Small Form Factor rig for 1K

[KazumaCTHDWE]

Right, I'm trying to squeeze as much as I can of an enthusiast-level system into 1K rig only (rest goes to a monitor, etc) and trying to fit into a small form factor case. I managed this:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155
Mobo: ASUS P8P67-M PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM: Kingston HyperX 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) XMP KHX1600C9D3K3/12GX
GPU: XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB
PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
All to fit in...
Case: Thermaltake ARMOR A30 Small Form Factor Micro ATX Case

In so far, am I going well? I'm aware SFF's arent good to cooling, and eventually I'll be moving to far warmer climates quite soon, so I'm open to suggestions regarding cooling or air flow. Also, any recommendation for a 1920x1080 20-odd inch monitor to go with it?

 

[striker410]

Looks good. I would suggest you go ahead and move up to the 2500k, it's got a lot of muscle and it's really easy to overclock. If you don't want to overclock I would suggest swapping that p67 out for a cheaper h67 board, like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157234&cm_re=h67_asrock-_-13-157-234-_-Product

Also, get this HDD, it's actually faster than the WD, cheaper too! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint%20f3

Not sure what the clearance is on the case, but this is a very good low profile cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185129&cm_re=scythe_big_shuriken-_-35-185-129-_-Product

Also, that ram is triple channel. Your mobo choices are dual channel. Why 12 gigs? That's WAY to much. You could easily use 4GB and be just dandy. But if you want extra, here's a deal on a super speed 8GB ram kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460&cm_re=g.skill_sniper-_-20-231-460-_-Product <buy now, it won't be that price for long.

Upgrade GPU to a 6870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506&cm_re=6870-_-14-150-506-_-Product

And there you go! A very capable system.

 

[striker410]

And here's a super deal on a good/cheap HD monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009261 It's kinda cheap, but a very good value for the money.

 

[KazumaCTHDWE]

Considering my usage is heavy multi-tasking, I thought that I may need the RAM space. If else, I'd split the 12 into 8 actual + 4 ramdisk where the swap file will be placed in. Anyway, an adjustment was bound to happen anyway, soo...

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core
Mobo: ASUS P8P67-M PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R687OC-1GD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
All to fit in...
Case: Thermaltake ARMOR A30 Small Form Factor Micro ATX Case

I have to match the listed compatible RAM list for the motherboard, and I've never had a good ASROCK mobo. Never had an Asus fail on me yet. Heck, I've had one survive a PSU meltdown once. Granted it gave up its ghost the second time it happened. Thankfully it was a cheapo system for web surfing and the like back home.

Overclocking would be nice, but most likely not attainable due to the heat small form factor cases often have to contend with. Also, I will be moving to tropical weather climates in the near future, bringing this with me, so its not likely I'll have the option anyway. However, security in knowing that my chosen parts can handle the heat (as per design for overclocking) means a lot to me.

im also a newbie at building my own rigs. its been more than 6-7 years since i last held onto a cpu. I think I'll avoid the cpu cooler for now.

Open to suggestions

 

[striker410]

Well actually ASRock boards are made by Asustek, the parent company of ASUS. So they are just as good.

Also, I really would swap that HDD. It's expensive, and not needed. The samsung Spinpoint F3 drives are renowned for their speed and reliability.

Did you see the ram I linked? it's 8GB, and much faster than the XMS. It's better to have less sticks, as it will allow you to upgrade in the future.

I also suggest some sort of aftermarket cooler, since you are worried about heat. The one I linked is very capable and low profile.

Honestly, I would go back and look at my other post. I'm not making these suggestions for the heck of it. You did a pretty good job, but there's lots of performance to be gained/money to be saved.

EDIT: Took a closer look at that ram, it's 1.65v, which is not optimal for sandy bridge. You want 1.5v like the stuff I linked.

 

[KazumaCTHDWE]

switched over to your recommended mobo, ram, and added in the cpu cooler. I'm hesitant on the HDD though. Samsung has not been kind to me at all, with 4 drives from them failing within warranty. I know its a bit of a luck of the draw, but I'd rather feel secure about a 5 year warranty than a 3 year warranty.

Heck, the seagate barracuda's I have home are 5-year ones, and all of them are live at year 6, including a 3-year warranty old WD thats the main drive.

Also, isnt it rather superfluous to get the H67 chipset mobo if I'm just going to drop in a 6870? It'll be just one thing to turn off in UEFI for me, and never touch, unless there's something new with UEFI that allows it to be left on whilst not interfering with a discrete graphics card...

 

[striker410]

Not to muddle things more, but since you got the 2500k, you might wanna stick with the P67 for overclock capabilities. And if you are unsure about the HDD, go with what you feel comfortable with. I personally just prefer the F3's. Good build overall!

So to go over it, I suggest switching BACK to the M-pro (sorry for confusion, I didn't give it my full attention), get the WD black, and I suggest you also get the CPU cooler I suggested. Very compact, very good.

 

[KazumaCTHDWE]

well that was sort of confusing. Thank you anyway I'll probably have to rematch the ram to the mobo as before, but you never know

one more question:
recommendable SSD? I seem to have enough room in the budget to slide one in. Doesnt have to be overtly huge, just enough to get Win7 going, some extra space for temp files, and the swap. Rest of the big meaty stuff's going on the 1TB, like large games, etc.

 

[striker410]

Well for mobo, you don't have to do any ram matching. As long as it's DDR3 and 1.5v it will work.
As for the SSD, If you can afford it the Agilty 3 SSD's came out, and those are crazy fast. If not, I suggest an OCZ Vertex 2 (34 NM version, this is critical) . Make sure it's at least 60gb, because a windows install alone eats about 30GB.

 

[KazumaCTHDWE]

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