Mini ITX Computer Spec Help

[PeterStoba]

Hi,

I've had a loud and powerful system now for a while, and i'm sick of it, I just want something small that can sit on my desk and not make a noise (within reason) and let me browse the web.

First of all though, I don't want something prebuilt (like the aspire revo etc...) as I don't think it'd be powerful enough for me. I want to build it myself

I could settle for a small uATX system if it worked out cheaper, but i'd prefer ITX for the size.

Usage is just general web browsing, msn, music, nothing too taxing really. It'd be nice if I could play CS:S, Half Life 2 and other valve games like that though!

Intel or AMD, not fussed really. For ITX I think Intel is the way to go, but uATX would be better with AMD for the price.

Speaking of price, under £500 would be great (don't need drives or OS, got those already).

So, if your willing to throw a few suggestions out there, they are more than appreciated

Peter.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would look at one of the two following systems which share common components:

Common Components

Core i5 750 ~ £159

http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

OR

Core i3 540 ~ £109

http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £96

http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

DFi Lanparty LP MI P55-T36 ~ £106

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/DFi-L...-see-full-spes

The motherboard may need a BIOS update to work with the Core i3 540.

Scythe Shuriken Rev.B Quiet Low Profile Cooler ~ £26

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Scyth...M2-AM2plus-940

OR

Scythe Shuriken BIG 120mm fan Low Profile Cooler ~ £29

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Scyth...2-AM2plus-1366


Sapphire RADEON HD 4670 Ultimate Edition ~ £63

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/106741...d/Product.html

System One

Silverstone SG05 ~ £60

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...00W-80plus-PSU

Samsung SN-T083C/BEBE ~ £35

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Samsu...SATA-black-oem


System Two

Lian Li PC-Q07 ~ £51 to £57

http://www.scan.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=Q07

Corsair HX450W ~ £58

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/450W-...-year-Warranty

[peterb]

If you are only going to use it for web browsing and e mail, you can do a lot with a little. I built a mini itx system using a 1GHz processor, running Fedora 12, acting as a file, web and mail server, with enough to handle Firefox if I want to use it for web browsing. There is a 40mm case fan, but that is pretty quiet - there is no dedicated processor fan. The mobo (a via) has onborad graphics and (2) Gigabit lan ports. The whole thing is powered by a 120W pico psu, and it draws about 40W, including two 2.5" hard drives.

If you want to game, you will need more grunt (obviously) and if you start using add on GPU's that will put up the powere requitement, but I have just put together a system with a 1.8Ghz processor - SCSI tape drive and so on, running off a 150W pico psu. That system has one hard drive, but there is sufficient power budget for at least one more.

Depends qwhat you want to do. You mind find these links useful

www.itx-warehouse.co.uk

www.linitx.com

[PeterStoba]

Thanks for that Peter, I know that an Atom probably would be fine for just browsing etc... but I still want a bit of grunt if I decide to play some games or open photoshop or something like that. Will take a look at those sites, look good so far!

Cat, as usual, thanks alot!

Didn't consider P55, was thinking of a 775/9300 ITX system as it's got an intergrated GPU and it would be cheaper for CPU and RAM etc...

Will the Shuriken BIG fit the SG05? What cooler would you reccomend for use in a Q07 if using an ATX PSU, and if using something smaller (either Pico PSU or an SFX unit with an ATX adapter to make it fit)?

[Dayvo]

Here are some good Mini ITX builds,

Very small ITX build:

Case: Antec ISK 300-150

MoBo: ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi

CPU: Intel i3 530

CPU Cooling: Scythe Shuriken BIG

Graphics: 1GB Sapphire HD 5570*

OS Drive: Intel 80GB X25-M G2

Storage Drive: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 2.5in


Bigger ITX Build:

Case: Silverstone SG05

MoBo: DFi Lanparty LP MI P55-T36

CPU: Intel i5 750

CPU Cooling: Corsair H50-1

Graphics: 1GB Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X*

OS Drive: Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 2.5in

EDIT: * I'm not sure what kind of card you would need for the games that you want to play, but I picked some of most powerful cards for each setup just in case. Also you don't need a graphics card for the i3 setup as the CPU has integrated graphics.

[Dayvo]

Here is a comparison pic of the two cases that I mentioned



SG05 on the left, ISK 300 on the right

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for that Peter, I know that an Atom probably would be fine for just browsing etc... but I still want a bit of grunt if I decide to play some games or open photoshop or something like that. Will take a look at those sites, look good so far!

Cat, as usual, thanks alot!

Didn't consider P55, was thinking of a 775/9300 ITX system as it's got an intergrated GPU and it would be cheaper for CPU and RAM etc...

