Help turning this Micro ITX into sub-$1000 gaming system

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

aliasxneo

Distinguished
Jul 15, 2009
100
0
18,680
Greetings,

I'm looking to create a semi-portable gaming rig for LAN parties and I have already found a case that's going to work very well for my needs. The problem I'm having now is getting it setup for games like Guild Wars 2, Starcraft, etc. as well as future support for games like Titan Fall and Watchdogs.

Here is my current iteration on Newegg:

BitFenix Prodigy: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345016
Asus Z87: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132028
GTX 770: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121770
Intel Core i7: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

Obviously it's missing quite a few components, and even worse it's already over $1,000 on Newegg. So, I'm asking the community for help to make this work as close as possible to my $1000 budget. Any helps and tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Cheers.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
faalin

faalin

Illustrious
Feb 22, 2012
6,037
384
41,240
for gaming you don't need a i7 an i5 will do just fine.


I just did a list yesterday on newegg making the same system

case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345017
gpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130945
ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226199
MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132039
cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899
psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256059
ssd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167095

total $1375

mine was sub $1000 already have psu, ram, and HD at home.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Eximo

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
May 27, 2010
25,816
4,164
139,340
i5-4670k and a GTX760 would save you $250+ instantly. There are a few cheaper motherboards out there as well, but yours is a nice choice.

Bitfenix Prodigy does have a unique look, but there are cheaper mini-ATX enclosures.

I think you are going to push past $1000 if you stick with your base components. Might have to drop down to z77 and i5-3570k to cram it all in under budget.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Eximo

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
May 27, 2010
25,816
4,164
139,340
i7-4770k is about $330, i7-3770k is about $315.
i5-4670k is about $230, i5-3570k is about $215.

Savings are in the motherboards and combo sales that retailers have to get the old inventory out the door. ASUS p8Z77-I Deluxe is $143. vs the z87 version at $183. $55 total cheaper, and you can use a less powerful CPU cooler.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

aliasxneo

Distinguished
Jul 15, 2009
100
0
18,680


How does that GPU do? Also, this may be an off-the-wall question, but does anyone know if a game like Minecraft would take a hit from i7 to i5 (since I'm 90% sure it doesn't even use the GPU).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RazerZ

RazerZ

Judicious
Ambassador
Aug 18, 2013
9,961
0
33,960


I say it's not worth it for the price. You can save a lot of money by getting the HD7970, and if you get the GTX770 you will only see a 10% performance increase. And no, an i5 would do just as good as an i7 for minecraft.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RazerZ

RazerZ

Judicious
Ambassador
Aug 18, 2013
9,961
0
33,960
Here's a portable rig you can use, and save $300 compared to other builds. This build performs really well and can play most games on ultra.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($333.98 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Survivor ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1003.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-22 15:07 EDT-0400)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Eximo

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
May 27, 2010
25,816
4,164
139,340
Well, overbudget, but there are limits to when mixing budget and high-end components. No real storage aside from a 128 SSD, but that is something easily added.

Really need to see if that CPU cooler is adequate. But for about double that liquid cooling is an option.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1v0Vv Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1v0Vv/by_merchant/ Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1v0Vv/benchmarks/ CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII M4 58.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ SuperBiiz) Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($143.98 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg) Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US) Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($255.98 @ SuperBiiz) Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case ($59.99 @ Microcenter) Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($97.99 @ Amazon) Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC) Total: $1071.85 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-22 15:16 EDT-0400)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RazerZ

RazerZ

Judicious
Ambassador
Aug 18, 2013
9,961
0
33,960


Well, if he uses the Hyper he should be able to go to 4.3 GHz, which is fine for gaming. Also I stayed away from bigger fans/ liquid cooling because he wants a rig to use at LAN parties, and if something went wrong then the whole system would be damaged. As for the SSD you can just add one for $50 more.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd2500aakx
 
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