SFF Gaming Build, ~$1000

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Itchyeyes

Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
710
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, Web Browsing, and some Photo Editing
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $1,000, though I could go up to $1,300 if necessary. That's including tax & shipping.
3) Where do you live?
Denver, CO
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, motherboard (micro ATX), CPU, GPU, power supply, RAM, hard drive. In addition I'd like to add an SSD, 802.11n, and SD card reader if my budget allows for them.
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, monitor, DVD drive
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" 1920x1200
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Nothing special. No plans for RAID or Crossfire/SLI.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.

A little more background on what I'm looking for in the build. My main goal is to reduce the overall footprint of my setup. I tried switching to a gaming laptop a few weeks ago and found the heat to be too much of a problem, so now I'm looking at SFF alternatives. I'd like to reach at least parity, in terms of power, with my current machine (in my sig), though any affordable increases in power are welcome. Mini ITX isn't entirely out of the question either, but I'm also aiming to reduce cable clutter on my desk (hence the WiFi and SD card slot) and I haven't found a good Mini ITX case/motherboard combination that can fit those options in alongside a decent video card.

Here's the case I've got in mind right now:
Silverstone SG04B-F - $130

I was thinking of going with a 5770 for the GPU. I realize that it's pretty much the same as the 4870 I have right now, but the 4870 still handles my needs OK. The only reason I'm not re-using it is because I think it will make the old system easier to sell.

The CPU is my biggest question right now. I'm not really up to speed on how the Core i5/i7's compare to my current Q6600, and which models are the best values.

Thanks for the help.
 
The Core i5 CPUs are faster than many C2D/C2Q CPUs.

Here's a prelim mATX setup :
$200 - Intel Core i5 750 CPU
$105 - Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 mATX Motherboard
$110 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$235 - XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card + XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W Modular PSU
$120 - Intel SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB SSD
$70 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$130 - Silverstone SG04B-F case
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Total: $970 plus tax and shipping.

You should be able to get the 802.11N wifi card and SD card reader for $30 to $50 if you shop around.
 
Above build looks nice, but go for a 5850 since you have pretty high resolution. You may also be able to save a few $$ on a 32GB SSD. That's all Windows will need.
 
@Stephen0983, I think I'll stick with the 5770 for the near future. Like I said, the 4870 still works OK for my needs, and there's a pretty big price jump from 5770 to 5850 (~$140). Also, Ideally I'd like to put my STEAM folder on the SSD as well, so I'm thinking 40GB may not even be enough let alone 32GB.

@Danny Bui, thanks for the build advice. However, now I'm thinking about going Mini ITX instead. How's this look for a build?

$230 - Intel Core i7 860 CPU
$140 - DFI LANParty MI P55-T36 Mini ITX Motherboard
$103 - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 RAM
$160 - XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770
$225 - Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SSD
$80 - Seagate Momentus ST9500420AS 500GB 7200 RPM 2.5" Internal Notebook Hard Drive
$37 - LITE-ON Slimline Internal CD/DVD Burner
$100 - SILVERSTONE Sugo SG05-B Black Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case SFX 300W 80Plus Power Supply
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Total: $1,075 plus shipping and handling

It's not in the budget right now, but I'm thinking about eventually replacing my current monitor with one of the Dell IPS models, which would solve my need for an SD card reader in the long term since they have one built into the monitor. That only leaves the WiFi issue for a Mini ITX case. Would there be a significant different between a PCI wireless card and a USB 2.0 wireless adapter?
 
There's issues with WiFi cards and that DFI board, as you can see in this DFI thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1466471. PCI is a shared bus, and USB2.0 is a limited bus, so both aren't very good, but if your internet is only 10mb/s or less, than you have nothing to worry about. Keep in mind, with a MiniITX board, you only get one slot, so you'll be stuck with a USB2.0 WiFi card. My suggestion? Go wired. :p
 
Itchyeyes said:
@Danny Bui, thanks for the build advice. However, now I'm thinking about going Mini ITX instead. How's this look for a build?

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Not sure whether or not that Seagate has decent enough performance. Also, with that CPU and that GPU, you pretty much can't ever overclock nor add another drive to the PC or add a faster video card that uses more power than the HD 5770 due to the 300W PSU.
 
if u go with that sugo, you can sell me the 300w psu and upgrade to the silverstone 450W version instead. :)
 
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