$800 Small Desk Build

[roastduck]

Hello, party people o/

So for the past three years or so, I've been limited to a Sony Vaio laptop with an i3 CPU and 4GB of RAM. It's been able to handle everything I wanted it to so far, especially when I dropped another 4GB of RAM into it. However, it's currently on its third hard drive (original HDD died, replacement HDD died six weeks after installation, now there's a SSD in there), and I'm starting to feel limited. I want to run higher-demand programs for school/work (I do a lot of music writing/arrangement), and I want that sweet, glorious PC Master Race gaming performance.

I have a small desk in a small room in a small apartment, so small is the key. I have a shelf with 20" (51cm) of clearance. I'm going with Micro ATX to maximize the space available to me, while leaving room for future expansion.

I'm going to swap the SSD from my laptop into the new rig, and I already have a monitor and power supply from an old and very outdated (GeForce 7600GS) build, and I've set myself a budget of $800 US. Here's the list of parts I've put together:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/roastduckie/saved/hXJXsY

CPU: Intel i7-4790K
Motherboard: Gigabyte  GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5
Memory: 8GB (2 x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-2133
SSD: ADATA SP600 256GB
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 STRIX
Case: Fractal Design Core 1500
NIC: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I
Power Supply: Antec Earhwatts 500W 80+

The only reason I chose Intel/nVidia is I have the most experience with those two brands. I have no particular loyalty to them, so if I can get similar performance for lower prices, I'm 100% open to suggestions. Future upgrades would include a Cooler Master Hyper T4 cooler, another 8GB of RAM, and potentially a second SSD in RAID 0 with a mechanical storage drive.

The programs I run most frequently are Kerbal Space Program, EVE Online, Civilization V, Sibelius 7 (music notation), Kontakt 5 (MIDI interface stuff), MS Office, and, with this system, OBS for streaming to Twitch. And Fallout 4, of course.

[Buizel10]

First of all, the speed of RAM dosent mean anything unless your using your iGPU.Second, that power supply is probally not enough for a 4790K and a 960.I recommend the 650W XFX TS or the 750W SeaSonic M12II.

[mroz10]

First of all, the speed of RAM dosent mean anything unless your using your iGPU.Second, that power supply is probally not enough for a 4790K and a 960.I recommend the 650W XFX TS or the 750W SeaSonic M12II.

To build upon that, I would get a Radeon R9 280X instead of a GTX 960. It's about the same price, and gets better performance

[Buizel10]

Plus you can get them used on ebay for like $125 Canadian

[Buizel10]

This is the cheapest 2x4GB 8GB DDR3 RAM I can find on PCPartpicker

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pareema-memory-md316c81611l2

 

If you live in Canada, its a completly other story.

[roastduck]

First of all, the speed of RAM dosent mean anything unless your using your iGPU.Second, that power supply is probally not enough for a 4790K and a 960.I recommend the 650W XFX TS or the 750W SeaSonic M12II.

What about the SeaSonic 620W M12II? https://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii620bronze

 

This is the cheapest 2x4GB 8GB DDR3 RAM I can find on PCPartpicker

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pareema-memory-md316c81611l2

 

If you live in Canada, its a completly other story.

I think that might be a winner. iGPU is something I haven't heard of. Can I get the cliff notes on it?

[Lavish]

Defiantly get a better psu, Unless you want an explosion :3

[Buizel10]

This is what I would do: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hfMFLk

 

iGPU stands for Intergrated GPU

[Buizel10]

If you want more stability, get the M12II 620W or 750W

[stconquest]

$875 and tiny:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.90 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($84.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: RAIJINTEK Metis (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $829.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 22:53 EDT-0400

[Buizel10]

are you going to video edit?

[Buizel10]

if you are video editing:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FYcM7P

not video editing:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c7YWvK

 

EDIT:

 

Video Editing one includes streaming and rendering

use Video Editing for streaming and rendering if you want it to be fast

[roastduck]

This is what I would do: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hfMFLk

 

iGPU stands for Intergrated GPU

 

I think this is more in line with what I'm looking for, and I already have the SSD and OS, so that puts it even more in my price range

$875 and tiny:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.90 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($72.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($84.99 @ Adorama)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($329.99 @ Amazon)

Case: RAIJINTEK Metis (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $829.78

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 22:53 EDT-0400

 

I feel like this won't have the growing room I'll want in the future.

are you going to video edit?

I don't know about editing yet. I like the idea of streaming, because it'll add more content and interaction to my gaming, but I don't know if I'm going to want to put in the time to maintain a YouTube channel or anything like that, since I'll also be going back to school and working.

[roastduck]

On second thought, I think I will go with the Xeon build. Even if I don't get heavily into video editing, I can still use it for Folding and Boinc

[Buizel10]

That Xeon is basicly a Core i7 4770 with no intergrated graphics.You get a $100 discount for not having intergrated graphics

[Buizel10]

The best Xeon Build I can think of: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pp8jD3

[Buizel10]

On second thought, I think I will go with the Xeon build. Even if I don't get heavily into video editing, I can still use it for Folding and Boinc

Please use this Xeon Build:  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pp8jD3 

[Buizel10]

If you dont want wifi you can save money

[roastduck]

I can actually save money by dropping the ssd and os, since I already have them in my laptop and I'm just going to put them in the desktop. Probably going to drop the optical drive, too. But I'll probably have a moment of weakness and splurge on a white Phanteks Enthoo Evolv.

[stconquest]

To get this anywhere near $800 I had to do some things I do not like.  I removed the aftermarket CPU cooler, which means it will be noisy when you start stressing the CPU.  This won't really affect performance though.

 

I also had to drop the better quality GS PSU and went with a lower quality Corsair unit.  The CX500 will do a decent job.

 

$836:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $795.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 00:05 EDT-0400

[Buizel10]

I got a bit close to $800 but no Enthoo EVOLV.I will make one that has it soon:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FyytFT

 

I named it wrong

[roastduck]

I think this is pretty close to my final parts list
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cvxRxr

My only concern is that the E31231 V3 only supports 16 PCI-Express lanes. Doesn't this mean that if I have a PCI-E network adapter, the GPU will only operate at x8?

[stconquest]

Sorry, but that used 280X, like wtf. 

 

[roastduck]

Sorry, but that used 280X, like wtf. 

 

is your objection due to brand, the fact that it's used, or what?

[Lavish]

950$ but small and really nice http://pcpartpicker.com/p/r8grQ7