suggestions on my first mini itx gaming build

[vaynard]

hi im building my first itx gaming pc any suggestion or comment would be welcomed.
i cant seem to find a lot of options for motherboards,im not sure if the lga1150 Gigabyte H87N Wifi ITX is a mb good for this build .the Asus Maximus VI Impact looks nice but too expensive and im not planning to do any hard core overclocking..


ram- G.Skill RipJaws X (Dual) 2x4gb ddr3 1866 CL9
video card - Zotac GTX 770 4gb/256bit ddr5 or
Inno3d GTX 770 iChill HerculeZ X3 Ultra 4gb/256bit
(im not sure witch brand is better)
casing- Cooler Master Elite 130
cpu cooling- Corsair H60 Hydro Series or
Cooler Master Seidon 120M Hybrid
cpu- lga1150: Intel Core i5 4570 3.2-3.6 Ghz (Quad Core) Haswell
or Intel Core i5 4670 3.4-3.8Ghz (Quad Core) Haswell
hard drive- hdd int 3.5: Seagate 3tb (ST3000DM001) 64mb sata
mb- lga1150 Gigabyte H87N Wifi ITX (any sugestions on better board?)
psu- Corsair CX 600watts (CX600M) 80Plus Bronze, modular
or should i get higher watts ?
optical drive- dvdrw ext: Asus 8x (08D2S U)
os- windows 7 home

 

[AMD Radeon]

very good build you cant OC the cpu though

 

[Joey Triska]

Nice choice. I just ordered a similar build--a bit lower end though. I went with the pretty much the same CPU, but a GTX 650 Ti Boost--it's only $130 after rebate so I couldn't say no. I almost went with the same mobo, but decided for a cheaper one and an Asus usb wifi card as the H87N doesn't include e-SATA, and I need that (ASRock H81M-ITX). I think you'll be solid with 600 watts, as the TDP of the 770 is 230 watts, the cpu is another 85 watts, and I doubt you'll be pushing another 250w with your components. According to the outervision PSU calculator, you're not even going above 450 watts with this.

Now, you're going to think I'm crazy, and I am, but that's a pretty big case for a mini itx build, especially considering the tiny mobo you picked out. You could probably cram it all into a Silverstone SG05, so long as you switched out the graphics card for the MSI version of the 4gb gtx 770, as it comes out to only 10.24" length. (The SG05 has exactly 262mm of clearance, putting you with about 2mm to spare--I've seen it done though, just don't make me pay for your GPU if it doesn't fit ) That's the case I'm using, albeit without the water cooler which would give you extra room above the CPU. If you're up for a challenge, the SG05 would cut down your size by quite a margin. Look on youtube for builds, and you'll see how crazy it is how much that case can hold. Given your specs, the 450 watt psu that comes with it would probably be fine as well.

Looks like a really nice build you're putting together!

 

[vaynard]

very good build you cant OC the cpu though

Nice choice. I just ordered a similar build--a bit lower end though. I went with the pretty much the same CPU, but a GTX 650 Ti Boost--it's only $130 after rebate so I couldn't say no. I almost went with the same mobo, but decided for a cheaper one and an Asus usb wifi card as the H87N doesn't include e-SATA, and I need that (ASRock H81M-ITX). I think you'll be solid with 600 watts, as the TDP of the 770 is 230 watts, the cpu is another 85 watts, and I doubt you'll be pushing another 250w with your components. According to the outervision PSU calculator, you're not even going above 450 watts with this.

Now, you're going to think I'm crazy, and I am, but that's a pretty big case for a mini itx build, especially considering the tiny mobo you picked out. You could probably cram it all into a Silverstone SG05, so long as you switched out the graphics card for the MSI version of the 4gb gtx 770, as it comes out to only 10.24" length. (The SG05 has exactly 262mm of clearance, putting you with about 2mm to spare--I've seen it done though, just don't make me pay for your GPU if it doesn't fit ) That's the case I'm using, albeit without the water cooler which would give you extra room above the CPU. If you're up for a challenge, the SG05 would cut down your size by quite a margin. Look on youtube for builds, and you'll see how crazy it is how much that case can hold. Given your specs, the 450 watt psu that comes with it would probably be fine as well.

Looks like a really nice build you're putting together!

thanks man
planning to change my build to Radeon R9 280X im not sure but its suppose to be equal to the gtx 770 but a lot cheaper and use the extra cash on a Intel Core i7 4770 3.4-3.9Ghz , is that a good idea or ist overkill on the cpu?

 

[Joey Triska]

If you'd like the R9, then by all means, go for it. Just know that you won't get any FPS increase by going with a Core i7. It really is overkill for gaming. If you plan on doing pro video work, or a lot of CPU intensive applications like that, then go ahead. Also, you're paying a premium on the R9 since it hasn't even been released yet, so won't have a price drop for some time. Then again, if it performs like the 770 for cheaper, I'd do it.

 

[vaynard]

ahh cool thanks, will probably use the extra cash for ssd or a better monitor. hopefully the r9 280x preforms par to a gtx770

 

[dylancromwell]

Great mini ITX build. Very similar to my own.
You can swap the mobo out for the GA-Z87N-WIFI - a great little performer which you can OC
The cooler's good, but I've found the Corsair h80i does a better job, especially if you're over-clocking.
Casing: That Cooler Master's okay, I prefer Fractal Design Node 304, a bit smaller but those components should all fit in there nicely. That being said, I forego the optical drive (DVDs are dead... right?)
Maybe consider an SSD to keep your interface / game loads fast (hint: Samsung EVO)
RAM - while 8GB is good for the time being for gaming, it may not always be the case. To keep your solution future proof, get a single 8GB stick so you can double up in a year or two.
Good luck with your build.