SFF Portable Gaming Rig

[Casus]

Hey [H], I have a friend who's in the market for portable gaming, as he currently lugs his tower around to mine other friends houses for fragging get-togethers, he's getting sick of the hassle lugging it around.

He had mentioned he was considering a gaming laptop, being a concerned and well informed citizen, I told him he should consider getting himself a SFF and save himself some bucks.

However I'm not well versed in what is most practical for SFF's and I'm looking for some advice.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc - This will be primarily used for gaming, looking for BF3 ready

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? Lets say $800

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

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, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU, GPU, Hard Drive

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. Hard Drive maybe, but for now figure no hardware being re-used.

6) Will you be overclocking? No overclocking
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 1280x1024 is his primary resolution

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? 1-2 Months

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc. There no critical features, but modern would be appreciated

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? No.

 

[Zap]

First decide on micro ATX or mini ITX.

With SFF it is all about the case - worry about the parts after deciding on the case. Let's start with micro ATX, since it is a smaller step to take.

Cooler Master Elite 341 $55 shipped
This is my "go to" case for a micro ATX gaming rig. It is cheap, small and lightweight. Note that it sometimes gets free shipping, so keep your eye out on it. Also check with Micro Center if you have one nearby. They used to carry it for $40+tax, making them cheaper than Newegg. I'm actually just finishing a build in this case (using mix of new/old parts) with a Core i7 and two GTX 285 in SLI. The case comes with a 120mm rear fan, but has a 120mm front fan mount and even two side panel mounts. It is easy to carry this case under one arm.

Other mATX cases often used by gamers:
NZXT Vulcan
In Win BR665
In Win Dragon Slayer
Fractal Design Core 1000 (new on market, but looks nice)

All these cases can be had for under $80 shipped thereabouts. There are even more choices, but at $100+ putting them out of an $800 budget.

For the more hardcore, there is mini ITX. Choices are slim, but they are out there. I'll list the more affordable ones that will hit budget, but note that there are more expensive options out there.

Lian Li PC-Q11B $90 shipped (used to cost more)
This is a nice aluminum micro tower. With the recent price drop it is almost affordable. Don't know if it can fit the highest end graphics cards, but that's beyond an $800 budget anyways.

Silverstone Sugo SG05 $120 shipped (Amazon is often cheaper shipped than Newegg on these so check there too)
These are about as small as you can get right now while still being a decent gaming rig. These cases come in FOUR common versions (at slightly different price points, not including special editions). They also come with power supplies which are decent, so keep in mind that the higher price may end up a wash. Note that these use notebook optical drives (which requires a $5-10 adapter) and they are "officially" limited to around a 9.5" long graphics card. Also note that some people have had problems with the 450W power supply, but Silverstone's rep here has publicly stated that Silverstone will stand behind their product for the duration of the warranty.
SG05 300W
SG05 450W
SG06 300W
SG06 450W
The cases are EXACTLY the same with these differences:
SG05 has an unobstructed fan in front for better airflow.
SG06 has an indirect air path in front so it makes for a quieter rig.
300W version has one 6-pin PCIe power plug.
300W version interior is normal grey color.
450W version has one 6-pin and one 6+2-pin PCIe power plugs so it can handle higher end graphics cards such as a GTX 560 Ti.
450W version interior is black color.

So, choose the form factor and case first, and then we can work on choosing components.

 

[Casus]

Hey Zap, thanks for the reply!

He's currently running a light-weight mid-tower and he still finds it too bulky, so something like the SUGO or the Lian-Li I think would be a better fit.

I was looking at the following, any advice would be nice:

Silverstone SUGO SG02 - ($75)

MSI H61M-E33 - ($70)

Antec High Current Gamer 520W PSU

Radeon 6870

i5 2500k

8GB DDR3

500GB HD

DVD-RW

It's a little over the 800 budget, but I figure it packs plenty of punch, and with a little scrounging for newegg bundle deals I'm sure it could get dropped under.

Is there anything I should be aware of concerning those and space / heat issues?

