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Mini ITX System Build Review - $1000 budget

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  • World Of Warcraft
  • Build
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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August 27, 2014 6:41:26 AM

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3zTyHx

Just wanting some opinions on this mini ITX build. Any suggestions on improvements as I've never done a mini build. Budget is around $1000 but obviously cutting of unnecessary spending is certainly welcome ;) 

Trying to keep it as cost effective as possible. System will be mostly used for Wow, LoL, and occasionally some BF4.

I'd like to max out WoW and hit high settings on more modern titles.

Thanks for the suggestions!

More about : mini itx system build review 1000 budget

August 27, 2014 6:45:11 AM

yeah that system will work just fine :)  and it will max wow on ultra, you got a pretty good graphics card there and that's pretty much all wow relies on really, also the single processing power on the I5 4690 is very good, so yeah pretty good set up and will do what you want it to
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August 27, 2014 6:48:54 AM

You can cut on the PSU, you CPU is locked and system won't need more than EVGA 600B, quality wise.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/R3YjRB
Everything else seems fine and you'll get what you wish for from this build :) 
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August 27, 2014 6:49:30 AM

The build is very good.
But why a 4690 on a Z97 motherboard? Get a 4690K,that way you will be able to OC.
Also,change the GPU to a Sapphire/Gigabyte/XFX R9 280. I know a couple of people that have had MSI cards and they have all failed in less than a year.
Other than that,the build is good and you will be able to run these latest game on medium-high,while some older games at ultra.
All the best. ;) 
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a b Ý World of Warcraft
August 27, 2014 7:37:33 AM

Pretty much agree with what everyone else is saying.

CPU/Mobo -
Option 1) Get a 4690K. It's not significantly more expensive and it is much better value if you overclock it. Downside is you'll need a solid cooler to exploit this and the case you have picked, while excellent value, is pretty limited on cooler support - 120mm rad closed loop coolers or low profile air (and the air options aren't great).
Option 2) Get a 4440/4460 and a H97 (or cheaper) board and exploit value for money. Cheapest i5 is basically the best i5. If you aren't overclocking then it's likely you'll get everything you need on a H97, you'll even get boards with M.2 support but they aren't going to be significantly cheaper than the Z97s. If you don't need Wifi or any other fancy features, you can save a load here.

Graphics -
At $1000 budget you could potentially burn huge amounts of money here - there's no reason you couldn't fiddle with the budget until you could fit in a GTX780 or R9 290X, but both of these are likely to be overkill for your needs.
LoL especially isn't very demanding, WoW performance is often more dependant on addons and servers than your actual hardware but in general is pretty accessible too. For more demanding games it really depends on your expectations and your display resolution. Assuming your just running the "standard" 1080P, you'll be absolutely fine with a 280 for the foreseeable future as long as you are happy to compromise a little here and there with the more extreme options.

PSU -
PSU is good but it's arguably a bit expensive. I'd actually agree with pairing a modular/semi-modular PSU with the Elite 130 due to the PSU location. With it sitting above your motherboard, the cables will hang down and there's not a lot of cable management (unless you get creative with zip ties) so any cables you can get rid of is going to be beneficial. Right now there's not a lot of good offers on PSUs so it might be worth holding out and keeping your eyes peeled (there was a big deal on the Rosewill Tachyon 650 which is overkill in every way but it was pretty great value, similar story with the Rosewill Capstone 650-M). The obvious picks for this case would probably be the Antec HCG520M/620M, XFX XTR550, Seasonic M12II520/620, G550 (your pick) or Rosewill Capstone 550M/650M. All have their pro's and con's but ultimately they are all made by very repuatable OEMs and all will do the job - if you see any on offer then any of them is a good choice.
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August 28, 2014 12:34:36 AM

It's a good build.
Have fun with it. ;) 
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August 28, 2014 6:25:49 AM

I'd probably change the PSU - Thermaltake are very hit and miss on PSUs. That one looks ok-ish, but there's no solid reviews and it's not cheap. The Seasonic you had originally was a much better option. It's also worth saying that if you go with a Prodigy, you don't need a modular PSU - there's not much in the way of cable management but there's a decent amount of space to tuck/tie cables. If anything a wired PSU is easier to install in this case.

Remember too that a Prodigy is pretty big as ITX cases go - it's wider than most ATX towers. I like mine a lot but it's not without its flaws - namely being big and a bit wobbly (especially on carpet). If you are looking for something as a space saver a Prodigy probably isn't a good choice unless it's height/depth that limits you.
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August 28, 2014 6:35:39 AM

Rammy said:
I'd probably change the PSU - Thermaltake are very hit and miss on PSUs. That one looks ok-ish, but there's no solid reviews and it's not cheap. The Seasonic you had originally was a much better option. It's also worth saying that if you go with a Prodigy, you don't need a modular PSU - there's not much in the way of cable management but there's a decent amount of space to tuck/tie cables. If anything a wired PSU is easier to install in this case.

Remember too that a Prodigy is pretty big as ITX cases go - it's wider than most ATX towers. I like mine a lot but it's not without its flaws - namely being big and a bit wobbly (especially on carpet). If you are looking for something as a space saver a Prodigy probably isn't a good choice unless it's height/depth that limits you.


I have a Thermaltake Smart SE 630W and it's a pretty good,solid PSU.Not the best,but it gets the job done.
But I agree that the Seasonic he had in the original build is way better than this Thermaltake. :) 
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August 28, 2014 7:11:18 AM

LukaBoki said:

I have a Thermaltake Smart SE 630W and it's a pretty good,solid PSU

That kinda illustrates my point though. Thermaltake use a huge number of OEMs, even within the same product range, and this means huge inconsistency which means the brand has no name power to me (quite the opposite).
Across the SMART range alone they use three different manufacturers and have power supplies of four different levels of 80Plus certification, not including at least three models which have none at all. At a glance, this is due to them only supporting ~230V input which isn't the worst thing but it reeks of cost saving on a model which isn't exactly aimed at the entry level.
For me, a lack of clear information, deliberately misleading naming, and a selection of relatively poor quality OEMs makes them a brand to avoid.
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