ITX Budget Beast Advice

[S0L0]

DDR4 does not seem to be worth the extra cost at the moment so I would prefer to use 16GB DDR3 though there are currently no socket 1151 itx motherboards in North Amercia that support DDR3.

I would consider Haswell but Skylake just came on the market and has 2-4 years of upgrades/refreshes to go until 10nm tock.

7850K is also an option but Zen is due next year, not to mention its the equivalent of an i3 dual core.

AM3 seems like it would work but there are no itx boards for that socket.


System Specs:
i5 - i7
16GB RAM
Graphics Card with HDMI 2.0
500-800W Power Supply (depends on GPU)


Any advice?

 

[defaultluser]

Please tell us what games you want to play, and at what resolution. I know the HDMI 2.0 is a clue, but it doesn't tell me what you really want.

Also, understand the limitations fo a MiniITX rig: you can't tun dual GPUs, so you won't get amazing performance at 4k resolution on demanding games. So it helps if you could tell us exactly which games you play, so we can give you real help

But you have the right idea s far as processor goes. You should be fine with a Core i5.

Also, do you have a preference on case size, or a case you've been eying? That's usually the place people start with these ITX builds, to give us an idea of how much space we have for other components.

 

[m2h]

Whats your budget OP?

Wanna do budget? K,..
H97 itx board
i5 non K processor
2x8GB DDR3 1600 (honestly 2x4GB is most you may need, or do 1x8GB for now)
GPU ... Pick one. LOL
PSU Corsair Buidler 600w (look you are not gonna be putting a two GPU's in it).
Case .. Corsair or Silverstone ITX case that takes an ATX PSU and supports full lenght GPU.
Cooling ... I like AiO liquid coolers, usually at least one spot in the case to mont the 120mm rad/fan

Could be more specific, but meh. You didn't give enough to go one.

Budget, games you play, want to play, and what else do you do?

 

[Dangman]

DDR4 does not seem to be worth the extra cost at the moment so I would prefer to use 16GB DDR3 though there are currently no socket 1151 itx motherboards in North Amercia that support DDR3.

I would consider Haswell but Skylake just came on the market and has 2-4 years of upgrades/refreshes to go until 10nm tock.

7850K is also an option but Zen is due next year, not to mention its the equivalent of an i3 dual core.

AM3 seems like it would work but there are no itx boards for that socket.


System Specs:
i5 - i7
16GB RAM
Graphics Card with HDMI 2.0
500-800W Power Supply (depends on GPU)


Any advice?

In addition to the questions that are are already asked, please answer the following questions so that we can help you better:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
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.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Though a few misconceptions on your part: Skylake does benefit from RAM clocked at DDR4 2666 or higher in games. So if you go the DDR3 route, you'd probably need DDR3 2666. You can actually find 16GB of DDR4 2666 RAM for a lower price than DDR3 2666. So if you're going Skylake, go DDR4. Though you'd have to go DDR4 no matter what since there's limited numbers of ATX LGA 1151 with DDR3 RAM support let alone the significantly smaller mITX market.

For all intents and purposes, forget about future CPU upgrades. Intel tends to release new mainstream motherboard sockets every two years on average. Which means that whatever new CPU they release is going for the newer platforms, not the older. Not to mention, that at current trends in Intel performance increases, it'll be years before you finally see CPUs that are actually cost-effective upgrades. So whatever CPU you get is more than likely the CPU you're keeping for the next 4-5 years.

 

[diizzy]

That will however be overclocking so you're on your own ;-)

 

[atom]

BUDGET or BEAST?
Choose one

 

[S0L0]

Please tell us what games you want to play, and at what resolution. I know the HDMI 2.0 is a clue, but it doesn't tell me what you really want.

Also, understand the limitations fo a MiniITX rig: you can't tun dual GPUs, so you won't get amazing performance at 4k resolution on demanding games. So it helps if you could tell us exactly which games you play, so we can give you real help

But you have the right idea s far as processor goes. You should be fine with a Core i5.

Also, do you have a preference on case size, or a case you've been eying? That's usually the place people start with these ITX builds, to give us an idea of how much space we have for other components.

I am planning to use the rig with a 48-55" 4K monitor and I don't plan on buying two GPU's since I will probably go with a 950-960 and then upgrade when HBM V2 releases next year and a single card will do 4K 60fps+

The case I am eyeing is Corsair 380T since IMO it has best ventilation & portability, the only thing I don't like about it is that if you upgrade to a 200mm fan it should apparently be less than 30mm thick and the fan speed controller will only work at max voltage.

Whats your budget OP?

Cooling ... I like AiO liquid coolers, usually at least one spot in the case to mont the 120mm rad/fan

Could be more specific, but meh. You didn't give enough to go one.

Budget, games you play, want to play, and what else do you do?

