Low Budget Mini-ITX Gaming rig (£400)

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
U

uj88

Honorable
Apr 29, 2013
18
0
10,510
After using laptops for intense gaming for the last 3 years I want to build a gaming computer, I have family that used to build specialized computers for clients who are willing to help if needed. I also live in the Middle East so I have to get parts when I go back to the UK or relatives come to me.

Approximate Purchase Date: June or July

Budget Range: About £400 ($600)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Just gaming, my laptop can handle anything else

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: I wont be buying a graphics card till around December I will upgrade RAM if needed

Do you need to buy OS: No, will get Windows later with my graphics card and use Linux before then

Preferred Websites for Parts: amazon.co.uk but I could probably get stuff from another UK site aswell.

Location: All the parts will be bought in the UK

Parts Preferences: I want to stick with Intel CPUs and Nvidia gpus

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1360x780

Additional Comments: The case must be portable (mini-itx or if there is a good micro-atx case)

Why I am building this: My laptop is fast but the graphics are not good (GT 640m) and I want something better for gaming that I can upgrade instead of having to replace.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
V

Valentin_N

Honorable
Mar 24, 2013
425
0
10,810


Tell us when you are in UK. There are however things you could take with you, but you have to decide you want it :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
U

uj88

Honorable
Apr 29, 2013
18
0
10,510


I'm going back at the start of July, so I'll be ordering stuff then or just before.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
U

uj88

Honorable
Apr 29, 2013
18
0
10,510
This any good?

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/TPlu
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/TPlu/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/TPlu/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-3225 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£105.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard (£84.06 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£27.38 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£56.30 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case (£34.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite Power 400W ATX12V Power Supply (£32.32 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£15.95 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £356.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-29 17:51 BST+0100)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

Valentin_N

Honorable
Mar 24, 2013
425
0
10,810


Suggestion build - the cpu is not strong but with an upgrade the gpu will perform even better. With £100 more you will get the i5-system

Suggestion build v2

mini ITX - you can delete the water cooler but it may be wise to keep it if upgrades to i5 will be done.

AMD system - you will be able to upgrade to steamroller cpu that will give better performance.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
U

uj88

Honorable
Apr 29, 2013
18
0
10,510


These look good but the case needs to be a bit smaller than a Mid ATX case, is that case smaller than most Mid ATX cases?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

Valentin_N

Honorable
Mar 24, 2013
425
0
10,810


I found Fractal Design Core 1000 - 4,1kg and costs £30. I have updated the list so that you get a clear pc.

Don't forget that the prices changes and the actual buy should be done on the same day as the best solution is presented.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

Valentin_N

Honorable
Mar 24, 2013
425
0
10,810


From what I understand Haswell will not give much more performance (about 5-10% as best) than then current i5; the focus lies on power saving and on the integrated gpu (iGPU) - this is especially true for GT3 (it's the same as GT3e but without additional embedded DRAM part)and GT3e (only the R-series such as i7-4770R and some high-end mobile i7-48xx/49xxHQ will have GT3e). For the one who only may a bit and has no demands what so ever it might be want to consider such cpu, however it's BGA package meaning you can't upgrade the cpu. The overclock will also changed, making overclocking customizable is great for overclockers as they can achieve higher frequency in more various ways, which is seen in the current i7-3930K and i7-3960X.

On down side that Haswell might come with is the requirements that the power supply has to fulfill when it's in power saving mode; current intel cpu requires a min current at 0.5Amps but haswell will only requires 0.05Amps and no power supply manufactures mentions the min current on their power supply units. So this might be an obstacle.

To answer your question. If it's worth yes and no depending on your situation; if you need one then buy the stuff and upgrade later but if that's not the case then waiting might be worth it as the price on the current quadcore cpu will get lower price. Nvidia's release on the upcoming might lower price on the current generation. The true big release that Nvidia will bring is Titan LE, GTX 780, where both are based on GK110. GTX 770 will be GTX 680 but with higher frequency and GTX 760TI is 670. You will get a boost but how great it is remains unanswered.

Since you plan to buy the stuff then I think it's worth waiting and you might also have more cash to get a build that you can be with for awhile with considering upgrading the stuff one after another.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom