Future mini-ITX build. Need advice/suggestions please!

[Guest]

Hey everyone.

I'm thinking about building a very cheap/budget mini-ITX system to take with me to PC gaming events/LAN events. I would like this system to be able to play games at at least medium settings @ 1280 x 720 resolution.

These are the parts that I've chosen so far for my budget mini-ITX system:

Case:
BitFenix Prodigy Midnight Black Edition Mini-ITX Case - $80

Motherboard:
MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Socket FM2 AMD A75 Motherboard - $70

Processor + Graphics Card:
AMD A10-6800K Quad-Core APU @ 4.1GHz w/ AMD Radeon HD 8670D IGP - Price Unknown

Memory:
4GB G.SKILL RipJaws X-Series DDR3 1333MHz - $23

Power Supply:
Seasonic SS-500ET 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply - $75

Hard Drive:
Already own a spare hard drive.

Accessories:
Already own two 120mm fans, one 80mm fan, a CPU cooler.

Do you guys think that the A10-6800K w/ HD 8670D IGP will be able to play games at medium settings at 1280 x 720?
Is there a better combination of parts that I could use for better performance that will cost me the same, if not less?

 

[Outlander_04]

We will know how well it games after someone does some benchmarks

One thing you do need to change is the RAM. An APU uses system RAM as video RAM so it needs to be fast or you kill performance

1866MHz

or 1.35volt 1600MHz that will run at 1866 MHz once you manually set the voltage to 1.5 volt

You could use a 400 watt psu .

 

[Guest]

We will know how well it games after someone does some benchmarks

One thing you do need to change is the RAM. An APU uses system RAM as video RAM so it needs to be fast or you kill performance

1866MHz

or 1.35volt 1600MHz that will run at 1866 MHz once you manually set the voltage to 1.5 volt

You could use a 400 watt psu .

Are there any 400W power supplies that you would recommend?

 

[stickmansam]

Yeah hard to tell without much spec releases and really its just a tweaked trinity AFAIK
ram is very important for APU as mentioned above

my take on an mITX build but not exactly budget but you could use this as your normal rig since its full featured enough, just swap in a 3570k

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII S524 77.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.92 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.31 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($273.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone SST-FT03S-MINI (White) Mini ITX Tower Case ($148.39 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified SFX12V Power Supply ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $865.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-15 17:31 EST-0500)

 

[g-unit1111]

I'm really interested in doing a similar build myself but that's a long way off. If you want a 400W PSU I heavily recommend the Seasonic S12 II 430W but I'm not sure if it will fit in that case or not.

 

[Outlander_04]

If you can find one the Silverstone strider 400 watt is worth considering .

Amazingly quiet for a relatively cheap psu

 

[rwpritchett]

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII S524 77.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.92 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Microcenter)

Keep in mind that Cooler Master backplates are not compatible with the ASRock Z77E-ITX board without modification. There is a capacitor that is in the way:

You can either cut up the backplate, forgo the backplate altogether and use rubber washers to mount the HSF... or just go with a HSF that is verified to fit without issue and not block the PCIe slot. Here's one list.

 

[stickmansam]

Keep in mind that Cooler Master backplates are not compatible with the ASRock Z77E-ITX board without modification. There is a capacitor that is in the way:

You can either cut up the backplate, forgo the backplate altogether and use rubber washers to mount the HSF... or just go with a HSF that is verified to fit without issue and not block the PCIe slot. Here's one list.

Thanks for the heads up on that

 

[Guest]

@g-unit1111
The power supply I listed is cheaper and more powerful than that 430W SeaSonic power supply.

@Stickmansam
I don't want to spend more than like... maybe $300-$350 on this system. Like I said, I want this to be cheap

@rwpritchett
Very off-topic, but nice to know. Thanks

I've read that the AMD A10-5800K's IGP is about as powerful as an NVIDIA GT 640 dedicated GPU or a Radeon HD 5570 dedicated GPU. Is this true?

 

[g-unit1111]

@g-unit1111
The power supply I listed is cheaper and more powerful than that 430W SeaSonic power supply.

You were asking for recommendations for a 430W PSU, right? That's one of the best on the market and it's definitely better than a lot of others you could buy.

 

[Guest]

You were asking for recommendations for a 430W PSU, right? That's one of the best on the market and it's definitely better than a lot of others you could buy.

Yeah, the reviews and such said that it's a fantastic power supply. I'll definitely consider it

 

[Onus]

The ASRock Z77E-ITX also has a mSATA slot on its underside (great for a boot drive!), but CPU cooler backplates could hit that too. Presumably, the ones in that list don't. If you can swing it on your budget, that's the way I'd go. You can spend as little as $50 on a mini-ITX case in which that board, and a HD7750 (available in low profile and single slot), will fit. You will likely need to scrap the near-junk PSU included, and get one either from Seasonic (if TFX) or FSP (if SFX) which will be able to power the system.
Many of the Lian Li mini-ITX cases will take a standard ATX PSU, however those cases aren't cheap. Some, such as the PC-Q08, will also take double-slot graphics cards. The Bitfenix Prodigy will too; I've not seen that case but have read that it is pretty big.