Mini ITX build for girlfriend - office / light gaming £400

[Ciber]

I'm going to build a new PC for my girlfriend. Her existing is about 6 years old, runs XP and Office 2003 and is still OK but it needs updating. She really wants to get Office 2013 (she really likes M$ office) and I want it to do some light gaming and be better for video calls. I have got Windows 8 for her already which cost £25 from Microsoft.

We would like it to be much smaller than her existing tower as her desk is quite cramped so I'm thinking Mini ITX. The budget is about £400 for components plus the £100 for office. I would like to be able to upgrade it down the years as needed so the ability to add a graphics card is wanted.

Here is a spreadsheet I did:

Option 1
Coolermaster Elite 120 Advanced Mini ITX Case With Elite 500W PSU 54
PSU - Included 0
Intel Core i5 3330 3.00GHz 145
Motherboard 60
4GB RAM 20
128GB SSD 70
DVD 15

Total 364


Option 2
Shuttle SH61R4 Barebone 185
PSU - Included 0
Intel Core i5 3330 3.00GHz 145
Motherboard - Included 0
4GB RAM 20
128GB SSD 70
DVD 15

Total 435

Plus a 1TB hard drive and using existing monitor, KB, mouse and speakers.

I think this mobo has the right mix of features including USB3 which will be needed in the future:
Asrock H61M-ITX H61 Socket 1155 onboard graphics 8 channel HD Audio mini ITX Motherboard

Any thoughts please? Will this lot work together?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

A Trinity or Richland based setup would be better suited for the purposes you describe. The Intel IGP is not that great and the IGP on an AMD A10 is around HD6670 GDDR3 or HD6570 GDDR5 level IIRC.

For general pupose use the CPU is more than fast enough IMHO.

Edit!!



The parts come from Novatech and you can get cashback too:

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/novatech/

[Bonebreaker777]

I must say I would go personally with CAT's suggestion. Exchanging CPU in the future may be cheaper that adding GPU to the Intel configuration, and for now it is definitely providing more performance for light gaming.

In case there is literally no gaming involved (Web browser flash games are one of these) then I think the Intel is good for you, better that the AMD - the extra CPU performance will be more noticeable that the GPU performance that will never really be used.

Did you consider second hand CPU? That could save you some money.

[Ciber]

Thanks - glad we asked! Yes, we might consider a second-hand CPU.

What about this mobo?

Asrock FM2A75M-ITX A75 FCH Socket FM2 VGA DVI 7.1 Channel Audio m-ITX Motherboard

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks - glad we asked!

What about this mobo?

Asrock FM2A75M-ITX A75 FCH Socket FM2 VGA DVI 7.1 Channel Audio m-ITX Motherboard

That motherboard has had issues,so I would not get it.

Also,the AMD IGP will be useful as it has decent compute abilities and more software is using it,including Microsoft Office,Photoshop and web browers.

Edit!!

Here is my comparison of the slower A6-3670K and a Core i3 2100:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-reader...ew-thread.html

The A6 3670K was fine for the uses you suggest,and the A10-5700 is faster.

[jimbouk]

What about this mobo?

Asrock FM2A75M-ITX A75 FCH Socket FM2 VGA DVI 7.1 Channel Audio m-ITX Motherboard

No no no no no:

[Ciber]

That motherboard has had issues,so I would not get it.

Also,the AMD IGP will be useful as it has decent compute abilities and more software is using it,including Microsoft Office,Photoshop and web browers.

Edit!!

Here is my comparison of the slower A6-3670K and a Core i3 2100:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-reader...ew-thread.html

The A6 3670K was fine for the uses you suggest,and the A10-5700 is faster.

In the interests of saving money, how about this CPU?
AMD A8-5500 3.6GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Processor - Retail

Also, any known issues with the bundled Coolermaster Elite 500W PSU?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

In the interests of saving money, how about this CPU?
AMD A8-5500 3.6GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Processor - Retail

Also, any known issues with the bundled Coolermaster Elite 500W PSU?

Unlike some of the earlier CM budget PSUs,this appears to be made by FSP,so might actually be reasonable.

However,I would rather get the XFX 450W,as it is a SFF system. The PSU will be acting as an exhaust too,so the ball bearing fan and better capacitor quality are more important in this regard. The PSU is also relatively short too and is made by Seasonic.

[Biscuit]

No no no no no:

Sorry to be a bit off topic, but do you know if this problem has affected the FM2A85X-ITX aswell?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Sorry to be a bit off topic, but do you know if this problem has affected the FM2A85X-ITX aswell?

That has a six phase VRM with cooling. The A75 one had a 3+1 phase VRM.

[DanceswithUnix]

I was going to build with a Corsair PSU from a donor machine into one of those cases, but very quickly gave up and switched to a semi modular one (the Novatech Powerstation). The case very impressive for size and price, but I only needed one lead with hard drive and dvd power on it all the rest just messed up the airflow.

My daughter is using a A10-5800, and is very pleased with it. She plays stuff like minecraft & WoW.

[Ciber]

Unlike some of the earlier CM budget PSUs,this appears to be made by FSP,so might actually be reasonable.

However,I would rather get the XFX 450W,as it is a SFF system. The PSU will be acting as an exhaust too,so the ball bearing fan and better capacitor quality are more important in this regard. The PSU is also relatively short too and is made by Seasonic.

The only downside I can see to the XFX450W is that it doesn't seem to have modular cables. Before seeing the bundled PSU, it was going to be this one

Corsair CP-9020058-UK CXM Builder series 430W Power Supply (PSU).

Is that one OK?

[Bonebreaker777]

The only downside I can see to the XFX450W is that it doesn't seem to have modular cables. Before seeing the bundled PSU, it was going to be this one

Corsair CP-9020058-UK CXM Builder series 430W Power Supply (PSU).

Is that one OK?

If you look it up, it is been made by CWT and it is not held in the same as other reputable manufacturers (Seasonic, FSP). Is modular cabling that important? Can't you just cable tie the hell out of it?

EDIT : How about a nice Antec 520W Neo Eco Modular PSU for £46.22? Been made by Seasonic.

[scaryjim]

... Can't you just cable tie the cables out of it?

Or you could be a real bad ass and modularise it yourself You can buy the connectors pretty much anywhere...

[kmac]

Also beware the Coolermaster case, whilst being a bargain at the price, is quite noisy in stock form. However, a number of people here have modded it successfully so have a look at their project logs - I think Pob did one recently

[kkxlynx]

Is the Zalman Z11 plus case worth getting?