College Mini-ITX Build | Right Parts for the Right Price?

[blairarmstrong]

I'm headed off to college (staying a double dorm) and was thinking of finally building my new computer.

 

The Goal: A High Performance Desktop PC

• With a total budget of $2,000 I plan on spending around $1,200 here
• Mini ITX build for portability when the PC needs to come home and to not take up excess space
• Purpose
  • While I plan on being a stem major (CAD, Programming) the bulk of the power would be needed for my other hobbies of video editing and gaming
    • Premiere Pro
    • GTA V
    • Overwatch
    • General AAA Titles
• I already own a nice keyboard and mouse to go with the PC
• I currently have 1 1080p monitor I plug into a laptop, while I assume that's all I will bring with me I may upgrade to a 144p or even 4k monitor in the future.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($277.22 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler  ($38.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($117.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card  ($359.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.89 @ Newegg) 
Other: Windows 10 OEM Key (Kinguin) ($30.00)
Total: $1249.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-26 01:05 EDT-0400

 

 

So, a question for those who know much more than I do, is this a decent build for the budget of around $1200? Should I upgrade CPU, RAM? Go fully modular on PSU? Is the case too big?

[wONKEyeYEs]

6 minutes ago, blairarmstrong said:

I'm headed off to college (staying a double dorm) and was thinking of finally building my new computer.

 

The Goal: A High Performance Desktop PC

• With a total budget of $2,000 I plan on spending around $1,200 here
• Mini ITX build for portability when the PC needs to come home and to not take up excess space
• Purpose
  • While I plan on being a stem major (CAD, Programming) the bulk of the power would be needed for my other hobbies of video editing and gaming
    • Premiere Pro
    • GTA V
    • Overwatch
    • General AAA Titles
• I already own a nice keyboard and mouse to go with the PC
• I currently have 1 1080p monitor I plug into a laptop, while I assume that's all I will bring with me I may upgrade to a 144p or even 4k monitor in the future.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($277.22 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler  ($38.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($117.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card  ($359.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.89 @ Newegg) 
Other: Windows 10 OEM Key (Kinguin) ($30.00)
Total: $1249.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-26 01:05 EDT-0400

 

 

So, a question for those who know much more than I do, is this a decent build for the budget of around $1200? Should I upgrade CPU, RAM? Go fully modular on PSU?

Intel Core i7-6700K = TDP 91W

Caution:  The NH-L9i is a highly-compact low-profile quiet cooler designed for use in small form factor cases and HTPC environments. While it provides first rate performance in its class, it is not suitable for overclocking and should be used with care on CPUs with more than 65W TDP 

You should probably use a good liquid cooler.

[blairarmstrong]

Just now, wONKEyeYEs said:

Intel Core i7-6700K = TDP 91W

Caution:  The NH-L9i is a highly-compact low-profile quiet cooler designed for use in small form factor cases and HTPC environments. While it provides first rate performance in its class, it is not suitable for overclocking and should be used with care on CPUs with more than 65W TDP 

You should probably use a good liquid cooler.

 

Thank you, so it wouldn't perform under a normal load?

 

Recommendations for a liquid cooler?

[wONKEyeYEs]

2 minutes ago, blairarmstrong said:

Thank you, so it wouldn't perform under a normal load?

 

Recommendations for a liquid cooler?

That is right, 95w > 65W. ;-)

For an inexpensive AIO Corsair, NZXT, CoolerMaster, are all good.

[blairarmstrong]

16 minutes ago, wONKEyeYEs said:

That is right, 95w > 65W. ;-)

For an inexpensive AIO Corsair, NZXT, CoolerMaster, are all good.

 

Haha, yup just making sure, thank you!

 

Does the rest of the build look okay?

[wONKEyeYEs]

2 minutes ago, blairarmstrong said:

Haha, yup just making sure, thank you!

 

Does the rest of the build look okay?

The only thing that jumps out is the PSU.  PCPartpicker estimates 322W. That does not take into account any OC. For such a small case and power parts if the PSU were another 100W it would only be running at 50% - 60% and thus cooler.

We like to overbuild!

[blairarmstrong]

Just now, wONKEyeYEs said:

The only thing that jumps out is the PSU.  PCPartpicker estimates 322W. That does not take into account any OC. For such a small case and power parts if the PSU were another 100W it would only be running at 50% - 60% and thus cooler.

We like to overbuild!

 

Alright good to know!

 

Thank you so much for your help! If I don't feel comfortable water cooling, would it be okay to just get a more powerful CPU fan?

[wONKEyeYEs]

23 minutes ago, blairarmstrong said:

Alright good to know!

 

Thank you so much for your help! If I don't feel comfortable water cooling, would it be okay to just get a more powerful CPU fan?

Wow, your case says "Tower CPU coolers, up to 165 mm tall".

You could put a Noctua NH D15s in there!

You're MB is even on the Noctua approved list.

[M.A.P]

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zFNZKZ
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zFNZKZ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($277.22 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Riing Silent 12 Pro Blue 53.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($114.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($80.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card  ($374.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($65.98 @ Newegg) 
Other: Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit from Kinguin ($30.00)
Total: $1249.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-26 03:02 EDT-0400

 

Has better cooler so better OC.

Has 3200MHZ RAM instead of 2133MHZ.

Has a better clocked GTX 1070.

[Fessas]

6 hours ago, wONKEyeYEs said:

That is right, 95w > 65W. ;-)

For an inexpensive AIO Corsair, NZXT, CoolerMaster, are all good.

