Kill my sixth gen consoles ! Mini itx build - Size & performance question

crimson87 · Apr 8, 2013

Hi , I've been thinking about building a pc over the last months. i've realized that I am not a hardcore gamer so I am not looking for extreme performance. An affordable and portable build would be great for me.

Main Specs:

A10 5800K (Being able to do some light OC if possible)
8 GB RAM 1866mhz in Dual Channel
At least 500 GB HDD

I would like to be able to carry in a backpack just like a gaming console. So portability is key here. I have some space under my TV , here you have the dimensions so you can have an idea and see if it's possible.

Height: 14 cm ( 5.5 in)
Depth: 35 cm (14 in)
Width: 55 cm (21,5 in)

About performance , I been looking in You Tube and some forums that this APU is great for gaming at 720p and can play less demanding games at 1080p just fine. This is slightly above console performance. What confuses me is that I went to a computer store and the clerk told me that an APU is not a proper way to game. I would get "PS2" textures and the pixels would look "massive" on my 32 in screen , so games would look worse than on PS360 because PC "is not as good as hiding defects as a console"

What do you think about those statements? Probably the guy was just being an etilist.

Finally , I don't care about upgrading because I have a huge back catalog of games to play and it takes me a lot to complete a game. With this I'm gonna have enough fun for 4 or 5 years. Then I could build something else.

Goodeggray · Apr 8, 2013

You're right, he have a clear idea of what you want and it can be done. I think in your build, the first item is the case. Find one the fits you space and go from there. Lot's of small case will fit microatx as well as itx mobo as well. Micro mobo are cheaper and more choices and a little easier to work with. The small case will use a power brick rather than a internal psu. So you may want to look at the Amd A10-5700, it uses less power but a little lower in performance.

g-unit1111 · Apr 8, 2013

I'd heavily suggest checking this out: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mini-itx-gaming-radeon-hd-7750,3369.html

Rather than an AMD APU they used an Intel Pentium G2120 and a low profile Radeon 7750 - a much better combination. The only thing is I haven't been able to find that case anywhere, even Amazon, which normally has obscure parts, didn't have this.

Goodeggray · Apr 8, 2013

The problem with any build using a gpu is it'll be too big to put in a backpack.

FinneousPJ · Apr 8, 2013

That case fits your requirements. You'll be hard pressed to find a smaller one for any build.

g-unit1111 · Apr 8, 2013

Goodeggray :

If you want a high quality GPU, I'd save some cash and buy a Falcon Northwest Tiki. I would get one but I don't exactly have the kind of coin required. :lol:

masterman467 · Apr 8, 2013

i would just get an xbox 720. You get much more power for the price because they charge you like half of what it costs to make it. Rumors say you need an internet connection all the time for the 720, so if that does not bother you...

Goodeggray · Apr 8, 2013

The case used in the tomshardware article is sold in the US as the INWin BPseries.

g-unit1111 · Apr 8, 2013

masterman467 :

I don't, nor ever will believe what they say on fanboy websites because a good 95% of the time they make stuff up without doing any fact checking. And in the off chance they actually do some fact checking, it's usually from biased sources and grossly exaggerated claims. Until we officially hear what the specs on the 720 are otherwise I won't see it as a viable alternative to PC.

Goodeggray · Apr 8, 2013

Seems like he's building his own PS4.

crimson87 · Apr 8, 2013

g-unit1111 :

G2120 ain't a dual core? I may need a quad core to play BF3 multiplayer. The case looks really good. I don't believe I could find it over here though. What about these alternatives:

http://www.overgroupnet.com/website/productodetalle.asp?idProd=214

or a Poor man's steambox

http://www.overgroupnet.com/website/productodetalle.asp?idProd=228

Descriptions are in Spanish , but if you go to the "Especificaciones Tecnicas" section you'll get the specs.

What about performance? Will I get "PS2 like textures" like that salesman said to me?And Will I be able to OC somewhat with those small cases? I may need to do that to get more FPS out of the APU when playing the more demanding games.

Thanks everyone for your help!

FinneousPJ · Apr 8, 2013

That (red) case is actually bigger than the one g-unit posted. It'll easily fit a lower-end GPU like HD7750, maybe even HD7770.

g-unit1111 · Apr 8, 2013

crimson87 :

Yeah it's recommended but the G2120 is definitely a stronger CPU for gaming than any AMD APU is. Where it does matter is in what GPU you select. he 7750 is a great low cost solution and there's low profile versions available.

http://www.overgroupnet.com/website/productodetalle.asp...

or a Poor man's steambox

http://www.overgroupnet.com/website/productodetalle.asp...

Descriptions are in Spanish , but if you go to the "Especificaciones Tecnicas" section you'll get the specs.

I'd go with the first case.

What about performance? Will I get "PS2 like textures" like that salesman said to me?And Will I be able to OC somewhat with those small cases? I may need to do that to get more FPS out of the APU when playing the more demanding games.

If you go with a low end Intel you won't be able to overclock. Low end FX-series might be a better way to go.

Goodeggray · Apr 8, 2013

Itx mobos foe AM3+ are rare. Small psu may not be up to OC. The G2120 is a ivy bridge duo core Pentium. The G2120 or A10 builds are far better than a PS3.

crimson87 · Apr 11, 2013

Thanks for all your help guys! I think I'm gonna go with a G860 and a low profile 7750 paired with 8 gigs of 1333mhz RAM in Dual Channel. I was also thinking about FX4100 since it has 4 cores and thats going to be mandatory for next gen games. But G860 has better performance per core and a much lower TDP.

marshallbradley · Apr 11, 2013

If you can get your hands on it the G2120 is slightly better than the G860 since it's based on Ivy-Bridge rather than Sandy-Bridge (smaller manufacturing process).

What's your budget? If you could stretch to an i3 that would be nice, because then you would have 4 logical cores.

The G860 is still great though, if either of the above options don't work out. Have you checked the availability of low profile 7750s? (I imagine that's the best card that could fit in the case).

M

crimson87 · Apr 11, 2013

marshallbradley :

Unfortunately my only restriction here is space , so I think a 7750 is the best I could cram in such a small case. G860 over here is half as much as an i3 3220 and there is not much difference in performance. Even if it's an older manufacturing process (meaning more TDP I guess) the price/performance ratio can't be ignored.

If I were to build a rig with a mid tower case I would at least go for a 7770 and a FX4300 , but in my desk I only have space for a 19' monitor. In the end it's a tradeoff between performance and accessibility/portability.

nstiver · Apr 11, 2013

Are you going to be worried about heat in that little case? I'm a newb to small case PC builds, but I would imagine it would be a b*tch getting all that hot air from the 7750 out of there.

g-unit1111 · Apr 11, 2013

Goodeggray :

That's not true at all - all motherboards based on socket 970 and socket 990FX are AM3+ based. Any power supply you'll be able to OC but whether or not you change the voltage on your CPU affects whether or not you'll need a stronger power supply. But it's always better to get a stronger power supply anyways.

crimson87 · Apr 30, 2013

Sorry to resurrect this old thread guys but I was wondering... How's emulation for PS2 and Wii/GC Games? Are games playable at least at console settings? I am asking you this because my idea was to get rid of both consoles (not games) to get some money for my rig. I wouldn't mind some bugs here and there from the emulators though.
What are the optimal specs for Dolphin and the PS2 emulator anyway?

FinneousPJ · May 1, 2013

I think the quad core A10 should be enough for emulation.

Kill my sixth gen consoles ! Mini itx build - Size & performance question

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