Possible entry level mITX gaming build

[DavidF08]

Hello all!

Sorry if this is a bit disjointed, this is my first post of this kind and I am insanely tired right now!

I currently have a 7/8 year old massive clunker of a PC back home that my mate is using, I'm going to flog the parts (for the tiny sum they're still worth) and allow my mate to use the case for the moment until he can get his hands on a ITX case (Fractal Node maybe). I'm helping him out with some parts for his build (just a motherboard, cpu and ram - he has a GPU already and I'll leave the PSU, HDD and fans etc. in the case for now) but we're trying for entry parts with some possible upgrade in the future and this is looking a bit troublesome. For the moment, I had these parts in mind (no URLs till my post counts up, I'll edit it in when I'm there! Sorry for the inconvenience);

Intel Pentium G3420
MSI Z87I WIFI
8GB Corsair Vengeance

The core is obviously not that great for gaming but as my mate already has a HD7000 series card (I think), I was hoping it would do as a cheap starting point until he can get the cash to kit out his build properly. This is where the more expensive motherboard comes in, I didn't want to have a throw away core and a throw away mobo, so I figured getting a good mobo now might be wise so he only needs to upgrade the core late. The ram stick is pretty much just grabbed from the massive wall of ram on scan but I figure 1x8gb stick would probably be good as that would allow my mate to go upto 32gb if he feels like being insane!

Also I read that an ITX board can be used in a standard ATX case, just want to double check on that!

tl:dr, Need relatively cheap parts (ram, mobo, cpu) to start off a mITX build. Want it to be upgradable for the future so sprung for a better mobo with a (much) worse core with the intent on replacing the core in the future (hopefully for an E3 xeno!)

Any feedback or better suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

As an extra note, I originally looked at an AMD core for this build but ran into 2 road blocks. The FX series cores don't have an ITX board, immediately ruling them out (mATX is still a bit too big for my mates need, an ITX cube case would be ideal!). And the AM2 cores looked really good as a starting point but don't seem to have nearly as much upgrade potential as the haswell (plus I can't remember if the AM2 itx boards were bad or not and I'm too tired to check!). But neither of us are fussy on AMD or Intel, either is good! So any suggested parts would be excellent!

Many thanks for reading and even more for helping!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What budget do you have??

What parts do you have ATM?? What CPU does your mate have??

What is the graphics card and PSU ATM??

However,one word of advice with gaming SFF PCs - don't skimp on them. I have been using Shuttle and mini-ITX rigs since late 2005 as my main rigs. You are trying to distil a larger rig into a smaller one,so it does mean the parts are pushed even more.

If you are on a very small budget,going ATX makes more sense IMHO.

Edit!!

Instead of the motherboard and CPU,you would be better served with a Core i3 4130 and a H81 mini-ITX motherboard for around the same price IMHO.

[Pob255]

On case, have a look at the coolermaster elite 130, low cost and can still pack in quite a bit of stuff.

There's much less need for a high end motherboard on ITX as generally there's less you can do in a small form factor case because of the space restrictions.

So an H81 motherboard may well be a better option, the main thing you'll lose is wifi and that can be done later with a usb dongle (£10-20)

I'd actually sort of disagree with CAT here on cpu, if you're planning for a i5 or better later on then the really cheap G1820 Celeron might well be wroth looking at, however it all depends on when you're looking at getting a new cpu, if we're talking a years time then the i3 is a better option for a cpu you'll have to live with until the upgrade.

On graphics card, you'll need to know more than 7000 series how new the card is is generally less important than how high the card is in the series.
the hd7750 was little better than the much older hd5770

EDIT: yes a mini-itx board does fit in an ATX case, it looks a bit silly to have a tiny board in a big case but it will fit as it uses the same screw hole positions

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If the OP really wants a Core i5 then get one now. This one is £128:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-3-10GH.../dp/B00EF1G8XI

It has low Turbo clockspeeds but still would be fine.

Ask your mate if they could save up a bit more if possible??

That Pentium dual core and a the Z87 motherboard comes to around £140.

An H81 motherboard and a Core i5 4440 comes to around £180.

Edit!!

Pob might have a point too. The cheapest dual core plus an H81 motherboard means your mate can get a case too.

However,it depends on what PSU they have??

If they have an HD7750,it might change things a bit though.

[DavidF08]

What budget do you have??

Honestly as little as possible, probably around the £200 mark to start with but we're hoping to build this up over the year without depriving my mate of a PC entirely.

What parts do you have ATM?? What CPU does your mate have??

