mini gaming build?

[cinohpa]

Hey all,

Looking for build advice for my friend. He's never built a computer before and I want to help him out. Basically he's looking for a high end gaming PC. I want to do it as an matx build because after I did my first mini build and saw it in use, I thought I never wanted to go full atx again. In general are there any problems with going sli/crossfire in a matx build? I see some boards seem to support it, but just wondering if there are any problems. I'd like to do it for this build if possible.


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

1500 ignoring shipping and tax.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Boston, MA.

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, RAM, case, gpu, psu, mobo.. hope I'm not forgetting anything.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

keyboard, mouse, monitors.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No. I'm just visiting my friend, I figure building a pc is a good enough first step.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

2560 x 1440

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

This week or next week.

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.

SLI/Crossfire would be good if there are good mini-boards that support it.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yes.

 

[Dangman]

On my phone so cannot do a build list yet. However to answer your question: Yes there are certain issues with a SLI/Crossfire setup in a mATX setup which are mainly temperature issues.

 

[tiraides]

If you really want to go with a micro ATX build, here's one option:

$200 - Intel Core i5-4670K (Micro Center in-store special)
$130 - Asus Gryphon Z87 TUF (instant $40 discount when purchased with i5-4670K)
$63 - G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (included 10% discount promo code EMCXMXV22, expires 8/8)
$400 - Gigabyte GV-N770OC-2GD GTX 770 2GB
$175 - Samsung 840 250GB SSD
$94 - Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD
$16 - LG GH24NS95 SATA DVD burner (Micro Center in-store special)
$110 - Corsair HX750 750 watt modular power supply
$80 - Silverstone PS07B micro ATX mini-tower case
=====
$1368 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Optional/Alternative Parts:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler (to aid in overclocking, if you choose to do it)
$90 - Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H (cheaper alternative with SLI support)
$67 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (if you can't take advantage of the G.Skill RAM special)
$520 - Two Gigabyte GV-N760OC-2GD REV2.0 GTX 760 2GB cards (for immediate SLI)

The Corsair HX750 PSU and the G.Skill Ripjaws X RAM are on sale, so grab those tonight if nothing else.

I went with one GTX 770 instead of two GTX 760s as it's easier to manage (one card, lower power requirements, less heat) than an SLI setup. Having said that, two GTX 760s in SLI are better than one GTX 770.

Then again, two GTX 770s are better than two GTX 760s. To achieve that goal, it's better to go full ATX:

$200 - Intel Core i5-4670K (Micro Center in-store special)
$75 - ASRock Z87 PRO3 ATX motherboard (instant $40 discount when purchased with i5-4670K)
$63 - G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (included 10% discount promo code EMCXMXV22, expires 8/8)
$800 - Two Gigabyte GV-N770OC-2GD GTX 770 2GB cards
$94 - Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD
$16 - LG GH24NS95 SATA DVD burner (Micro Center in-store special)
$110 - Corsair HX750 750 watt modular power supply
$44 - NZXT Source 210 Elite ATX mid-tower case
=====
$1402 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

In the ATX build, I omitted the SSD to keep the entire build under budget. While an SSD does improve boot and load times dramatically, it doesn't really improve frame rates while gaming.

I didn't want to risk any performance drop-off as a 120GB SSD when nearly full can get pretty slow. I believe that a 250GB SSD is better than, say, 120GB as you'll have more room for your most important games and programs (everything else can go onto the hard drive).
You can always buy an SSD later.

I didn't drop the hard drive capacity to 1TB because you're only paying a $30 premium for double the space.

 

[DesertCat]

I think tiraides has some really good suggestions there. If a person wants to go for the smaller end of of mATX cases (but can still SLI), the Silverstone SG09 can be had for $95. Newegg has it for $85 after a $10 rebate right now, but then turns around and charges $8 for shipping. If you have Amazon Prime, I think I would just do it through them for free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-Micro-ATX-Mini-ITX-SG09B/dp/B009PIOQNA

One big caveat with the SG09 is that the PSU should be 160 mm or less in length. The Corsair HX750 listed above, while a great PSU, is 180 mm long and wouldn't fit. Silverstone has a silver 750W PSU that would fit that costs $10 more after rebate. http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-ATX12V-EPS12V-Silver-ST75F-P/dp/B00307RM06

Just throwing out an option that has more cooling power built into the case. Note that, if your friend wants to have an optical drive in the machine (not listed above), the SG09 needs a slim, slot-load drive.

 

[cinohpa]

Being mini was more important to me than it was to him so I think we'll go with the full atx build tiraides suggested. We'll start with one gtx 770 and he can add another one in the near future when he's ready.

Thanks all.