First Mini ITX Build Help

[Will Barnard]

So believe it or not my Grandad asked me to build him a PC...

 

I'm fine with that, it's just that he wants one of these new Mini ITX PCs and I've never done a Mini ITX build before, so I wanted to check with you guys first.

 

What do you think?

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/TVVcjX

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/TVVcjX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£183.08 @ Amazon UK) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97I Gaming AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£106.62 @ Amazon UK) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£56.11 @ CCL Computers) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£72.40 @ Amazon UK) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card  (£147.28 @ Dabs) 

Case: Corsair 250D Mini ITX Tower Case  (£64.99 @ Amazon UK) 

Total: £630.48

 

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-05 16:34 GMT+0000

 

*Yes, he's having my GPU because for the games he wants to play it will be fine... plus I'll be able to get a new one sooner 

 

*The PSU will be decided at a later date when the build is more finalized.

[Will Barnard]

Shameless bump  :wacko:

[-TesseracT-]

GTX 660?

[Will Barnard]

GTX 660?

yes, why?

[MaDoHo]

Maybe remove GPU, add a boot SSD?

 

Just read it's your old, nvm.

[Will Barnard]

Maybe remove GPU, add a boot SSD?

Why do you suggest removing the GPU, one of the main features of that case is that it allows for a full size GPU. and  yeah, could add an SSD, down to him really cause it's not essential.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

 

Why do you suggest removing the GPU, one of the main features of that case is that it allows for a full size GPU. and  yeah, could add an SSD, down to him really cause it's not essential.

 

 

 

"my Grandad asked me to build him a PC..."

 

I don't think he is going to play high end games... right?

[MaDoHo]

Why do you suggest removing the GPU, one of the main features of that case is that it allows for a full size GPU. and  yeah, could add an SSD, down to him really cause it's not essential.

 

Mostly because I would guess that he'd be fine with the integrated one.

[Will Barnard]

 

 

"my Grandad asked me to build him a PC..."

 

I don't think he is going to play games... right?

 

Yeah he does, sorry I should have made that clear in the topic. He wants a PC to play this one game https://www.elitedangerous.com/It's a remake of Elite which he used to play all the time.

 

@MaDoHo

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Yeah he does, sorry I should have made that clear in the topic. He wants a PC to play this one game https://www.elitedangerous.com/It's a remake of Elite which he used to play all the time.

 

@MaDoHo

 

Ok yeah. Any x60 cards will do. Minimum spec is a 260. So that is good. For the case, I can vouch for it as a good case unless you want mobility, but I guess not. For a mITX case it's a bit big but it's good and I like it. The rest seems good to except RAM. I would go with dual channel (2x4) instead single, (1x8)

[MaDoHo]

Yeah he does, sorry I should have made that clear in the topic. He wants a PC to play this one game https://www.elitedangerous.com/It's a remake of Elite which he used to play all the time.

 

@MaDoHo

 

Oh, then just build the pc so it matches the minimum or recommended requirements, depending on funds.

 

And what he said^^ unless you plan to add another ram stick.

[Will Barnard]

Ok yeah. Any x60 cards will do. Minimum spec is a 260. So that is good. For the case, I can vouch for it as a good case unless you want mobility, but I guess not. For a mITX case it's a bit big but it's good and I like it. The rest seems good to except RAM. I would go with dual channel (2x4) instead single, (1x8)

Yeah, the card is quite above what he needs for that game, but I'm getting a 970 so he can have my 660 cheap. He chose the case and I'm sure it'll be fine cause it's corsair... and I'll switch the ram for 2x4GB, thanks for your help.

[Will Barnard]

 

And what he said^^ unless you plan to add another ram stick.

Yeah, I'll switch it for 2x4GB 

[TheGhzGuy]

yes, why?

It's a two generation old card and a bit outdated

[Will Barnard]

It's a two generation old card and a bit outdated

Ah yes, but for what he needs it's overkill, he can get it cheap and it helps me out so not bad really 

[razor767]

Is your grandad going to be doing anything else besides playing Elite: Dangerous? 

[Will Barnard]

Is your grandad going to be doing anything else besides playing Elite: Dangerous?

Not really, just things like google and ms office.

[razor767]

Not really, just things like google and ms office.

Unless he really needs 1TB you could just get a 256gb SSD for a similar price. 

 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256mx100ssd1

[Will Barnard]

Unless he really needs 1TB you could just get a 256gb SSD for a similar price. 

 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256mx100ssd1

I know, I've told him he doesn't need a terabyte, but he said he might aswell... Thanks anyway

[brob]

For a system like this there is no need for an unlocked cpu and Z97 motherboard. But an ssd will make a big difference in browsing, wp, and general work. I would configure the storage so that media folders (My Videos, etc.) were on the hdd and everything else was on the ssd.

 

The Node 304 is a nice mini-ITX case available in white and black.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£155.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£92.00 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£55.25 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£69.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£34.45 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card  (£147.28 @ Dabs)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  (£56.92 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£49.00 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £660.82
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 00:47 GMT+0000

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

For a system like this there is no need for an unlocked cpu and Z97 motherboard. But an ssd will make a big difference in browsing, wp, and general work. I would configure the storage so that media folders (My Videos, etc.) were on the hdd and everything else was on the ssd.

The Node 304 is a nice mini-ITX case available in white and black.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (£155.94 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£92.00 @ Aria PC)

Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£55.25 @ CCL Computers)

Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£69.98 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£34.45 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (£147.28 @ Dabs)

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case (£56.92 @ CCL Computers)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£49.00 @ Amazon UK)

Total: £660.82

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 00:47 GMT+0000

I aproove this. Except for case choice. Airflow looks bad in node, should stick with 250D.