Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question
Solved

Is this miniITX good for me?

Tags:
  • Mini PC
  • Systems
  • Build
  • Components
  • system
Last response: in Systems
Share
June 13, 2014 11:41:19 PM

Hi, I'm majoring in game art and design so I work with some pretty heavy programs (looking at specialty schools that are pretty far away so something easy to travel with is ideal), also some LAN parties and serious home gaming. I currently have a GeForce GT 130m with an Intel Core 2 Duo @ 4GB of RAM (Acer laptop); I do 90% of my work at school (not fun with deadlines at all) and run most current games on low to sometimes medium with quite the heat. Desperately in need of an upgrade.

I'm looking to buy in the next two months at the latest; my range is between $1-1.5K. I'm not particularly loyal to brand, though I will say I quite like the BitFenix Prodigy case.

Here's the build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($301.98 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Red) Mini ITX Tower Case ($84.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1302.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 02:35 EDT-0400

(Using a TV as a monitor - 1080p though my bro-in-law said he can get his hands on some reasonably priced monitors, OS - Win 7 Ultimate x64, and any other accessories already taken care of)

I was wondering about the Intel Xeon. I've heard it's just as good as the i7 but cheaper. Any further reviews or advice about that? Also, for the PSU, is that enough? I'm not quite knowledgeable on the breathing room you should give between watts. Mostly just wondering if this is a good build and what tweaks it could use, first time and all.

Guess that's it. Anything else I'll be eternally grateful for.

Thanks in advance!

More about : miniitx good

June 13, 2014 11:48:06 PM

Are you looking for the small form factor the Mini-ITX offers specifically? If so, I see no glaring issues with this build.
m
0
l
June 13, 2014 11:57:11 PM

First of all, change the PSU. Too cheap and that is not the best Corsair PSU. That is one of their budget PSU's. Go with something from XFX ,Black edition series or the XXX series. They are reliable and High Quality. Could suggest more, but I personally only have experience with them (Currently using Pro Series XXX Edition: PRO650W).
But the rest of the Build is very good. See if you can replace the CPU for the 4790K. A bit more expensive, but, it overclocks like a Champion according to Tom's Hardware, in case you are interested in Overclock now or in the future.
m
0
l
Related resources
June 14, 2014 4:27:30 AM

The GTX 770 or the R9 280X would be the minimum to play most games on ultra for THIS generation. I'd reccommend you opt for a GTX 780 or a R9 290 atleast but it's your choice. There is an R9 290 for only 50$ more thean the GTX 770.

Also the absolute minimum power supply i would go for with your build would be a high quality 550 watt but keep in mind even the CX series of corsair aren't that great they have chaper capacitors at the end that don't like too much heat.

I would go for either a 600 watt at least or a 650 watt would be even better, due to headroom for OC.
m
0
l
June 14, 2014 4:43:29 PM

Yes, the small form is precisely why I'm looking at miniITX builds. My top 3 schools are pretty far, the farthest being in Vancouver while I preside along the east coast. I thought of investing in a macbook for even lighter travel, but after doing research I realized that's not beneficial whatsoever.

As for the psu, I took both of your suggestions into consideration; would the XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($95.99 @ Mwave) be a good replacement? For the cpu, I'm not too interested in overclocking atm but maybe in the future. But I did some quick research for benchmarks on Tom's Hardware reviews and the difference doesn't seem like much to me. Is the extra $20 really worth it? And since it doesn't come out until the 25th, should I really invest in a first run product?

And for the gpu, I see what you mean; what brand would you recommend for the R9 290 or the GTX 770?
m
0
l
June 14, 2014 4:47:07 PM

I'd consider also getting a small SSD, like 128GB, you can't really go wrong with that, especially when you put the games you use on it for fast load times.
m
0
l
June 14, 2014 5:01:31 PM

The PSU is good, but a little overpriced there are better for less. In all honesty if you don't have interest in OC then you dont necessarily have to go for it, OCing is more of a hobby that is just fun to do. For a non OC build my guess would be you could cut back about 80$ or something. As for the GPU the GTX 770 you've selected is good nothing better :)  show you a few R9s too.

Here some links:

R9 290s I would go with:

Either this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-axr9...

Or:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9290aedbd

For the PSU I would go with:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive...

Or:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pg075...

m
0
l
June 14, 2014 11:01:54 PM

Okay, so I changed the 250GB SSD for a 128GB and changed the XFX for the Rosewill. Also realized I made a typo for the gpu; I meant recommendations for the 780, but after looking into it further, the R9 290 has a better price-to-performance ratio. Went with the Powercolor card for that.

Any other changes?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290 4GB PCS+ Video Card ($351.30 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Red) Mini ITX Tower Case ($84.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1362.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-15 01:56 EDT-0400
m
0
l

Best solution

June 15, 2014 10:45:27 AM

The build you changed to is pretty good but the Samsung 840 PRO series is a overkill SSD the 840 EVO should be fine unless you really want that small increase in load times.

If you aren't into overclocking then i would go with a Xeon, yes that would save you about 150$.

Have a look : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FjvsnQ


But your build looks fine too.
Share
June 16, 2014 9:55:40 PM

Looked into the Xeon some more myself. I definitely won't be needing overclocking (with that cpu/gpu/ram/etc? And definitely not an enthusiast), it's just under the same capabilities as the 4770K (sometimes exceeding it according to benchmarks), and it's just as good with games. Surprised people aren't looking to this cpu more. All I did was swap out the Barracuda for a Western Digital. Only a few dollars more for the change, plus I have two WD external HDDs so I like their product.

Thank you so much for helping me create/perfect a build that may or may not affect my future career, lol. I look forward to buying and putting all the components together; it's going to be fun.
m
0
l
!