Component Selection Help

[CampinPowerJL]

I'm looking between the following components but can not decide due to their similarities, so I thought you could help me out!

Mobo: ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Mini itx vs Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 5 itx

AIO Cooler: Corsair H115i vs NZXT x61 (Heard that they both can get noisy? Can replace the fans if needed)

PSU: Corsair RM650x vs EVGA 650 G2

M.2 SSD: 950 Pro 512gb vs sm951 512gb

Many thanks!!

 

[nobodynose]

I'm looking between the following components but can not decide due to their similarities, so I thought you could help me out!

Mobo: ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Mini itx vs Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 5 itx

AIO Cooler: Corsair H115i vs NZXT x61 (Heard that they both can get noisy? Can replace the fans if needed)

PSU: Corsair RM650x vs EVGA 650 G2

M.2 SSD: 950 Pro 512gb vs sm951 512gb

Many thanks!!

For the motherboard, I would favor the Gigabyte, because it's the basis for the Buyer's Guide "CustoMac Mini", so is tested and known to work well.

For the cooler, ??

For the PSU, I'd call it a tossup.

And for the M.2 SSD, go with the 950 Pro; it has a manufacturer's warranty while the SM951 does not. That said, I have an SM951 (256GB) and it's great!

 

[CampinPowerJL]

Ok thanks, but I heard that Gigabyte's board's wifi straight up doesn't work, so I wonder if the ASUS would work?

 

[kiiroaka]

Why can't you just change the Wireless card?

 

[CampinPowerJL]

Why can't you just change the Wireless card?

If the ASUS one works then I don't need to, furthermore getting a new one won't guarantee will work

(nvm found out it doesn't work too lol)

 

[kiiroaka]

I think the mods can tell you which one(s) will most likely work.

Search results: http://www.tonymacx86.com/search/668241/?q=wi+fi+card&o=date

Which led to: http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/faq-read-first-laptop-frequent-questions.164990/

Which led to:

Best choice: BCM94352HMB (or BCM94352Z if your laptop needs NGFF/M.2). Also, the NGFF BCM94350ZAE is a possibility.
...
Another choice (with 802.11ac) is the BCM94360HMB. It is a bit more native (device-id is supported natively), but also uses 3 smaller antenna connectors than are typical. So a bit more work to install.
...
If you only need WiFi, AR9280 (AR5BHB92) is a good choice and is supported natively.

Closely related to AR9280, is AR9285 (AR5B195). It is usually bundled with AR3011 bluetooth, which unforunately, is a poor bluetooth implementation for OS X. It also lacks 5Ghz as compared with AR9280.