First time SFF gaming build

[dmfg]

1. What will you be doing with this PC? Relatively casual gaming (mostly WoW and Starcraft) and streaming.

For the size, I might want to move it occasionally (maybe once a few months) but don't need carrying handles or anything.

It doesn't need to be silent, though obviously less noise is always better.

I'm a little worried about heat since I've had problems with graphics cards overheating in the past, even with midi tower cases.

2. Will you be overclocking? Not planning to - I wouldn't mind having the option in future but very low priority.

3. What's your budget? Aiming around £800, but I'm flexible. I'm happy to consider paying more for something that fits what I want better.

4. Where do you live? Do you have any big B&M (brick and mortar) computer chains nearby (e.g. Microcenter, Fry's, etc)? England, and the B&M chains here don't stock any computer components from this decade so it will be all done online

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget?
My thoughts were
- i5 4690
- Radeon 270X
Are these likely to cause heat problems? Any particular brands of the GPU that would work well from cooling side of things?

I'm really unsure about the motherboard and case. The mITX options on my online retailers are:
- AsRock H81M-ITX
- AsRock Z87E-ITX
- Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI
- Gigabyte GA-H81N
- Asus H81I-PLUS
- Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WiFi
- Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5
- Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI
- Asus Maximus VI Impact
- Asus H87M-Plus

I feel completely lost here. I don't know what features I'm getting in each, or the differences between chipsets.

For case, the Antec ISK600 or Silverstone FT03 are the kind of designs that look good to me - clean, non-glossy, not too flashy. However, I know I'm trying to use pretty hot-running components so I'm willing to trade aesthetics for performance if heat will be a problem.

I don't really know where to start on PSU, I gather some cases need special PSUs?

6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Not reusing anything

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard? I don't need RAID, Thunderbolt, SLI or crossfire.

I would like 2 USB 3.0 ports, but can make do with 1. I need 1 SATA 6Gb/s port and 2 slower SATA ports.

I need either WiFi or space for a WiFi card.

8. What resolution output do you need? I'm gaming at 1920x1200. I would like a second output for a second monitor in future, not fussy about format as I don't have the monitor yet.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space and do you need an optical drive? No hard space requirement. I do need an optical drive but external is OK if internal will be a problem.

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring? I guess I could solder (have an iron) but not particularly confident about it. Wouldn't like to do any other customisation.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem? Quieter would be nice, but not a high priority. Expecting to use lots of fans.

12. How mobile does this system need to be? I would probably move it once every few months, but no more. No need for handles.

13. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Yes, Windows 7 64 bit retail

14. When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Immediately if possible, though I can wait a few weeks

Sorry if I've come in a bit ignorant, I've built my own system before but really not sure where to start with SFF. Any tips or getting started guides would be appreciated.

 

[WiSK]

I suggest to focus on finding a case you like first. With your components (i5+270X) you can go smaller than FT03 with no trouble.

About motherboards: H81 is low end, H87/H97 is high end non-overclocking, Z87/Z97 is enthusiast class: overclocking more than +400 MHz. But choice of mini-ITX or micro-ATX depends on the case.

Lastly, your answer to question 11. Smaller case means less air volume, means less fans needed.

 

[andgo]

H81 is perfectly sufficient to drive any current graphics card, yeah? I don't see any reason not to go with it unless you want to OC.

 

[Quartz-1]

Look at the Shuttle SFF systems or the Silverstone ML01. Just make sure the GPU has a blower fan.

That said, I used to take my full-sized rig (AT, not ATX) to LAN meets once a month without problems.

 

[dmfg]

Thanks for your replies so far!

I'm somewhat limited on options for the case, and of the ones I've seen I do like the Antec ISK600 the best (brushed aluminium, given the choice), so as long as there's not any reason to avoid that case I think I'm going to go with it.

I guess I'm aiming for a PSU in the 500W region for this setup?

Since I'm going with a mITX system, I was thinking about the Gigabyte GA-H97N since that comes with WiFi, saving me trying to fit that in elsewhere. AFAIK I can use regular DDR3 DIMMs, right?

Anything else I should think about?

 

[Zap]

I guess I'm aiming for a PSU in the 500W region for this setup?

Radeon 270X and a quad core at stock speeds? 350W would probably run it fine as long as it were good quality and of modern topology. 500W gives a lot of overhead.

 

[coilz]

+1 for shuttle XPC. the SZ87R6 has mini pcie and msata. Only thing is make sure your video card fits into the case before getting it... found out the hard way for me.

 

[Surly]

Look at the Shuttle SFF systems or the Silverstone ML01. Just make sure the GPU has a blower fan.

That said, I used to take my full-sized rig (AT, not ATX) to LAN meets once a month without problems.

Holy crap, that ML01 is sick/gorgeous!! If you know of any reviews where there are high end components used (ie GTX780 Ti calibre) pls link !!