Best Mini-Itx build for $1200

[bimde]

This build is for one of my friends, who loves to game. He has requested the build must be in the Bitfenix Prodigy. He has also stated he wants to overclock his CPU and gpu. He can spend about $1200.
Here's what I got so far,
Motherboard:
ASROCK Z77E-ITX $149.99
Processor:
Intel core i5-3570k $199.99
Graphics card:
Sapphire 7950 @ 850 MHz (custom dual fan cooler) $289.99
Memory:
Kingston hyperX Blu black 2 x 4 GB 1600 MHz w/ XMP $49.99
Hard drive:
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 64 MB Cache $69.99
CPU cooler:
Nexus LOW-7000 R2 $28.88
ODD:
Asus 24x DVD Burner $17.99
Power supply:
Corsair vx550 or cx600 $54.99 (they are the same price, which is the better buy?)
Case:
Bitfenix Prodigy
OS:
Windows 7 Home Premium
Ay recommendations are welcome, but remember, I'm in Canada, so Canadian links will go a long way

 

[mikerockett]

Something like this should be good for him.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($115.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($441.55 @ DirectCanada)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Orange) Mini ITX Tower Case ($79.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($73.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1237.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-15 08:33 EST-0500)

 

[rwpritchett]

If your friend wants to overclock, then you'll need a better heatsink than the low profile Nexus you picked. Additionally, there are only a handful of ITX motherboards that have the CPU socket placed away from the PCIe slot, which in turn allows a larger heatsink: ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe and the EVGA 111-IB-E692-KR Stinger.

If you install a large cooler like the CM Hyper 212 EVO on any other ITX board, then you cannot have a video card installed. The EVO 212 is confirmed to fit into the Prodigy case with a video card if you use the ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe motherboard BTW (link).

For your power supply question, both Corsair CX600 and VX550 are made by Channel Well. They are equal in quality so go with what's cheaper. The XFX PSU suggested by mikerockett is made by Seasonic which is one of, if not the best, PSU manufacturers.

 

[tassietim]

drop the dvd drive out as well and you could use an H100 in the top to help overclock

 

[mikerockett]

If your friend wants to overclock, then you'll need a better heatsink than the low profile Nexus you picked. Additionally, there are only a handful of ITX motherboards that have the CPU socket placed away from the PCIe slot, which in turn allows a larger heatsink: ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe and the EVGA 111-IB-E692-KR Stinger.

If you install a large cooler like the CM Hyper 212 EVO on any other ITX board, then you cannot have a video card installed. The EVO 212 is confirmed to fit into the Prodigy case with a video card if you use the ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe motherboard BTW (link).

For your power supply question, both Corsair CX600 and VX550 are made by Channel Well. They are equal in quality so go with what's cheaper. The XFX PSU suggested by mikerockett is made by Seasonic which is one of, if not the best, PSU manufacturers.

I wasn't aware of the video card issue with some boards, i knew it would fit the case but didn't think about that, was trying to fit in the Asus board but dropped it because of the large price. Thanks for the information.

 

[bimde]

Taking both of your answers into consideration. I came up with this. I took out the SSD and the 7970 for a 7950 because i had to get everything + the OS ($100) + tax into the picture.
How's this?
3570k $200
asus P8z77-I deluxe $170
7950 $290
8 GB dual channel ram $40
Hyper 212 Evo $30
1TB HDD $65
Asus 24x DVD drive $18
corsair vx550 $55
Prodigy $70
Windows 7 Home Premium $105
= $1043
+ Tax
=$1178

And Canada computers is right beside my house and has all these parts in stock, so no shipping fees.

 

[bimde]

drop the dvd drive out as well and you could use an H100 in the top to help overclock

He needs a dvd drive for games and doesn't want it to be external, no matter how much i tell him.

 

[bimde]

If your friend wants to overclock, then you'll need a better heatsink than the low profile Nexus you picked. Additionally, there are only a handful of ITX motherboards that have the CPU socket placed away from the PCIe slot, which in turn allows a larger heatsink: ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe and the EVGA 111-IB-E692-KR Stinger.

If you install a large cooler like the CM Hyper 212 EVO on any other ITX board, then you cannot have a video card installed. The EVO 212 is confirmed to fit into the Prodigy case with a video card if you use the ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe motherboard BTW (link).

For your power supply question, both Corsair CX600 and VX550 are made by Channel Well. They are equal in quality so go with what's cheaper. The XFX PSU suggested by mikerockett is made by Seasonic which is one of, if not the best, PSU manufacturers.

Thank you very much for the information. I switched out the asrock for the Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe and added the Hyper 212 Evo. But for the PSU, I have the VX550 myself and it has worked well so far. If 550 watts can power the system (7950 with overclock + i5-3570k with overclock + one hard drive), for $55 it seems like a very good deal.

 

[mikerockett]

Make sure to get low profile ram so it doesn't interfere with the cooler. The rest seems to be pretty sound.

 

[bimde]

Make sure to get low profile ram so it doesn't interfere with the cooler. The rest seems to be pretty sound.

Is this considered low profile?
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_612&item_id=035851

or should i swap it for a "low profile" corsair vengeance ram?

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_612&item_id=040991

or are there any specific ram brands I should look for?

 

[mikerockett]

What you linked is fine. LP corsair vengeance is good too. Basically anything without the tall heatspreaders on top. They're mostly a gimmick anyway.

 

[bimde]

What you linked is fine. LP corsair vengeance is good too. Basically anything without the tall heatspreaders on top. They're mostly a gimmick anyway.

Lol, ok. Thank you.

 

[mikerockett]

No problem, good luck with the build

 

[bimde]

Ok, thank you very much to everyone who helped. I would select multiple best answers if I could.
Here are the final specs, will be buying parts tomorrow.
Asus P8Z77-I DELUXE
Intel Core i5-3570k
Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 @ 850 MHz
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz Ram with XMP
Seagate Barracuda 1TB @ 7200 RPM
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO
Asus DVD Burner 24x
Corsair Enthusiast serries VX550
Bitfenix Prodigy Midnight Black
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
And I might add a Red LED 200mm fan in the front with the left over $20

 

[bimde]

Best answer selected by bimde.

 

[rwpritchett]

Taking both of your answers into consideration. I came up with this. I took out the SSD and the 7970 for a 7950 because i had to get everything + the OS ($100) + tax into the picture.
How's this?
3570k $200
asus P8z77-I deluxe $170
7950 $290
8 GB dual channel ram $40
Hyper 212 Evo $30
1TB HDD $65
Asus 24x DVD drive $18
corsair vx550 $55
Prodigy $70
Windows 7 Home Premium $105
= $1043
+ Tax
=$1178

And Canada computers is right beside my house and has all these parts in stock, so no shipping fees.

^That is a pretty sweet little system. Too bad you couldn't squeeze an SSD into the budget though.