 

[Machupo]

For, $800, you could easily go for a kickass mITX gaming system, especially if you don't mind modding the case w/ a dremel a bit

Silverstone Sugo 06 w/ 450w PSU - $145 (Amazon, shipping is free if you have the free .edu prime)
Gigabyte H67N-USB3 - $65 (Microcenter - $50 after MIR) (there is a $40 discount if you buy a CPU and mobo together at a Microcenter)
Intel i5-2500k - $180 (Microcenter)
8GB DDR3-1333 - $45 (Anywhere)
XFX 6950 - $230 (Newegg)
Slim DVD-R - $25 (Newegg)
WD Black 1.5TB (64MB cache) - $100 (Newegg)
Shipping/fee for someone to pick up stuff at a Microcenter for you ($25)

Bam, $800 well spent

 

[rolling_tiger]

For, $800, you could easily go for a kickass mITX gaming system, especially if you don't mind modding the case w/ a dremel a bit

Silverstone Sugo 06 w/ 450w PSU - $145 (Amazon, shipping is free if you have the free .edu prime)
Gigabyte H67N-USB3 - $65 (Microcenter - $50 after MIR) (there is a $40 discount if you buy a CPU and mobo together at a Microcenter)
Intel i5-2500k - $180 (Microcenter)
8GB DDR3-1333 - $45 (Anywhere)
XFX 6950 - $230 (Newegg)
Slim DVD-R - $25 (Newegg)
WD Black 1.5TB (64MB cache) - $100 (Newegg)
Shipping/fee for someone to pick up stuff at a Microcenter for you ($25)

Bam, $800 well spent

Thats a good setup. I would only suggest either a 560ti or 6870 instead of 6950 because those would fit without modding the case.

Also the sugo 05 is about $20 cheaper than the sugo 06. They're basically the same except the fronts look different.

 

[Machupo]

yeah, you can only fit the 6950 into the 06... doesn't fit in the 05 -- figured if he had the budget, go for the better card

 

[Gordo74]

The 6870 is quite the budget card. I find it the best bang for the buck nowadays.

 

[Skott]

Hey Zap, thanks for the reply!

He's currently running a light-weight mid-tower and he still finds it too bulky, so something like the SUGO or the Lian-Li I think would be a better fit.

I was looking at the following, any advice would be nice:

Silverstone SUGO SG02 - ($75)

MSI H61M-E33 - ($70)

Antec High Current Gamer 520W PSU

Radeon 6870

i5 2500k

8GB DDR3

500GB HD

DVD-RW

It's a little over the 800 budget, but I figure it packs plenty of punch, and with a little scrounging for newegg bundle deals I'm sure it could get dropped under.

Is there anything I should be aware of concerning those and space / heat issues?

This mATX mobo is a little cheaper and has better reviews from my searching around the Net.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241

I'd switch to a non K cpu too since you can't really overclock on a H61 or H67 mobo. It would save you a few more dollars.

If you want a mITX I'd shy away from the SG05 and its 450w psu until Silverstone gets the new 450w units onto store shelves. The current psu units have a noise and stutter problem. Some units have the problem and some don't. Silverstone is correcting the problem but supposedly it is going to take a couple of months before retailers get them. Until then I say go with the SG07.

Another thing to consider is AMD's Bulldozer Zambezi CPUs finally hit the stores September 17th. May want to hold off and see what they bring to the table for gaming. Could be price adjustments for existing AMD and Intel CPUs if they are really good. I'd be very curious if Intel makes any price adjustments. Its only three weeks away.

 

[jamaicanpi]

If you want a mITX I'd shy away from the SG05 and its 450w psu until Silverstone gets the new 450w units onto store shelves. The current psu units have a noise and stutter problem. Some units have the problem and some don't. Silverstone is correcting the problem but supposedly it is going to take a couple of months before retailers get them.

I disagree. Not all builds have the PSU stuttering problem and it's usually (always?) builds that are rather power hungry; not what he's building. Silverstone has been good about communication and agreed to swap about PSUs at the user's request if they are experiencing the problem. I think the excellent customer service provided by Silverstone is a great reason to go for the sg05. It is really a great tiny case for gamers.

But this is only partially on topic...I bring it up because I think the sg05/06 is the right case for the OP and I don't want other users to scare him off needlessly from it.

 

[Casus]

For, $800, you could easily go for a kickass mITX gaming system, especially if you don't mind modding the case w/ a dremel a bit

Silverstone Sugo 06 w/ 450w PSU - $145 (Amazon, shipping is free if you have the free .edu prime)
Gigabyte H67N-USB3 - $65 (Microcenter - $50 after MIR) (there is a $40 discount if you buy a CPU and mobo together at a Microcenter)
Intel i5-2500k - $180 (Microcenter)
8GB DDR3-1333 - $45 (Anywhere)
XFX 6950 - $230 (Newegg)
Slim DVD-R - $25 (Newegg)
WD Black 1.5TB (64MB cache) - $100 (Newegg)
Shipping/fee for someone to pick up stuff at a Microcenter for you ($25)

Bam, $800 well spent

Not bad suggestions, and our "local" Microcenter always makes for fun roadies


As an aside, his original intention was to sell his current machine and use that cash to purchase the new system, but that doesn't seem to be panning out how he'd hoped.

