Mini ITX Setup

[EndlessWaves]

If I were you I would go for a small cube system or vertical chassis that can at least take a graphics card if you intend to game

With the downsizing and shrinking power consumption trends currently happening we'll hopefully see the return of decent half height, single slot cards that'll work in proper Mini-ITX cases. With modern cooling technology it could happen at higher power levels than the graphics cards they were last seen on.

I want to use just integrated gpu for now. I just want a decent CPU that has a good gpu. I am trying to keep costs down and looking 2nd hand even but i dont want rubbish.

Integrated graphics performance is rapidly advancing. It's arguably not quite good enough quite yet, so an older chip is probably not going to be worth it.

MiniPCs using laptop graphics chips is also a fairly recent development so I don't think you'd find much there either.

I don't think second hand is much of an option unless you go for something a little larger with a separate graphics card.

Mini PCs are currently seen as a premium option and priced accordingly. Triple the size and you can get a much cheaper case, power supply and motherboard.

If you want to save a bit of money you could look at AMD's A10-7870k at £100 less.

[Bonebreaker777]

Or a nice FM2 APU (A10-5800K) for £50 on eBay. If you haggle, can be even lower. I know it is an 'older' Trinity but can go into a modern FM2+ ITX board and if by any chance the performance is unsatisfactory, can be replaced by something newer and beefier. An overclockable quad core with a rather nice IGP for £50 is a good deal, I say.

[cam1986]

I dont use Eflay

[DanceswithUnix]

Or a nice FM2 APU (A10-5800K) for £50 on eBay. If you haggle, can be even lower. I know it is an 'older' Trinity but can go into a modern FM2+ ITX board and if by any chance the performance is unsatisfactory, can be replaced by something newer and beefier. An overclockable quad core with a rather nice IGP for £50 is a good deal, I say.

I wouldn't want to go trinity these days, certainly not for as much as £50 second hand. For £65 you can get a 7600

http://www.ebuyer.com/657970-amd-a8-...-ad7600ybjabox

Which is very close to the 7850K in performance but cheaper and only 65W,

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7677/a...0-a10-7850k/12

How about:

£78 Motherboard http://www.ebuyer.com/657689-asrock-...2a88x-itx-plus
£106 7870K APU http://www.ebuyer.com/712906-amd-a10...-ad787kxdjcbox

I would try and avoid Gigabyte motherboards as well. The fans don't seem to be adjustable, and I have an ITX system that makes a heck of a lot of noise to the point it is almost unusable.

[cam1986]

How about:

£78 Motherboard http://www.ebuyer.com/657689-asrock-...2a88x-itx-plus
£106 7870K APU http://www.ebuyer.com/712906-amd-a10...-ad787kxdjcbox

I would try and avoid Gigabyte motherboards as well. The fans don't seem to be adjustable, and I have an ITX system that makes a heck of a lot of noise to the point it is almost unusable.

That combo looks nice! Would that CPU be a good for gaming? Stand alone and no dedicated GPU? Is that the one you would recommend? The 7870k?

What ram would you suggest? 2400?

[cam1986]

A8-7600 looks very good indeed. Like you say, not much in it plus its lower power! What mobo and ram as its partner or is the 7870k the one to aim for?

[DanceswithUnix]

The AMD APUs do love fast ram speeds, that Asrock motherboard says it can handle 2133 or as an overclock 2400. I would only go up in speed if the price is decent though, I think the main thing is to avoid the really slow 1333 stuff as it isn't any cheaper but does hit performance.

In fact, on a budget I would be very tempted by the 7600. There is a cheaper Asrock ITX board that drops the Wifi as well as some USB and an eSATA port. If you find you need more grunt to play some game in the future, then a graphics card is going to be your first place to look even with a 7870K.

[cam1986]

The AMD APUs do love fast ram speeds, that Asrock motherboard says it can handle 2133 or as an overclock 2400. I would only go up in speed if the price is decent though, I think the main thing is to avoid the really slow 1333 stuff as it isn't any cheaper but does hit performance.

In fact, on a budget I would be very tempted by the 7600. There is a cheaper Asrock ITX board that drops the Wifi as well as some USB and an eSATA port. If you find you need more grunt to play some game in the future, then a graphics card is going to be your first place to look even with a 7870K.

You been superb help! So, should i go A8 or A10? Do you think A10 would be a bit more of a boost? With the low watts i am tempted to get that small case and a pico psu but i am open to getting a more larger case like an Antec isk600. Just i like the idea of a tiny case!!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would check this article out:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/di...-kaveri-review

Remember they are assuming a near £100 price for the A8 7600 and the not the sub £70 one we have now.

The A10 7800 and A10 7870K are faster though. The A10 7800 has the same 65W TDP probably making it a better choice for a SFF system:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/amd-a1...iew-33021.html

Its around £99 from a few retailers.

The A10 7870K is a higher 95W TDP model,but has higher clockspeeds,uses solder instead of thermal compound and has a better stock cooler too:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...paign=products

However,Amazon did have it for £94 until a few days ago.

The MSI and Gigabyte mini-ITX motherboards do have VRM cooling which the ASRock seems to lack for some weird reason though.

However,there are some cheap FM2+ mini-ITX motherboards but they also lack VRM cooling too apart from the MSI ones:

http://www.ebuyer.com/712921-msi-a88...io-a88xi-ac-v2
http://www.ebuyer.http://www.ebuyer....x-fm2a78m-itx-
http://www.ebuyer.com/658041-asrock-...6499&pkw=&pmt=
http://www.morecomputers.com/product...q30hoC0H3w_wcB

The other alternative is to get a Skylake Core i3 and mini-ITX motherboard:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...47w-cpu-retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...sb-30-mini-itx
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asroc...51-motherboard
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asroc...s-bt40-usb-30-

However,you would have to invest in a separate graphics card,although socket 1151 does have a better upgrade path for CPUs than FM2+ TBF.

[jigger]

This lot comes in at 139watt. The memory spec is 16GB, 1.35 volts and 1600Mhz Cas8 so should be pritty danm quick stock and overclockable. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Lqjfbv

I've seen 160-170Watt (200-250Watt peak) external pico PSU's so you should have no trouble running the system in an SFF case even overclocked with a bunch of drivers. The down side to the SSF over something like the ISK600 is the cost of the case, PSU and half high PCI expansion. Thats said going the SFF route would make a very cool system.

[cam1986]

A10 7800 Has a good review! What mobo and ram though?

[cam1986]

So, its either an A10-7800 or an A10-7870K

ASRock FM2A78M-ITX only has 4 USB on rear. A board with more USB and wireless available suitable for above cpu

[jigger]

The A88 chipset boards usually have a load of rear IO. I think I've got 8 USB on mine.

[cam1986]

The A88 chipset boards usually have a load of rear IO. I think I've got 8 USB on mine.

Thats the problem, i have no clue about compatibility and the above CPUs

[jigger]

You should be good with any A78/A88 chipset.

[cam1986]

You should be good with any A78/A88 chipset.

Ok, any particular brand and model mobo? This one ok:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-a...ub-dvi-d-hdmi-

Also, which one guys:

A10-7800 or an A10-7870K