Compact PC build

allanitomwesh · Apr 23, 2013

Hey guys I'm trying to pull the impossible and fit a gaming PC in a compact enclosure
I was thinking mATX Z77atleast and gtx 660/ 7870/7850ish thereabout with two hard disks,an ssd and probably crossfire possibility. I'd prefer avoiding itx boards for lack of expansion, but I'd like the compactness of a cube or HTPC chassis,without loosing the expansion possibilities . Another setback I've encountered,is that going small gets really expensive really fast,so if anyone knows how to pull this off under $1000(lower the better) thanks
Why do I want to do this? I now have a new room, but it is cramped beyond belief. The bed literally fills it.
So I'm looking at Silverstone GD04 and AsRock's boards, but I'm open to anything right now,especially a cheaper case that works as well.
Any help is appreciated

guanyu210379 · Apr 23, 2013

Your system will be a squishy and hot little machine...I mean hot...hot hot...hot...
not enough air flow to cool down the device....I would not recommend this but it is your choice...

such cases are meant best only for htpc systems and not gaming systems.

It will work but do not expect that the components will last as long as you normally expect.

allanitomwesh · Apr 23, 2013

I'm pretty sure I can pull off some good temps with the right case,something average and acceptable. I am not intending to overclock anything (this would be stupid) but I do want to crossfire the 7850 if it gets old in the tooth. If this requires a bigger case down the line I'd like to not need a new mobo....Hence my predicament for now,a compact PC for battlefield at 1080p. I don't mind how it's shaped really, as long as it's smaller than a mid tower and doesn't require funny shaped PSU's and non ATX mobos.

guanyu210379 · Apr 23, 2013

wow...XFire in such small box?
Well it is your choice...

Place your full planned specs...which mobo, which proc, etc.
What do you need to buy and what do you already have...too
The only one I see is the GD04...but the rest is missing....

Other info I have from you now are only : no OC, XFire = Yes in the future

allanitomwesh · Apr 23, 2013

Approximate Purchase Date: Next EACH PART IS ON SALE

Budget Range: $700 After Rebates After Shipping hopefully.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Battlefield 3/4 ,Blender

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: Whole box from scratch

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, ncix.com,amazon.com

Location: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel preferably

Overclocking: Yes in future,but i'm willing to sacrifice it for budget

SLI or Crossfire: Yes in future

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: As compact as possible,and as cheap as possible towards budget

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I need to use it in a tight spot in my room,and play games on a 1080p IPS 23" mostly Battlefield 3 Multiplayer online and 3rd person games like hitman,dead space 3 offline

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler ($70.12 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Professional-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($127.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($127.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($197.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone SST-GD05B-USB3.0 (Black) HTPC Case ($116.31 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On ihes112-04 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1107.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-23 12:55 EDT-0400)

guanyu210379 · Apr 23, 2013

1. proc is OK but if you do not plan to OC you can consider Xeon E3 -1230V2, 4 cores + HyperThreading with the same price of 3570k.
2. Pro cooler, I do not know if it fits in the case. I can not really help you here
3. If you are not going to OC, you can save somemoney and go for H77 instead of Z77. Asrock H77- Pro4 M looks nice.
4. 16GB is not really needed but nice to have. If you want to reduce the budget, go for 8GB
5. the HDD is nice, I have one too
6. Hd7850 is OK. MSI is also OK.
7. The case is OK
8. The PSU? Rosewill? You have a problem here, this is not a good brand. Please buy Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, Antec or any well-known brand. Power rating is OK.
9. BR-Drive is OK.

Tips:
- You can reduce the money from those I told you and get an SSD instead, SSD is only optional but will greatly improve the system performance.
(edit) - you can also reduce the money like above go for stronger GPU instead of SSD
(edit) - you can also simply reduce the budget and do nothing else

My opinion:
Not recommended for OC or XFire in such small case.

allanitomwesh · Apr 23, 2013

Okay, if you are aware of a cheaper case for similar performance I'll look into it.So far it's the GD04 which strangely isn't on pcpartpicker. But the 05 is pretty identical,I think it's an update.
I was also considering dropping overclocking and RAM too sadly.
A xeon eh? Interesting.
It's a gold PSU with 4 eight pin connectors. Know alternatives that cheap?Reviews are good

guanyu210379 · Apr 23, 2013

I would not go cheap brand for PSU....I have 2 broken Rosewill PSUs in the past and none from Corsair (4 Corsairs until now)
One of the Rosewills broke my mobo+GPU completely..

This is important, the PSU sill have a huge impact on your PC components life-span.
I bought just any PSUs in the past and I ended up regreting it.
ah...I care more which brand I pick than the 80 bronze, silver or gold certificate..I usually pick Antec, Corsair and Seasonic..bronze is for me already enough..
The certificate indicates only the efficiency not components quality (life) and power continuous stability supply.
It is also hard to proove at home if you really get the promised efficiency.
I would prefer Corsair HX650 (bronze) rather than Rosewill gold.

