mITX Build

[Techteen14]

I know I've posted my parts list before, but it's changed and I am a little more organized about what I want it to do. Also, I might be getting enough money to buy parts later today, so I want to run this new list by you guys.

Budget & Location

I live in the US, and can spend a maximum of $1,200. I want to get it as cheap as possible without sacrificing perfromance.

Aim

I want to run these programs:

Chrome

Skype

Hangouts

Google Docs

Google Sheets

Google Slides

Malwarebytes

MS Security Essentials

Pushbullet

Adobe Reader

GIMP (NOT intensively, just touching up)

Evernote

Google Earth Pro (now that it's free)

Adobe Brackets

CCleaner

Inbox (chrome Web app)

Nothing more intensive in the foreseeable future.

Monitors

One 24" 1080p one, no plans to get more.

Peripherals

I need all peripherals, though I can get Windows for free from my Uncle who works at Comcast, and I really like the keyboard I have picked out. I hate mice, so I want the trackpad I selected.

Case and brand loyalty

I love the current case, don't change it. For SSDs, I want either a Sandisk, Samsung or Intel. Do I need a 128 or 240GB SSD? For CPUs, Intel all the way.

Part list

Finally, here's the (updated) part list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.58 @ Micro Center)

Motherboard: MSI H97I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.16 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($82.66 @ Mac Mall)

Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.87 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.24 @ Directron)

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($78.42 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.98 @ Micro Center)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($0.00)

Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ NCIX US)

Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 37.9 CFM 92mm Fan ($15.87 @ OutletPC)

Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 37.9 CFM 92mm Fan ($15.87 @ OutletPC)

Case Fan: Noctua NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM 78.7 CFM 140mm Fan ($21.09 @ Amazon)

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard ($171.70 @ Amazon)

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad ($31.78 @ Amazon)

Total: $1063.20

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-05 22:10 EST-0500

Thanks for your time!

[zappian]

Do you even GPU?
 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($184.88 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($53.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($130.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Micro Center) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($123.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Micro Center) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($0.00) 

Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($149.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 37.9 CFM 92mm  Fan  ($14.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 37.9 CFM 92mm  Fan  ($14.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM 78.7 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($19.90 @ Amazon) 

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard  ($161.99 @ Amazon) 

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad  ($31.56 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1225.20

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:37 EST-0500

[Tagiau]

 

Do you even GPU?

It would have been better to say this and add an actually good gpu. 

 

@Techteen14 go with the system above, but choose a r9 270. 

[zappian]

It would have been better to say this and add an actually good gpu. 

 

@Techteen14 go with the system above, but choose a r9 270. 

 

750 ti because mini ITX.

[Lotus]

Well, the keyboard really makes things weird. It kind of warps the build as it's very expensive for what it is, and I don't see what's so special about it. The touchpad is actually cheaper than a good mouse, so that's no problem. That being said, do NOT get an i5-4590 with an 80 series motherboard. That's asking for trouble. The 4590 is a haswell refresh, and so it should be paired with 90 series motherboards. 80 series motherboards will usually require a bios update to work with the 4590, and you need a working CPU to update the bios, which means you could be stuck in a catch-22.

 

This is what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII M4 58.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($117.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($91.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($92.00 @ B&H)
Monitor: Asus VN248H 23.8" Monitor  ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard  ($161.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad  ($31.56 @ Amazon)
Total: $1363.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:50 EST-0500

 

edit: realized you weren't gaming, so I stuck with a more cost efficient card. The R9 280 isn't really ideal for the price unless you factor in the rebate, but it should be fine for your purposes.

[Tagiau]

750 ti because mini ITX.

But the node can fit a full-sized gpu...

[Laputacake]

Well, the keyboard really makes things weird. It kind of warps the build as it's very expensive for what it is, and I don't see what's so special about it. The touchpad is actually cheaper than a good mouse, so that's no problem. That being said, do NOT get an i5-4590 with an 80 series motherboard. That's asking for trouble. The 4590 is a haswell refresh, and so it should be paired with 90 series motherboards. 80 series motherboards will usually require a bios update to work with the 4590, and you need a working CPU to update the bios, which means you could be stuck in a catch-22.

Do you even budget?

[zappian]

Do you even budget?

 

This.

 

He doenst need a 290 for his usage.

 

A 750 ti from gigabyte or a mini itx 960 is good.

Or a 270.

[brob]

SeaSonic 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply is a better quality psu. It is not modular, but that should not be an issue given how few cables a small psu has.

MSI H97I AC or Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI would be better motherboard choices. But if you stay with the Z87 check with the merchant before purchase to insure that it is shipping with a BIOS level that supports the Haswell Refresh cpu.

[Laputacake]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($171.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($130.98 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Best Buy)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 285 2GB ITX COMPACT OC Video Card ($250.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Lian-Li PC-TU100A Mini ITX Tower Case ($90.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($0.00)

Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ NCIX US)

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard ($161.99 @ Amazon)

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad ($31.56 @ Amazon)

Total: $1182.45

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:52 EST-0500

[Lotus]

Do you even budget?

 

 

This.

 

He doenst need a 290 for his usage.

 

A 750 ti from gigabyte or a mini itx 960 is good.

Or a 270.

Considering everyone edited their posts for vastly reduced price, and I was building based upon the original price and the R9 290 is such a good deal right now, I think this is highly misleading. At least I didn't make the mistake of potentially leaving OP with a pile of non-compatible parts (80 series motherboard, haswell refresh CPU).

