Need a SMALL footprint build: non-gaming

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millerb7

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I need a small footprint (read: small case) build. It'll be used in an office setting. The most intensive software to run on it will be Adobe CS6 (photoshop and Illustrator mostly). It's a non-gaming rig for the owner of the company.

Some things he wants:
1. Ability to attach 2 monitors
2. Windows 10
3. SSD if possible, but not required.
4. Here's the biggie, he really would love a small case. Something that he can lay down on it's side and put his monitor on top of, or just stick on the corner of the desk and not have it eat up a huge footprint.
5. Cost around $500 mark

Assume the only thing he has is the monitors, so it'll need to be a full build re-using nothing.

I'd love to get a part list of what to use for the build.

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
jsmithepa
Every time a hear "build for somebody" and "illiterate" I cringe. Had enough late night calls "how come the machine you built me is not doing x,y,z?"

Just buy him a prebuilt, ASUS make some nice shoe-box units, let them do the after-sales tech support.
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J

_JakeDavies

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If he built it himself the possibilities are endless!
For editing of any sort an i5 should be your minimum with a i7 recommended.
Even though skylake is a little bit more expensive than haswell, DDR4 is a lot quicker compared to DDR3 and will help for the RAM heavy tasks such as using Photoshop or premiere pro.

I'd put a GTX950 or 960 in it for a boost in video and photo editing, plus you will then be able to connect multiple monitors and never have any issues.

An SSD Raid is good for speed so 2 460GB San disk Ultra 2's will do very well and will get extremely high speeds in a Raid 0 setup.

Apart from that the rest is his choice
 
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M

millerb7

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Thanks for the response. Unfortunately he's very computer illiterate and I know enough to be dangerous. I can put it all together for him, but picking out parts is a disaster. Are you able to put a build list together by chance? If not, no worries, I will keep digging.
 
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Bossyfins

Bossyfins

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Dec 27, 2014
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1246 V3 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill AEGIS 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec ISK600 Mini ITX Tower Case ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $563.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-23 10:35 EST-0500

Not sure if you needed an OS
 
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G

gondo

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Apr 20, 2004
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case w/450W Power Supply ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $579.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-23 10:59 EST-0500

Here is a neat system. A beautiful ITX case that can fit horizontal or vertical. Motherboard is loaded with wireless, bluetooth, USB Type C, etc.... 16GB DDR-4 and an I5 CPU. The board has dual HDMI for 2 monitors. It supports 3 though. I figure a single 256GB SSD would be enough for windows, Adobe, office, and other apps. No games here. The I5, 16GB, and SSD should help speed up Adobe rendering.

There is no room for a 3.5" HDD or Optical drive in this case. It's meant to be small and beautiful. That's why you use an external hard drive for storage if required, and a USB optical drive that you plug in once a year when you want to install something.


If you want the extra space for a 3.5" hard drive and optical drive I'd look at micro-atx size and skip ITX all together. But that fractal ITX case can fit long video cards as well as 2 2.5" SSD. It's perfect for the boss. And that Gigabyte motherboard is well built with nice features for only $115.

It's a little above budget but that's what you get for 16GB ram and an I5 with SSD. Possible upgrades would be a Z170 based ITX motherboard such as the Asus Maximus VII and then you can use higher speed DDR4 RAM. Note I stuck with Socket 1151 Skylake components for future proofing.

 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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Sep 14, 2015
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Yes, the price target is not realistic for a Photoshop build. Do you want Photoshop to be dragging like a snail and the boss cursing you daily for that frustrating computer that you built for him?

Here is my attempt. The case is popular, but you may want something different or nicer. I decided to go with a Skylake build for the improved on board video and slightly better CPU Photoshop synergism, and faster DDR4 memory for the IGP. You really need at least a semi-modular PSU for this build. I know the EVGA is overkill, but it's good quality and semi-modular. I didn't include Microsoft Office. You might do better (price-wise) with a pre-built from something like the Dell outlet.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6320 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($158.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($159.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.95 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.78 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $624.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-23 14:11 EST-0500
 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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I looked at both the H and Z boards at pcpartpicker.com.The price difference was minimal. I tried to go with a quality board, though it was difficult to choose between them.
 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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I stand corrected. The price difference is somewhat significant. I think I was swayed by the fact that Puget uses an Asus z170 board in their ITX system. I agonized over the MB and PSU choices. I tried to pick out a good quality MB. Perhaps a lower priced MB would be as good or better.
 
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G

gondo

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H110I Pro Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case w/450W Power Supply ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $509.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-23 17:44 EST-0500

Sorry if I'm $10 over budget and go get a keyboard/mouse combo at Costco for $15.

The Z170 supports faster memory speeds which was a reason I mentioned it as an upgrade. Also an Nvidia quadro can give acceleration in Adobe. But these things are beyond the budget.
 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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In retrospect, I'm not sure how I ended up with that Asus MB. I may have just forgotten to click on the price column to set the order. Anyway, here is my new list with the same caveats as before:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6320 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($158.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.95 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($58.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $580.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-23 18:45 EST-0500
 
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jsmithepa

jsmithepa

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Jun 14, 2014
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Every time a hear "build for somebody" and "illiterate" I cringe. Had enough late night calls "how come the machine you built me is not doing x,y,z?"

Just buy him a prebuilt, ASUS make some nice shoe-box units, let them do the after-sales tech support.
 
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Solution
G

gondo

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Apr 20, 2004
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Best answer ever on Tom's. That's why I got out of the business...after sales techno retard support.
 
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