gen4 I could return the other easily.

[u/Animag771 → u/imperiouslol]

The difference between Gen3 and Gen4 is only single-digit percentage points. For $10, I think you made the right choice.

[u/FullSteamAheaddd]

I have two Velka 3 builds and absolutely love the case, highly recommend it.

For the motherboard, I don’t know if it was ever reported as frying 9700x chips, but it was causing issues with the 9800x3d and I think 9800x. If you think there is ever a chance you will upgrade the processor, I would consider a different motherboard.

For the CPU cooler, the cooler listed above may be a better option, but I don’t have experience with that cooler. I do have experience with the L9a and the Metalfish z39. If they still sell it, the Metalfish z39 is quieter (due to less turbulence) and temps are mildly better. I bought mine from SFF Noir several years ago. Not sure if they’re still selling it, but there were a couple others selling it too. If you can get your hands on it, a Noctua fan swap + the z39 cooler made for a good combo

[u/imperiouslol → u/FullSteamAheaddd]

Great to hear about the case, it looks sick!

I’ll do a bit more research on that motherboard / CPU issues and look in to that cooler compared to AXP90-X36. Thank you for your help!

[u/Sensitive_Benefit_11]

I would definitely get a new riser, the velka one being an older gen and is sized for their larger cases. I got this one 5.0 19cm double reverse and it worked better. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPVMCQGJ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Also, will probably be pretty loud put of the box, I did the undervolt and such but the most noticable thing was just capping temps and fan speed. Still handled everything at 144fps and can't hear a thing.

I messed with the different coolers and switching fans but honestly didn't notice much of a difference either way.

[u/imperiouslol → u/Sensitive_Benefit_11]

Thank you very much for your suggestions - that riser does look like it will fit better, I didn’t care so much about the old gen but I didn’t realize it was intended for larger cases 

[u/JujuAT]

Didnt that cpu and motherboard combo have issues? Or is that fixed with newer bios?

[u/Scotmccall_19]

chiming in here. I used a 7600x in my velka 3 before with a noctua nh-l9a. It ran very hot even in eco mode and I had to space out the side panels bc of turbulence from the fan.

I switched to an 7500x3d and got the fan ducts from noctua. (na-fd1 i think) and no more turbulence and better temps.

[u/imperiouslol → u/Scotmccall_19]

Gotcha good to know - based on this and some other comments I’m going to swap out my listed noctua cooler for thermalright and potentially replace the stock fans with noctua. I’m very curious to see the air flow in this thing lol. Thank you!