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planning to build a mini itx COMPANION CUBE gaming rig

jkiyoung100m
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Get one of these. It'll help you mastering the art of tetris. Put the GPU in any place you feel like.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pcie+x16+riser&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3APcie+x

GGNORE LOL thank you

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Hi guys. So I'm planning to build a rig. But not just any rig. A COMPANION CUBE RIG.

I was inspired by a guy named zAAm who practically built the most perfect version of a Companion Cube case.

 

The thing is... I'm relatively new to building computers. Though some of my friends are willing to help me out, I don't want to constantly pester them with questions.

 

So my plan is as of now is to make a 10in x 10in x 10in cube case with 1/4in plexiglass. This will be giving me only 9.5in x 9.5in x 9.5in of space.

I want to make a casual gaming mini itx but I'm afraid of limited space.

 

My original plan was

CPU: no clue
RAM: no clue........ 8gig?
PSU: Silverstone Tek 450-Watts SFX PSU with 80 Plus Gold, ST45SF-G
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9I
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($218.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($219.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($148.98 @ Newegg) 
 
My other plan was this due to very limited space
CPU: no clue
RAM: no clue........ 8gig?
PSU: Silverstone Tek 450-Watts SFX PSU with 80 Plus Gold, ST45SF-G or FSP300-60LG-5K
CPU Cooler: h55
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($218.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($219.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: none
 
So what do you guys think?
OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS, ADVICE, ETC
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budget for te parts?

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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Do you posses the necessary expertise to make a case yourself?

 

A 500GB SSD and a $200+ motherboard that costs more than your GPU is pretty unbalanced..

 

What's your budget for the components?

Bert & Ernie before squirting spermie. 

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1000 usd MAX

one moment please

 

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1241 V3 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($264.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($132.98 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290X 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($303.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $1018.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-01 14:34 EST-0500
 
just get some airflow in there for the 290

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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Do you posses the necessary expertise to make a case yourself?

 

A 500GB SSD and a $200+ motherboard that costs more than your GPU is pretty unbalanced..

 

What's your budget for the components?

I'll be making the case with my friend who recently graduated from architecture school. He'll be helping me create the autocad files for the plexi. My friend's uncle owns a woodshop and he was willing to help me make the corner pieces out of wood for the cube.

 

The parts were ideas I found browsing around linustech, overclock, and reddit. I am open to suggestions for other parts.

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1000 usd MAX

Here. You could actually fit this inside an Xbox case, if you wanted.

 

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4570S 2.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($190.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Apotop  256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($328.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $797.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-01 14:38 EST-0500

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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one moment please

 

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1241 V3 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($264.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($132.98 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290X 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($303.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $1018.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-01 14:34 EST-0500
 
just get some airflow in there for the 290

 

THAT WAS FAST O.o

I might just use this for my own personal future rig lol.

unfortunately I dont think I'll be able to fit all of that within the cube.

But thank you for the quick response. I'm thinking of just swapping out the mobo with the gigabyte z97

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THAT WAS FAST O.o

I might just use this for my own personal future rig lol.

unfortunately I dont think I'll be able to fit all of that within the cube.

But thank you for the quick response. I'm thinking of just swapping out the mobo with the gigabyte z97

Check my build.

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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THAT WAS FAST O.o

I might just use this for my own personal future rig lol.

unfortunately I dont think I'll be able to fit all of that within the cube.

But thank you for the quick response. I'm thinking of just swapping out the mobo with the gigabyte z97

I have a template that I use and edit depending on the needs :P but the 290x is smaller than 10 inches I think

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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1000 usd MAX

 

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($100.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($189.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($203.98 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($92.00 @ B&H) 
Total: $974.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-01 14:46 EST-0500
 
Here you go. Good luck! Feel free to drop us a build log. 

Bert & Ernie before squirting spermie. 

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Check my build.

Was just looking at it.

This seems more probable.

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CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($100.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($189.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($203.98 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($92.00 @ B&H) 
Total: $974.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-01 14:46 EST-0500
 
Here you go. Good luck! Feel free to drop us a build log. 

 

Thank you! and i will!

eventually lol. busy with the whole studying and working routine

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Was just looking at it.

This seems more probable.

Well, its as small as you could hope. A few things worth noting:

  1. I went with an "S" CPU. It's a bit weaker than the regular version, but consumes less power (and wastes less heat).
  2. You'll need a molex to 8-pin adapter, which you can find here: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-LP4PCIEX8ADP-6-Inch-Express-Adapter/dp/B006PHXLRG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425239341&sr=8-1&keywords=molex+to+8+pin

There's plenty of budget to add a stronger CPU, as well as change the mobo to have USB 3.0 headers. If you'd like, you can find them here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=usb%203.0%20header&sprefix=usb+3%2Caps

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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very random question

let's say worse case scenario.

I wont be able to fit a gpu inside of it.

Do you think scrapping the gpu and putting in a beefier cpu would atleast help out with its performance?

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very random question

let's say worse case scenario.

I wont be able to fit a gpu inside of it.

Do you think scrapping the gpu and putting in a beefier cpu would atleast help out with its performance?

Uh... how will you not be able to fit a GPU? You have 9.5in of height, OFC you'll be able to do it.

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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Uh... how will you not be able to fit a GPU? You have 9.5in of height, OFC you'll be able to do it.

i'm just worried playing the tetris inside of it.

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i'm just worried playing the tetris inside of it.

Get one of these. It'll help you mastering the art of tetris. Put the GPU in any place you feel like.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pcie+x16+riser&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3APcie+x

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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