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400
NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard
800MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2GB - 3 x 1gb
Killer K1 Gaming Network Interface Card (I think that's still in there)
Then just 1TB and 320GB HDDs

What is the graphics card and PSU ATM??

GPU is Radeon HD 6850 (I was almost right with 7000 series!).
PSU is 750 watts but I can't be any more specific than that right now. Sorry!!

However,one word of advice with gaming SFF PCs - don't skimp on them. I have been using Shuttle and mini-ITX rigs since late 2005 as my main rigs. You are trying to distil a larger rig into a smaller one,so it does mean the parts are pushed even more.

If you are on a very small budget,going ATX makes more sense IMHO.

I completely agree with you there but one of the main reasons we're doing this is a lack of space, the current case is massively too big and has to be set up stupidly to use it. My mate is hoping to get as small a case as possible to fit in his compact room. I'd be more than happy to look at any tiny ATX cases if you know of any though!!

Edit!!

Instead of the motherboard and CPU,you would be better served with a Core i3 4130 and a H81 mini-ITX motherboard for around the same price IMHO.

I was looking at the i3's but you'll have to tell me if I'm just being silly, I can't help feeling it'd be a waste to get an i3 and then replace it with a i5/7/xeno later in the year, whereas I wouldn't feel nearly as bad doing the same with the cheaper Pentium. That does look like a nice combo however, I don't really know much about what to look for in motherboards at all and simply chose that first one for the WiFi (had some bad experiences with dongles and thought the WiFi would be useful, after talking to my mate earlier though he reminded me he has a Powerline so it's pretty useless actually!) and it was the only ITX 1150 board on Scan that supported 32gb of ram (which is silly but I know my mate loves the idea of having the option even if it never gets that far haha).

[DavidF08]

On case, have a look at the coolermaster elite 130, low cost and can still pack in quite a bit of stuff.

There's much less need for a high end motherboard on ITX as generally there's less you can do in a small form factor case because of the space restrictions.

So an H81 motherboard may well be a better option, the main thing you'll lose is wifi and that can be done later with a usb dongle (£10-20)

I'd actually sort of disagree with CAT here on cpu, if you're planning for a i5 or better later on then the really cheap G1820 Celeron might well be wroth looking at, however it all depends on when you're looking at getting a new cpu, if we're talking a years time then the i3 is a better option for a cpu you'll have to live with until the upgrade.

On graphics card, you'll need to know more than 7000 series how new the card is is generally less important than how high the card is in the series.
the hd7750 was little better than the much older hd5770

EDIT: yes a mini-itx board does fit in an ATX case, it looks a bit silly to have a tiny board in a big case but it will fit as it uses the same screw hole positions

Ah thank you for confirming the mITX in the ATX case! That was worrying me a tad.

And that's a good call on the case, if we could shift the psu from the old comp into that one (even though 750W is probably massively overkill for this build) it would save a bit!

That H81 is looking more and more appealing. I'll have to have a word with my mate about a time frame for the core and see how long he wants this first build to last before upgrading.

Thanks for the help!

[DavidF08]

If the OP really wants a Core i5 then get one now. This one is £128:

It has low Turbo clockspeeds but still would be fine.

Ask your mate if they could save up a bit more if possible??

That Pentium dual core and a the Z87 motherboard comes to around £140.

An H81 motherboard and a Core i5 4440 comes to around £180.

Edit!!

Pob might have a point too. The cheapest dual core plus an H81 motherboard means your mate can get a case too.

However,it depends on what PSU they have??

If they have an HD7750,it might change things a bit though.

Getting a cheap core, that H81 and a case is looking really appealing right now. I think if we could get a small case early it'll give my mate more opportunity to actually use the PC and he'll probably save up more for a better core.

Thanks for help though! It's giving me lots to think about and discuss with my mate!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What is the make of the PSU??

A Celeron dual core is unlikely to be massively faster than an E8400 IMHO.

Regarding ATX cases have you look at this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/38068...ff14=95&ff19=0

Details of the case:

http://www.coolermaster.com/product/...elite-361.html

There is also this case too:

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/chassi...eries-air-540/

However,its more expensive:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CC-9.../dp/B00D6GINF4

[Pob255]

the corsair 540 is lovely, but not small, it's short but very wide

how about matx? this is a good case for the cost http://www.scan.co.uk/products/ace-e...oofing-w-o-psu or look at the coolermaster n200 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coole...-psu-(std-atx)
the advantage of these two is that they can still use large aftermarket cpu coolers if needed later

the elite 130 can use a 120rad all-in-one cooler (eg corsair h80) but other coolers are very limited, the elite 120 is another slightly cheaper itx option but cooler options are even more limited.