Help with mini ITX build for great graphics

[thasham]

I'm building my first mini ITX mainly to hook up to my samsung smart tv and play games. Here's what I plan on doing:

Case: Antec ISK600 Black Mini-ITX Tower
*CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V
Mobo: ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z77
*Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133
*PSU: KINGWIN Lazer Platinum Series LZP-550 550W ATX 12V v2.2
*SSD: OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-60G 2.5" 60GB SATA III
*HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
GPU: ASUS GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16

The starred components are what I have from a build I did in 2012.

I am currently using an ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 it plays all the games I've been playing on high settings extremely well:

Borderlands 2
Skyrim
Lost Souls
Diablo 3
Guild Wars 2
Sims 3
Sims City

I'd really like some thoughts and suggestions on what I can do to improve or save a few bucks on this build I'm new to mini ITX and would really like to get it right the first time.

 

[ssddx]

that case looks like a hotbox to me (poor cooling) so temperatures will very likely be an issue.

something with better cooling (even at the expense of a little larger size) would be ideal.

mini-itx is also an expensive form factor. if you didnt mind a larger size m-atx gives you more options .

i would have a look at htpc cases as well as media center cases. while a bit larger some have decent cooling. if you plan on running them for demanding tasks like gaming where you will be building up quite a bit of heat... a good airflow case is definitely adviseable.

 

[thasham]

thanks for that maybe the Cooler Master Elite 130 - Mini-ITX Computer Case with Mesh Front Panel and Water Cooling Support because the size is important I plan on moving this around a lot. Any suggestions on the set up motherboard wise cause that's were I've been having the most trouble deciding i think its a good set up though.

 

[ssddx]

both the cooler master 120 and 130 look like improvements
the lian li LI PC-Q08B has even more airflow (140mm +120mm)

as far as what options you have available... in m-itx for z77 it is quite limited. the board you have picked out is the second cheapest and is likely the best budget option however if you went with a larger case and larger form factor (m-atx) you have twice the amount of choices.

while the asus 760 you have picked out is not bad at all it may be worth looking at the gigabyte 760 with three fans instead (better cooling) which would definitely mesh very well with either of those cooler master cases.

 

[Rammy]

If you don't need an optical drive, my vote would go for the Fractal Design Node 304.
Really nice airflow, great CPU cooler support (can use a proper tower cooler), fan controller, looks nice and not outrageously expensive. The only problem is that PSU won't work in it.

In fact, you need to watch the PSU in general, as it's longer than "ATX" it will have some issues in quite a few cases. The Antec one you picked originally might struggle (though Antec seem very vague about specifics).

The Elite 130 does dodge these issues, though I'm not a massive fan of it's airflow, it's certainly well priced.

On motherboards the selection is fairly limited. It depends where you are what is good value. Traditionally, the Z77I-Deluxe is the best, but most expensive motherboard in it's class. For that reason, I got the ASRock version myself. Nowadays, the prices are a bit more variable from country to country as both have been superseded by Z87 versions.