new budget build, suggestions welcome!

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philly27

philly27

Honorable
Aug 1, 2012
65
0
10,640
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vzmQxr


Looking to build a very small very powerful budget system. The CPU/Mobo should be $40 cheaper at microcenter. Build comes in just under $600. 1080p gaming.
[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vzmQxr) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vzmQxr/by_merchant/)
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i34160) | $99.99 @ Micro Center
**Motherboard** | [ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h97mitxac) | $79.99 @ Micro Center
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31600c9d8gab) | $59.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam) | $99.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373l) | $159.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-case-rvz01b) | $78.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Power Supply** | [Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-power-supply-st45sf) | $54.99 @ SuperBiiz
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $633.93
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-11 10:43 EST-0500 |
 
Solution
Onus
The only thing you really give up with the i3 vs. i5 is overclocking (which you don't care about anyway in that tiny case), since the hyperthreaded i3 also appears as four cores. If you look at http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1197?vs=1198 you'll see rather significant (almost scary!) differences in Productivity applications, but very little difference (or none) in most games; in some, the i3 is actually faster.
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logainofhades

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Apr 27, 2009
37,551
3,221
143,290
Not bad, I have been considering that Silverstone case, for my own build. Here is another option for you to consider.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($171.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $646.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-11 13:19 EST-0500
 
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tambeshakunt

tambeshakunt

Honorable
Jun 5, 2013
1,917
1
12,960
Here is an alternative:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($171.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $633.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-11 13:26 EST-0500



Changes:
1) Much better CPU which will allow for future GPU upgrades and strong gaming performance with latest games

2) GTX 960 is a slightly better, much newer and more efficient card compared to the 280 also latest games like GTA V seem to be Nvidia optimised

3) The 850 SSD is overkill for this and I would rather spend on cpu and gpu. Hence , I have chosen a HYBRID drive which is still much faster than a standard mechanical drive. IF you want an even better GPU, you can go for a standard mechanical drive and a GTX 970.

4) The Case was overpriced. The Elite 110 is a much better case allowing for standard PSUs and upgrades. It is slightly bigger though -still itx.

5) The EVGA 500W is a decent PSU that should be more than enough

6) The single module RAM will allow for future upgrade IF you need.
 
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philly27

philly27

Honorable
Aug 1, 2012
65
0
10,640
The goal is to keep it as small as possible and at 16L it is about the size of xbox/ps. I am not sure there are any other cases that come close to this, thus the price premium. please let me know. Additionally the ssd is coming in at 79.99 from a deal posted on slickdeals.
Gpu is a tough point. looking at the benches I could find and based off the recommendations in the monthly article at $160 this looks like great $/performance. I don't particularly care for Radeon cards or the heat they produce.
CPU- paired with the caliber of GPU I am looking at plus 1080p, am I really leaving any gaming performance on the table by sticking with core i3 vs i5?
 
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Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
The only thing you really give up with the i3 vs. i5 is overclocking (which you don't care about anyway in that tiny case), since the hyperthreaded i3 also appears as four cores. If you look at http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1197?vs=1198 you'll see rather significant (almost scary!) differences in Productivity applications, but very little difference (or none) in most games; in some, the i3 is actually faster.
 
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