First build in 10 years! ITX

[Mozza84]

Hi all, this is my first post here so hello

It's been at least 10 years since I built my last PC and things have changed quite a lot since then!

I want to build an ITX machine ideally for around the £1,000 mark. It will be used mainly for interwebbing, playing media and the odd game. I want the system to last but be upgradeable, silent and efficient.

Here is what I have so far

Case Antec ISK 600 Small Form Factor ITX Chassis £65.00
PSU Antec High Current Gamer M 520W £80.00
Motherboard Asus Z87I PROFESSIONAL Intel Z87 £135.00
CPU Intel Core i5 4670 OEM £169.00
CPU Cooler Thermalright AXP-100 £38.00
RAM Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB £65.00
SSD Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO £126.00
Graphics Asus GeForce GTX 760 Mini £194.00
Optical Pioneer BDC-207DBK 8x BluRay £50.00
OS Windows 8.1 £76.00
Monitor Acer T232HL 23 inch LED Touchscreen Monitor £336.00

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[The Hand]

Looks like a nice build that. I would probably go for 16GB ram myself, if I was spending around the £1000 mark to be honest. It might worth checking out the reviews for the SSD compared to the competition, though they are all very fast comapred to older HDs so that might not be a concern either.

[spiritdreams]

I would prob go for an i7, also 16GB, touch screen monitor is pretty awful on a desktop by the way, you are constantly cleaning out smudges, and with a mouse attached you will rarely use it.

[Willzzz]

An i7? Why?
Doesn't sound like a good use of the budget to me.

[MrJim]

An i7? Why?
Doesn't sound like a good use of the budget to me.

I agree - with an i7 you're into greatly diminishing returns as far as gaming is concerned, & the money could be better spent elsewhere (e.g. a 480Gb SSD).

Does the OP need a hard disk for mass storage in addition to the SSD?

I'm a fan of Seasonic PSUs, & some models have a 'silent mode' where the fan doesn't start up until 30% load, & even then they're extremely quiet. Can definitely recommend them.

[Willzzz]

Yeah that PSU isn't a good choice, certainly not at that price.
You can get a gold rated unit for around £60.

I don't think Seasonic are the only ones who have a silent mode, still a very good make of course

[Mozza84]

Thanks for all your feedback guys!

I'll definitely reconsider the PSU and if budget allows I'll add a HDD.

I chose a touch screen as I want to use Windows 8.1 and I think its much better with a touch screen.

[MrJim]

I don't think Seasonic are the only ones who have a silent mode, still a very good make of course

The only other ones I know of are some of the Corsair AX models, but they're made by Seasonic

I chose a touch screen as I want to use Windows 8.1 and I think its much better with a touch screen.

I think touch-screens make perfect sense for portable systems, but as spiritdreams mentioned previously, the fingerprints on a desktop screen would drive some people nuts, myself included. I guess it just comes down to personal preference. The Acer T232HL also has a reflective surface, which can be a pain if located near windows or bright lighting. I always choose matte anti-glare screens myself.

[Pob255]

That dvd drive is not compatible with the Antec ISK 600 case
You need a slim drive (laptop type)

This should work http://www.scan.co.uk/products/pione...ll-form-factor or drop the bluray and just get a dvdr/w http://www.scan.co.uk/products/samsu...slim-black-oem or pay a bit more for a fancy slot loader to look cool http://www.scan.co.uk/products/liteo...-loading-drive ether way still a lot cheaper than a bluray slim drive

[Willzzz]

The only other ones I know of are some of the Corsair AX models, but they're made by Seasonic

This one for example:
http://www.ebuyer.com/399383-fractal...FZLKtAodF2wAAg
Semi-passive Fan Operation

I know because I own one, and it isn't Seasonic either.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Why are you wasting money on a Z87 based motherboard and a locked Core i5 4670??

Moreover,regarding the GTX760 how is the cooler on the mini model?? Reference onces throttled badly after extended usage on a open air test bench,and TBH that case can take longer cards. The case takes upto 12.5" cards - instead of buying an expensive GTX760 you could spend a little more and get a GTX770 or an R9 280X.

Also,the Crucial M500 250GB is cheaper than the Samsung SSD and the Plextor M5S 256GB has more capacity for the same price.

On top of this,are you really going to make use of that touch screen on a desktop??

Not only is your screen going to be covered in fingerprints,you are more likely to use your mouse and keyboard anyway. That Acer is over twice the price of screens with the same basic panel.

You can far better monitors for the same price including some rather nice 29" widescreen ones.

[plorhue]

As the previous poster says, no point getting a Z87 motherboard with a non K processor.

I would recommend getting the gigabyte mini ITX H87-WIFI instead (its cheap on amazon)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-H87...ords=h87n-wifi

I read the 760GTX mini review and it seems to be a very impressive card (including cooling), so I don't think you should have problems