Please help me improve my Mini ITX build

cdr_74_premium

cdr_74_premium

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 20, 2010
Messages
1,577
Last year I moved to Canada and I brought my tiny Mini ITX case. It used to house a Atom board, but I couldn't resist buying something else to put inside. So I bought a MSi Mini ITX MoBo, i3 CPU and 16GB of gaming RAM.

After a while, I also bought a ASUS gaming monitor. So right now I have this freak setup: a somewhat capable gaming processor/mobo and RAM, in a case that will never have a dedicated GPU inside... and a gaming monitor.

Well, time to fix that.





Mdwo1RC.jpg





1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Basically WoW, and web/word processing.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around CAD 250.

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

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.
Case, GPU and PSU.

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

6) Will you be overclocking?
No.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
ASUS VP228H Gaming Monitor - 21.5" FHD (1920x1080)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as possible.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Crossfire or SLI support? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc.
I already have everything I need on that front/

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes. Windows 10. 64 bit.
 
Last edited:
I was thinking about this and that, but I don't know if they are a good pick.

GPU-wise, I have absolutely no idea.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I thought about doing an ITX build for a while - I was going to pick the Corsair Obsidian 250D case (I love that series of cases). It can fit a GPU that is 290mm long (not sure about other space requirements), and some of the reviews of the case praise it for being able to fit a high-end GPU. If you search for Corsair Obsidian 250D GPU you should find some information on what other people have managed. PCPartpicker has a list of completed builds with this case as well.

Seems like a 1060 might be the best fit for you, if it will (literally) fit. It's actually more than you really need if you're only going to play WoW and otherwise do office tasks - and it costs a bit much for your budget - so you could save some cash with a 960/970 or a Radeon 570/580 maybe? Or you could get a cheaper case.

But the GPU and the case might be your budget by itself - what PSU do you have at present, and are you certain you need a new one?
 
The GT 1030 would be a good contender too. It's cheap, but it might not give the best price/perf. It certainly gives much improved performance as compared to Nvidias previous line of cheap GT gpus.

It would allow you to stay on the newest generation of gpus, good enough performance, and more money in your pocket. Money you can use to upgrade to something new that comes out in the future because nothing is future proof.
 








The PSU I have seems to be a TFX one, generic. It doesn't even have the full 24-pin connector, I have to use an adapter to make its 20-pin connector fit the 24-pin connector of the MoBo. You won't see it on the pictures because I ended up cutting the old one and soldering the new one in. Everything works fine, but that was supposed to be a temporary solution anyway as I intended to get a new PSU as soon as I took the old Atom MoBo out.

I can bump up the budget a little bit, around 300 CAD. I also don't need to get everything all at once. I will probably go for the case + PSU first.

Two questions:

1) What would be the best price/performance GPU, considering the processor/mobo I already have?

2) About the GT1030: what should I expect performance-wise playing WoW?
 
If you actually want to play games, and you do, I don't think you should look lower than the GTX 1050. The GT1030 will be less than half the speed of a regular GTX 1050. A GTX 1050 or RX560 would perform decently at 1080p in most games. You can spring for the 4GB version of the RX560 (try and get the 16 CU version with 1024 shaders - like this one https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814932003) and it'll cost you $167. This card also has the benefit of not requiring a power adapter from your PSU, which is good. That leaves the rest of your budget for the case/PSU.

PS - you might also save some pennies and upgrade to an i5, especially if you're gonna play WoW as your primary game. WoW is decently multi-threaded last time I looked, and is a fairly CPU limited game, so it should appreciate the jump to a quad core i5. I would look to buy one of those used though, perhaps on the FS/FT forums here on [H] if you can, though being in Canada might throw a wrench in some of that.
 
I would love to get a i5/i7, the problem is finding one for a good price. I end up thinking that I would be better off just getting a new rig, which I eventually will as this one will be given to my wife. Anyway, I will keep looking.

