Prodigy First Build - Advice needed

[JambonFerryman]

I'm new to the hexus community (Hi ) and looking for some help and advice on my first computer build. I'm returning to uni for my final year at the end of the month and need a mini itx desktop for general tasks, some CAD work and a bit of gaming on the side. My biggest problem is my budget, absolute max of £500 including GFX, and I'll be using the system with a 1080p monitor.

I've already purchased the Case and RAM, so I've £400 max left for the remaining compnents.

Thoughts so far:

CPU - Intel i3 3240
MOBO - Gigabyte H77n-Wifi itx
RAM - GSkill Ares 2 x 4gb (PURCHASED)
HDD - 1TB WD blue
SSD - 120GB Samsung

GPU - ???
PSU - XFX 480w pro
Case - Bitfenix Prodigy white (Purchased)

I'm not bothered about OC, but I would like the system to be as future proof as possible and the possibility for dual monitor setup would be a bonus.

Any advice would be great, cheers

[herulach]

what Cad program are you using? if its 3DS Max then you probably want to be looking at nvidia cards to take advantage of CUDA rendering. I'm not sure on benchmarks, but I'd suspect a sandy bridge + mid range card would work better in both games and CAD than ivy bridge + budget card.

[JambonFerryman]

Mainly SolidWorks/SolidEdge and AutoCAD as far as I know. I was leaning towards a GTX 660 if budget allows it

[Noxvayl]

For a min-ITX build I'd get an AMD APU because you are unlikely to be able to afford a better discrete GPU with your budget including a 1TB HDD and 120Gb SSD.

These components would be good for about £383:
360W Seasonic G-360 80PLUS Gold PSU
128Gb SanDisk Ultra Plus SSD
1TB WD Blue HDD
AMD A10 6800K
Gigabyte GA-F2A85XN-WIFI

[herulach]

Is the SSD an absolute necessity? It can easily be added at a later date if you feel its needed, and the saving will get you into FX + modest discrete GPU territory.

An APU may be an option, but since most CAD stuff is only certified on enterprise grade boards you might want to do some decent googling to see what the performance is like on the APUs

[JambonFerryman]

The SSD is not a necessity, just a preference. I've just got a 1tb external USB3 drive from work which I could use for the time being in the place of an internal HDD.

And as for the APU, I'd rather avoid it due to the heat/power compared to i3/i5 in this small build (in a small room), and from problems i've had at work from mini-itx fm2 boards.

Is there much advantage in me going Haswell + quad core as opposed to ivy + i3 and then buy a dedicated GPU later?

[JambonFerryman]

I think I've settled on the following spec, any issues that anyone can see? I'll use the integrated graphics until next month and then I'll go for a GTX 660 or similar:

CPU - Intel i5 3570S (£125)
MOBO - Gigabyte H77n-Wifi itx (£77)
RAM - GSkill Ares 2 x 4gb (PURCHASED - £42)
HDD - 1TB WD blue (£43)
SSD - None
GPU - ???
PSU - XFX 450W Core Edition 80+ Bronze (£37)
Case - Bitfenix Prodigy white (Purchased - £69)

Total = £393

Best I can do at the minute