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New PC Build (Mini-ITX)

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July 25, 2014 10:36:22 AM

Approximate Purchase Date: August

Budget Range: $1000-$1500 (Could push $1600)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Streaming, Video Editing, And a lot of work (2tb storage ftw)

Are you buying a monitor: No

Rough Sketch of Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Cool4strenz/saved/LHmFf7 (PSU will fit in Prodigy? And is 650w enough?)

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Nvidia Graphics, and BitFenix Prodigy Case

Overclocking: Yes

Additional Comments: So basically, I'll be heading to New Jersey for a while after August and I want a (simple?) Mini-ITX computer so that I can bring it over and play some games like BF4, LoL, Crysis 3, Watchdogs and stream as well (hence the i7 processor?). The reason for the Mini-ITX is that every summer I'll be travelling to California so I was thinking of storing my monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. at my friend's house, while I'll just bring my Mini-ITX with me to Cali and plug it up to my Aunt's monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. It's quite a hassle to bring a large full ATX computer and since I'm travelling back and forth between New Jersey and Cali a lot, I thought I'd just use a smaller form factor Mini ITX computer.

On another note, if I really am just too lazy I was thinking of just buying a gaming laptop. I want to stream as well so I'm not sure how laptops handle with that. I was looking at the MSI GS60 notebook/laptop: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GS60-3K-097-Gaming-Notebook/d...
will that be able to stream 720p or 480p at 30fps without consuming all of its CPU usage? I don't mind lowering settings in games. With my old laptop I remember that when I tried to stream it would instantly jump to 100% CPU Usage.

More about : build mini itx

July 25, 2014 10:57:28 AM

You are pretty much on the right track.

I'd go for a Z97 motherboard as you are likely to guarantee CPU support out of the box, as well as getting a couple of other features for around the same price.
Cooler is good but be aware it does need a certain amount of tinkering to get everything to fit in, and it'll make your optical drive tricky, especially if you try and use an exhaust fan too.
The i7 and the 16Gb of memory are app specific, but if you need them then they'll earn their place. For a primarily gaming machine, they aren't really worth it when you can put funds into other things.
I'd avoid the Corsair RM range as I don't think they represent good value when there are great alternatives from the likes of XFX, Antec and Seasonic.
I'm not really convinced by the 4Gb GTX770s, especially at that price. The extra memory is of dubious benefit as the memory interface remains the same and at that price you are getting fairly close to GTX780 territory (not to mention already in R9 290 territory). With some small tweaks you can comfortably come in under $1500 and fit a GTX780 in there.

One thing to note about the Prodigy, it's really not that small. If you think it'll be easy to carry because it has handles - it isn't. If you think it'll be easier to pack, it's probably not. I'm a big Prodigy fan, and I have fitted one in a (deep) suitcase before for travel, but it's really not an ideal solution and there are smaller cases on the market which can fit all of your components in as well.
If you are going high end Prodigy build, I'd suggest upgrading the front fan (to a 230/200/140) and, if possible due to cooler limitations, the rear one too (to a 140). It'll make a big difference to airflow as the stock fans are quiet but don't push much air.

Here's a rough suggestion of your build with a few minor tweaks to fit in a GTX780 and get it down to $1500. You can save a load on the PSU, for a start by going for a 550W version of the same unit, or by opting for a cheaper unit without compromising on quality -up to $50 there.
There are cheaper motherboards too, but I just went for the Z97 version of the one you picked.
Shopping amongst GTX780s will cost you a bit, but the Twin Frozer GTX780 is certainly within reach.
You'll notice I dropped the Caviar Black for a Barracuda as there is no significant performance difference, and found similar but cheaper memory to free up some space. Opting for a cheaper cooler would also be a good option if you are looking for places to save.
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July 25, 2014 11:11:41 AM

Changed some stuff, I think it was overall ok

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($322.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97I Gaming AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($384.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Orange) Mini ITX Tower Case ($82.48 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($111.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1491.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 14:11 EDT-0400
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July 25, 2014 11:14:59 AM

6R1M01R3 said:
Changed some stuff, I think it was overall ok

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($322.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97I Gaming AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($384.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Orange) Mini ITX Tower Case ($82.48 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($111.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1491.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 14:11 EDT-0400


NH-D14 won't fit on a Z97I-Gaming AC (or rather it will, but it'll block the graphics card).
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July 25, 2014 11:30:27 AM

Thanks for the feedback, very valid points.

Also for the CPU Cooler, would these two be alright (I don't want to like force such a huge CPU Cooler in)?
Noctua NH-U14S
Noctua NH-U12S

If not I'll probably just stick to a Hyper 212 EVO.

As for the GPU I originally wanted the GTX 770 2GB version, but I read at some forums that 2gb VRam wasn't enough, and in the future games might surpass that usage? I guess by then I can just swap out for a new GPU.

Essentially I'm using exactly your build Rammy, but I just changed some minor things, and I'm fine with the blower-style GPU because I heard for smaller cases exhausting outside is better than leaving heat inside the small case itself, so the Galaxy GTX 780 is fine. Yea the Barracuda change was nice, I didn't realize there was such a huge price difference so I just went with my old WD 2TB drive. The ram is OK too.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Cool4strenz/saved/LHmFf7

The only thing I'm worried about is if the XFX 650W PSU will fit inside the prodigy because It's 160mm which scrapes the limit for the PSU depth.
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July 25, 2014 11:56:45 AM

The Prodigy is a BIG case for being mini-ITX; I don't think it will fit in carry-on luggage.
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July 25, 2014 12:08:29 PM

Your ASUS motherboard may have different dimensions than my Gigabyte board. Even the Hyper 212+ cooler blocks the pcie slot. But I could turn it sideways and it would work with the airflow in disagreement with case airflow.
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July 25, 2014 2:41:45 PM

Cool4strenz said:


The only thing I'm worried about is if the XFX 650W PSU will fit inside the prodigy because It's 160mm which scrapes the limit for the PSU depth.


