ADVICE: Mini-ITX Gaming Rig

[lollysticky]

Fist off, the obligatory questions
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming. I want to play 'Stronghold 3, Diablo 3, Empire: Total War: Shogun 2' at a high framerate with enough details!
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
800 euro's. tax and shipping are not really an issue since the retail shop is nearby.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Flanders
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, GPU, PSU, RAM, CPU Cooler, MOBO,
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have a supply of keyboard and mouses lying around. Sound setup and monitor are also present.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Could be... depends on the temperaturs I will be getting inside the little box.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
22 inch Samsung Syncmaster: max resolution = 1600 x 1050. I will be buying a new monitor in the near future (so bigger size + higher resolution)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
At the end of this year, I'm hoping for some christmas/new-year price cuts
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
USB 3.0 seems to be my only concern at the moment.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I only own WIndows XP (32bit )
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I already went forth and selected some components I think are 'good'. I have chosen for brands that have not let me down so far (Gigabyte, Sapphire) and opted for some new ones (G.Skill; I have always opted for Kingston memory so far). The list:

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1) CASE
Lian-Li PC-Q08B ( 89 euro )
- MB format: mini-ITX
- Case Size: 227mm x 272mm x 345mm (W x H x D)
- Video Card Size: max 300mm (when bottom HD cage removed)
- Top fan: 120mm
- Front fan: 140mm

2) CPU
Core i5-2500K ( 191 euro )
- 4 cores, 3,3Ghz
- 95W
- unlocked multiplier
- Integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 (not that I need it, but it's only marginally more expensive than the i5-2400k so who cares about this)

3) CPU COOLER
Corsair Hydro H6O ( 61 euro )
- Connected to the top 120mm fan place

4) MOTHERBOARD
Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 ( 91 euro )
- http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3783#sp
- Intel H67 chipset
- socket 1155
- 1333/1066/800 Mhz DDR3 memory

5) MEMORY
G-Skill Ripjaws 8Gb ( 49 euro )
- DDR3 1333 Mhz (PC3-10666)
- Kit of 2, non-ECC

6) GPU
Sapphire HD 6870 Vapor-X 1Gb ( 186 euro )
- 2-bay, 9.5 inch (24.13 cm)

7) PSU (choice 1)
SilverStone Strider Plus Series ST60F-P ( 88 euro )
- 150mm x 86mm x 160mm ( B x H x D )
- Modular
- 600 Watt
- 2! 6pin pci-express connecters

8) PSU (choice 2)
SilverStone Strider Plus Series ST50F-P ( 68 euro )
- 150mm x 86mm x 140mm ( B x H x D )
- Modular
- 500 Watt
- 1 pci-express connecter -> splitter needed

9) PSU CABLES
SilverStone Short Cable Set SST-PP05 ( 18 euro )

10) HARD DRIVES
got two 300Gb SATA2 HDs lying around. Will update later on when HDs get cheaper again.

11) OS
-> I have only used XP so far for my gaming systems. I would like to move on..
so… Windows 7? Or Vista?? Or Windows 8 ? I have no idea as to which to choose, basically because I have occupied myself with mac and linux systems for the past three years

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The questions:
- Will the H60 fit between the PSU and the processor? I have read it does, but I canot 'officially' confirm it.
- What OS to choose?
- Any comments on the GPU? An upgrade to a HD 6950 is quite a leap in $$$ as well so I opted for the 6870...
- Which PSU to choose? Should I opt for the somewhat stronger 600W one?
- any comments / remarks / .... are highly appreciated!

 

[engiNURD]

1. like you, I've read that it does fit.
2. Windows 7 64bit
3. should be fine for your res
4. depends on the vidcard you choose
5. no ssd? i prefer the sugo cases, but thats just me.

 

[tiraides]

Christmas? New Year's?!? Right now is way too early to start planning your build. The parts that we recommend now could be obsolete, overpriced, or out of stock by then. Now having said that....

(Advanced warning: I'll be using NewEgg for references and images. I know that you can't use NewEgg to make your purchases.)

You're not going to overclock anything with that H67 board. You'll need a Z68 board, but there are currently three (that I can think of) that are available: the ASRock Z68M-ITX/HT, the ZOTAC Z68ITX-A-E, and the ZOTAC Z68ITX-B-E. However, none of the reviews that I've read on these boards suggest that any of them would be great. Consequentially, you may want to consider not trying to overclock; in that case, you can save some money by swapping out the i5-2500K for the Core i5-2400, which will perform about as well at stock speeds.

I don't know enough about the Lian Li PC-Q08B to say for certain whether or not it would support the Corsair H60. Upon first glance, that HDD cage appears (to me) to be more of a hindrance to your plans than the PSU placement.

... But that's enough for now. Revisit this thread about a week or two before you're ready to buy everything.

 

[engiNURD]

He's planning on mounting the rad/fan on top instead of the front.

Yah, we've been waiting for some good z68 ITX boards, but I fear they'll either never come out or come out too late.

 

[lollysticky]

1. like you, I've read that it does fit.
2. Windows 7 64bit
3. should be fine for your res
4. depends on the vidcard you choose
5. no ssd? i prefer the sugo cases, but thats just me.

first of all, tx for your remaks
- Will the 600W PSU be better for my currently selected videocard?
- ssd -> I'm not an expert on SSD's and it will bump the price right up... Do you suggest a small SSD (like 80gig orso?) -> if so, what should I opt for?
- as for the sugo cases; I agree they're nice.. but for now I like the PC-Q08 more

Christmas? New Year's?!? Right now is way too early to start planning your build. The parts that we recommend now could be obsolete, overpriced, or out of stock by then. Now having said that....

(Advanced warning: I'll be using NewEgg for references and images. I know that you can't use NewEgg to make your purchases.)

You're not going to overclock anything with that H67 board. You'll need a Z68 board, but there are currently three (that I can think of) that are available: the ASRock Z68M-ITX/HT, the ZOTAC Z68ITX-A-E, and the ZOTAC Z68ITX-B-E. However, none of the reviews that I've read on these boards suggest that any of them would be great. Consequentially, you may want to consider not trying to overclock; in that case, you can save some money by swapping out the i5-2500K for the Core i5-2400, which will perform about as well at stock speeds.

I don't know enough about the Lian Li PC-Q08B to say for certain whether or not it would support the Corsair H60. Upon first glance, that HDD cage appears (to me) to be more of a hindrance to your plans than the PSU placement.

... But that's enough for now. Revisit this thread about a week or two before you're ready to buy everything.

Christmas and New Year's eve might idd be a bit further down the road. But as soon as this setup is complete I will be ordering it. Let's forget I ever said Christmas and New Year

On that overclocking... those mini-ITX boards are also available in my retailshop, but I opted for the gigabyte one exactly for the same reasons you mention here. And it does indeed make sense to take it down a notch and opt for the i5-2400.

As for the PC-Q08 and the HDD-cage -> the bottom cage can be removed, which is a feature to accomodate longer videocards. This therefore should not pose any real problems.

Thank you for your comments!

 

[engiNURD]

For the 6870, the strider 500W would be just fine.

I'd suggest a 128GB Crucial M4 if you can afford it. The 64GB M4 is a bit slower, but still faster than any mechanical drive.

Yah, I actually prefer the quality of Lian Li over Silverstone, and I'd definitely go for the Q if I needed all that HDD space.