Small Cheap and Competent System (Advice please)

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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I'm looking at replacing my current system and after not really being happy with the retail options I think I'm set to build my own. Hoping to get some advice.

Experience: I built three PCs in college and the aftermath (1996, 1999, and 2002), but have been buying retail PCs since. Only minimal experience with the internals of more recent systems, but it doesn't seem like too much has changed.

Old System The build will be replacing a mid-2010 model Mac Mini 2.4Ghz with 8 GB of ram and a GeForce 320m. System is 99% fine for work, but getting a bit sluggish and doesn't run the more recent games I want well enough (Dota 2 and EU4 both lag terribly, while CK2 is mostly playable and WoW still runs fine with moderate settings).

What I want: I quite like the space saving of the Mac Mini so I'm leaning strongly toward a smallish system, though it doesn't have to be as small. The system will be running Kubuntu instead of OSX, which is fine since all those games run on it, and also means I don't have to spend money on software.

Preliminary build (here's where I need advice)

So after a couple of weeks of lurking, reading threads, reading sample builds, playing with PC Parts Picker, etc, I have a sort-of idea, but I want to get some advice from people with more recent building experience before I pull the trigger.

Case: Xion XON-720P: Slightly bigger than the Mac Mini but still small. Supports Micro-Atx and Mini-Itx boards, and has front USB3 and front 5-in-1. 300-W PSU comes with it, and it's only $40.

Motherboard: Biostar B75MU3+: Ivy Bridge board with 4 memory slots, Micro-Atx, seems like all the necessary hookups for the case. $59.99

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220: $114.99

GPU: Zotac GeForce GTX-650 low profile ZT-61008-10M $109.99

RAM: 2x4GB DDR3-1333 of some sort, $50-$60

Hard Drive: I have a 1 TB WD10EARS (caviar green) lying around.

So I can cobble that together for somewhat under $400, and it should be miles ahead of the Mac Mini in terms of performance.

Other thoughts

1. The Ivy Bridge i3 only supports PCI-e 16 2.0, but the board and gpu both support 3.0. Is there are compelling reason to shell out extra for the i5 to get that 3.0 speed, or will 2.0 be essentially the same?

2. Is Ivy Bridge still the way to go for a low power system, or should I be thinking Haswell? A Haswell board with similar features would cost a bit more.

2(b). GPU or not? If I did bump up to the Haswell, would it still be worth buying a GTX-650 or would I be better served spending that $109 on the better board and a higher end CPU and just using the Intel HD 4600 that it comes with?

My laptop is a Lenovo with an i7-3612qm and an Intel HD 4000, and I'm super impressed with the performance. I'm assuming the HD 4600 that Haswells come with is a fair bit faster.
 
Solution
You didn't really say your budget but this is a great setup for $600.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($84.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($82.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $582.99

This build has a very fast Haswell...

wtalk2

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May 29, 2013
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You didn't really say your budget but this is a great setup for $600.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($84.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($82.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $582.99

This build has a very fast Haswell processor that has the Intel HD 4600 Graphics which can run almost any game on low settings at 720P and will be great for the games you mentioned.

The case I chose is a very small case (One of the smallest, practical cases) and I also chose a mini-itx board to fit in it.

The motherboard I chose has lots of great features even though it is small, plus it is one of the better Haswell chipsets so you can always upgrade to something like a i7 4770 in the future if you want.

As for storage just use the 1TB WD Green drive you have. It will be fine for running Kubuntu and light gaming.

Lastly, I chose the high-speed ram (2133MHz as opposed to 1333-1600MHz) because when you are using integrated graphics, the I-GPU is using the systems RAM so having faster RAM will speed up your I-GPU a good bit.

PS:In the future you can always add a dedicated graphics card since you have a bit of a overkill PSU and you have the room for it in your case.
 
Solution

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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Thanks, that looks really interesting.

I hadn't really thought of a "budget" as such, sort of just within reason and not paying for stuff I don't need/want. I haven't used my DVD drive in years either, so I don't really need that (I know, trivial difference money-wise). I'm fine with $400 or $600, or even a bit more if that's what it takes.

I'm not 100% on the Node 304's shape either. I know it's small but it's a weird shape and kinda wide. For positioning it in here I might be better off with a taller/narrower option or something short enough (sub 4" height) that I could position it in front of my monitor and look over it.

The Node's very cool looking but I just worry about positioning, and even though it's not a huge deal there's no external bays on it, so there's no way to install a memory card reader.

 

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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case and psu are now ordered, I went with a Rosewill Ranger-M ($29.99) and a Corsair CX430 v2.3 ($18.99 after MIR).

Still not decided on the rest of the parts, but after reading some Phoronix I'm starting to think strongly about getting an A10-6800K or some such. Horror stories about Radeon drivers and Linux aside the internal Radeon 8670D seems to benchmark a fair bit better than the HD 4600.

 

wtalk2

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May 29, 2013
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Since you ordered a M-ATX case you can get a motherboard like this:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131883
Which is only $95 after rebates.
I only went with Haswell in the first place because I wanted to pick a M-ITX board so you can have the smallest case, but M-ATX will still be small and the A10-6800K will be a bit faster in gaming than the i5-4570 but the Intel will be about 40% faster than the A10 in everything else.

PS: You can get a good M-ATX M/B for the Intel that will fit in that case.
 

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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Thanks for the advice. I'm still hemming and hawing over everything else so it might take awhile to settle on the rest of the parts.

What I'm thinking with the A10 is not just that it's got a somewhat better integrated graphics, but if I got one of those new A88X mobos with an FM2+ socket might be a path for upgrades down the road, since that seems to be where AMD's going with its upcoming stuff.

OTOH, something like the FX-8150 might be closer to the i5 in performance, and then I could use the price difference for a discrete graphics card. Or just say that I got a good deal on the power supply and splurge on the i5 and a discrete card too.

Wish I was more decisive on this stuff, but I'll get there.
 

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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But then I also think, Valve's SteamBox specs are all Intel and Nvidia based, so maybe that means in the long-run that's where the game support is going to be.

Like I could just splurge on a i7-4770 and then in a couple years when the HD 4600 isn't seeming so spry I could just toss in whatever's affordable Nvidia-wise then.
 

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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I finalized my parts selection today and placed all the orders: $370 total after rebates and I got:

Case: Rosewill Ranger-M
PSU: Corsair 420 W Bronze 80+
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H
CPU: AMD A10 6800K
CPU Fan: Rosewill RCX-Z1
Memory: GSkill RipJaws X Series DDR3 2400 2 x 4 GB
Storage: WD Caviar Green 1.0 TB (WD10EARS)
Add-On: Rosewill RDCR-11004 USB 3 / USB 2 / eSATA / Memory Reader
 

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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I did cheat a little because I already had the hard drive in a drawer and didn't count it as part of the cost. So if someone were trying to duplicate that build it'd tack another $60 or so on.



 

jasonditz

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Oct 24, 2013
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It was a pretty easy build considering how long it's been. The case was a bit small (need to temporarily remove the back fan to install a 9.6x9.6 mobo) but everything works exactly like it should.