Small case for low end game pc - which one?

[Grodel]

Hey guys,

I hope you can help me.
I have a son (6 years) that started playing some different games.
Atm he plays Minecraft and WoW.

He has a laptop which is not all that great for especially WoW.

So now instead of buying a new expensive and capable laptop Iam looking into building a cheap game pc for him.
I have had a look at the articles here on the site regarding game pcs in different price ranges and Iam pretty sure that wow will run like a dream (at least for him) on the 500 dollar setup.

Only problem is that the computer has to be in the living room at my ex and Iam not sure she will like the size and noise that the build will generate.

SO... finally... my question

Can you suggest me a case and maybe motherboard/gfx card that is smaller (as small as possible) and still fits a decent gaming gfx card.
Please keep in mind that he will not need to play Crysis in max resolution

Thanks for any input and help!

/Grodel

 

[socialfox]

I will get you started but I bet someone will come by and do a much better build than me but either way here is a relatively cheap build that can play a lot of modern games but not at the max resolution. I have a similar build (except I have a phenom II x4 955) and I can play skyrim with Ultra settings at 1600 x 900. Let me know if that computer case is too big, I think I know a few smaller ones.

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/mROa

 

[Grodel]

I will get you started but I bet someone will come by and do a much better build than me but either way here is a relatively cheap build that can play a lot of modern games but not at the max resolution. I have a similar build (except I have a phenom II x4 955) and I can play skyrim with Ultra settings at 1600 x 900. Let me know if that computer case is too big, I think I know a few smaller ones.

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/mROa

Thanks for taking your time replying... that looks like some nice parts that would certainly be able to run WoW without problems.

I was hoping that I somehow could fit some gaming parts into a even smaller case.
Is it even possible?

Thanks!

 

[wr6133]

Slightly over budget (its complete though including HDD and DVD) but this is as small as you can get

COOLER MASTER Elite 120 Advanced Black Appearance: Aluminum & Polymer front, Case body: Steel Alloy Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119261

ASRock FM2A75M-ITX FM2 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157340

AMD A8-5600K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113281

Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

ASUS EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (This will Hybrid Crossfire wih the APU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121442

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

ASUS 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Total - $534.92

That's pretty small and as there are no extreme parts in there the loudest thing would be the CPU cooler (which could even be replaced with something quieter).

 

[Grodel]

Slightly over budget (its complete though including HDD and DVD) but this is as small as you can get

COOLER MASTER Elite 120 Advanced Black Appearance: Aluminum & Polymer front, Case body: Steel Alloy Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119261

That's pretty small and as there are no extreme parts in there the loudest thing would be the CPU cooler (which could even be replaced with something quieter).

Thanks!!! That looks like a very good case!

I will swing by my EX and see if it fits her "Feng Shui" living room Probally not but its the best Ive seen so far.

 

[wr6133]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345016

Also available in white, that may fit some post modernistic BS feng shui scheme a little better

or very simple and discrete

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112227

The hardware I listed will fit almost any Mini ITX case (though some may require a different smaller PSU) there is alot of choice out there in these cases now as they are increasing in popularity (though many are not cheap), a bonus of a build this small is he can easily scoop it up and bring it to your house when he visits if he wanted too.

 

[Grodel]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345016

Also available in white, that may fit some post modernistic BS feng shui scheme a little better

or very simple and discrete

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112227

The hardware I listed will fit almost any Mini ITX case (though some may require a different smaller PSU) there is alot of choice out there in these cases now as they are increasing in popularity (though many are not cheap), a bonus of a build this small is he can easily scoop it up and bring it to your house when he visits if he wanted too.

That last one looks very interesting.
What PSU would I use in this case?
Should I go for external PSU? Or what are the cons if any with an external PSU?

 

[wr6133]

That Lian Li one can use the PSU I linked in the build (it fits standard ATX PSU's), you could actually use a lower wattage on that build I linked but I thought the bit of headroom allows a better Graphics card and CPU overclock if in future if his needs become a little more demanding.

Some of the mini ITX cases just use a smaller form PSU, just post any cases you like here or look up the makers websites you can normally find out what size PSU is needed. I would try to stick with ones that take standard ATX size PSU's though as there is a greater choice and availability of PSU.

 

[Grodel]

That Lian Li one can use the PSU I linked in the build (it fits standard ATX PSU's), you could actually use a lower wattage on that build I linked but I thought the bit of headroom allows a better Graphics card and CPU overclock if in future if his needs become a little more demanding.

Some of the mini ITX cases just use a smaller form PSU, just post any cases you like here or look up the makers websites you can normally find out what size PSU is needed. I would try to stick with ones that take standard ATX size PSU's though as there is a greater choice and availability of PSU.

So all parts from your first post would fit in to the small case? (Lian Li)
Iam starting to think this will be his case.

Thanks!

 

[wr6133]

All the parts I listed would fit in

 

[Onus]

The Lian Li PC-Q07 has no fans. I don't believe it is well-suited to a gaming PC, which tends to run the CPU and/or GPU much closer to their TDP limits than a HTPC or general office machine would.
The PC-Q08, however, which is a little larger, has two fans in it and is sufficient for a modest gaming PC (I've run a GTX-460 or a HD7770 in one). It also accepts two-slot graphics cards, which many mini-ITX cases do not (the Bitfenix Prodigy also does). It also accepts a standard ATX PSU. I would suggest something modular, or with minimal extra cables. I have used both a 550W Antec Truepower New and a Seasonic G-360 in mine.

Edit: wr6133, I just noticed that although it has only one bracket, the width of the HD6670 you listed would not fit in the PC-Q07 because that space is used for drive mounting. It would work well in the PC-Q08 though.

 

[wr6133]

my bad I measured length and height and assumed from it's advertising that width would be ok.

Found this picture now and see you're right http://www.clunk.org.uk/reviews/lian-li-pc-q07-mini-itx-case-review/Page-4.html

So Grodel if you want the Lian Li you would want this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112265

 

[Onus]

There ARE some single slot HD6670 cards, and some HD7750s as well (some are even low profile). I have a XFX HD7750 in my PC-Q08R now, and it is single slot.

BTW, since this is for a young child, I think it is worth pointing out that these Lian-Li cases are not "tinkerer's" cases. They don't open with thumbscrews, so the kid would have little temptation to fiddle around with it.

 

[Grodel]

Very nice input guys! Ill take these things into consideration!
Thanks!