Mini ITX Setup

[DanceswithUnix]

Ok, any particular brand and model mobo?

I linked an A88 Asrock motherboard above at Ebuyer, I would be tempted by that one.

You want to get one that says "FM2+", though the motherboards came out before the CPUs so there probably aren't that many FM2 only boards out there now. There isn't the best selection of FM2+ boards TBH

I haven't tried that particular Asrock board yet, but others I have used recently have been rather good and excellent value.

Edit to add: I would avoid Gigabyte, I have found their lack of fan control a nightmare in small systems.

[EndlessWaves]

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

The 7870k has a pretty considerable 20% bump in clock speed (and hence performance) over the 7850k, 866Mhz instead of 720Mhz

The 7800 and 7850k are identical graphically, other than the fact that the 7850k's graphics can be overclocked.

You wouldn't go for an Skylake i3, the Skylake Pentium G4500 is the sensible option in the range. Same (graphical) performance as the i3s but much cheaper. It's certainly worth considering next to the similarly priced A8-7600 but I suspect AMD will have the advantage.

Bear in mind that at this end of the market, choice of graphics is about ability rather than quality. No integrated graphics will run every game, something like The Witcher 3 is unplayable on the 5675C, and each significant step down the performance ladder you take will make a few more games unplayable.

[Bonebreaker777]

If second hand/eBay is a no-go, I would suggest the 7870k. The price difference is minimal compared to 7800 & 7850k.
If pure value is the concern, submit each one of the 3x to Flubit/Bespoke and choose after that.

As motherboards go, I never had a problem with AsRock,MSI or ASUS (not many Gigabytes,as the others were always cheaper). MSI boards have a nasty habit to only allow CPU FAN control down to 50%. Which is sometimes still too 'loud'. Just saying.

EDIT: but funny enough, it's a MSI board I would suggest. For £69 it got WiFi (802.11AC) and plenty USB ports. MSI A88XI V2.

[cam1986]

I linked an A88 Asrock motherboard above at Ebuyer, I would be tempted by that one.

You want to get one that says "FM2+", though the motherboards came out before the CPUs so there probably aren't that many FM2 only boards out there now. There isn't the best selection of FM2+ boards TBH

I haven't tried that particular Asrock board yet, but others I have used recently have been rather good and excellent value.

Edit to add: I would avoid Gigabyte, I have found their lack of fan control a nightmare in small systems.

So these 2 then:

http://www.ebuyer.com/712906-amd-a10...741f6dd352911b

http://www.ebuyer.com/657689-asrock-...f74dfd97f777c2

Would DDR3 1600 be ok as a mate has 16gb i can have (2x8)

Now, so you think this would run fine off of a 160w Pico or should i go for a little bigger case? (I have SSD)

[DanceswithUnix]

I would agree with Cat, if you have any possibility of gaming then plan for a graphics card at some point. Even if it is just a gt 750 single slot. That means allowing an extra 75W and a case that can take it.

If you are sticking to that case and a Pico, perhaps the 7800 would be a better bet with its lower TDP. Shame ASUS don't do an ITX board, their uATX board allows you to choose the TDP in the BIOS.

[cam1986]

I would agree with Cat, if you have any possibility of gaming then plan for a graphics card at some point. Even if it is just a gt 750 single slot. That means allowing an extra 75W and a case that can take it.

If you are sticking to that case and a Pico, perhaps the 7800 would be a better bet with its lower TDP. Shame ASUS don't do an ITX board, their uATX board allows you to choose the TDP in the BIOS.

Yea, maybe a bigger case would be better then. But, the CPU and Mobo above are a good combo? Would 1600 memory be ok or better to get 2133?

Plus, i would need a modular, quiet psu. At some point i would want to change the cpu cooler too as i prefer a quiet pc

[cam1986]

Or, do i just get a laptop with HD5500 GPU! Think i would be mad!?

[DanceswithUnix]

lol, well a laptop is a very different beast

1600 memory is fine, I tend to use that or 1866 whatever is a decent price.

It is really down to how much space you have, how much grunt you want, and whether the look of a particular case has you hooked.

By the sounds of things your original case, a 7600, that Asrock motherboard and the 1600 ram would work for you for a good price. The rest is just trying to find an improvement

My wife and daughter both have Silverstone SG02 shoebox style cases which are uATX and just that bit bigger, but makes it nice and easy to fit a big graphics card in there and gives a wider range of motherboards to choose from. My daughter's machine has a Gigabyte board which was really hard to get quiet, so I tried a Silverstone SFX sized PSU which is tiny and runs fanless at low power when just browsing etc. I am not generally a big fan of Silverstone stuff, but those PSUs are lovely, and for £66 they do a modular one. They come with an adapter plate to run them in an ATX case, which in the SG02 makes for much more room for airflow.

For the last week or so I have been using an ITX CoolerMaster 120 Elite as my main machine with an old FM1 APU in it. That machine happily took my R9 285 graphics card, powered by a Novatech semi modular 400W PowerStation PSU, and it is visibly smaller than than the uATX SilverStone, but I don't feel it frees up much extra desk space.