Will the Shuriken BIG fit the SG05? What cooler would you reccomend for use in a Q07 if using an ATX PSU, and if using something smaller (either Pico PSU or an SFX unit with an ATX adapter to make it fit)?

AFAIK the Shuriken BIG should be fine with a SG05 as some one is using it in this thread on OcUK:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...247892&page=14

The cooler should be fit the Lian Li PC-Q07 AFAIK.

The HD4670 I listed is passively cooled so it should help cut down on the noise produced by the system.

You could also consider the Zotac H55 mini ITX motherboard too:

http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...264&tid=frooct

[PeterStoba]

AFAIK the Shuriken BIG should be fine with a SG05 as some one is using it in this thread on OcUK:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...247892&page=14

The cooler should be fit the Lian Li PC-Q07 AFAIK.

The HD4670 I listed is passively cooled so it should help cut down on the noise produced by the system.

You could also consider the Zotac H55 mini ITX motherboard too:

http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...264&tid=frooct

Thanks for that, shall keep the SG05 in mind then, but the Q07 is alot better build quality, although it's about £40 more expensive when I add a PSU in too, what to do?

Yeah, the H55 seems to be the way to go, with an i3 530. Should be a nice platform, stick a 5570 or a 5670 in there maybe, although I haven't played a game in months, so I might just leave it and use the onboard.

The one thing that worries me about the H55 though, how close the socket is to the PCI slot, not sure what, if any, cooler I could use there.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Lian Li PC-Q07 is limited to single slot graphics card whereas the Silverstone SG05 can take dual slot cards. However the Lian Li is a prettier case IMHO. The DFI motherboard seems to be more orientated towards enthusiasts though when compared to the Zotac one.

[PeterStoba]

The Lian Li PC-Q07 is limited to single slot graphics card whereas the Silverstone SG05 can take dual slot cards. However the Lian Li is a prettier case IMHO. The DFI motherboard seems to be more orientated towards enthusiasts though when compared to the Zotac one.

Yeah, it's a hard choice. Are there any others cases I should know about?

It's going to be one of the following;

Q07, single slot GPU, BeQuiet SFX PSU, slightly larger CPU cooler.
Q07, onboard GPU, PicoPSU, large CPU cooler.
SG05, single or double slot GPU, stock PSU.

Considering the amount I game I might as well stick with the Q07 and a Pico PSU.

Any ideas on a small(ish) mATX case anybody? Cube maybe.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yeah, it's a hard choice. Are there any others cases I should know about?

It's going to be one of the following;

Q07, single slot GPU, BeQuiet SFX PSU, slightly larger CPU cooler.
Q07, onboard GPU, PicoPSU, large CPU cooler.
SG05, single or double slot GPU, stock PSU.

Considering the amount I game I might as well stick with the Q07 and a Pico PSU.

Any ideas on a small(ish) mATX case anybody? Cube maybe.

I would probably get an ATX PSU as it keeps your options open if you do intend to do some gaming in the future.

You may also want to look at the Silverstone SG01,SG02,SG03 and SG04 if you want a small mATX case. A Shuttle may also be worth looking at too.

[PeterStoba]

I would probably get an ATX PSU as it keeps your options open if you do intend to do some gaming in the future.

You may also want to look at the Silverstone SG01,SG02,SG03 and SG04 if you want a small mATX case. A Shuttle may also be worth looking at too.

Yeah, an ATX PSU does help if I wanted a seperate GPU, but the chances of that are slim, and the BeQuiet unit should handle anything low powered with ease. The reason for getting the SFX unit is that it provides a few extra mm of space for a cooler.

Only the SG02-F really grabs my attention, shuttles aren't a bad idea, not many AM2+/AM3 though.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

There is the Shuttle SN78SH7 for under £160:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190524

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148249

It supports many AM3 processors:

http://uk.shuttle.com/support_list03.jsp?PI=939

You use a 65W Phenom II X4 905E:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167112

Since the motherboard uses DDR2 you can keep your existing RAM.

[PeterStoba]

There is the Shuttle SN78SH7 for under £160:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190524

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148249

It supports many AM3 processors:

http://uk.shuttle.com/support_list03.jsp?PI=939

You use a 65W Phenom II X4 905E:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167112

Since the motherboard uses DDR2 you can keep your existing RAM.

I'm on DDR3 at the moment, although it's triple channel. Don't really wanna pay £70 for 4GB DDR2 when I can get DDR3 for the same price.

Think i'll stick with the H55 ITX and an i3 530, probably go for the SG05 as it's cheaper, lets me use an SSD and a HDD and a bigger GPU if I need to.

Thanks for the help Cat, will surely be back with more questions though

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I thought you had DDR2 as your signature lists it. The Moose is confused(happens easily)!!

[PeterStoba]

Ooops, quite out of date, sorry.