Mini ITX Build critique

[Frankie]

Going to build a computer for a nephew for Christmas. Thinking of going with something fairly portable so he can haul it back and forth between his mom and dads house. Seems like he's mostly playing LoL and Borderlands 2 at 1080p lately. Borderlands was chugging pretty hard on his laptop, which I'm guessing is low end and 4 years old or something. Put this together pretty quick so there's probably a lot of idiocy in it. I think I'm comfortable with this ($900) pricetag. Cheaper wouldn't hurt either. Could bump it a little also if it makes a significant difference, but don't really want to.

Thermaltake Core V1 - $50

Asrock H97M Pro 4 - $80

Core i5 4440 - $185

Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 - $74

PowerColor R9 280 - $200, 170 after MIR?

Windows 8.1 64 - $103

840 EVO 250 GB - $127 - Might cut it down to 120 to save money and he can add a second SSD or an HDD later.

Thermaltake DPS G 450 - $105 - Probably won't go with this but I don't know what a decent/cheap 450-600w PSU is. I definitely want fully modular.

Total is right about $900 after 30 MIR (if it's eligible, Newegg mentions it but Amazon doesn't? Not sure).

Thanks for any help.

 

[EvilViking]

That mobo is a micro atx and won't fit in that itx case. :/

You need a different case or different mobo. Itx may be a better bet if he is moving it often....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00F4J5D9K/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418188145&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

 

[Dangman]

As EvilViking said, that mobo and case are incompatible with one another. However I would not go with the MSI mITX mobo that EvilViking for two reasons:
1) Not so great reviews on Newegg
2) It's overpriced from Amazon.com since the more reliable and slightly higher quality ASRock B85M-ITX is available for a few dollars more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157390

As for the rest of the build:
- Don't drop down to the 120GB since it's actually slower than the 250GB. Plus it's a lot easier to manage space with a 250GB than a 120GB.

- At $108 shipped, that TT 450W PSU isn't that good of a choice since the higher quality and larger Seasonic X650 Gold 650W Modular PSU for $11 shipped:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

- You can shave off $5 by going with this cheaper and just as good (if not slightly more reliable) Kingston RAM:$70 - Kingston HyperX FURY HX316C10F/8 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

 

[jrweis]

More money, but really good cooling and built-in carry handle is the Corsair Graphite Series Mini-ITX 380T Portable Mini ITX Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139046
Asrock mobo if you want to stay with brand and has built-in AC wireless
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157526
850 EVO is now out and is much faster for close to the same price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=Samsung_850_EVO_250GB-_-20-147-372-_-Product
If you go with the 840 make sure it has the new firmware (10/23/2014)
Newegg has a 650 watt Thermaltake PSU for $82 after $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153203
You can buy the OEM version of windows for $92
Corsair memory with same specs & price, better heatsinks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

 

[Frankie]

That mobo is a micro atx and won't fit in that itx case. :/

You need a different case or different mobo. Itx may be a better bet if he is moving it often....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00F4J5D9K/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418188145&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Lol, that was a bigger fuckup than expected. I apparently really wasn't paying attention.

As EvilViking said, that mobo and case are incompatible with one another. However I would not go with the MSI mITX mobo that EvilViking for two reasons:
1) Not so great reviews on Newegg
2) It's overpriced from Amazon.com since the more reliable and slightly higher quality ASRock B85M-ITX is available for a few dollars more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157390

As for the rest of the build:
- Don't drop down to the 120GB since it's actually slower than the 250GB. Plus it's a lot easier to manage space with a 250GB than a 120GB.

- At $108 shipped, that TT 450W PSU isn't that good of a choice since the higher quality and larger Seasonic X650 Gold 650W Modular PSU for $11 shipped:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

- You can shave off $5 by going with this cheaper and just as good (if not slightly more reliable) Kingston RAM:$70 - Kingston HyperX FURY HX316C10F/8 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

All those sound good, thanks.

More money, but really good cooling and built-in carry handle is the Corsair Graphite Series Mini-ITX 380T Portable Mini ITX Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139046
Asrock mobo if you want to stay with brand and has built-in AC wireless
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157526
850 EVO is now out and is much faster for close to the same price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=Samsung_850_EVO_250GB-_-20-147-372-_-Product
If you go with the 840 make sure it has the new firmware (10/23/2014)
Newegg has a 650 watt Thermaltake PSU for $82 after $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153203
You can buy the OEM version of windows for $92
Corsair memory with same specs & price, better heatsinks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Those look good too. I like the case but I think it's too much of a price bump.