Building a Portable Gaming Desktop

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510
So I decided to build my own gaming desktop, make it powerful and portable but I have some doubts. I've made a system build in PCPartPicker and would like opinions about it (opinions, suggestions, etc...). I will be most likely playing Skyrim, FIFA 17, Rocket League, some games that I think can be considered pretty demanding and would like to be able to play them at max settings (ultra, 60 fps, 1080p, 1440p or 4k) within a budget of 600€ to 800€ (521£ / 646$ to 695£ / 862$).

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/GXFK2R

Is it a good build? Did I choose the right Components for what I intend to do with the PC? Are there any cheaper, better and more suitable Components that can do the job?
Do I need a CPU Cooler? Doesn't the CPU come with a cooler?
Does the motherboard has ethernet, wi-fi, bluetooth and capability for an eventual upgrade (graphic card, ram, processor)?

 
Solution
RCFProd
It's 2016, so why don't you focus on a Skylake build? You'll get newer, powerful and more efficient parts for a similar price. Most Intel CPU's, excluding a few ''K'', come with a CPU cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£170.99 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: MSI B150I GAMING PRO AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (£92.64 @ Novatech)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£39.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£67.08 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£23.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card:...
Sort by date Sort by votes
Autocrat

Autocrat

Respectable
Sep 19, 2016
505
0
2,360
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/pc-computer-cases
Graphite 380T would be my case choice for portable.

Personally I would go with a LGA1151 Mobo and an i5 6500, will be pricier, but I think its the better choice.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£188.49 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150N Phoenix-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (£83.22 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£39.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£91.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.85 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card (£134.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Corsair 380T Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£49.99 @ Novatech)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit (£83.90 @ More Computers)
Total: £714.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-21 21:11 GMT+0000
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RCFProd

RCFProd

Expert
Ambassador
Dec 8, 2013
12,606
29
56,990
It's 2016, so why don't you focus on a Skylake build? You'll get newer, powerful and more efficient parts for a similar price. Most Intel CPU's, excluding a few ''K'', come with a CPU cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£170.99 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: MSI B150I GAMING PRO AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (£92.64 @ Novatech)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£39.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£67.08 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£23.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB Video Card (£176.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Silverstone RVZ02B HTPC Case (£64.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Silverstone 500W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply (£69.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £706.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-21 21:20 GMT+0000
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


Thank you for your answer.
Why would you go with the Graphite 380T for portability over the Silverstone RVZ02B? And why do you think that the i5 6500 and a LGA1151 are the better choices? Just trying to understand before buying anything.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


Thank you for your answer. I don't know much about building a PC, so pretty much don't know the latest components.
Why did you choose that graphic card instead of the one on my build? It's just that I'm used to see more nVidia graphic cards than AMD ones.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RCFProd

RCFProd

Expert
Ambassador
Dec 8, 2013
12,606
29
56,990
Two reasons:

1) The RX 470 is a lot more powerful than the GTX 1050 Ti, and will perform signficantly better in most games. AMD drivers have been decent since 2015 and heat isn't as much an issue, not to mention Polaris undervolts really well. You can undervolt your graphics card, keep the same clock speeds and win up to 10 degrees of extra cooler temps for free.

2) Blower style reference-based benefits smaller cases, especially these ones. Well actually, this will run at similar temperatures as an aftermarket (non-reference) graphics card. However your system will be more silent, and your CPU will run cooler because of the blower GPU.

Why a blower style graphics card in your case? https://youtu.be/wiDZNT7mxLQ?t=6m33s
Why the RX 470 over a GTX 1050 Ti? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EkM8EelpJs
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Autocrat

Autocrat

Respectable
Sep 19, 2016
505
0
2,360


380T has handles on top - mostly a preference thing.
LGA1151 CPUs are newer. Doesn't make much sense to pick last gen CPU's when the prices are very close.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


Any particular reason for why you choose Sapphire over the others manufactures? Can you explain to me what is undervolt?
Is that HDD a good choice?
Don't I need a case fan and a thermal compound?

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


But wouldn't the 380T be heavy with all the components mounted in the case?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RCFProd

RCFProd

Expert
Ambassador
Dec 8, 2013
12,606
29
56,990
1) Because Sapphire is the only brand who sells blower style models for the RX 470, plus It's cheap. Sapphire and XFX are decent for AMD.
2) Yes, It's a solid 2TB HDD for the price
3) No you don't need thermal paste. It is pre-applied on Intel's stock coolers.

Case fans are optional, you can invest in a few to improve air flow. Look up which fans your case supports.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


Can you tell me the specs of the MSI B150I GAMING PRO AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (like wi-fi, bluetooth if it has, sound, etc..)?
Could you recommend a keyboard? I don't really know what's the best for me, but I was looking for a small black mechanical keyboard (I've read that they last longer) with backlit (white or multi-color), tenkeyless and not hard to transport. I've come with the Cooler Master QuickFire Rapid-i Wired Standard Keyboard (http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/WPx9TW/cooler-master-keyboard-sgk4040gkcl1us). Since I don't intend to use the mouse for gaming, I will just be buying a normal one.

Thank you for your help so far.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Autocrat

Autocrat

Respectable
Sep 19, 2016
505
0
2,360

I don't think it would be too terribly heavy. Either way, the handles are a nice touch for moving it around if you are taking it to a LAN party or something.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RCFProd

RCFProd

Expert
Ambassador
Dec 8, 2013
12,606
29
56,990


The MSI B150I GAMING PRO AC has both Wi-Fi and bluetooth.

Are you buying the keyboard for gaming but not the mouse? If so, elaborate?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


Sorry, I don't intend to use neither one for gaming. I chose that keyboard because it's small, mechanical, tenkeyless and has backlit. I didn't search a lot for the keyboard, so this is one of the firsts that appeared in pcpartpicker. If you could suggest one similar to this but cheaper, I would be grateful.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into that keyboard.
So this is the build I've decided to go for but Is there any part I could replace (except the case and the graphic card) to make it cheaper without losing quality?
PCPartPicker part list: [url=https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ntFCFd]https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ntFCFd
Price breakdown by merchant: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ntFCFd/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£159.30 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B150I GAMING PRO AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (£92.64 @ Novatech)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£41.00 @ BT Shop)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£67.00 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB Video Card (£176.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Silverstone RVZ02B HTPC Case (£64.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Silverstone 500W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply (£69.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Total: £707.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-25 20:56 GMT+0000[/url]
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


What if I went with the i3-6100 instead of the i5-6400? The HyperX Fury DDR4 2133 C14 2x4GB instead of the Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RCFProd

RCFProd

Expert
Ambassador
Dec 8, 2013
12,606
29
56,990
i3-6100 will work as good as an i5 in games that don't need more than 2 cores to run. Actually, the i3-6100 will run better in that case as it runs at a higher clock speed. In games that support 4 cores, it will highly depend. If the game properly supports hyper-threading, then the i3-6100 will work fine. If it doesn't support hyper-threading properly, many games don't, the i5-6400 will perform better with 4 physical cores.

Also, NOVATech prices are either not correct or don't show VAT. So RAM is actually more expensive than NOVATech makes it look, same for the HyperX Fury.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


Are AMD processors a good alternative?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

Ricky David

Reputable
Aug 31, 2014
20
0
4,510


So I think going with this build (https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/FT3YQV), I'll cost me 966,39€ with delivery costs to Portugal (where I live) or 895$ if I buy in the USA and have it delivered to my family there. I'll save and buy the parts throughout the year (maybe some parts will get cheaper) and maybe I'll have everything with me by the next summer.
Thank you so much for your help.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom