Advice on a new SFF Gaming PC build - GPU vs Skylake vs Balance

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_dZh0_

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Hello,

I've wanted to build a new small form factor gaming PC for some time... While I was saving the money for it (it is hard in "vacation season") I made (on paper) two additional builds which cost pretty much the same and now I need your advice on what should I lean towards to.
I will try to use the kindly provided template:

Approximate Purchase Date: in about a month or two

Budget Range: around $1200 after shipping

System Usage: GAMING only

Are you buying a monitor: Yes - Somewhere down the road...

Parts to Upgrade: Mostly the CPU - MB - GPU combination. The parts I already have are:
Cooler: Zalman CNP9700
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 850W

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website for Parts: None - Prices in my country are different and the shipping is usually painful.

Location: Bulgaria - This is the problem: The parts stay at the cost they had at the time the local shops imported them. Very few (only easily sold) older parts are imported when their prices drop in the US. The prices fluctuate based on the LOCAL market since importing them is hard / costly.

Parts Preferences: Intel / nVidia - I am opened to suggestions though...

Overclocking: Maybe - I am warred about the heat/noise in a small chassis. The PC will also be in a non-air-conditioned room which leads to ambient temperatures of 40°C / 104°F

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 - I'll be upgrading to 1920x1080 or even 2560 x 1440 144Hz if possible.

Additional Comments:

  • ■ I would like a small form factor.
    ■ The PC will work for at least 4-5 years so I need something solid but I will never upgrade it so no need for expansion slots or extra ports.
    ■Noise is to be considered but it is not the most important thing and I'm quite far from the thought that the PC will be silent.
    ■I also like 200mm fans ;)
Why am I upgrading: My current rig is ancient - OC-ed Q6600 / GF260 was awesome back in the days. Now I can hardly play any games on minimal settings...

So here are the 3 builds: I've included my local shop prices just as a reference.

BALANCED - Or is it?
CPU: Intel i5 4690k 3.5GHz - $282.78
Cooler: Zalman CNP9700 - own
MB: Asus Z97I-plus - $165.85
GPU: Palit GTX970 jetstream - $397.31
RAM: Geil 2x4GB DDR3 1333MHz - $52.50
SDD: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2 - $137.22
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB - $63.23
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 850W - own
Case: Corsair Obsidian 250D - $129.09
TOTAL: $1227.98

Knowing that the MB and the Case are overpriced and that I'll probably never overclock the system I tried an alternative with focus on GPU power:

GTX980 - Graphic power!
CPU: Intel i5 4460 3.2GHz - $205.22
Cooler: Zalman CNP9700 - own
MB: Gigabyte B85N phoenix - $88.29
GPU: Palit GTX980 jetstream - $652.65
SDD: G.Skill 2x4GB DDR3 1333MHz - $69.77
SSD: Adata SP610 256GB SATA3 - $107.38
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB - $63.23
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 850W - own
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 - $48.61
TOTAL: $1235.16

Here I sacrifice the M.2 and the overclocking ability for a GTX 980. Now I am not sure the 980 performs that much better than the 970 as the price is almost twofold but gaming is my focus. However, this was about the time the "Skylake" came out so it was time for a new build:

SKYLAKE - Because choice was never meant to be easy!
CPU: Intel i5 6600k 3.5GHz - $283.97
Cooler: Zalman CNP9700 - own
MB: Asus Z170M-plus - $141.98
GPU: Palit GTX970 jetstream - $397.31
SDD: Corsair 2x4GB DDR4 2400MHz - $83.59
SDD: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2 - $137.22
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB - $63.23
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 850W - own
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 - $48.61
TOTAL: $1180.10

Now this build is a bit bigger (micro ATX) but there are no Z170 mini ITX motherboards in my country at the moment. The surprise is that even with the price of DDR4 it is the least expensive out of the three.

So... What do you think? Which system should I choose for gaming? The "balanced" one, the GTX980 or the Skylake? Any apparent weaknesses in any of the builds?

Actually any comment would be useful!

Thank you for reading this awfully long post :)
 
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I'd wait a month until cpu's like the i5-6600 and i5-6500 are available, and get a h170 motherboard with a gtx 970.

