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Mini ITX Custom Gaming PC

P

pardo

n00b
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
41
Hello fellow enthusiasts,

I'm building a custom gaming rig to take as carry-on luggage on planes from time to time to play high-end games. This build from AVADirect comes out to $1,400 including shipping, assembly, and OS (I can make it for a bit less myself, but may not be able to). What do you think of my choices -- smart? My main concerns are that the rig will run new games well at high settings and not overheat or have any major issues.

  • LIANLI PC-V354B Black Mini-Tower (mini ATX case) ----- ///// Alternative: Thermaltake ARMOR A30 VM70001W2Z Case /////
  • CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W Power Supply
  • GIGABYTE GA-Z87MX-D3H
  • INTEL Core i5-4670K Quad-Core 3.4 (No overlock!)
  • CRUCIAL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ballistix Tactical PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL8
  • EVGA GeForce® GTX 660 SuperClocked 1046MHz, 2GB GDDR5
  • SAMSUNG 250GB 840 Series SSD, 530/240 MB/s
  • LITE-ON iHAS124 Black 24x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner
  • MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition
  • Stock CPU fan

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? Least amount possible, ideally <$1,400
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible. US
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. All parts for a functional gaming pc.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. None.
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 1080p monitor, 22"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Within 1 month
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. Don't care about SLI
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? No OS, but will use 64-bit Win 7

Thank you!
 
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If you're not overclocking, why get the Core i5-4670K in the first place? Drop the CPU down to the Core i5 4570 and you'll be set.

Case wise, I'd go for the Lian since it has better cooling IIRC. However, do note that you do not have a mITX setup: You have a mATX setup. You would need a different case and motherboard if you really want a mITX setup. So did you want a mATX or mITX setup?
 
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Thanks for your suggestion. As far as the case, I'm ok with the LIANLI PC-V354B in terms of its size so mATX is ok!
 
Thanks -- I only want to reduce costs if I'm wasting money given my goal of building a gaming pc that can handle new games. So I guess there are two questions: will this rig handle new games well like Battlefield 3 and Skyrim on high settings? And, secondly, can I cut costs and still play these kinds of games well?
 
My only complaint is the price. $1,400 is way too much, for the specs as assembled. Go diy if you can.

To echo on the overclocking part, you can save a little by switching the mobo to a GIGABYTE GA-Z87M-D3H (mx version is better suited for the oc'er). Also for not much more, try upgrading the gtx 660 to a gtx 760, if possible.
pardo said:
Thanks -- I only want to reduce costs if I'm wasting money given my goal of building a gaming pc that can handle new games. So I guess there are two questions: will this rig handle new games well like Battlefield 3 and Skyrim on high settings? And, secondly, can I cut costs and still play these kinds of games well?
Click to expand...
Yes and yes :).
 
Would it be ok if I used this motherboard instead? It's cheaper but a brand I'm less familiar with.

ASRock H87M Pro4 LGA 1150
 
pardo said:
Would it be ok if I used this motherboard instead? It's cheaper but a brand I'm less familiar with.

ASRock H87M Pro4 LGA 1150
Click to expand...

Yup, should work fine. I've had positive experiences with asrock in the past.
 
In addition to the ASRock H87M Pro4, you can "downgrade" the processor from the i5-4670K to the i5-4570. The i5-4570 is only 200MHz slower (at both stock speeds and with Turbo Boost) than the i5-4670K, which you won't notice in your everyday tasks.

You can definitely save some money on the RAM. Get a cheaper DDR3 1600 kit or one of the "value" DDR3 1333 kits.

Which games are you playing? How much eye candy do you want for your games?
 
Thanks for the ideas. I would like to be able to play Company of Heroes 2, Battlfield 3, Skyrim, and such on high settings. I imagine the video card is going to do most of the work, but I don't want to cut too many corners on CPU and RAM if it will matter; if it won't, then I'll go cheaper.

P.S. If I build myself, cost is $1,100 instead of $1,400, so the $300 is what the seller charges to assemble. I may just do it myself though I'm rusty.
 
Since the prospect build is aimed for mostly gaming, the video card should have the most priority (a nice chunk of the budget). Picking up a i5 4570 or 4670 non k, will not bottleneck you in any form. Performance should still be excellent.

Building it yourself should not be too hard, plus you can always ask us for help on this forum, if you're having doubts on something :).
 
pardo said:
Thanks for the ideas. I would like to be able to play Company of Heroes 2, Battlfield 3, Skyrim, and such on high settings. I imagine the video card is going to do most of the work, but I don't want to cut too many corners on CPU and RAM if it will matter; if it won't, then I'll go cheaper.
Click to expand...

It won't matter if you do the RAM and CPU swap that Tiraides mentioned. You can cut corners there and still be set. If anything, you should be upping the video card to the GTX 660 TI or the GTX 760 TI or the HD 7950 3GB if you want as high of a chance as possible of reaching your gaming performance goals.
 
I'm curious, are you taking a 22" 1080p monitor with you as you travel?
 
Get the Ti version of the 660 at a minimum. Make changes to accommodate that. As far as purchasing a K CPU and not OC'ing it ... might help with resale later. If the price is close it does not matter.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll look into getting an improved video card if possible.

@Speedy, the reason I'm going to build a mATX case is that I will probably be moving cities at least one time, and perhaps twice, in the next few years, and I don't want to ship my computer because it has a tendency to get damaged.
 
IMHO, if you're just physically moving to a new city even once a year I still don't think that would be enough to justify building a small PC so I could carry it around. I mean, once a year is nothing. Even twice a year is nothing. Just keep all the original boxes/packaging and when it gets time to move just take apart most of the parts, put them in the original boxes/packaging and go.

