Mini ITX/ATX/General PC Build

[Ardu]

Hey there!

So I'm looking to build a mini PC, but I don't have much experience in this area and could do with some help.

It doesn't need to have a graphics card as it won't be used for gaming, but I would like it to be fast for general workstation use.

A budget of around £600 with flexibility

Thanks in advance!

[Jurrunio]

for what exactly? Replacing your current one?

[Ardu]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

for what exactly? Replacing your current one?

No this isn't for me, it's for one of my grandparents. So it'll just be used for like, browsing, moving files really, nothing much more.

[Jurrunio]

7 minutes ago, Ardu said:

No this isn't for me, it's for one of my grandparents. So it'll just be used for like, browsing, moving files really, nothing much more.

so nothing related to workstation? Because 600 pounds wont be enough for anything workstation worthy.

[Fasauceome]

42 minutes ago, Ardu said:

general workstation use.

A workstation is a PC for very demanding tasks like video editing, or at least that's how most people use it. 

 

If your tasks include browsing and basic word processing, then:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	£78.04 @ More Computers
Motherboard	Biostar - X470GTN Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	£100.74 @ Ebuyer
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	£41.87 @ Amazon UK
Storage	ADATA - XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	£75.75 @ CCL Computers
Case	Silverstone - SG13 Mini ITX Tower Case	£39.95 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	SeaSonic - FOCUS SGX 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply	£95.47 @ Scan.co.uk
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£431.82
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-29 13:05 BST+0100

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£78.04 @ More Computers) 
Motherboard: Biostar - X470GTN Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  (£100.74 @ Ebuyer) 
Memory: Patriot - Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£44.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 480 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (£62.86 @ CCL Computers) 
Case: Thermaltake - Core V1 Mini ITX Desktop Case  (£36.38 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: be quiet! - Pure Power 11 CM 400 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  (£50.96 @ Aria PC) 
Total: £373.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-29 13:31 BST+0100

[Ardu]

1 hour ago, Jurrunio said:

so nothing related to workstation? Because 600 pounds wont be enough for anything workstation worthy.

Ah, my bad, was convinced that's what a workstation was.

[Ardu]

53 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

A workstation is a PC for very demanding tasks like video editing, or at least that's how most people use it. 

 

If your tasks include browsing and basic word processing, then:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	£78.04 @ More Computers
Motherboard	Biostar - X470GTN Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	£100.74 @ Ebuyer
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	£41.87 @ Amazon UK
Storage	ADATA - XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	£75.75 @ CCL Computers
Case	Silverstone - SG13 Mini ITX Tower Case	£39.95 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	SeaSonic - FOCUS SGX 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply	£95.47 @ Scan.co.uk
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£431.82
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-29 13:05 BST+0100

 

 

26 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£78.04 @ More Computers) 
Motherboard: Biostar - X470GTN Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  (£100.74 @ Ebuyer) 
Memory: Patriot - Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£44.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 480 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (£62.86 @ CCL Computers) 
Case: Thermaltake - Core V1 Mini ITX Desktop Case  (£36.38 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: be quiet! - Pure Power 11 CM 400 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  (£50.96 @ Aria PC) 
Total: £373.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-29 13:31 BST+0100

These are both great, but can I be a pain.

 So I have an i7 6700 laying around, I've got the MOBO for it but that's just an ATX, so is there anyway to fit that into one of these builds?

Obviously not the motherboard the CPU I mean?

Thank again

[Herman Mcpootis]

1 minute ago, Ardu said:

 

These are both great, but can I be a pain.

 So I have an i7 6700 laying around, I've got the MOBO for it but that's just an ATX, so is there anyway to fit that into one of these builds?

Obviously not the motherboard the CPU I mean?

Thank again

you can just swap out the case for an ATX case, but it means you're not getting an SFF rig.

[Ardu]

2 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

you can just swap out the case for an ATX case, but it means you're not getting an SFF rig.

Are there not SFF MOBOS that are compatible with an i7 6700?

[Herman Mcpootis]

1 minute ago, Ardu said:

Are there not SFF MOBOS that are compatible with an i7 6700?

there are, but they'll be 76 pounds BNIB.

[Ardu]

3 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

there are, but they'll be 76 pounds BNIB.

Would you recommend I got for that? Or something more along the lines of what you suggested?

It's just that the 6700 is pretty good, and if I don't use it for this it won't get used for anything.

[Fasauceome]

2 hours ago, Ardu said:

Would you recommend I got for that? Or something more along the lines of what you suggested?

It's just that the 6700 is pretty good, and if I don't use it for this it won't get used for anything.

Itx motherboards off eBay are not so bad.

Any ITX B150/250 or H110/210 would be suitable, or H270/170 if you want something nice.

[KuJoe]

If it's for your grandparents I highly recommend NOT building a custom PC for them unless you want to handle all of the support and be on-call 7 days a week. Go pick up a cheap pre-built and call it a day, maybe even look at a $300 Intel NUC which will probably be overkill for them (check out my daily driver in my signature, I highly doubt they're doing half of the work I do on mine and my Celeron has plenty of power).

[brob]

3 hours ago, Ardu said:

 

These are both great, but can I be a pain.

 So I have an i7 6700 laying around, I've got the MOBO for it but that's just an ATX, so is there anyway to fit that into one of these builds?

Obviously not the motherboard the CPU I mean?

Thank again

This is about the smallest ATX case available. The motherboard is just a placeholder for the one you have.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel - Core i7-6700 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor  (Purchased For £0.00) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler  (£53.74 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-Z270-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (Purchased For £0.00) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (£69.95 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£53.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q500L ATX Mid Tower Case  (£54.56 @ More Computers) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  (£52.94 @ Box Limited) 
Total: £285.18
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-29 17:22 BST+0100

[thinwalrus]

1 hour ago, KuJoe said:

If it's for your grandparents I highly recommend NOT building a custom PC for them unless you want to handle all of the support and be on-call 7 days a week. Go pick up a cheap pre-built and call it a day, maybe even look at a $300 Intel NUC which will probably be overkill for them (check out my daily driver in my signature, I highly doubt they're doing half of the work I do on mine and my Celeron has plenty of power).

