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Double checking potential ITX budget rig

Metatronaut
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Hello!
 
Since the Alienware Alpha was released, I've been super interested in owning a very small form factor PC with capabilities to play some AAA games (FPS really doesn't matter to me, as long as it's over 30 and not completely unplayable).
I've dealt with bringing my Macbook Pro to friends' houses and hooking it up via VGA on my TV but I'd really like a separate system for that, as well as having a PC that acts as a console. I have an external capture card as well so I'll be using my APU build as a streaming PC, as it has a good network card and the Mac software for streaming is pretty unbearable at times.
 
Anyways, here's the build I have going so far

 

I'd like to lower the price a bit more if I can. I understand (and correct me if I'm wrong) that R9 270's and 270X's have generally the same, great performance so I'm not too worried about the card. I DID spot a deal on Amazon for a really good itx card, but it's refurbished, and on top of that, the seller has apparently had problems with shipping the wrong card(s) to people. Multiple times. So I'm very wary on that. I do realize I have 4GB of RAM, but it's sufficient enough for what I'll be using it for, and I don't have a lot of graphic intensive games in my steam library (that I play often). I have a low tolerance when it comes to FPS so having an R11 2879054923579023842XXX is the least of my concerns :P, just as long as it's over 30 fps and can run at 1080p. I also have 3 spare 120mm cooler master fans lying around so I'm not too worried about cooling, but I'd like to keep the water cooling in there to help reduce the heat.

 

Anyways, thanks for taking a look and let me know if I've made a grave error!

-Sam

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The Athlon is not the best value. Why not instead get the anniversary edition G3258? It is about the same price or cheaper. Otherwise, that is a good build.

Intel Core i7 4770k - 2x Geforce GTX 780 - MSI Z87 MPower Max - Corsair H60 - 8GB Avexir Core Series MPower Yellow + 4gb no-brand DDR3 - Corsair Obsidian 750d - AData XPG SX900 256gb SSD - Seagate Barracuda 3TB (7200 RPM) - Hitachi 250GB 2.5in HDD (3200 RPM) - WD HDD 160GB extracted from iMac via black magic (no specified RPM) - ASUS VG248QE 144HZ 3d Vision Monitor - Logitech G602 - Ducky Shine 3 TKL - AKG 172 HD Headphones - Xperia z2 - Sony Noise canceling earphones -  Nikon D5200 With Bundled Lenses - Windows 7 Home Premium - Blue Snowball iCE - Acer Aspire X with a broken case, AMD A6, and Raijintek Aidos CPU heatsink

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Just a reminder, if by reduce the heat, you mean heat in the room, the water cooler will have the opposite effect.

Intel Core i7 4770k - 2x Geforce GTX 780 - MSI Z87 MPower Max - Corsair H60 - 8GB Avexir Core Series MPower Yellow + 4gb no-brand DDR3 - Corsair Obsidian 750d - AData XPG SX900 256gb SSD - Seagate Barracuda 3TB (7200 RPM) - Hitachi 250GB 2.5in HDD (3200 RPM) - WD HDD 160GB extracted from iMac via black magic (no specified RPM) - ASUS VG248QE 144HZ 3d Vision Monitor - Logitech G602 - Ducky Shine 3 TKL - AKG 172 HD Headphones - Xperia z2 - Sony Noise canceling earphones -  Nikon D5200 With Bundled Lenses - Windows 7 Home Premium - Blue Snowball iCE - Acer Aspire X with a broken case, AMD A6, and Raijintek Aidos CPU heatsink

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The Athlon is not the best value. Why not instead get the anniversary edition G3258? It is about the same price or cheaper. Otherwise, that is a good build.

Not necessarily. Single threaded performance the G3258 does win from the 760k, but most games do make use of the extra cores these days and when paired up with lower end graphics cards the Athlon really performs nearly similar to a Core i5. That said OP, why do you not get the slightly newer and faster 860k? Shouldn't even be a tenner more :)

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The Athlon is not the best value. Why not instead get the anniversary edition G3258? It is about the same price or cheaper. Otherwise, that is a good build.

How so? The Athlon has 4 cores and the Pentium only has 2? Or is there something more to it?

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What about getting an R7 265? They still have decent performance, especially for the price!

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Not necessarily. Single threaded performance the G3258 does win from the 760k, but most games do make use of the extra cores these days and when paired up with lower end graphics cards the Athlon really performs nearly similar to a Core i5. That said OP, why do you not get the slightly newer and faster 860k? Shouldn't even be a tenner more :)

OOPS! Completely overlooked the 860k :P

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What about getting an R7 265? They still have decent performance, especially for the price!

I'll take a look at 'em!

 

Any specific card you recommend?

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I'm seeing really poor reviews on R7 ITX cards, I'm gonna stick with the card I had before.

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I'll take a look at 'em!

 

Any specific card you recommend?

They're all kinda the same so I'd say the cheapest from a reputable brand like MSI, Gigabyte, Sapphire, etc. They really don't put out that much heat either so coolers /shouldn't/ be a problem although you are going ITX so just don't get a horrible one :P

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I'm seeing really poor reviews on R7 ITX cards, I'm gonna stick with the card I had before.

Aren't all 265 cards pretty short anyway?

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Aren't all 265 cards pretty short anyway?

idk honestly, I haven't paid attention to those cards (never even knew 265's existed haha). Either way, seeing too many 1 star reviews won't make me want to buy it :P

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Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz) 



Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card  ($105.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ NCIX US) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($91.71 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $507.63

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 20:35 EDT-0400

I do suggest swapping out the 260X with your 270 tho

Follow the topics you create using the "Follow" button in the top right corner!

One day I will have my GTX 970. One day. PC specs are at my profile.

Not sure how to check what part works with what? Check out my compatibility guide!

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Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card  ($105.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ NCIX US) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($91.71 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $507.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 20:35 EDT-0400
I do suggest swapping out the 260X with your 270 tho

 

Huh, that's a pretty tight build right there! I already have Windows 7 OEM so I should be good there. With the extra money I might upgrade to an i3 and a better gpu or an i5! But how would the wireless work on that? There's no antennae sockets on the board. 

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Huh, that's a pretty tight build right there! I already have Windows 7 OEM so I should be good there. With the extra money I might upgrade to an i3 and a better gpu or an i5! But how would the wireless work on that? There's no antennae sockets on the board. 

SFF gaming PCs are my specialty. 

Follow the topics you create using the "Follow" button in the top right corner!

One day I will have my GTX 970. One day. PC specs are at my profile.

Not sure how to check what part works with what? Check out my compatibility guide!

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How so? The Athlon has 4 cores and the Pentium only has 2? Or is there something more to it?

The single core performance of the Pentium is a lot better. Most games only make use of 1 or 2 cores so that makes it better for said games.

Intel Core i7 4770k - 2x Geforce GTX 780 - MSI Z87 MPower Max - Corsair H60 - 8GB Avexir Core Series MPower Yellow + 4gb no-brand DDR3 - Corsair Obsidian 750d - AData XPG SX900 256gb SSD - Seagate Barracuda 3TB (7200 RPM) - Hitachi 250GB 2.5in HDD (3200 RPM) - WD HDD 160GB extracted from iMac via black magic (no specified RPM) - ASUS VG248QE 144HZ 3d Vision Monitor - Logitech G602 - Ducky Shine 3 TKL - AKG 172 HD Headphones - Xperia z2 - Sony Noise canceling earphones -  Nikon D5200 With Bundled Lenses - Windows 7 Home Premium - Blue Snowball iCE - Acer Aspire X with a broken case, AMD A6, and Raijintek Aidos CPU heatsink

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