Actually that's a good spot, 160mm PSUs will fit so stuff like the Antec HCG-620M which is often on sale. I thought the XFX was 160mm too, but even XFX don't have good documentation for it. This review however suggests its 170mm long, meaning it will not fit. My mistake.

People speak a lot of nonsense about 4Gb GTX760/GTX770 versions. If you look at any parallel reviews they'll show that even on games running at super high resolutions, which can actually use the extra Vram, the differences in FPS are really tiny, and not worth the price hike. Basically by the time you are at enough detail/resolution to make it worth it, the GPU itself isn't strong enough anyway. This does however ignore games (like Rockstar games) which arbitrarily set a minimum memory threshold for certain graphics settings and may restrict certain detail settings if you do not have the required Vram.

Noctua produce excellent compatibility lists for their coolers, so even if they are a bit expensive they can be great for ITX when it's often more of an art than a science of guessing what will fit.
As a general rule, Asus boards have the best compatibility with CPU coolers, MSI and Gigabyte the worst, though the latter did improve the socket location on their Z97 board (MSIs is still rubbish).
The issue with the D14 is not the width as much as it is the depth hitting either the rear fan or blocking connectors on the back of your optical drive. It's not that it won't work, but the tolerances are really small and it's very hard to judge.
This means that the U14 should be fine, but it did have an issue with your previously selected board.
To be honest, a 120mm cooler is fine enough if you aren't pushing things to extremes, but as Onus points out you can do this for an awful lot cheaper than $70 (plus if I was going to overspend on a 120mm tower cooler I'd probably get the Phanteks TC12DX for looks and double fans). The Hyper212 is popular for a load of reasons, but the 120mm tower cooler market is really over-saturated and there's a lot of viable options.
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July 26, 2014 1:46:21 AM

Rammy said:
Cool4strenz said:


The only thing I'm worried about is if the XFX 650W PSU will fit inside the prodigy because It's 160mm which scrapes the limit for the PSU depth.


Actually that's a good spot, 160mm PSUs will fit so stuff like the Antec HCG-620M which is often on sale. I thought the XFX was 160mm too, but even XFX don't have good documentation for it. This review however suggests its 170mm long, meaning it will not fit. My mistake.

People speak a lot of nonsense about 4Gb GTX760/GTX770 versions. If you look at any parallel reviews they'll show that even on games running at super high resolutions, which can actually use the extra Vram, the differences in FPS are really tiny, and not worth the price hike. Basically by the time you are at enough detail/resolution to make it worth it, the GPU itself isn't strong enough anyway. This does however ignore games (like Rockstar games) which arbitrarily set a minimum memory threshold for certain graphics settings and may restrict certain detail settings if you do not have the required Vram.

Noctua produce excellent compatibility lists for their coolers, so even if they are a bit expensive they can be great for ITX when it's often more of an art than a science of guessing what will fit.
As a general rule, Asus boards have the best compatibility with CPU coolers, MSI and Gigabyte the worst, though the latter did improve the socket location on their Z97 board (MSIs is still rubbish).
The issue with the D14 is not the width as much as it is the depth hitting either the rear fan or blocking connectors on the back of your optical drive. It's not that it won't work, but the tolerances are really small and it's very hard to judge.
This means that the U14 should be fine, but it did have an issue with your previously selected board.
To be honest, a 120mm cooler is fine enough if you aren't pushing things to extremes, but as Onus points out you can do this for an awful lot cheaper than $70 (plus if I was going to overspend on a 120mm tower cooler I'd probably get the Phanteks TC12DX for looks and double fans). The Hyper212 is popular for a load of reasons, but the 120mm tower cooler market is really over-saturated and there's a lot of viable options.


Oh ok then so I've basically got my build, but I'm stuck on a PSU. What is a good 650w or 550w (is 550w enough?) modular or semi-modular psu for this build?

Also now that I think about it, since I'm not going water cooling, how are the Bitfenix Colossus Mini-ITX Cases and Bitfenix Phenom Mini-ITX Cases?
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July 26, 2014 5:20:05 AM

550W is enough (500W is enough really) but sometimes the higher quality modular PSUs are only available at slightly higher wattages which justifies their inclusion.

You don't necessarily need a modular PSU in a Prodigy as even though it has no cable management to speak of, the PSU "box" has gaps at the sides and sections which are favourable towards cable ties. This means it's relatively straightforward to get everything neat and well secured without a modular PSU. Modular PSU or not, cable routing in a Prodigy will take a while to get everything relatively organised.

If you want to stick with a modular PSU, I'd probably pick one of these-
Antec HCG-620M
Corsair HX650
Seasonic SSR-550RM/650RM, M12II620
XFX P1-650X-XXB9
All are made by Seasonic and most are based around the same two platforms so there's not a lot between them.


As for the other Bitfenix cases, they all have a significant weakness which might be problematic.
The Phenom (ITX) has no 5.25" external drive bay access and poor graphics card cooling.
The Colossus (ITX) has poor graphics card cooling and extra depth from the plastic door section which might be awkward for travel.
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July 26, 2014 8:38:25 AM

Thank you all :D .
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