Mini Budget ITX Workstation build advice

Vind12345

Distinguished
Jun 10, 2014
3
0
18,510
So I've never built a computer before, but I'm decently familiar with parts after a number of laptop hardware repairs. After some research I learned a great deal about various Mini ITX towers and HTPC cases which sparked a desire to make a new workstation to replace my laptop.

My concerns

-Cost efficiency
-Performance (are these parts good? what are good alternatives?)
-Cooling (is it sufficient?)

My goal:

-Smallest case possible
-1x 5.25" bay for blu ray player
-Enough space for 3 drives (at least 1 of which will be a SSD)
-Sufficient cooling and space to support a strong graphics card in addition to Intel core i7 processor
-Temporarily keep price around $1200-1300 under the assumption that future upgrading may be done such as swapping out for a better/newer graphics card or cpu

Applications/Uses

-Photoshop/Corel Painter 12 (very large painting files with many layers)
-Mild-medium 3-D modeling and use of programs such as Maya
-Mild gaming (not a huge priority here by any means)
-Video editing
-Dual monitor
-Basic office use (MS Word, file storage, web browsing, movies, etc.)

Current Build Plan

CPU Intel Core i7-4790S 3.2GHz Quad-Core ($314.99)*
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 ($120.98)
Memory Kingston Blu Red Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 ($136.99)
Storage
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" SSD ($84.98)
2x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM ($111)
Video Card ATI FirePro V4900 1GB ($150.98)**
Case Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower ($39.99)***
Power Supply Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V ($74.99)
Optical Drive Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.99)
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (~$70)

*I originally was thinking of going for the i7-4770 or the i7-4770k but I realized in such a small case, heat will almost definitely be an issue, especially with a CPU so close to the graphics card. I thought that the S series, being a low power chip, may resolve some heat issues (Any ideas or advice on this is welcome. Is the trade of performance for power consumption worth it?)
**I put down the lowest level FirePro thinking that I could always exchange it for the 5000 later, but I did have my eyes on the GeForce 760 (any advice is again welcome)
***I liked this case for its minimal size, support of dedicated GPU and 6 drive storage space, but cooling is a matter of concern and if any other case seem better or if it seems to have too poor circulation I'd like advice on that as well.
 

Rammy

Honorable
You are definitely on the right track, there's nothing mad about your build and it'll probably fulfil your requirements.


I'm not sure that you need an "S" CPU, or that it represents terribly good value for money. In terms of performance they aren't too bad, but you shouldn't need to worry too much about heat, so a cheaper option like the i7-4790 is the obvious replacement. It's also worth considering the Xeon E3 range which are (to the main part) i7s without internal graphics - they run at slower speeds but there are some nice savings on offer. The only downside is that an ITX system is perhaps more likely to want to use IGP at some point, and it's perhaps something to keep.

I'm not sure why you need a Z97 motherboard. It's primary function is overclocking, and if you are worried about a stock i7, it seems unlikely you'll be trying that. H97 offers most of the features of Z97, and if you don't need Wifi then it's also worth considering the older H81/H87/B85 boards as they can save you a load of money, you just need to figure out which bits you need to keep.

The case isn't great from a cooling perspective, but there isn't an obvious alternative to your requirements, and others have put far hotter components in. The Elite 130 is more or less the same, and has less drive locations (though it should still be able to fit things in as an SSD doesn't necessarily need a bay/mount), most of the other alternatives are much larger (Corsair 250D/Bitfenix options), only have slim ODD bay, or lack ODD support altogether (Fractal Design Node 304).

You don't mention the model of PSU, but I'd assume based on the price it's a CS. It's not horrendous, and is quite compact, but it wouldn't be my first choice, especially given this case isn't really PSU limited. It's also more wattage than you need, especially if you are going for low power components. The build as you linked it could run on a third of that, and anything in the 500-550W range is suitable to cover you for almost any upgrade you could image (GTX Titan etc). In a case like this though, modular/semi modular isn't a bad idea as the cables will hang down, and it'll limit the amount of cable tying you need to do. I'd suggest a Seasonic M12II 520 or G-550.

If you want something that can play games, you almost undoubtedly need a gaming series graphics card. While they aren't amazing at workstation stuff, they are priced more aggressively, so you often get more for your money. I'm not suggesting that spending say $200 on a gaming card gets you better performance in applications than $200 spent on a Firepro, but it's certainly a better all rounder (a lot of this is task dependant anyway, I'd suggest checking benchmarks).
 

Vind12345

Distinguished
Jun 10, 2014
3
0
18,510


Thanks for the response Rammy! Your input definitely helped. I think I'm going to switch to the Elite 130 case for its potential for water cooling which wasn't an option in the 120 and slightly more space without the large drive docks. I think that would ensure a safe shift to the i7-4790 or i7-4790k (if I ever take on an interest in potential overclocking).

There are two points that are a bit off putting for me with the xeon chips: one being the slightly lower benchmarks per cost and the second being that I'm not entirely sure if I will or will not benefit from the integrated graphics of the regular i7 series or not (haven't managed to find many benchmarks or review to sway one way or the other)

I did want Wifi since I don't think I'll be able to reach an Ethernet cable to wherever I end up putting my system. I'm not entirely decided yet on whether I should shift to the boards you listed which seem rather tempting at a slightly lower cost point after consideration for the additional cost of a Wifi card.

The power supply certainly seems overkill in retrospect.. I think I will drop down to a 500 watt psu as you recommended.

I think I'll hold off on the gpu for last and see what comes up. I'll wait to see if there are any nice price drops or alternatives that seem better/viable on the ATI or Nvidia side. I know that driver-wise, the firepro/quadro series will work better on the software I listed but their prices certainly don't match up with performance as well as the consumer cards on most other features.