The non OC skylake parts were revealed this week, and should be available for purchase in the next month. The i5-6600 is essential the same as a 6600k, except no OC. And if you aren't going to OC, you can get an h170 board for around $100. That'll save you about $75-$100 compared to your OC skylake build, and get you within 5% of the performance. You can save the money for a future graphics card or monitor.

I do not recommend a gtx 980, because it's price is too high compared to the 970, plus you will have a little more heat. The 970 is basically the perfect card for small builds.

Edit: I also would avoid the 390x...
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modernwar99

modernwar99

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The GTX 980 build will perform the best, but the 980 in your country is almost double the price of a 970.... it isn't worth the extra $250. How much is the R9 390x in Bulgaria? Goes neck and neck with the 980, but it is generally cheaper most places. Runs a little hotter which could be a concern though.

That being said, the third build is the most balanced for performance and cost. The 6600k is an awesome OCer thanks to the higher efficiency compared to haswell. You get a skylake CPU, Z170 mobo, and DDR4 RAM for the same price as the i5 4690k, Z97 mobo, and DDR3 RAM basically.
 
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_dZh0_

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Thanks for the answer, modernwar99! :D

R9 390x is around $530 which is certainly nicer but the heat in a mini ITX case worries me too.

I don't care much about OC. (read: "I am crap at overclocking." :) )

I had some mixed OC results in the past and in my experience, when the system is new - you don't need it, when it's old - it can't save it. Even if I get a "k" processor I will probably not overclock to save myself a bit of heat / noise.

This begs the question: Is overclocking advisable on a mini ITX (somewhat quite) PC?
 
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modernwar99

modernwar99

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While you don't NEED an overclock now, overclocking can greatly extend the period of time you can go without upgrading. The almost 5 year old i7 2600k can still keep up with the i7 4690k because of overclocking. But if heat is that big of a concern and you are firm on not OCing, you can probably save money and get a i5 4590 and a lower end H97 mobo which might allow you to fit a R9 390x into the budget.

As for the R9 390x, you will probably want a Gigabyte G1 or Sapphire TRI-X version because of their better cooling systems (yes they will fit in your case). But a better cooling system means more heat is released into the case so might you might need to invest in a few high airflow case fans.
 
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_dZh0_

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I am not that "hellbent" against overclocking. I just have no experience with the small form factor and the heat worries me.

Anyways, the R9 390x will not fit in the budget of any of the overclock-able systems (yet).
(I'll try to tinker around with the case and the RAM to fit it the "skylake" build)

So your advice is to get the "graphic power" build but with a 390x and try to use the saved $100 on better MB and CPU?
Is that correct?
 
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TallestJon96

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I'd wait a month until cpu's like the i5-6600 and i5-6500 are available, and get a h170 motherboard with a gtx 970.

The non OC skylake parts were revealed this week, and should be available for purchase in the next month. The i5-6600 is essential the same as a 6600k, except no OC. And if you aren't going to OC, you can get an h170 board for around $100. That'll save you about $75-$100 compared to your OC skylake build, and get you within 5% of the performance. You can save the money for a future graphics card or monitor.

I do not recommend a gtx 980, because it's price is too high compared to the 970, plus you will have a little more heat. The 970 is basically the perfect card for small builds.

Edit: I also would avoid the 390x for a SSF build, as it consumes 75% more power, costs a few hundred more, and is only a little more powerful.
 
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Bossyfins

Bossyfins

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Mother of god. I got scared as hell because or your profile pic. LOL



@OP, I'd stick with GPU power. So go with a 4460 and 970. And if the 980 or 980 ti or you go to 4k, your system won't be bottlenecked.
 
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_dZh0_

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Sep 5, 2015
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Thank you all for your comments and recommendations.

I will do wait a month or two (as planned) and I'll see if I could get my hands on a Z170 or H170 mini-ITX motherboard.

I am also looking at "blower" type GTX 970 for the mini case and if the prices of the 980 drop I can go with a "reference" card.

I'll keep you posted on the build and maybe drop some photos once the parts start to arrive. Hell, I can even run a couple of benchmarks of the "Skylake - ITX" build if there is any interest.

Still if someone wants to add something - post away :)
 
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