Nuc is the best thing that has happened to office and browsing pc:s in a decade. But don't cheap out, get at least an i3. Even the i5 is not that expensive for 4c8t model.

 

 

[jerubedo]

I wouldn't use the 6700 in a build like this. It's more power hungry and it runs hotter, even under the small loads your grandparents would put on it. It's also just a waste. You'd be better off selling it for some cash. I'd just do a simple build like this on the cheap:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	£107.58 @ Aria PC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - H310N Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard	£74.84 @ CCL Computers
Memory	Patriot - Signature Line 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory	£36.99 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Western Digital - Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	£56.79 @ CCL Computers
Case	Thermaltake - Core V1 Mini ITX Desktop Case	£36.38 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	be quiet! - Pure Power 11 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	£36.79 @ Aria PC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£349.37
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-29 21:11 BST+0100

 

[thinwalrus]

3 hours ago, jerubedo said:

I wouldn't use the 6700 in a build like this. It's more power hungry and it runs hotter, even under the small loads your grandparents would put on it. It's also just a waste.

This is based on what? Skylake-cores are pretty much identical to 8000-series or even 9000-series.

[jerubedo]

6 minutes ago, thinwalrus said:

This is based on what? Skylake-cores are pretty much identical to 8000-series or even 9000-series.

Hyperthreading. The 6700 has hyperthreading and the 8100 does not. Also the 6700 boosts to 4.0GHz where the 8100 sticks to 3.6GHz. Putting that together, the 8100 will draw less power and produce less heat. You could always disable hyperthreading on the 6700, but again, it would be just a waste, and it's better to sell it. You'd make a nice penny that way.

[brob]

1 minute ago, jerubedo said:

Hyperthreading. The 6700 has hyperthreading and the 8100 does not. The 8100 will draw less power and produce less heat. You could always disable hyperthreading on the 6700, but again, it would be just a waste, and it's better to sell it. You'd make a nice penny that way.

 

Both the i7-6700 and i3-8100 are 65W TDP. So according to Intel the i3-8100 has roughly the same heat dissipation as the i7-6700. Which of course makes sense when you consider the fact that both cpu have four essentially similar cores.

 

Even if the i7-6700 consumes a few % more power, consider that the capital cost of the i7-6700 and motherboard in this case is £0 while that of the i3-8100 is  > £100 + motherboard. cost  I suspect the capital cost savings alone will more than cover the added running cost for a few years.

 

[jerubedo]

37 minutes ago, brob said:

Both the i7-6700 and i3-8100 are 65W TDP. So according to Intel the i3-8100 has roughly the same heat dissipation as the i7-6700. Which of course makes sense when you consider the fact that both cpu have four essentially similar cores.

I have both chips. Under a prime95 AVX load, the 6700 hits 94C with a stock Intel cooler. The 8100 hits 79C with the same stock cooler. The extra clock speed of the 6700 (remember the 6700 boosts and the 8100 does not) and the hyperthreading make it produce quite a bit more heat. Remember that for Intel TDP is rated at BASE clocks, so when turboing, the TDP may be exceeded.

 

37 minutes ago, brob said:

Even if the i7-6700 consumes a few % more power, consider that the capital cost of the i7-6700 and motherboard in this case is £0 while that of the i3-8100 is  > £100 + motherboard. cost  I suspect the capital cost savings alone will more than cover the added running cost for a few years.

He's looking to do an ITX build, so he'd need a motherboard anyway. So it's really just the CPU, in which case I'd buy the ~£100 CPU and sell the 6700 for more than £100.

[thinwalrus]

17 minutes ago, jerubedo said:

I have both chips. Under a prime95 AVX load, the 6700 hits 94C with a stock Intel cooler. The 8100 hits 79C with the same stock cooler. The extra clock speed of the 6700 (remember the 6700 boosts and the 8100 does not) and the hyperthreading make it produce quite a bit more heat. Remember that for Intel TDP is rated at BASE clocks, so when turboing, the TDP may be exceeded.

 

He's looking to do an ITX build, so he'd need a motherboard anyway. So it's really just the CPU, in which case I'd buy the ~£100 CPU and sell the 6700 for more than £100.

You think the grandparents will be running prime 95 avx? Heat will make no difference on this use case. 

[jerubedo]

3 minutes ago, thinwalrus said:

You think the grandparents will be running prime 95 avx? Heat will make no difference on this use case. 

That's not the point. The point is, across the board, the 6700 will draw more power and produce more heat. Even at idle. You can sell the 6700 for MORE THAN £100, and get the 8100 for £100, giving you a PROFIT along with less power draw and less heat. That's a win-win across the board.

[brob]

52 minutes ago, jerubedo said:

...

He's looking to do an ITX build, so he'd need a motherboard anyway. So it's really just the CPU, in which case I'd buy the ~£100 CPU and sell the 6700 for more than £100.

I guess you missed the post I quoted. He has an i7-6700 with motherboard and asked it they could be used.

[jerubedo]

5 minutes ago, brob said:

I guess you missed the post I quoted. He has an i7-6700 with motherboard and asked it they could be used.

Oh, I took it to mean he was asking if his ATX motherboard could fit into an ITX case (which it can't), and that he still wanted ITX. If I was wrong in that interpretation and he's willing to use an ATX sized tower then yeah, it'd be better to use what he has because now we're talking the cost of the CPU AND motherboard.