But practicalities aside, the case is something you look at quite a lot so I think it is worth having something you are happy with. Unless you go for a full ATX tower like my main machine and hide it under the desk

[cam1986]

lol, well a laptop is a very different beast

1600 memory is fine, I tend to use that or 1866 whatever is a decent price.

It is really down to how much space you have, how much grunt you want, and whether the look of a particular case has you hooked.

By the sounds of things your original case, a 7600, that Asrock motherboard and the 1600 ram would work for you for a good price. The rest is just trying to find an improvement

My wife and daughter both have Silverstone SG02 shoebox style cases which are uATX and just that bit bigger, but makes it nice and easy to fit a big graphics card in there and gives a wider range of motherboards to choose from. My daughter's machine has a Gigabyte board which was really hard to get quiet, so I tried a Silverstone SFX sized PSU which is tiny and runs fanless at low power when just browsing etc. I am not generally a big fan of Silverstone stuff, but those PSUs are lovely, and for £66 they do a modular one. They come with an adapter plate to run them in an ATX case, which in the SG02 makes for much more room for airflow.

For the last week or so I have been using an ITX CoolerMaster 120 Elite as my main machine with an old FM1 APU in it. That machine happily took my R9 285 graphics card, powered by a Novatech semi modular 400W PowerStation PSU, and it is visibly smaller than than the uATX SilverStone, but I don't feel it frees up much extra desk space.

But practicalities aside, the case is something you look at quite a lot so I think it is worth having something you are happy with. Unless you go for a full ATX tower like my main machine and hide it under the desk

Fantastic advice yet again. Lots to think about! Maybe i should put the computer (When i build it) under the table! lol

Intel is nice but so expensive! I do like intel but i just cannot justify the extra.

Cheers anyway.

[cam1986]

After all this i still like this combo:

MSI H97I AC

i5-5675C

160w Pico be ok

16GB DDR3 2400

Streacom case

SSD Drive

Am i mad guys?

[Bonebreaker777]

After all this i still like this combo:

MSI H97I AC

i5-5675C

160w Pico be ok

16GB DDR3 2400

Streacom case

SSD Drive

Am i mad guys?

Fits within your budget? If yes, go with it. If I could afford, I would take a Broadwell CPU as well. Just so I can play again

[cam1986]

A10 7800 performs well still. I know Broadwell is vastly better but it is also twice the cost! Decisions!

[jigger]

Thats the thing with the 5675c, its so bloody pricey especially considering it's 14nm. For me if I was going the i5 route I would probably go one of two ways. Either move upto MATX and something like the ISK600M to build a more full on desktop with a meaty graphics card in mind. Or go really small and take full advantage of the 14nm extra power and lower TDP by building a fanless system with a low profile ITX motherboard and something like the Aksasa Euler case.

If was trying to keep the costs down I think I would have to take the APU and ISK600 route because it saves so much cash and offers the option of a much wider range of dedicated graphics upgrades. Plus you can use a ATX PSU and factor in a GPU upgrade for hardly any extra cost and not need to worry about cooling or pulling too much power from a two part pico power system.

[cam1986]

Thats the thing with the 5675c, its so bloody pricey especially considering it's 14nm. For me if I was going the i5 route I would probably go one of two ways. Either move upto MATX and something like the ISK600M to build a more full on desktop with a meaty graphics card in mind. Or go really small and take full advantage of the 14nm extra power and lower TDP by building a fanless system with a low profile ITX motherboard and something like the Aksasa Euler case.

If was trying to keep the costs down I think I would have to take the APU and ISK600 route because it saves so much cash and offers the option of a much wider range of dedicated graphics upgrades. Plus you can use a ATX PSU and factor in a GPU upgrade for hardly any extra cost and not need to worry about cooling or pulling too much power from a two part pico power system.

You are so right! I would probably be so mad to get that Intel CPU. I know AMD is the right option for me as the costs are so much easier on my pocket.

A10 Looks just right. Deciding which A10 is something else but not a lot between the 2 you guys have mentioned. I guess the AMD A10-7870K is the one to go for anyway. Combo linked to in post 36?

[DanceswithUnix]

You are so right! I would probably be so mad to get that Intel CPU. I know AMD is the right option for me as the costs are so much easier on my pocket.

A10 Looks just right. Deciding which A10 is something else but not a lot between the 2 you guys have mentioned. I guess the AMD A10-7870K is the one to go for anyway. Combo linked to in post 36?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9320/i...75c-i5-5675c/7

In that confined case I am edging more towards the 7800 rather than the 7870K, I don't think you will feel the performance difference as much as hear the difference in fan speed. In fact, looking at:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9320/i...75c-i5-5675c/3

Looks like a 7870K is going to be really pushing a Pico if it really is capable of pulling 117W (vs 70W for the 7800).

That Intel chip is very good, but for the price of a 7600 + R9 380 2GB it should be better

[cam1986]

Thanks for those links.

To be honest the A10-7800 Looks a real contender! It is up there in the charts. Not a lot in it! Couple that with this mobo:

http://www.ebuyer.com/657689-asrock-...cc08b9dc6da685

And it should be a great combo?

You know, i may just go for a slightly larger case. Antec isk600 or even a Fractal 500 which i just noticed this morning on youtube as that looks really sweet?

What do you think? Good combo?