Mini ITX Setup

[cam1986]

I am looking to go Mini ITX now as my laptop is pants at everything.

Thing is, i have started to game a little but not massively. I have always fancied a Mini ITX system but a 'small' system!!

Looking at a case like the

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/strea...s-1x-35x-25-hd

Thing is, What CPU, Ram and Mobo combo could i use? I am not after a dedicated gaming rig with a dedicated GPU. Onboard GPU would suffice.

I have read that Intel is the way forward due to less power required? I would love to use a tiny PSU too, like a Pico one?

Gaming would be on low settings i guess.

Any advice as to which CPU,MOBO,RAM combo would be superb as i am lost. Thanks

[Millennium]

If you are not getting a separate GPU I would strongly recommend one of the AMD chips with CPU+GPU integrated (APU).

Intel are just catching up on the onboard 3d stuff (as I understand it) and so the last couple of AMD platforms will offer more performance, granted they need a few extra watts but that's not really a lot of money for many people and they do use them well.

I still enjoy TF2 on an a6-3500 when I'm not using my main rig.

[Bonebreaker777]

Agree with the previous reply. AMD APU will fit quite nicely in that case. Unless you are happy to spend £300 on Intel CPU alone to get Intel Iris IGP.
Otherwise APU it is. Choose some nice value model (value usually walks hand in hand with lowered power consumption) and you will be sorted. Don't forget 2000+ MHz memory modules, otherwise you will be holding you CPU back needlessly.

EDIT: any budget?

[EndlessWaves]

Intel are just catching up on the onboard 3d stuff (as I understand it) and so the last couple of AMD platforms will offer more performance, granted they need a few extra watts but that's not really a lot of money for many people and they do use them well.

Depends on the price you're looking at but with Skylake's improvements and no desktop Carizzo AMD no longer have much of a lead. For money no object the 5675C/5775C comprehensively smashes the A10-7870k and at the low end I'd expect the Pentium G4500 with HD 530 to put up a good fight with AMD's A8-7600/7650k.

Some benchmarks: http://www.hardware.fr/articles/940-...ique-jeux.html

Pay attention to the 750 on those graphics too, as you can get Mini PCs half the size of the steamcom case you linked that include the 750ti chip (usually branded as 960M) such as Zotac's EN970 and Alienware's Alpha.

I have read that Intel is the way forward due to less power required? I would love to use a tiny PSU too, like a Pico one?

Mini-ITX cases are relatively large among MiniPCs - the one you linked to is 6 litres wheras most pre-built systems range between half a litre and three litres - so CPU choice isn't critical. You probably want to avoid AMD's higher end FX processors but as they have lousy integrated graphics you would anyway. On the test above the A10-7870k drew just a few watts more than the i5-5675C, 111W vs. 104W when running F1 2014 which is too small a difference to affect anything in practice.

A Pico PSU is a DC power supply so it transfers the bulky AC to DC conversion outside the case into a transformer box like you typically get with a laptop.

I'm not a great fan of the idea myself. Purely for aesthetic reasons though, I'd prefer a slightly larger MiniPC that contains an entire normal PC than one slightly smaller that 'cheats' by moving some stuff outside.

Component recommendations depend on what you want to spend but the ones mentioned above are all interesting.

[cam1986]

£350 TO £400 MAX Guys.

Very unsure which CPU mobo to go with.

I want a combination that will play games with the intergrated CPU and also run on the highest Pico available!

[EndlessWaves]

£350 TO £400 MAX Guys.

For just those three components or for the entire system?

For those three components I'd go i5-5675C for £220

Integrated graphics is one of the few uses that make use of higher memory bandwidth so while normally I'd say get whichever 8GB stick is cheapest it's worth looking around and finding what speed you can get for not too much extra outlay. A quick check suggests DDR3-2400 is the spot with prices running to about £40 for 8GB and £70 for 16GB. Dual channel (filling both slots) may also help, although at 8GB it means you'll need to pay more to upgrade to 16GB in the future (as you'll have to replace both memory sticks instead of adding a second one).

Motherboard will depend on what features you need, with some of the major decisions being things like networking (some come with wi-fi), storage (are you likely to buy an M.2 SSD?) and video outputs (DisplayPort is required for supporting high res monitors in future).


If that's for the entire system then PicoPSUs are expensive so say £80 for that, £70 for the case, £60 for storage which comes to £210 leaving us around £140 for the CPU, motherboard and memory. Memory is £40 and cheapest Mini-ITX boards run to about £50 so for circa £50 plus change for the processor you're looking at either a Pentium G4500 or A8-7600

[cam1986]

i5-5675C looks ace.

What Mini ITX mobo to go with that?

Plus, would a Pico PSU run it all ok?

[EndlessWaves]

What Mini ITX mobo to go with that?

As I said, depends on what features you're going to use. Something like MSI's H97i AC provides wi-fi and displayport but no M.2 slot.

Plus, would a Pico PSU run it all ok?

Depends on the capacity, I think you can get them up to about 200-250W these days can't you? That's typically more than enough for a system with no expansion cards.

[cam1986]

That mobo looks sweet. Not interested in M.2 so that fine. So:

MSI H97I AC

i5-5675C

160w Pico be ok?

16GB DDR3 2400?

SSD drive (I have a couple spare)

[EndlessWaves]

The advice here suggests the 120W model or above for a 65W CPU like the 5675C so the 160W would seem like a good choice.
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=10

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I have had nothing but SFF systems as my main systems since late 2005. 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 - otherwise you might as well get a laptop!!

[cam1986]

I have had nothing but SFF systems as my main systems since late 2005. 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 - otherwise you might as well get a laptop!!

Thanks. I see what you mean.

I was looking at the i5-5675C but not sure i can justify the cost. Any other ideas?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks. I see what you mean.

I was looking at the i5-5675C but not sure i can justify the cost. Any other ideas?

If you get a larger case- you could go with something like a shorter PCB GTX960 and a Core i3.

[cam1986]

If you get a larger case- you could go with something like a shorter PCB GTX960 and a Core i3.

Stay away from AMD? If so, i like i5s.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Stay away from AMD? If so, i like i5s.

Depending on the case you can get a R9 380 in there which is faster.

Nothing wrong with the AMD CPUs but the Intel ones are better suited unless you are looking for the fastest IGP under £150.

[cam1986]

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.