Just found out that NewEgg doesn't like shipping to the top of the world (aka Yukon) for a reasonable price, heh. I have to go with Amazon.ca. It carries the GigaByte RX 560 for a few bucks more, but it is still better than 50+ CAD in shipping charges. A nice cart with:

EVGA 600 BQ, 80+ BRONZE 600W, Semi Modular, FDB Fan, 3 Year Warranty, Power Supply 110-BQ-0600-K1 from 1
Gigabyte Radeon RX 560 GAMING OC 4G REv2.0 (GV-RX560GAMING OC-4GD REV2.0) from 1
Thermaltake Core V1 Black Edition SPCC Mini ITX Cube Computer Chassis CA-1B8-00S1WN-00 from 1

is ready for CDN$ 323.94, tax-in. I can live with that. I just need the thumbs-up from you guys. But before, a few questions:

1) I have to ask this, because I used to give AMD money when I could and got burned, so I will: is it OK to go with Radeon? Or should I spend the extra dough for GeForce?

2) The Corsair Obsidian 250D looks insanely awesome, but it's way more expensive than the one I am getting, and I am already over my (revised) budget. Ouch. Still, I would like to know if the PSU and Case on this list are good choices or if there's anything better.

Thanks for your help everyone. I really appreciate it!
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Looks good to me. That's a 16 CU RX560 and should be fine, plus it's one of the 4GB cards which is doubly good.

1. The RX series from AMD is good, though it operates at the lower end of the mainstream sector. The RX560 is never going to convince anyone it's a high end card, but it's perfectly comparable to midrange cards from the last gen, but supports all the fancy DX12/Vulkan stuff and should age somewhat gracefully. Performance wise it should be somewhere between the GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti, and it should age a bit better than the 1050 because all the basic 1050 cards are just 2GB. Also, the AMD cards support Freesync monitors, which are generally the less expensive adaptive sync monitors versus GSync and it's an awesome feature if you end up using it.
2. I think the Core V1 is a good case, I've read some reviews and it's super inexpensive for what you get. The PSU is a perfectly standard PSU and is more than enough juice for what you're doing.
 
Don't know what your price was before. You don't have much of a stress on the power supply, given the hardware you're choosing; even a 400W power supply would be plenty, since neither the RX560 uses so little power and the rest of your components are pretty low power as well. I would stick with a decent brand and just find whatever's on sale for you.
 
Around C$ 68.

Now it's C$ 83.

The reason I want that one is that it is listed as semi-modular. I feel that a Mini ITX build will make good use of that feature, as even in regular ATX cases I have a hard time getting all the 128978412754 cables out of the way. It is also efficient. After many years of generic PSUs, I feel great getting something that won't waste a lot of energy.

I read somewhere that if I get a big one and use a tiny portion of it, it will be even more efficient. I can also upgrade the machine later, even though I usually don't.

If that doesn't change soon I will just get this. I am pissed. Hehe.

On a more calm note, would that be OK?
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Haha. Either of those will work, and I would wager you'll be somewhere around 250W or less of actual utilization, so even if you buy the 430W you should be at a pretty efficient point in power utilization. Now, if you want to buy the bigger unit because eventually you'll get a bigger GPU and CPU and such, well that's up to you.
 
...and now the VGA is out of stock. Geez, why can't people wait one day? :D

Any ideas? I found some other RX 560s, but I am afraid I am going to pick up the wrong one.

Thanks!
 
Yeah you should try and make sure the 560 you choose has 16 CUs.

AMD makes it confusing as they offer 560s with slightly different levels of performance.
 
So far no luck on getting a comparable RX 560. Amazon.ca does not have it in stock anymore, and the new supplier charges CAD 100 more. WTF.

Is this a good option?
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
If the price is right, it is decent amount better performance wise. Zotac gets the job done.

I've noticed the 1050ti out performs or is on par with what the gtx 770 pushes out these days. It's a good card.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top