(edit)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

The case is usually simply based on taste and budget, it is up to you which one to pick

allanitomwesh · Apr 23, 2013

I'll look into the other brands, though I trust Anandtech. Did a Capstone die on you,or was it another line?
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5698/rosewill-capstone-450w-and-650w-80plus-gold
I'll probably have to shave the build,I'll do a little research and post an edit.

guanyu210379 · Apr 24, 2013

Nope..it is not the capstone..it was something old from Rosewill..something from 3-4 years ago..
I am disappointed and will not get anything from that brand anymore.
Even my Corsair VX450 which is bought in the same year still alive and kicking ass.
Also...my old Antec 350W PSU included in my old Antec case (Pentium D805 system...yes..I am still keeping it) is also still ok.

And...
For me, broken PSU is ok but PSU which also brakes other parts is a big no-go.

Note:
All review sites test the PSU only on their pure performance directly after buying within only for several hours and very sheldom that they do the real long-term test.
But if you already have your eyes on this one...well..nothing more I can say...

allanitomwesh · Apr 24, 2013

I am of opinion if a PSU survives the stress test on 3-4 serious sites, it'll take medium load without a hitch. I avoid Ultra and those other brands that outright lie about their PSU specs,but this one is legit. Anyway,when I price cut today I'll see if I can do one better.
Looks like the case stays, really hard to find an alternative for $50-70 that isn't tacky. This is one tough project

allanitomwesh · Apr 24, 2013

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G2020 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Professional-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($127.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.01 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($127.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Silverstone SST-GD05B-USB3.0 (Black) HTPC Case ($116.31 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($76.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On ihes112-04 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $783.13
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-24 11:51 EDT-0400)

I really shaved it,lol
Question becomes,is the processor enough?
Is 4GB RAM[I have another stick] enough?

Wolfshadw · Apr 26, 2013

If the intent is to upgrade the processor at a later date, then I'd probably recommend dropping down to a Sandy-Bridge Pentium. I'm not sure you'll be able to update the BIOS the motherboard needs in order to run the Ivy-Bridge processors. Check your local Microcenter to see if they have any Sandy-Bridge processors at your price range. You might also ask them if they carry your selected motherboard and, if you purchased it from them, would they be willing/able to update the BIOS for you.

I'm in the same boat as guanyu210379 when it comes to power supplies, but if you're comfortable with the one you've opted for, it's your call.

I'm not a big fan of mixing and matching RAM modules. Unless you already have that exact Crucial 2GB RAM module, I'd stick with getting a set of 2x2GB RAM.

As for the case, you need to determine just how the hard drives mount. From what I can see, they may extend over the corner of the motherboard where the SATA ports are. This could interfere with what graphics card you are able to install. The HD7870 extends to just shy of the SATA ports as it is.

I understand the desire to keep things small and compact, but there are physical limitations to take into account as well. You may be better served by going with a slightly larger full ATX case (but still using your MicroATX motherboard) for more workspace as well as better air flow.

-Wolf sends

allanitomwesh · Apr 26, 2013

I chose that particular pentium because it is ivy bridge already.And 50 bucks at Microcenter to boot.Runs a decent 2.9,though i'd prefer a 3.x.
The motherboard is z77 though,isn't that ivy bridge chipset?I also really like it,it is well poulated,but if you know a compact ATX case i'd be willing to switch to full ATX like Gigabyte z77 ud3.

Yeah,I have that exact same stick already.

I need the space,I just maxed out 1.5TB

It's 200 bucks,anybody know a better or similar [same ball park] performance for cheaper? The point is smooth 1080p Battlefield.

Only HTPC that isn't weirdly cramped or lacking. Again,a compact tower would be nice[I was eyeing the Silverstone Temjin TJ08-E as well,but it isn't ATX],so about that size,and cheaper,Silverstone are some pricey....

4 eight pin connectors and 80 plus Gold.It's hard to match. Please guys,alternatives. I'm predicting 550w watts with the rig maxed out[i7,crossfire,mild overclocks all around] So it looks like the problem solver at the moment.

It reads blu ray.I'd drop it too to save cash.

So, in summary....
no matter what the 3TB stays.I'd also prefer to stay in ivy bridge. I also would like not to reach Antec one sizes.Saw the new corsair 350d,also intriguing,but pricey.

Wolfshadw · Apr 26, 2013

If you look at the CPU Support List for that motherboard, you'll see that the Ivy Bridge Pentium G2020 is only supported with BIOS version P1.40. Assuming that your motherboard will come stock with BIOS version P1.10, the G2020 may not even let you get into BIOS. Again, if the intent is to later upgrade the CPU, then go with the Sandy Bridge version of the Pentium. Something like the G860 should work. Unfortunately, when I check my local Microcenter, they don't have any in stock.

I understand that you need the hard disk space, but the laws of physics clearly state that two objects (in this case the hard drive and the graphics card) cannot exist in the same physical space at the same time. What I mean is when the hard drive is installed, is there physically enough space for the graphics card or is the hard drive in the way? That's what you need to confirm.

-Wolf sends

allanitomwesh · Apr 27, 2013

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Professional-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($127.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.01 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone SST-GD05B-USB3.0 (Black) HTPC Case ($104.59 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $743.65
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-27 04:35 EDT-0400)

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