newbie gamer build - any good?

Erm... you want this thing to run a 1440p screen while gaming? It's not going to be able to.

Why not take your current non-gaming screen, spend the money you have here on a good PSU and a graphics card, and turn it into a gaming machine?

Gotcha. Just out of curiosity, what in the world do you use your work PC for, trading?

How dedicated are you to the mini-itx size? I ask, because most mini-itx cases (aside from the oversized ones like the Prodigy) won't even fit a 660ti - I could barely cram a 650 in my HTPC/Steambox.

I'm actually exactly the guy you want to be talking to, as my specialty is mini-itx and making things cram into places you wouldn't think they could fit. (Yeah yeah, haha.)

Seriously, though - with a little ingenuity you can take 5" cube and pack a decent processor, mid-level card, and sound card, powered by a full ATX power supply. It all comes down to how much work you're willing to put into it. Making a small gaming computer ALWAYS is going to require you to do some modding. Is that an option for you?

If it isn't, we can design you something built around a larger case like the Prodigy.

Ahh, yeah, I had a hunch that was it.

I hear you on the decent looking small cases end, though. So many of them are just godawful. I'm going to make a suggestion here that you might or might not like, but here it is: Spend more money.

Go look at Caselabs. They're designed and made in the USA, and are just about the. freaking. nicest. cases you'll ever find. The side panels just pop right off, the cooling and layouts are incredibly well designed, everything is finished PERFECTLY... I'm absolutely in love with mine.

Now, there are a couple downsides to them that you should know:
1. They're expensive. Part of that is that they're custom-cut aluminium, part of that is that they're made in the US... but they are expensive.
2. They're large. Caselabs made a name for itself by making larger-than life cases that would sit on the floor and be taller than the desk. They looked like server chassis, but were loved for how much space they gave.

Recently, however, they came out with the mercury series. The S3 and S5 are mini-ITX micro-ATX cases, respectively. I would seriously go look at the S3.

It's slightly smaller than a Prodigy, has, in my eyes, much better looks, and is an incredibly amazing case. It's got just about the best layout that I've ever seen in a case, room for full-sized graphics cards, an incredible number of options for both water and air cooling. (I'm able to use a 2x120mm radiator in the front AND a 2x140mm radiator in the top, and not even notice them.) It's got 3 PCIe slots, which is a huge luxury on a mini-ITX build. It's got well-designed airflow, and a build that's very, very easy to put your build together in.

Aside from one of the limited-run customer-designed mini-itx gaming cases like the N1, which you can't buy and would be almost the same price, it's the best looking, easiest to use, smallest case to put a gaming rig in, period. It's also built like a tank and will last you a very very long time.



Now, the downside to a $200 case is that you don't have as much money to spend on components, and mini-itx tends to be a pricy form factor. However, you'd be able to get yourself an i3 and medium-quality GPU, which will be plenty for RPGs, that sort of thing, and then will be able to upgrade easier down the road.

I absolutely love linus; he knows what he's talking about and does very good reviews.

It seems to be a good option for you, yeah - though I would recommend EVGA as they have a better warranty, better customer service, and now with their ACX cooler, something to rival Asus's DCII cooler.

Haha, ouch. Got bit by the bug HARD, didja?

Oh, trust me, I completely understand. Just be careful you never let yourself get into modding and watercooling, or you'll find out JUST how far down the rabbit hole goes.

*Whistles* That was a while before my time. Just under ten years, I believe. Just curious, what sort of games to you like to play? I ask because I'm heavily into RPGs as well, and might be able to point out some good ones that you've missed.

I would go for something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.85 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.88 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: A-Data XPG SX900 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($274.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($123.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $704.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-14 10:50 EST-0500)

RazerZ, that's pretty much exactly what I recommended six posts ago.

GiantBucket, You can absolutely take those AMD game bundle cards and use them on another computer, yes. Going off of those, I'm going to recommend a few games. (I too, tend to favor single player games.)

Assassin's Creed IV - the first in the series I've enjoyed start to finish.

The Avernum series, or anything from Spiderweb Software - excellently crafted old-school rpgs.

Bastion - has an incredible story, combined with sound and art that backs it up perfectly.

Dear Esther - Like Myst, but more purely about discovery.

Titan Quest / its successor, Grim Dawn - action RPGs that started as Diablo clones and I found actually bettered Diablo.

Mirror's Edge - if I were to recommend one game, it would be this one. Bloody incredible game; like nothing else out there.

Portal - If you haven't played it, it's another must-have; amazing gameplay, incredibly well developed characters, and puzzles that actually make you think. (I personally liked portal 1 better than portal 2, but many people disagree with me.)

The Stanley Parable - great story driven game... especially for those of us who like going off the beaten path. Seriously, it's cheap and you'll love it.

That's a decent motherboard - just one word of warning. I would make sure you have a CPU you can test in it RIGHT NOW, because if the motherboard isn't working, Gigabyte's RMA system is absolute hell on wheels... and if you wait past the amount of time your local shop allows you to return defective parts, then you're going to be pretty much screwed. Sounds like a pretty good plan, though I would avoid the 660ti - they had issues because of limited memory bandwidth.

Glad to hear that I managed to peak your interest - I know it can be a kinda odd experience building this awesome gaming computer and then going, "okay, what now?"

Ah, beautiful. I think that would actually be a pretty decent option - and Haswell's integrated graphics will do fine for older games and RPGs on mediumish settings.

Haha, that should work. It should treat you well.