[UK] Upgrade & downsize to mITX

[xeeuwot]

1. Budget & Location

Currently have £350 and can flog off the old CPU + motherboard for around £50-£80 depending on my luck on Ebay.

2. Aim

Current usage:

Light programming

Web Design

Light Photoshop

Gaming @ 1920x1080

 

Future (September 2015)

All of above

Work involving VMs

Video Creation

GTA V (no specs yet but hey may as well throw it in here).

3. Monitors
Have 2, want 2, only gaming on one at 1920x1080 for the forseeable future.

4. Peripherals

None.

 

5. Why are you upgrading?
Need a smaller computer & current motherboard is slowly dieing (Only the x16 PCIe slot works, Left Audio channel non-existant).

 

 

Current Setup

 

Intel Core i7 860

Noctua NH-L12

Dell Motherboard

8GB (2x4GB) Kingston HyperX Beast 2400MHz.

2x256GB Crucial M4 RAID0

1x3TB WD Red

MSI R9 280X

Corsair RM650

 

If you're reading that spec list and thinking "WHY?!?!?", answer; the part was good value.

 

 

New Parts

 

CPU - Unsure, because I will be using the SIlverstone SG13 is overclocking really an option?  I was going to go the E3-1230 V3 route but then I thought, "What if my GPU breaks, I don't have a spare laying around and I'll need to still atleast be able to use the computer..".  The cheapest GPU is more expensive that the price difference to the next Xeon which has an integrated GPU (E3-1245 V3) which is not much cheaper than the 4770K so I may aswell just get that but then the 4790K is only that bit more expensive again..  What's your thoughts on this?

 

I'd like a Xeon simply because when I'm ready to upgrade, If I want to throw it into a FreeNAS build I can because it supports ECC.

 

Cooling - My NH-L12 won't fit in the SG13, even in 'low-profile' mode with the top fan removed.  Selling it will only yeild me around £20 based on previous ebay auctions and considering I'd be buying a NF-F12 again anyway at £18 I don't see the point in selling this.  Silverstone recommend using a 120mm AIO water cooler, I'm not hip these days with which vender has the best offer when it comes to AIO's but what I do know is i've 90mm to work with up front (90mm to include radiator and fan(s)). So H75 with an NF-F12? (I already own one from the NH-L12 cooler) or stick with the Intel Stock cooler?

 

RAM - 8GB is just about enough currently but I know once I start needing to do work on VMs i'll need atleast 12GB if not 16GB.

 

Motherboard - The easiest part! ASUS Z97I-Plus @ £108.69

 

Storage - I'm fine in regards to storage.  I should be able to squeeze both the SSD's in somewhere if not I''ll revert back to one  In regards to the 3.5" see the PSU section.

 

Graphics - I'm happy enough with it currently and althought the case specs 10.5" (266.7mm) as its maximum length (WHY INCHES SILVERSTONE?!) working it by comparing it to the SG05 there should be 276mm for the GPU which my card (269mm) will just fit in.

 

Power Supply - According to Silverstone the RM650 is too long to be compatible with the SG13, RM650 being 160mm long and the 'maximum' being 150mm, looking at it though I believe it will fit only I will have to sacrifice the 3.5" drive mount.  I'm willing to risk it, try to fit the 3.5" drive in somewhere and if not then sell the RM650 and replace it (probably with the Corsair CS450M).

 

Case - Silverstone SG13.  I've allocated £50 for the case, it should be around that price range.

 

The cheapest configuration

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£185.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£108.69 @ Amazon UK)
Other: Silverstone SG13 (£50.00)
Total: £344.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-31 03:21 GMT+0000

 

I have probably forgetten something somewhere, if I have let me know!

[dizmo]

First off, I have to give you props for a very well put together post, which is awesome to see from a newer member!

 

Have you thought about getting the E3 1226 v3? It has integrated graphics and is actually cheaper than the one you listed. It is a very slight bit slower at 3.3ghz though.

I wouldn't worry too much about a component breaking. Could it happen? Of course. I, however, have never had it happen, and neither have most of my friends.