I would;

Put the PSU in it's own box w/ cables if modular.
Put the GPU in it's own box w/ cables and adapters, etc..
Put the Motherboard, CPU and RAM in the case and put the case in the box the case was shipped in.
Remove the heatsink/fan from the CPU and put it back in the original box/packaging.
Remove any add on cards and put them back in the original box.
Remove the HDD and put it back in the original box/packaging.
 
I've thought about your suggestion, Skillz, but it's a pain to diassemble a PC and re-assemble and I still have to ship the case which costs $50-75. It seems to me, if I'm not mistaken, that the mATX form factor allows one to have all the horsepower of a high-end gaming pc (full-length video card) while being able to carry it on a plane. Am I right or wrong? Thanks.
 
pardo said:
It seems to me, if I'm not mistaken, that the mATX form factor allows one to have all the horsepower of a high-end gaming pc (full-length video card) while being able to carry it on a plane. Am I right or wrong? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Yes and no: You're right about the first part. However, the latter part is debatable as some mATX setups still rather large and may or may not be carried on a plane as a carry-on. mITX is what you're looking for if you really want maximum airplane transportability as a carry-on. If you're talking as part of your luggage and not your carry-on, then yes most small mATX cases can be part of your luggage.
 
If I were to go with mini-ITX, would I have to have make compromises about horsepower, like not being able to fit a full-length video card?
 
How do you intend to move the rest of your belongings? You can't put everything you own onto a plane. It's just my opinion really, but if I was only moving once a year I wouldn't really limit myself on size due to the sole purpose of it being easier to transport that one time. Most of the dissembling part of a computer in my opinion is pulling all the cables and that's something you're gonna have to do anyway. Granted removing the PSU is a huge PITA, it doesn't really need to be removed as long as it's secured in the case.

Now if I was into going to LAN parties, or needed a "mobile" platform, or simply didn't have the space to store the system (small desk) then I would consider an mITX or mATX setup, but I would also consider a "gaming" laptop. Prices on them have come down, you could get a laptop with nearly the same "power" as that gaming rig for around the same price or even more. It simply doesn't get more mobile than that. The only down side to using a laptop is, when it's time to upgrade, it's basically means you've gotta replace the entire system.

Back when I was into going to friends houses, lan parties, moving a lot (relocated after Katrina, didn't have a permanent home until a few years after that, I used a laptop and it served me well for about 5 years. Once I got more settled in, I built the desktop I am on now and have kept it for the past 3 years now.
 
pardo said:
If I were to go with mini-ITX, would I have to have make compromises about horsepower, like not being able to fit a full-length video card?
Click to expand...

Nope, no compromises. And on the video cards length, it can vary with the case you choose.

I went from a asus maximus v extreme (awesome mobo), to mini-itx and sacrificed zero performance. This board overclocks about as well as my previous motherboard, and I like the fact that I get all of this in a much smaller package.

I do miss my soundcard though, but since I stopped running sli/xfire, mini-itx seemed like a good choice for me.
 
I have a new build I'd appreciate your feedback on. This time it's truly ITX since I think it's a better idea given my travel plans (also, I'm not intersted in overclocking). My main concern is whether all of these components are compatible and will fit properly in the case. From newegg, this comes out to <$1000 shipped - not bad!

SilverStone Sugo Series SG05BB-LITE Black
ASRock B85M-ITX LGA 1150 Intel B85 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB
Intel Core i5-4670 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150
CORSAIR CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Modular
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
 
pardo said:
I have a new build I'd appreciate your feedback on. This time it's truly ITX since I think it's a better idea given my travel plans (also, I'm not intersted in overclocking). My main concern is whether all of these components are compatible and will fit properly in the case. From newegg, this comes out to <$1000 shipped - not bad!

SilverStone Sugo Series SG05BB-LITE Black
ASRock B85M-ITX LGA 1150 Intel B85 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB
Intel Core i5-4670 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150
CORSAIR CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Modular
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
Click to expand...

As tonyftw menitoned, go with one of the Silverstone 450W SFX power supplies. (As an aside, it's sad when buying the case and PSU separately is cheaper than buying them together.) You'll be fine with the 80 Plus Bronze version.

"Downgrade" the processor to the i5-4570. It's only 200MHz slower, which you won't notice at all.

Since you aren't overclocking, you don't really need DDR3 1600 RAM. Find a cheaper DDR3 1333 kit.

The DVD burner is incompatible with the SG05 case. You need to buy a slim (notebook) optical drive and an adapter cable. Unfortunately, they cost more than the "normal" 5.25" DVD burner.

Since this is a gaming rig, buy the new GTX 760 instead of the GTX 660. (Better yet, spend a little extra on one with a better cooler.) It's priced between the GTX 660 and the GTX 660 Ti but it outperforms both of them.

If you're serious about cutting cost corners, swap out the 256GB Crucial M4 for the 250GB Samsung 840. They perform about the same, but the Samsung 840 is priced a little better.
 
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thank you, perfect!

Is a 450W power supply adequate for a gaming rig with a GTX 760 and Haswell CPU? I always thought 500-600W was safer, but I may be wrong.
 
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pardo said:
thank you, perfect!

Is a 450W power supply adequate for a gaming rig with a GTX 760 and Haswell CPU? I always thought 500-600W was safer, but I may be wrong.
Click to expand...

Yes, it can handle your proposed setup.
 
FWIW I shipped my P180B with all the components in it from Australia to the US without issue. Only thing I did was remove the CPU HSF before shipping.
 
If you're going mini-ITX, consider if you really need an internal DVD burner. I switched to a mini-ITX system last year and decided to go with an external drive. Much cheaper, and I barely use it.
 
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