Mini-ITX Gaming & HTPC $800-1200

phasemaster

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Mar 19, 2014
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Looking to put together a Mini-ITX Gaming/HTPC in a BitFenix Prodigy case.

Here are some highlights:

    ■ The Nvidia GeForce 60 Watt 750-Ti seems like a safe bet from a cooling perspective, but I'm open to other ideas.

    ■ CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz (considering going down a notch based on price)

    ■On the motherboard I'm torn between the MSI Z87I and the ASRock Z87E-ITX LGA 1150.

    ■For memory the CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 looks good, but it seems like it might be more than I need at $169.99

Full parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3cXJf


Other details per the "new build post" guide:

Approximate Purchase Date: (3/24/2014)

Budget Range: $800-1200 After Rebates

Parts Not Required: PSU. I have a Thermaltake Toughpower 750W that seems to meet the spec, though I'm a little worried about how I am going to stuff all those cables into such a tiny case :)

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: I'm a lot more familiar with Intel CPUs, but open to AMD if the case can be made. Otherwise I don't care provided the quality is there.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution:1920x1080

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Solution
As your build stands, its relatively weak from a gaming perspective, for a $1000+ system. If a GTX750Ti is sufficient for your needs, then that's fine, but it does mean you are spending a lot of money on things that won't really make a difference.

CPU - You basically have to make the call for overclocking or non-overclocking, as they have a knock-on effect on the rest of your build. If you are going with a graphics card like a GTX750Ti then overclocking will make very little difference to performance, as you'll be graphics-bound in most games. Even with a high end graphics card, overclocking is very application dependant, and it's highly debatable as to whether or not it's worth the cost.
If you decide you want to keep that option...

Rammy

Honorable
As your build stands, its relatively weak from a gaming perspective, for a $1000+ system. If a GTX750Ti is sufficient for your needs, then that's fine, but it does mean you are spending a lot of money on things that won't really make a difference.

CPU - You basically have to make the call for overclocking or non-overclocking, as they have a knock-on effect on the rest of your build. If you are going with a graphics card like a GTX750Ti then overclocking will make very little difference to performance, as you'll be graphics-bound in most games. Even with a high end graphics card, overclocking is very application dependant, and it's highly debatable as to whether or not it's worth the cost.
If you decide you want to keep that option, there's only one option, the 4670K
If you decide you want to streamline things, then go as cheap as possible really. The 4430/4440/4570 are all options, as at stock speeds all Haswell i5s are going to be very similar.

Motherboard - You have a couple of concerns here. Firstly if you pick the K-series processor then you need a Z87. If you don't, then you don't. If you need Wifi you can pick up a Wifi enabled board for under $100, and without for around $60. Secondly, cooler compatibility. ITX boards aren't standardised, so there are actually very few ITX boards a Hyper 212 will fit on. If you aren't overclocking, you can skip the cooler altogether, or go for a smaller tower cooler which will fit (think Hyper TX3, Hyper 101). If you are, then the 212 is a decent pick. It will fit on the Asrock Z87, but it will mean it'll be kinda offset within the Prodigy - not a massive issue but something to keep in mind. If you want it to sit in-line with the exhaust fan (which would be considered more optimal) then you need to get either of the Asus Z87 ITX boards, neither of which are cheap, but both of which have a central CPU socket.
Hope that's not as confusing as it sounds lol.

Memory - If its just for basic stuff+gaming, it's hard to see why you need 16Gb of memory. 8Gb is loads for modern games, and the only time I've managed to exceed this was running multiple game clients and near to hundreds of browser tabs. It's a good place to save you some money.

PSU - It's not ideal really. The Prodigy does have space in which you can kinda tuck+fold cables, but with a 750W non-modular PSU there's going to be a lot of spare cables, especially if you use a GTX750Ti. It's worth also mentioning that the setup as listed is a couple of hundred watts at most, so given your budget you'd probably be better off grabbing a quality entry level PSU in the 400-450W range. Hell, a 500-550W PSU will power basically any ITX build, and you can get a great one of those for ~$50.

Graphics card - This is totally up to you. In any gaming build, the graphics card is always likely to be the most expensive part, as it's the big performance dictator, and in a $1000+ gaming build, you'd definitely expect to see something more in the $250+ range. It's certainly doable within your budget, just by shuffling funds around you can get anything up to a GTX780 I think. That might be overkill of course, but there's likely to be a happy medium in there somewhere, depending on the types of games you want to play.
 
Solution

phasemaster

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Mar 19, 2014
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4,510
Wow, definitely appreciate the detailed response. I knew I was probably overpaying some. So I think I will take your advice and go down a notch on the memory and CPU in exchange for a better GPU and a more appropriate PSU.

Thanks again!
 

FractalDesignCore

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Jul 30, 2013
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I think for $1200 you can get this. It has potential for gaming. This is just a thought though as it does max out your entire budget.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.81 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Blue) Mini ITX Tower Case ($97.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Microsoft PL2 Wedge Mobile Keyboard Bluetooth Wireless Mini Keyboard ($47.16 @ Amazon)
Total: $1193.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-20 19:27 EDT-0400)
 

phasemaster

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Mar 19, 2014
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4,510


Nice. Definite upgrade on the memory. And the GPU looks like a winner.

I've updated my build with some of these parts:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Blue) Mini ITX Tower Case ($97.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SPRO-P14025WW-RP 122.2 CFM 140mm Fan ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-LPRO-23030B-RP 156.3 CFM 230mm Fan ($22.49 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Microsoft PL2 Wedge Mobile Keyboard Bluetooth Wireless Mini Keyboard ($47.16 @ Amazon)
Total: $1146.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 23:54 EDT-0400)

Thanks for the suggestions!