Need a little help with a PC build. Mini ITX (Corsair 250D)

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Moees36

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So I have been wanting to build a PC that I can use to play Minecraft and Battlefield 4 on decent settings and do some light photo and video editing. I had completed like two to three builds that were good and could run any of those games on Ultra but they were just out of my budget so I decided that I will just go with a basic PC for now and when I am older I would build a legit one (I am currently 17). Well can you give me a recommendation for some builds? Here are the things that I want in it:

1. I want it to be Mini - ITX because I want it to be portable.
2. I want the case to be a Corsair 250D
3. The budget must be less then $1000 that will include a mechanical keyboard, mouse, Windows7, and a monitor.
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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I see you have posted a few threads on a similar subject here and here, you seem to have got some solid advice, but your requirements seem to keep changing and you aren't closing threads.

Keyboard and mouse are totally subjective. You can't really go on a recommendation, you are best to read plenty of reviews and if you have the option available, go and play with them in a shop. It's also very hard to suggest what section of your budget to set aside, these don't need to be expensive components, but a lot of people will swear by various expensive models. In your previous build(s) you have around $100 set aside, and that's fine, but it's going to take a fairly big chunk out of your budget.

Similarly, a monitor is at least $100 and your OS is $90.

That leaves $700 for your actual machine, which is a fairly healthy amount, but it does bring into question how much purpose a 250D has. It's expensive, not terribly practical, and unless you run a 240mm rad+full sized optical drive, it doesn't really have a great USP, even though it's a really nice case.
If you do insist on sticking with the 250D, you come out with something like this as your best bang/buck machine. It can't be overclocked, and doesn't have Wifi, but it's fairly reasonably priced, and it'll play any modern game on decent settings.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.15 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 270X 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 250D Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $716.06
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-09 01:49 EDT-0400)
 
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Moees36

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Yeah I know my mind changes a lot. Somedays I'm like no I won't be able to afford it then Somedays I'm like now I should go with good performance. So I just get stuck there.
 
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Moees36

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So after hours of more research and budget planning I have settles down with a build that is $1800 (includes tax and shipping) and monitor, OS, mechanical keyboard, and moues are included. So here is the build:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($346.38 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet CPU Cooler ($35.70 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87I GAMING AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($194.83 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Value 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($143.96 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.53 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.29 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($281.43 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 250D Mini ITX Tower Case ($97.41 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($118.17 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($21.62 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($108.22 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC E2260SWDN 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($108.23 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm Fans ($30.29 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($86.54 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Cooler Master Recon Wired Optical Mouse ($40.04 @ Amazon)
Total: $1779.64

All I have left is to get a job and start saving :)
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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1) If you aren't buying today (or at least this week/month) then having a specific build in mind is pointless. Prices change quickly, and particularly on the US market you need to take advantage of deals as they come around. The upcoming Haswell refresh is likely to change the CPU market a bit for example.


2) As it stands, the build isn't very good, it's a really poor value-for-money prospect.

  • ■ i7 is of questionable merit if you are focused towards gaming. An i5 can do video editing too.
    ■ CPU cooler is both unsuited to the build/case, and unlikely to be compatible with the motherboard.
    ■ Motherboard is nice but very expensive.
    ■ 16GB of memory is of little-no use in a gaming build, plus this kit is fairly expensive. Also if you are going to splurge on a Z87 motherboard, you might as well find a suitable 1866Mhz (or better) kit because it's not likely to be much more expensive.
    ■ $280 is very expensive for a GTX760, you should be able to pick one up for considerably less.
    ■ Case doesn't make sense for air cooling, it's not really designed for it.
    ■ Corsair RM PSUs are ok-ish but really overpriced. On any given day you'll see good deals on better quality PSUs from the likes of Seasonic for ~$70, cheaper if you are happy to work with a non-modular PSU.
    ■ Corsair SP fans are static pressure fans, for radiators (mainly). Also the 250D comes with two case fans already which is all you really need.
 
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Moees36

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Ok, so give me a build you would recommend...the build should have:

- i5-4670k
- Corsair H100i
- Mini ITX motherboard
- at least 8gb memory
- a modular 600 or more power supply
- and keep the peripherals, storage, case , and optical drive from my build
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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You can put basically any graphics card you want in this build, I stuck in a GTX780 for the hell of it, but for a cheap 1080P monitor it's kinda overkill (the whole build is in some ways) so swapping it for a GTX770/R9 280X or lower might be advisable.

I'm not really sure what sort of budget you are aiming for, as the figures you listed presumably include some sort of % tax? (they are high) but you can scale it fairly easily by changing the graphics card.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($71.10 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.64 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($473.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 250D Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1424.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-09 22:32 EDT-0400)


The motherboard is the cheapest good option. You could go for the Asus Z87I-Deluxe, but it's very expensive, or the Maximus Impact, which is incredibly expensive. I would suggest avoiding the MSI/Gigabyte models with this case as they have a lot of connectors along the "top" edge of the motherboard which will block/interfere with your cooler.
Memory - go with whatever is good value at the time.
PSU - this is a good deal at the moment, probably the best deal going. If you wanted a fully modular there is a Rosewill Tachyon 600 on sale for $100 which is decent value too.
If you are unsure in the future it's probably best just to ask on these forums what is a good deal when you come to buy. I'd suggest looking for units with Seasonic or SuperFlower as an OEM, they are pretty bulletproof for consistency, but there's a lot of quality models on the market.
 
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Moees36

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Okay so I like the build...I'll just be changing the graphics card. Also about the motherboard, in the back of the motherboard where you put in the IO sheild there are these two yellow gold things. I know they are used to get wifi signal. Does that mean that this motherboard has built in wifi?
 
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AdStan

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Probably a bit late but u can fit an air cooler upto 140mm in this case even thought the specs say 95mm. I've just put a Arctic Freezer 13 in mine
 
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