Mini itx build

Piers Sinclair

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Mar 11, 2014
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Hi guys,

Im looking at making a mini itx build for gaming out of old scrap parts.

the case I plan to use is a cooler master elite 130. From what I understand its the best mini itx case? Or is a bit fenix prodigy better?

Currently the parts I have available are

A sapphire vapor x hd 5870 (will this fit in the case and run cool enough?)

An old 8800 gts card (probs not relevant but ill list if anyway)

An intel i5 760 (can you get mini itx boards for this cpu still? If you can is it worth replacing ot and what should I get? My budget for cpu is like 130-140 max.)

16gb ripjaws 1600mhz cl10 ram

4gb kingston 1333mhz ram

An old 550w thermaltake psu

what do you think my best route here is?

I want to spend like 400AUD max. Thanks.

I usually use this site because I can.pick up from there http://www.austin.net.au

Thanks for the help!
 
Solution
The route to go will kinda depend on your plans in general. A first gen i5 and a HD5870 are still fairly solid for gaming, but they are both pretty old and starting to become increasingly obsolete if you want to run modern games.

There are ITX boards for socket 1156, but they will be fairly hard to get hold of, lacking in modern features, and depending on your future plans, a huge issue if you want to upgrade. I'd definitely recommend going with a modern motherboard as it does give you a lot more flexibility, the issue is that you are replacing a quality (but ageing) CPU with a fairly budgety one.

The 16Gb memory should be reusable, depending on it's configuration (2 or 4 sticks), but that shouldn't be an issue.

I'd be a little...

Rammy

Honorable
The route to go will kinda depend on your plans in general. A first gen i5 and a HD5870 are still fairly solid for gaming, but they are both pretty old and starting to become increasingly obsolete if you want to run modern games.

There are ITX boards for socket 1156, but they will be fairly hard to get hold of, lacking in modern features, and depending on your future plans, a huge issue if you want to upgrade. I'd definitely recommend going with a modern motherboard as it does give you a lot more flexibility, the issue is that you are replacing a quality (but ageing) CPU with a fairly budgety one.

The 16Gb memory should be reusable, depending on it's configuration (2 or 4 sticks), but that shouldn't be an issue.

I'd be a little sceptical about the PSU. These do age, and thermaltake do have some rubbish in their lineup, so they aren't the most trustworthy brand in PSUs. If it's a lower quality, is more than a few years old, or has had a fairly hard life, it might well be something you want to consider replacing.

A HD5870 will fit in both an Elite130 or a Bitfenix Prodigy. In both cases, the card sits against the side of the case, with it's own vented section. It's quite possible you'll get better temps in these cases than you would in an ATX tower.

The Elite130 and the Prodigy don't really compete directly, despite both being ITX. They are very different sizes, with the Prodigy being pretty large (wider than most ATX towers) and offering lots of options for water/air cooling, good airflow and drive bays, while the Elite130 is compact and great value. If you want something easily portable, the Elite 130 is a very clear winner.

If this is a system you plan on spending money on in the future, then it seems to me that setting up a solid foundation by getting a modern motherboard+PSU is a good way to spend your money now. The site you linked doesn't have a fantastic selection but based on the (few) options there, I'd suggest something like
Elite 130 - $70
H87 motherboard - $150
New PSU (on that website it's probably a Corsair CX, as it's cheap, but they aren't terribly good) - $85
Which leaves you with under $100 for a CPU, so you are looking at a Pentium dual core.
It might not seem fantastic (and the part selection doesn't help) but it does mean you have a system which is very upgradable, and you can drop in a modern graphics card and i5 at any point and have a really high end machine.

In theory there should be another option, which is to just make the most of the money you have now, but I'm kinda struggling to figure out what that is. Finding an ITX board for your current CPU is by no means out of the question, but I can't see any for sale, so it's likely to come on eBay or something. That could get the cost down, but it is a bit of a dead end.
 
Solution

Piers Sinclair

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Mar 11, 2014
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Well Atm i have a bloody good desktop pc, I'm really looking at this as a side project where i minimize costs. I want to basically make a portable gaming box that can run things on low at least. I also might install steam os on it if i can.

I checked the PSU it is a TR2 RX-550AL3CC. Also 550w is the right wattage right?

The RAM is 2 sticks.

I can also use the site www.pccasegear.com.au but i would have to ship the stuff and pay for shipping but it has a much better selection and pricing.

If it's relevant at all i do have an ATX board for my i5 760 but that shouldn't matter if i'm going for a mini itx case.

 

Piers Sinclair

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Mar 11, 2014
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Right so I plan to go with this:

http://www.austin.net.au/gigabyte-ga-z87n-wifi-lga1150-z87-chipset-2-x.html

http://www.austin.net.au/intel-core-i3-4130-34ghz-3m-lga1150.html

http://www.austin.net.au/cooler-master-elite-130-mitx-case-black-2-x.html

http://www.austin.net.au/samsung-internal-optical-drive-sh-224dbbebs-s.html

http://www.austin.net.au/500w-corsair-cx-500v3-atx-power-supply80-plus.html

With my Sapphire Vapor X HD5870 as the graphics card and my 16gb ram as the memory. Also a random hard drive I have lying around.

What do you guys think?

Also is the 500W PSU enough to power this system?

Thanks,
Piers