Need help lower cost of this Mini-ITX build.

[drizzio]

This build is based on NVIDIA’s GTX 750TI build. I need help lower the cost of this build as my original budget was around 700$ including the cost of Windows. I live in the Vancouver area of BC, Canada. Price for computer parts here are a little more expensive than the United States.
I can only purchase parts from in stores as I cannot use my credit card.

Note: My local computer store NCIX usually has discounts so a little over budget is okay.

Things I want in my build:

• 
  -Newer Graphics card such as R7/R9 or GTX 700 series. I prefer NVIDIA graphics cards
  -Processor that can run ARMA 2/3 and DayZ with 40+ FPS on decent settings
  (These games apparently requires a good processor)
  -At least 8gb of RAM
  -750GB storage or more
  -I would like this system to be able to run any game with atleast medium-high settings and low on more demanding games such as Metro: Lastlight
  -If possible, keep the graphics card in my current build -- GTX 750TI Superclocked

Build so far:

Case:EVGA Hadron Air MINI-ITX Steel Black Chassis With 500W ($199 NCIX Canada)
CPU:Intel Core i3 4130 Dual Core 3.4GHZ Processor LGA1150 Haswell 3MB ($149 NCIX Canada)
Motherboard:ASRock H81M-ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89 NCIX Canada)
GPU:EVGA GeForce GTX 750TI Superclocked 2GB Card ($179 NCIX Canada)
Storage:Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5 IN 7200RPM Hard Drive ($64 NCIX Canada)
Memory:Kingston HyperX Blu Red 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 Dual Channel Memory ($101 NCIX Canada)
OS:Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 64Bit English DVD OEM ($109 NCIX Canada)
Total:$890
(Prices exclude shipping and all available discounts)

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Rammy]

There's a couple of places to save money, but getting it down to $700 isn't easy as stuff like the processor and motherboard are among the cheapest of their class.

The obvious one is the case+PSU. The Hadron Air is a great little case, and if you like it then it might be worth keeping, but you can do something like a Coolermaster Elite 130 variant for around half the price (including PSU). It's certainly something to consider as it'll give you more money to spend on performance parts.

The memory has some wiggle room too. You don't need to be too picky here, more or less any 1.5V, 8Gb, 1600 kit will do, so you can squeeze another $20 here - kits appear to start at around $80.

The GTX750Ti is a great card in terms of power usage, but in price/performance stakes it's far less so. If you are open to considering other options, then both the R7 265 (rebranded HD7850, not common though) and GTX660 sometimes surface in a similar price bracket, and both will fairly comfortably outperform a GTX750Ti. It's not to say the GTX750Ti isn't worth getting, but there might be a good deal to be had, especially if you are in-store where they might be selling something off.

 

[drizzio]

There's a couple of places to save money, but getting it down to $700 isn't easy as stuff like the processor and motherboard are among the cheapest of their class.

The obvious one is the case+PSU. The Hadron Air is a great little case, and if you like it then it might be worth keeping, but you can do something like a Coolermaster Elite 130 variant for around half the price (including PSU). It's certainly something to consider as it'll give you more money to spend on performance parts.

The memory has some wiggle room too. You don't need to be too picky here, more or less any 1.5V, 8Gb, 1600 kit will do, so you can squeeze another $20 here - kits appear to start at around $80.

The GTX750Ti is a great card in terms of power usage, but in price/performance stakes it's far less so. If you are open to considering other options, then both the R7 265 (rebranded HD7850, not common though) and GTX660 sometimes surface in a similar price bracket, and both will fairly comfortably outperform a GTX750Ti. It's not to say the GTX750Ti isn't worth getting, but there might be a good deal to be had, especially if you are in-store where they might be selling something off.

Using the Coolermaster Elite 130 looks like it could save me about 100$

I have a question. Will these mini ATX cases get really hot or over heat during a full day of gaming?

Thanks.

 

[Outlander_04]

mini-ITX boards are tiny and have no expansion slots other than the graphics card

Micro-ATX [ m-ATX] are bigger and usually have 4 expansion slots

A Build using Micro ATX , a Bitfenix Prodigy M case will only be a little larger. Cooling is good

 

[CTurbo]

If you don't limit your potential retailers, getting under $700 is a lot easier

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dgHYLk
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dgHYLk/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dgHYLk/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.97 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $677.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-03 01:56 EDT-0400)



But not for a Hadron Air

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/tR63Hx
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/tR63Hx/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/tR63Hx/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.97 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ NCIX)
Case: EVGA Hadron Mini ITX Tower Case w/500W Power Supply ($179.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $772.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-03 01:58 EDT-0400)

 

[drizzio]

mini-ITX boards are tiny and have no expansion slots other than the graphics card

Micro-ATX [ m-ATX] are bigger and usually have 4 expansion slots

A Build using Micro ATX , a Bitfenix Prodigy M case will only be a little larger. Cooling is good

If I were to stick with the EVGA Hadron Air, would I need addtional cooling such as fans, CPU cooler?

 

[CTurbo]

I believe it comes with two 120mm fans in the top but you can check and make sure. You can use the stock cooler with any cpu at stock speeds. If noise is as issue, you can always add an after market cooler later.

 

[RCguitarist]

Really, the only place you can save money for that build is with the case. Maybe get a cheaper case like this one: http://www.ncix.com/detail/bitfenix-prodigy-mitx-mini-itx-tower-14-71143-1360.htm

 

[drizzio]

I believe it comes with two 120mm fans in the top but you can check and make sure. You can use the stock cooler with any cpu at stock speeds. If noise is as issue, you can always add an after market cooler later.

I just checked it comes with two fans and only supports 2 120mm fans. So heating would not be a problem with this case?

 

[CTurbo]

Nah not with any of these builds

 

[drizzio]

Since my budget increased a bit I have one last question before I purchase the parts in the next 2 weeks. I was wondering if the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti FTW edition would fit the EVGA Hadron or the Bitfenix Prodigy M. This graphics card looks a lot bigger.

Thanks.