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.69 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($91.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($144.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Amazon)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($92.00 @ B&H)

Monitor: Asus VN248H 23.8" Monitor  ($154.99 @ Newegg)

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard  ($161.99 @ Amazon)

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad  ($31.56 @ Amazon)

Total: $1198.12

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:55 EST-0500

 

Happy? I'd still go for the first one if it's in the budget. Small bit extra in price, huge performance increase. I am always in favor of price to performance.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Lotus

[zappian]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($171.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($130.98 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Best Buy)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 285 2GB ITX COMPACT OC Video Card ($250.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Lian-Li PC-TU100A Mini ITX Tower Case ($90.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($0.00)

Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ NCIX US)

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard ($161.99 @ Amazon)

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad ($31.56 @ Amazon)

Total: $1182.45

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:52 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($244.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($130.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Best Buy) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($199.95 @ Directron) 

Case: Lian-Li PC-TU100A Mini ITX Tower Case  ($90.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($0.00) 

Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($149.99 @ NCIX US) 

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard  ($161.99 @ Amazon) 

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad  ($31.56 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1204.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:57 EST-0500

[zappian]

Considering everyone edited their posts for vastly reduced price, and I was building based upon the original price and the R9 290 is such a good deal right now, I think this is highly misleading. At least I didn't make the mistake of potentially leaving OP with a pile of non-compatible parts (80 series motherboard, haswell refresh CPU).

 

I fixed my build dont worry.

[Laputacake]

Your choice OP

[Imakuni]

A GPUless update to the build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($184.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($95.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($117.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($0.00)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($139.93 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 37.9 CFM 92mm  Fan  ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 37.9 CFM 92mm  Fan  ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM 78.7 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($19.90 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard  ($161.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad  ($31.56 @ Amazon)
Total: $1119.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 13:22 EST-0500

[Techteen14]

Oh, I forgot, the budget MUST include 6% sales tax- I've factored that into my part list already. I can also get a CPU for ~$40 cheaper by buying in-store from Microcenter.

Do you even GPU?

Why do I need a GPU when the most intensive of my tasks is touching up photos in GIMP?

Well, the keyboard really makes things weird. It kind of warps the build as it's very expensive for what it is, and I don't see what's so special about it.

Any suggestions that are of the same aesthetic? I really like how it looks, plus it apparently sounds and feels great too.

That being said, do NOT get an i5-4590 with an 80 series motherboard. That's asking for trouble. The 4590 is a haswell refresh, and so it should be paired with 90 series motherboards. 80 series motherboards will usually require a bios update to work with the 4590, and you need a working CPU to update the bios, which means you could be stuck in a catch-22.

At the time, I couldn't find a Z/H97 motherboard with 802.11AC for ~$120.

[zappian]

Oh, I forgot, the budget MUST include 6% sales tax- I've factored that into my part list already.

 

 

Why do I need a GPU when the most intensive of my tasks is touching up photos in GIMP?

 

Any suggestions that are of the same aesthetic? I really like how it looks, plus it apparently sounds and feels great too.

That being said, do NOT get an i5-4590 with an 80 series motherboard. That's asking for trouble. The 4590 is a haswell refresh, and so it should be paired with 90 series motherboards. 80 series motherboards will usually require a bios update to work with the 4590, and you need a working CPU to update the bios, which means you could be stuck in a catch-22.

At the time, I couldn't find a Z/H97 motherboard with 802.11AC for ~$120.

 

 

OP get one if you need it eventually , photoshop and gimp use gpu.

I recommend this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($244.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($130.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Best Buy) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($199.95 @ Directron) 

Case: Lian-Li PC-TU100A Mini ITX Tower Case  ($90.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($0.00) 

Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($149.99 @ NCIX US) 

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard  ($161.99 @ Amazon) 

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad  ($31.56 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1204.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:57 EST-0500

[Techteen14]

OP get one if you need it eventually , photoshop and gimp use gpu.

This is in no way a photo editing rig. I just need GIMP for light touch-ups.

I recommend this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($244.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($130.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Best Buy) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($199.95 @ Directron) 

Case: Lian-Li PC-TU100A Mini ITX Tower Case  ($90.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($0.00) 

Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($149.99 @ NCIX US) 

Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional Wired Standard Keyboard  ($161.99 @ Amazon) 

Mouse: Logitech T650 Wireless Touchpad  ($31.56 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1204.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 12:57 EST-0500

Any reason for the Xeon over the i5? Also, no SSD?

[Techteen14]

Updated the parts list in the OP. Do I need 16GB of RAM? I regularly have 50 Chrome tabs open on my iPad and I want to be able to use this PC for 3-5 years.

[brob]

Updated the parts list in the OP. Do I need 16GB of RAM? I regularly have 50 Chrome tabs open on my iPad and I want to be able to use this PC for 3-5 years.

 

It's a tough call, but I expect that a larger ssd would be a better investment than 16GB of memory (instead of 8GB).

[Techteen14]

It's a tough call, but I expect that a larger ssd would be a better investment than 16GB of memory (instead of 8GB).

OK, will change.

[Techteen14]

I will be buying the first few parts (CPU and PSU) in a Microcenter oxtmorrow, any suggestions for changing? If not, I will go ahead and buy the newly refreshed part list.

[brob]

I will be buying the first few parts (CPU and PSU) in a Microcenter oxtmorrow, any suggestions for changing? If not, I will go ahead and buy the newly refreshed part list.

 

I believe SeaSonic SSR-450RM is a better psu. But I see that Microcenter does not carry Seasonic. Too bad, it is a excellent brand.