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How does this mITX build look?

N

ncbrock

n00b
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
6
Ive been out of the computer game for a while. The last rig I built was when the Core 2 Duo first came out, obviously everything I have is outdated and needs to get updated. I'm going to school in the fall, living in a dorm, so a mITX build really appeals to me.

I will be using this for multimedia and some light gaming, mostly race simulators (iracing, rfactor, raceroom) maybe some skyrim and bioshock, and trying to keep it as cheep as possible.

I already have a decent modular PSU and a big sata hard drive so thats why they are not listed.

case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119261
motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157363
cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113328
video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130909
memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550
ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820721109
cd drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136259
 
How big is your PSU? That case can't take a super long one. It also is a bit lacking in airflow. Cooler Master announced the Elite 130 model, which "fixes" the airflow issue by making the front aluminum piece a mesh grill. IDK when it comes out.

I would not pay that much for a 60GB SSD. SSD sale pricing is quite volatile, and you can probably get one twice the capacity for $10 more... if you catch a sale. Bigger SSDs are faster due to more NAND channels in use. Heck, right now the 120GB version of the SSD you choose is a mere $22 more.

Unless the optical drive has something specific you need (like supporting a particular rip mode) then just get the cheapest that is on sale at the time you purchase.

Since you are using a discrete graphics card, I would suggest going Intel. IIRC a Core i3 outperforms a quad core Trinity in almost everything. Here are some game benchmarks using a discrete Radeon 5870.

50402.png

50406.png


There were other games tested and the Core i3 was faster in all of them, though sometimes not by as much.

Also, that ASRock board initially had some issues. I think they may be fixed though, but the A85 version is supposed to be a lot better for around $15 more.

For graphics the Radeon 7850 2GB can be had for $25 more. I know I keep mentioning hardware that is a couple bucks more, but there is a huge performance gain over a GeForce GTX 650 Ti. In Skyrim it can be over 2x the performance at 1920x1080 and higher resolutions. Next step up would be a GeForce GTX 660, which is a bit better in some games, a LOT better in others over that Radeon. Of course at an additional cost. I see pricing starting at $200, so $40 more. The Radeon starts at $185 for a 2GB model (skip the 1GB).

Do you plan to do any upgrading down the line? Or are you a "build once, use for 4 years" kind of person? If you are the upgrading type, then you can also intelligently choose lower end parts that are easily upgradable, to save some money now. For instance maybe go with a Pentium CPU to save money, leaving you with an easy upgrade to a Core i5, or going big with everything but cheaping out on the graphics card since that is even easier to upgrade than the CPU (lots of disassembly) or SSD (need to clone or reinstall everything).

If you are not the upgrading type, then I highly suggest considering the SSD/CPU/GPU upgrades I've suggested.
 
I think Zap said it all, I agree with about everything he said.
I'd like to emphasise that a small SSD is NOT the way to go. Just shuffle around some components to get atleast a 120GB Samsung 840 or better.

To add to it, you can reduce costs with this:
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Balli...8&sr=1-4&keywords=crucial+ballistix+sport+8gb

It's dirt-cheap at the moment for a good set of RAM, fastest supported clock on Intel platforms and about 20$ cheaper too. It's VLP (Very Low Profile) so you have more space to maneuver without sacrificing anything.
 
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Samsung 830>840 but the 840 Pro is better than both. I think I saw on slickdeals that the 830 120 is on sale for $90, not sure if the deal is still active.
 
Thank you for all the suggestions. My PSU is 6" long, it's a normal ATX unit. I would rather just spend a little more up front than upgrade later, I'm a one and done kind of person. The cooler master elite 130 does seem nice but have not seen any info on release date. I am quite handy with case modification and have every tool imaginable for case mods (fabricate\work on cars for a hobby)
How is this looking now?

case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119261
motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157367
cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116775
memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104387
video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131473
ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147188
dvd drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136259
 
That's looking much more balanced and futureproof now. With the much better CPU and bigger SSD it's going to be hard not to be happy with the setup !
 
B75 chipset motherboard is another option. For WiFi you can use USB adapters. I wouldn't go for an H61 chipset motherboard because it doesn't natively have SATA 6Gbps (important for the SSD).

Since you linked to Amazon, I looked and they are cheaper than Newegg for the GeForce GTX 660 at $5 more than the Radeon 7850. Comparison of the two cards. Up to you whether you feel the performance increase justifies an extra $5. ;)

EDIT: Newegg currently has a 20% off coupon code that is valid for the case, making it $40 shipped.

CMEMX20J13 valid through 7/29 " or until funds exhausted" (basically they can pull the code whenever)

The white version of the Elite 120 is also for the same price.

If you know this is the case you want (short of the Elite 130 showing up by 7/29) then may as well buy it and start modifying it even before your other parts show up.
 
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The powercolor 7850 was only $150, that 660 was $190 on amazon. I always thought wifi usb adapters werent that great, but I could be wrong. Also that gigabyte motherboard with the wifi has a h77 chip set with sata 6gb\s
 
ncbrock said:
The powercolor 7850 was only $150, that 660 was $190 on amazon. I always thought wifi usb adapters werent that great, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Heh, the link auto-refreshed on me to the Amazon product page (thanks, forum software), where it was $185. At $150, go for it!

USB WiFi adapters work just fine.
 
ncbrock said:
The powercolor 7850 was only $150, that 660 was $190 on amazon. I always thought wifi usb adapters werent that great, but I could be wrong. Also that gigabyte motherboard with the wifi has a h77 chip set with sata 6gb\s
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing about the USB WIFI Adapters.

However, I can get 17ms latency in games on one, and max my connection on it.

For reference hard wired I get 14ms latency. So there is that SLIGHT slow-down but for every-day usage it's not noticeable at all, and even in games I have the lowest ping 99%+ of the time.
 
Wow. It is short enough for my little Q11 too. Impressive! Might be time to upgrade... although I imagine that one fan gets fairly noisy.
 
I think you guys got it wrong on the video card. The original the OP linked was a 650TI BOOST card, which is faster than a 7850. Maybe you guys were confused and though he was linking a normal 650TI?
 
650ti boost is not faster than HD 7850... 7850 -generally- performs 10% better but cost about 10% more. (Please look it up on reliable reviewers like anand/tpu)

650 ti boost card is highly oced so take into account when you oc (5-8% that I've seen) while 7850 has more oc room (personal highest 20+%). 650 ti boost appears faster because of gpu boost.

Some AMD cards offer never settle bundle games if you want sell them to friends.

linustechtips also show some videos on oced video cards at certain price points for different titles so you can check those out on youtube.
 
Thanks for the help, I think Ive got everything picked out, just waiting on the Cooler Master Elite 130 to release and I will be all set.
 
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