$750 mITX build

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

For my first build, I was thinking about going for a nice small gaming mITX build. I started doing some research and put this little system together.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NrxQ23

I'm fairly certain everything is compatible but let me know if I am wrong. Also if you could let me know what kind of performance I should get out of this build that would be great. I think it should be able to handle most games at 1080p 60fps on normal-high settings. I only plan on playing games like Battlefield, Minecraft, LoL, and CS:GO

Tedster · June 21, 2015

For my first build, I was thinking about going for a nice small gaming mITX build. I started doing some research and put this little system together.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NrxQ23

I'm fairly certain everything is compatible but let me know if I am wrong. Also if you could let me know what kind of performance I should get out of this build that would be great. I think it should be able to handle most games at 1080p 60fps on normal-high settings. I only plan on playing games like Battlefield, Minecraft, LoL, and CS:GO

Please follow your own topics. 'Follow this topic' at the top-left of the page.

I think you'd be able to do what you want, but two things:

1) DO NOT go with a Kingston V300. It performs terribly.

2) Go with a cheaper motherboard (if you can find one, maybe go down to b85 or h81), maybe get an i3 instead of the 4590, get a GTX 970 ITX edition (I don't remember who makes it) and get a better SSD.

Thebman712 · June 21, 2015

not bad, but are you ABSOLUTELY tied to that case, i think i could find somthing smaller for you to work with, the size of a shoe box about.

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

not bad, but are you ABSOLUTELY tied to that case, i think i could find somthing smaller for you to work with, the size of a shoe box about.

Yeah, I was thinking this case didn't really fit with the mITX style. But it's nice because I don't have to use an SFX PSU for it. Do you have any suggestions?

Hunter7263 · June 21, 2015

Honestly the 960 is a beast for 1080p. You dont have much room to move to 1440 later though.

The 120gb SSD is simply too small (for me anyway). Its barely enough for windows and maybe 3-4 games depending on what you pick. Remember you cant fill an SSD like a HDD. If you put to much on it the speed slows way down due to how they work.The samsung evo 850 250gb is only 100 bucks. If you really need that extra TB then you should get it and selectively install games on the SSD. I find that even though I dropped a 1 TB in my current rig I almost never use it now due to streaming services.

Big question number 1 is do you live near a microcenter. The 4690k (unlocked i5) is only 200 there but you get a 30 dollar discount right now when bundled with a motherboard. I would look at picking up a gigabyte z97 with wifi. You wont save any money on that combo (compared to your current selection) but it gives you Wireless AC which is something people forget a lot. Not saying you need it but just in case you didnt think about it and its a stronger processor.

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

Please follow your own topics. 'Follow this topic' at the top-left of the page.

I think you'd be able to do what you want, but two things:

1) Please don't go with a Kingston V300.

2) Go with a cheaper motherboard (if you can find one, maybe go down to b85 or h81), maybe get an i3 instead of the 4590, get a GTX 970 ITX edition (I don't remember who makes it) and get a better SSD.

1) I'll probably switch the SSD out for a Crucial BX100 250GB

2) I think I'll stick with the CPU but I will look in to cheaper motherboards

3) I'll also probably use the ITX 960 depending on whether I switch the case or not.

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

Honestly the 960 is a beast for 1080p. You dont have much room to move to 1440 later though.

The 120gb SSD is simply too small (for me anyway). Its barely enough for windows and maybe 3-4 games depending on what you pick. Remember you cant fill an SSD like a HDD. If you put to much on it the speed slows way down due to how they work.The samsung evo 850 250gb is only 100 bucks. If you really need that extra TB then you should get it and selectively install games on the SSD. I find that even though I dropped a 1 TB in my current rig I almost never use it now due to streaming services.

Big question number 1 is do you live near a microcenter. The 4690k (unlocked i5) is only 200 there but you get a 30 dollar discount right now when bundled with a motherboard. I would look at picking up a gigabyte z97 with wifi. You wont save any money on that combo (compared to your current selection) but it gives you Wireless AC which is something people forget a lot. Not saying you need it but just in case you didnt think about it and its a stronger processor.

I don't think I want a 4690K. Since this is my first build I don't think I want to get in to overclocking which is what that combo would be suggesting. Also I do plan on switching the SSD to a Crucial BX100 250GB, but I think I kind of disagree with 120GB not being enough as I was probably gonna use it just for the OS and 1-2 games (I don't play that many games).

Thebman712 · June 21, 2015

ok, here is a smaller case, linus actually fit a titan x and watercooled in this case

if you can get a little bit more, like $50, you could downsize the ssd and upgrade to a 970

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($50.99 @ Adorama)

Storage: PNY XLR8 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($80.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 960 2GB XLR8 Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $735.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-20 21:18 EDT-0400

Tedster · June 21, 2015

ok, here is a smaller case, linus actually fit a titan x and watercooled in this case

if you can get a little bit more, like $50, you could downsize the ssd and upgrade to a 970

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($50.99 @ Adorama)

Storage: PNY XLR8 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($80.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 960 2GB XLR8 Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $735.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-20 21:18 EDT-0400

Thebman712 · June 21, 2015

yes, that would be the case/ build i was referencing

niofalpha · June 21, 2015

Don't get a V300 SSD. Other than that: Good.

Hunter7263 · June 21, 2015

I don't think I want a 4690K. Since this is my first build I don't think I want to get in to overclocking which is what that combo would be suggesting. Also I do plan on switching the SSD to a Crucial BX100 250GB, but I think I kind of disagree with 120GB not being enough as I was probably gonna use it just for the OS and 1-2 games (I don't play that many games).

Like I said for me it wasnt enough. There are games I dont play very often but I like having the space incase I need more. As far as the motherboard and cpu I suggested you don't actually have to overclock. It is already clocked faster than the one you picked and its the same price if not 5 bucks cheaper than the combo you picked and the board comes with wifi. I have an i5 4670k that I dont overclock simply because it was a better deal than a slower locked i5.

edit: Microcenter on site prices for cpu's tend to be cheap and the intel unlocked ones they give an additional bundle discount over the locked ones.

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

Now that I think about it, I think I'll stick with that case. I don't want something that has basically no airflow and is tiny. With the Phanteks I get the best of both worlds with a medium size and nice airflow.

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

Here is the updated build.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vsXGzy

I changed out the SSD and chose a cheaper B85 motherboard. Except the compatibility notes say that I will need a BIOS update, is that a big deal?

Hunter7263 · June 21, 2015

You cant update the bios without a working processor in it. The 4590 is a Haswell refresh but I've heard some people have it working without the bios update. Depends on the board. Either way if you do actually need to update then you have to get a processor that already works with it to update it.

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

You cant update the bios without a working processor in it. The 4590 is a Haswell refresh but I've heard some people have it working without the bios update. Depends on the board. Either way if you do actually need to update then you have to get a processor that already works with it to update it.

So I should try to find a different chipset motherboard?

Hunter7263 · June 21, 2015

Its a board by board things. Look up each individual one and see if anyone has had luck with them. If you don't want to deal with that go H97.

Freeeeezy · June 21, 2015

Ok, here it is again updated. I switched out for an H97 motherboard, and I chose a blue RAM kit, just to make the build overall look better. Might as well make use of that side panel window.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pb2NHx