Cooler will most likely be Cooler Master V8 GTS (which can replace stock cooler later on for budget sake)

Games will most likely Arkham series, Crysis, though medium settings will be fine until the GPU gets upgraded hopefully next year.

In addition to the questions that are are already asked, please answer the following questions so that we can help you better:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
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.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Though a few misconceptions on your part: Skylake does benefit from RAM clocked at DDR4 2666 or higher in games. So if you go the DDR3 route, you'd probably need DDR3 2666. You can actually find 16GB of DDR4 2666 RAM for a lower price than DDR3 2666. So if you're going Skylake, go DDR4. Though you'd have to go DDR4 no matter what since there's limited numbers of ATX LGA 1151 with DDR3 RAM support let alone the significantly smaller mITX market.

For all intents and purposes, forget about future CPU upgrades. Intel tends to release new mainstream motherboard sockets every two years on average. Which means that whatever new CPU they release is going for the newer platforms, not the older. Not to mention, that at current trends in Intel performance increases, it'll be years before you finally see CPUs that are actually cost-effective upgrades. So whatever CPU you get is more than likely the CPU you're keeping for the next 4-5 years.

PC will be used for graphic design 2D & 3D

Budget, not including the monitor is $1000 (lower is better)

I live in Canada

Motherboard should have 4-6 Sata 3.0 (raid not necessary, might just use windows storage spaces or some other software)

Overclocking is necessary if its an AMD cpu, otherwise intel locked should be fine

Power Supply should be 500-800 watts depending on the graphics card

I have 16GB DDR3 1600 Corsair Vengeance left from another build which I may sell & upgrade to DDR4 if I am going with a "next-gen" CPU.

Also have an SSD for OS so I will probably only need a TB+ of 7200RPM for storage


I am considering ordering an Asus H170I-PLUS D3 from the UK but I think it be just end up costing the same to upgrade to DDR4 and get a next-gen board.

That will however be overclocking so you're on your own ;-)

Overclocking is a possibility.

BUDGET or BEAST?
Choose one

BEAST on a budget

 

[defaultluser]

You'll probably want at least a GTX 970 for medium gaming on current titles at 4k. Here in the states there's only an $80 difference between the 4GB GTX 960 and the GTX 970, so it's a fantastic deal.

When you game at 4k, the 56 ROPs and nearl twice the memory bandwidth will really help you out! The GTX 960's prowess really tops-out at 1440p mid/high.

For example, here is a Crysis 3 bench maxed-out at 4k:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_950_Xtreme_Gaming/14.html

The GTX 970 is 75% faster than the GTX 960, because they're really hitting the memory bandwidth wall. You could easily drop down a settng or two to get above 30-40fps, but you'd probably have to drop down to mid/low for the GTX 960 to be playable.

And that's a game that's 2.5 years old. I imagine newer games will be even more demanding!

But on the flip side Arkham games have a history of not being very demanding. See here from the same review where Origins is quite playable on the 960:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_950_Xtreme_Gaming/8.html

So, your call how much you drop today. Your case should be able to handle either card!

 

[m2h]

I don't know much about AMD / Chipsets but I based it on that because I too feel the pain of the Canadian dollar right now.
Also I switched you up to a MATX motherboard in a Corsair Air 240 case. It's still a small case, and portablish (no handle). I use one myself.

Have no idea what Vuugo is like. I usually use NCIX, Canada Computers, Newegg, & DirectCanada.

Kept it under $1000 for taxes, etc.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($158.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($73.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($409.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Canada Computers)

Total: $896.94

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-04 05:48 EDT-0400

 

[m2h]

Attempt #2 with your choice of case, and i5 build. Not bad...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($230.75 @ shopRBC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($399.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Corsair 380T Mini ITX Tower Case ($139.86 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ NCIX)

Total: $1040.06

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-04 06:42 EDT-0400

 

[Dangman]

I have 16GB DDR3 1600 Corsair Vengeance left from another build which I may sell & upgrade to DDR4 if I am going with a "next-gen" CPU.

Is that a 4 x 4 GB set or a 2 x 8GB set?
Are you sure 16GB of RAM is really all that you need for your graphic design?

I ask the last question because a lot of the graphic designers I know use more than 16GB of RAM on their various projects. Which meant that mITX setups were ruled out for them on account of mITX's two DIMM slot limitation.

@m2h: I highly recommend ditching the higher-wattage CX series PSUs. They're not good:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/01/21/corsair_cx750_750w_power_supply_review/

In addition, considering that the two cases you've listed are rather large-ish, there's no real reason to go with the cheapy Corsair H55 liquid AIO. The cheaper Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo HSF will provide far better cooling than the H55 while having A) a better mounting system, B) cheaper, and C) quieter. The only real good reason to choose the H55 over the Hyper 212 Evo is if there's major space/fitment issues.

 

[S0L0]

clevo with external graphics may end up being the same price.