Maybe have to start him off incrementally, and that SUGO 06 is looking really good.

 

[Zap]

Silverstone SUGO SG02 - ($75)

Antec High Current Gamer 520W PSU

8GB DDR3

Something like the Silverstone SG05-450 would be cheaper and smaller than the SG02+PSU.

8GB is overkill for a gaming rig since games are usually 32-bit software, limited to 2GB addressing space or something like that. Since you indicated a road trip to Micro Center was a possibility, they have house brand 4GB dual channel DDR3 kits for $20 with no rebates (if sale is still going on). Also for Micro Center, Machupo has some great advice on their CPU/mobo bundle.

I would suggest a $60 Samsung F3 1TB drive (recently $50 at Newegg) instead of a $100 WD 1.5TB or a cheap 500GB. The Samsung F3 is probably the second fastest 7200RPM drive made, behind the WD Blacks. However, they are cheaper $/GB and they are a lot quieter.

 

[Quartz-1]

I suggest you go for a Shuttle SFF system with a decent graphics card. You can get special padded carrycases for them too. And I would go for 8 GB RAM - it makes a big difference on load times and task switching

Edit: Something like the SH67H3.

 

[Zap]

And I would go for 8 GB RAM - it makes a big difference on load times and task switching

The OP said, "This will be primarily used for gaming." I fail to see how such a system will see "a big difference" with 8GB RAM.

 

[Quartz-1]

The OP said, "This will be primarily used for gaming." I fail to see how such a system will see "a big difference" with 8GB RAM.

Because I have seen a big difference. Especially when you have to flip out of the game - e.g. to do something in Skype or your browser.

 

[Skott]

If you are running lots of things including a game more RAM certainly helps. In just running a game alone though more ram is not much of a factor. This has been argued, discussed, and shown in tests all over the net. Right now RAM is pretty damn cheap so if you want 8GB it's maybe $20-$30 more for the cheap value sticks. If you are trying hard to save money though you can certainly do fine with 4GB and save that $20-$30 for something else.

And Silverstone does stand behind their product and willingly will help the customer if they get a bad psu but it does need to be mentioned there is a potential problem. They may have the new PSUs in the pipeline by the time the OP buys it. It is something he should look into though I feel and be aware of it.

 

[Zap]

Because I have seen a big difference. Especially when you have to flip out of the game - e.g. to do something in Skype or your browser.

Skype is currently using 93MB and Firefox 190MB on my system. Big difference not found.

 

[Quartz-1]

Skype is currently using 93MB and Firefox 190MB on my system. Big difference not found.

Look at the total used, not the individual elements. Your game can use several GB, and that can take time to swap out. Whereas if you have plenty of memory, no swapping takes place.

For instance, Runes of Magic routinely takes 2 GB on my box, and I often have a large number of Google Chrome windows open, consuming about 1 GB right now. 8 GB works well for me; this is my experience - YMMV.

 

[Zap]

Look at the total used, not the individual elements.

FF with 15 tabs right now is taking under 400MB, 1.78GB for entire system memory usage.

For instance, Runes of Magic routinely takes 2 GB

That is the maximum a game will take (excepting really rare circumstances).

 

[edward78]

$536.87 total on Amazon

SilverStone SG05BB-450 ALL Black Plastic/SECC Mini-ITX Computer Case with SFX 450W 80+ Bronze Certified/Single +12V rail Power Supply (Black) with 120mm fan (Scratch that case, some bad reviews on newegg, on newegg they say the sides are flimsy but not on amazon??) well it apparently has a tiny power button, so that sucks.

Intel Core i3-2100 Processor 3.1GHz 3 MB Cache Socket LGA1155

PNY Optima MD4096KD3-1333 4GB Dual Channel Kit DDR3 1333 MHz PC3-10666 Desktop DIMM Memory Kit

LG Super-Multi Slim Blu-ray Combo Drive CT21N

MSI nVidia GeForce GT440 1GB DDR3 VGA/DVI/HDMI Low Profile PCI-Express Video Card N440GT-MD1GD3/LP

Asus P8H61-I LGA1155/ Intel H61(B3)/ DDR3/ A&GbE/ Mini ITX Motherboard

Minimum PSU Wattage: 220 W
Recommended 270 W

Later I found this LG Electronics CT10N Slim SATA Blu-Ray Combo Drive - Retail it is $20 cheaper, so that would be $519. The other optical drive at amazon siad Bulk at the end, that makes me wonder some.