Or just go with an non overclocking cpu, like the 6700, 65W TDP, to keep your 8 threads

save money on the motherboard if you like, and get a 1080 or put it towards more storage

 

Edit: PCPartPicker has the 6700 more expensive than the K, but for thermal reasons a non k variant is nice.
 

Edited April 26, 2017 by Fessas

[RAM555789]

If you could do a mATX this could be a nice build. You may wanna get 2 fans for the case and set up a push and pull  to maximize the cooling in the system. (i'm not to familiar with push pull systems so I didn't include it)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  ($248.69 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool Maelstrom 120T 83.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler 
Motherboard: MSI B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($114.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($174.35 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card  ($359.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.89 @ Newegg) 
Other: Windows 10 OEM Key (Kinguin) ($30.00)
Total: $1206.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-26 09:25 EDT-0400

[brob]

@blairarmstrong,

 

I would suggest getting a single 16GB memory stick. This will allow for an upgrade should it prove desirable.

 

You might consider the H80i V2 cpu cooler. It will provide excellent cooling that will allow for overclocking. An air tower cooler is not optimal in a case that is going to be moved with some frequency.

 

It would push the budget a bit, but consider going with ssd only storage. Less susceptible to damage during transport.

[blairarmstrong]

8 hours ago, wONKEyeYEs said:

Wow, your case says "Tower CPU coolers, up to 165 mm tall".

You could put a Noctua NH D15s in there!

You're MB is even on the Noctua approved list.

 

Good to know, I might do that since I'm not as comfortable/familar with liquid cooling.

 

7 hours ago, M.A.P said:

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zFNZKZ
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zFNZKZ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($277.22 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Riing Silent 12 Pro Blue 53.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($114.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($80.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card  ($374.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($65.98 @ Newegg) 
Other: Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit from Kinguin ($30.00)
Total: $1249.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-26 03:02 EDT-0400

 

Has better cooler so better OC.

Has 3200MHZ RAM instead of 2133MHZ.

Has a better clocked GTX 1070.

 

How's the SSD by SKHynix? I've never heard of them.

 

1 hour ago, RAM555789 said:

If you could do a mATX this could be a nice build. You may wanna get 2 fans for the case and set up a push and pull  to maximize the cooling in the system. (i'm not to familiar with push pull systems so I didn't include it)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  ($248.69 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool Maelstrom 120T 83.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler 
Motherboard: MSI B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($114.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($174.35 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card  ($359.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.89 @ Newegg) 
Other: Windows 10 OEM Key (Kinguin) ($30.00)
Total: $1206.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-26 09:25 EDT-0400

 

Any reason for the Ryzen? Also with the Liquid CPU cooler would thermals be looking okay?

[M.A.P]

1 minute ago, blairarmstrong said:

How's the SSD by SKHynix? I've never heard of them.

It's good you can check articles in other websites too like tomshardware.

[brob]

Hynix is a major memory manufacturer. In fact they have a larger NAND Flash market share than Intel.

[blairarmstrong]

6 hours ago, M.A.P said:

It's good you can check articles in other websites too like tomshardware.

 

1 hour ago, brob said:

Hynix is a major memory manufacturer. In fact they have a larger NAND Flash market share than Intel.

This is why I rely on all of you knowledgeable people, thank you!

[Sanctorum]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($316.88 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($65.60 @ NCIX US) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card  ($339.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Other: Windows 10 OEM Key (Kinguin) ($30.00)
Other: Biostar B350GTN Mini ITX ($109.00)
Total: $1185.43
 

 

If you can wait a bit for those ITX AM4 boards from Biostar. Spend a bit more the Node 304 if you want. I would recommend a GTX 1060 6GB or an RX 580 instead of the GTX 1070 though since you're playing at 1080p. Not worth spending more now for a completely overkill GPU based on an upgrade you may do in the future. That said, even if you upgraded to 1080p144 or 1440p in the future, an RX 580 or GTX 1060 6GB would handle that fine, and a GTX 1070 is still going to somewhat struggle at 4k, not that it won't be able to play 4k comfortably.

[M.A.P]

10 hours ago, blairarmstrong said:

 

This is why I rely on all of you knowledgeable people, thank you!

Your welcome.

[blairarmstrong]

On 4/26/2017 at 3:19 PM, Sanctorum said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($316.88 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($65.60 @ NCIX US) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card  ($339.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Other: Windows 10 OEM Key (Kinguin) ($30.00)
Other: Biostar B350GTN Mini ITX ($109.00)
Total: $1185.43
 

 

If you can wait a bit for those ITX AM4 boards from Biostar. Spend a bit more the Node 304 if you want. I would recommend a GTX 1060 6GB or an RX 580 instead of the GTX 1070 though since you're playing at 1080p. Not worth spending more now for a completely overkill GPU based on an upgrade you may do in the future. That said, even if you upgraded to 1080p144 or 1440p in the future, an RX 580 or GTX 1060 6GB would handle that fine, and a GTX 1070 is still going to somewhat struggle at 4k, not that it won't be able to play 4k comfortably.

 

Okay, sounds good, way to save some money as well.

[Schraufabagel]

Why not a Ryzen CPU? If your going to be running multi core applications like CAD and video editing, a Ryzen chip is a far better price to performance option. Those extra cores and threads are worth it since you won't notice a significant different from the loss in ghz. The GPU should carry most of the power for gaming. Granted, you will give up a sizable speed amount for single thread applications, but it all depends on what you will be doing the most.