 

I'd almost go with a Silverstone AIO cooler. They also make the PSU you'll want to be using.

 

I think the SG13 is shorter than the SG05 is it not? Hence the different graphics card spacing.

[xeeuwot]

First off, I have to give you props for a very well put together post, which is awesome to see from a newer member!

 

Have you thought about getting the E3 1226 v3? It has integrated graphics and is actually cheaper than the one you listed. It is a very slight bit slower at 3.3ghz though.

I wouldn't worry too much about a component breaking. Could it happen? Of course. I, however, have never had it happen, and neither have most of my friends.

 

I'd almost go with a Silverstone AIO cooler. They also make the PSU you'll want to be using.

 

I think the SG13 is shorter than the SG05 is it not? Hence the different graphics card spacing.

 

Thanks! Unfortunately after looking at the E3-1226 V3 it isn't hyper threaded, which is a bummer cause I thought you solved it there. 

 

The SG13 is actually 9mm longer and has a cut out in the front to let the graphics cards go into the bit at the front of the case ever so slightly.

 

Ill look into the silver stone cooler and PSU thanks

[dizmo]

Thanks! Unfortunately after looking at the E3-1226 V3 it isn't hyper threaded, which is a bummer cause I thought you solved it there. 

 

The SG13 is actually 9mm longer and has a cut out in the front to let the graphics cards go into the bit at the front of the case ever so slightly.

 

Ill look into the silver stone cooler and PSU thanks

Ah, that I did not notice. Honestly though I wouldn't worry about a graphics card failure. If it's that huge of a deal, why not just spend 20 pound on a cheap back up graphics card?

If you can run off Integrated graphics, it'd be just as good.

 

I don't think your card will fit to be honest. The case says 10.5", and they generally mean it.

The other case is 9mm shorter and only fits 10" cards.

[xeeuwot]

Ah, that I did not notice. Honestly though I wouldn't worry about a graphics card failure. If it's that huge of a deal, why not just spend 20 pound on a cheap back up graphics card?

If you can run off Integrated graphics, it'd be just as good.

 

I don't think your card will fit to be honest. The case says 10.5", and they generally mean it.

The other case is 9mm shorter and only fits 10" cards.

 

Suppose you're right, thinking back I've never had a graphics card outright fail on me.  I think it's going to be a tight fit, but because it's measured in inches and the card is only 2mm over that measurement I hope it will fit haha, I did a mock up in photoshop to try and convince myself.

[dizmo]

 

Suppose you're right, thinking back I've never had a graphics card outright fail on me.  I think it's going to be a tight fit, but because it's measured in inches and the card is only 2mm over that measurement I hope it will fit haha, I did a mock up in photoshop to try and convince myself.

 

Ah yeah you should be able to actually. That's really only a mm and a very small amount difference. Absolute worst case scenario take a Dremel to the edge of the case.

I'm pretty stoked on this case, it's basically exactly what I've been looking for; a slightly different Node 304, with better touches.

Are you going for the Quiet or Performance variant?

[xeeuwot]

Ah yeah you should be able to actually. That's really only a mm and a very small amount difference. Absolute worst case scenario take a Dremel to the edge of the case.

I'm pretty stoked on this case, it's basically exactly what I've been looking for; a slightly different Node 304, with better touches.

Are you going for the Quiet or Performance variant?

 

I know right! It's nearly half the size (by volume) of the Node 304 aswell. I'm thinking performance, despite what others say, I think it looks awesome.  You made your pick yet?

[dizmo]

I know right! It's nearly half the size (by volume) of the Node 304 aswell. I'm thinking performance, despite what others say, I think it looks awesome.  You made your pick yet?

Yeah, definitely going with performance as well. I'm going with water cooling, and I just don't want to run into the same problems the Node 304 has with lack of airflow and cooling.

Apparently it can throttle pretty bad under load.

We'll see though. Ideally I'd like a pretty silent system since it will be sitting on my desk.

I'll be going with a Reference card, either a 770 or 970 depending on the monitor I end up using. It's just a stopgap system while I wait for Pascal, or possibly even Volta.