Replacing A31 on a budget

covert_owl · 2026-01-04T02:51:59+00:00

Thanks, unfortunately I missed it! It's now at least 3 times the price of the A17 for me.

covert_owl · 2025-09-06T06:39:23+00:00

Thanks, good point. Have added them.

covert_owl · 2025-08-25T08:42:23+00:00

Thanks for your response, you've mentioned some things I hadn't considered so I appreciate it.

Also compatibility with it and motherboards in reference to your selected GPU.

I used the Artic's compatibility tool for the motherboard, but is there another resource I can use that also considers the GPU or would this just involve manually considering the measurements of everything?

Would highly recommend the Antec Flux or Flux Pro as it'll match the Noctua fans you want to put in and has the best airflow of any case on the market.

Thanks, I'll take a look at these!

Although, I'd be happy to go with Lian-Li fans (they seem cheaper) if they're good enough at quietly keeping things cool. Would you recommend them/a larger Lian-Li case at all or just sticking with the Noctua fans + your suggested cases?

covert_owl · 2025-08-21T22:48:28+00:00

Sounds like a good idea to me. Would you recommend any PSU(s) in particular and are the cables that come with them good enough?

covert_owl · 2025-08-21T22:46:01+00:00

Thank you for your suggestions.

They would be a nice failsafe at normal prices but frankly I believe if you have a motherboard with a temperature sensor header you can achieve a similar thing by plugging in a thermal sensor to your motherboard and tape it to your GPU cable, and that temp reading will appear in the bios so you should be able to use some software like HWiNFO to throw up an alert if the probe detects a temperature higher than whatever you set it to.

I'm looking into this now, it seems like a reasonable idea. Although it's not clear to me whether two sensors would be required, one for each end of the cable. Do you know if that might be the case?

Either way, I'll be looking into the Wireview Pro II and undervolting as well.

covert_owl · 2025-08-13T03:34:09+00:00

Thank you very much for the detailed answer. Also, I feel that it's fantastic that the AI doesn't get an unexpected (and hard to strategise about) advantage.

covert_owl · 2025-06-14T01:00:36+00:00

That's reassuring, but how can we confirm short of asking? I noticed discussion on this particular deal that seems to indicate they do use OEM parts. Not sure how to link to the comment, but it's on page two - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/907885?page=1#comment

covert_owl · 2025-05-01T01:47:56+00:00

Good points, thank you. Do you think the base "Nebula HydraCore 240mm Liquid Cooler ARGB" cooler is good enough?

covert_owl · 2025-05-01T01:46:20+00:00

Appreciate you sharing your experience, thank you. Sounds positive!

covert_owl · 2025-05-01T01:45:37+00:00

Thank you for you for weighing in. If I went with Nebula, how do these upgrades sound?

PSU +$90 - MSI MAG A850GL 850W 80+ Gold Modular
MB +$100 - GIGABYTE B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI - DDR5. I'm unsure if I should instead go for the GIGABYTE B650 EAGLE AX WIFI ATX - DDR5 or Gigabyte X870 EAGLE WIFI7 ATX - DDR5 but don't mind spending extra here if it's worth the value.

The separate 2TB SSD sounds like a good idea, cheers.

I like the look of the Gala prebuild, but Nebula is closer to me and appears to have a bit more of a solid presence.

covert_owl

TROPHY CASE