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.
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.