MicroATX portable gaming machine

[terminashunator]

Hi, i'm planning on a new build in the relative future. A desktop that can fit inside a backpack, hence the case choice.

Approximate Purchase Date: Start of the new year

Budget Range:  ~$500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: World of Warcraft (hopefully eyefinity?) Game Recording, Netflix, Network storage server

Are you buying a monitor:As of the time of the build, no.

Parts to Upgrade: CPU, Mobo, RAM, SSD, Case, CPU Heatsink

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Tigerdirect, Newegg, Ebay, Microcenter, Frys

Location: Soutehrn California, near a Microcenter and Frys

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, other than that no preference.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Perhaps!

Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050, 1366x768 second monitor. Hopefully upgrading to 2x or 3x 1080p monitors.

Additional Comments: The goal is portablility as a key point. I'm not above doing hardware modifications to make sure a heatsink doesn't come off. I'd also prefer colours to match a Red / Black / White theme, but once again, I can mod.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I'm getting crippling Fps dips in WoW with my old Core 2 Quad and people said the DDR2 is bottlenecking my R7770, so I figure doing a platform upgrade.

Parts i've sourced are:
i5 3570k
http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

Asrock mATX Z77 Motherboard
http://www.microcenter.com/product/387629/Z77_Pro4-M_1155_mATX_Intel_Motherboard

Gskill 16Gb DDR3 1600 8gbx2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231489&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

InWin BK644 mATX case + 300w PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108191

Thanks guys!

 

[CheesyHotDogPuff]

I posted to keep the thread going. And get a better power supply.

 

[CheesyHotDogPuff]

Look on maximum pc for the updated "Wee ass kicking machine" article and downgrade some components.

EDIT - http://www.maximumpc.com/article/how-tos/how_build_small_gaming_pc - Downgrade some of the components. It's small, but won't fit in a backback. Good luck. I'll be back tomorrow to give you some more help.

 

[sonicers]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone ML03B HTPC Case ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Total: $505.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-13 00:10 EST-0500)

 

[blazorthon]

I mostly agree with the above suggestion. My only serious disagreement is with the cooler choice. An Ivy Bridge CPU that will be overclocked much would be better off with a cooler that has direct touch heatpipes. Ivy doesn't generate much heat, it simply has really bad thermal resistance, so you want a cooler with low thermal resistance, not high cooling capability. That cooler doesn't have direct touch heatpipes and that's going to hurt its effectiveness with an i5-3570K's cooling.

Also, on a more subjective note, I wouldn't recommend a SandForce-based SSD. Something with a Samsung or Marvell controller would probably be better in reliability and performance consistency. For example, Crucial M4 128GB, which can be found only slightly more expensive than that Mushkin drive.

 

[terminashunator]

pardon my airbrainededness, I forgot two components that I have already >__<
XFX R7770 1Gb Core Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150598

WD 1TB Green
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317

I also liked the suggestion on the Noctua CPU cooler, Crucial SSD, however the case supplied doesn't support Full-Height cards like the InWin case does. I had planned to replace the PSU with a Silverstone Bronze SFX PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256063

 

[eggbrook]

16GB of ram is beyond excessive and most games cannot even use 4GBs. Unless you are doing video rendering on a large scale 8GB is more than you'll use, and good enough. Save some cash where you can.

 

[boyabunda]

Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009

 

[terminashunator]

16GB of ram is beyond excessive and most games cannot even use 4GBs. Unless you are doing video rendering on a large scale 8GB is more than you'll use, and good enough. Save some cash where you can.

At a compromise of Price to Gb/$, I wanted to fit 8Gb sticks in there, a pet project i was working on was a ramdrive for my video game. you caught me daydreaming

 

[terminashunator]

Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009

That there is a very nice case, that I looked at for a while, however it's measurably larger than the InWin, however it does fit ATX power supplies. Thanks for your input, I'll add that to my thoughts!