Mini itx build! Need help

[Sam Z Man]

Right. I know I wouldn't be able to, but hell free is free. This rig being so cheap will most likely turn into a htpc down the road.

So 230$ for fx6300+750ti atx or 450 for i5+750ti itx seem like my options

 

I personally wouldnt go for it but here is a option.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($100.00) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($0.00) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($32.99 @ Mwave) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($23.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $266.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-02 23:50 EDT-0400

 

 

 

Here is my opinion on this whole thing, don't cheap out on your PC so you can get a pretty 2in1 tablet PC, that thing will not game well especially in 3 years when you're a broke ass college student, because this is a gaming PC for you while going through college try to get the best you can because you will have to keep it for 4 years without upgrading. Try gaming on hardware that was mediocre 4 years ago and this is what you will find.

 

Your GPU will probably lose full driver support and won't fully support DX12. Do you see anyone using a midrange 500 series card still? No, because it no longer performs well. You should try to push the performance of your gaming rig to the max right now because it will fall behind very fast in 4 years. What you need for college is very minimal, unless you are taking courses where compute performance matters like video production. Based on the fact that you want a XPS 12, I doubt that this is the case. You would be better off getting a cheap tablet and purchasing a bluetooth keyboard case for it. I would look into purchasing an older window 8.1 tablet, the Dell venue 8 pro 5830 is a true gem and can be found very cheap secondhand. It works wonders with an amazing battery life and is extremely manageable with its small size. It pairs wonderfully with a Small bluetooth mouse and a case with a built in bluetooth keyboard. So my advice is this: buy a cheap used windows 8.1 tablet and pair it with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Spend as much money on your PC as you can and purposefully bottleneck the GPU slightly, as GPU usage will increases in the future while not affecting CPU usage as heavily, like it has in the past.

[Kyuubixchidori]

I personally wouldnt go for it but here is a option.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($100.00)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($0.00)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($32.99 @ Mwave)

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($23.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $266.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-02 23:50 EDT-0400

Here is my opinion on this whole thing, don't cheap out on your PC so you can get a pretty 2in1 tablet PC, that thing will not game well especially in 3 years when you're a broke ass college student, because this is a gaming PC for you while going through college try to get the best you can because you will have to keep it for 4 years without upgrading. Try gaming on hardware that was mediocre 4 years ago and this is what you will find.

Your GPU will probably lose full driver support and won't fully support DX12. Do you see anyone using a midrange 500 series card still? No, because it no longer performs well. You should try to push the performance of your gaming rig to the max right now because it will fall behind very fast in 4 years. What you need for college is very minimal, unless you are taking courses where compute performance matters like video production. Based on the fact that you want a XPS 12, I doubt that this is the case. You would be better off getting a cheap tablet and purchasing a bluetooth keyboard case for it. I would look into purchasing an older window 8.1 tablet, the Dell venue 8 pro 5830 is a true gem and can be found very cheap secondhand. It works wonders with an amazing battery life and is extremely manageable with its small size. It pairs wonderfully with a Small bluetooth mouse and a case with a built in bluetooth keyboard. So my advice is this: buy a cheap used windows 8.1 tablet and pair it with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Spend as much money on your PC as you can and purposefully bottleneck the GPU slightly, as GPU usage will increases in the future while not affecting CPU usage as heavily, like it has in the past.

Hey, a Pentium is only 50$. The mobo was what 70$? What if I get that instead of AMD. Then years from now I can drop in a i7/xeon used for cheap. And still go itxitx

@MageTank

I mean 20$ more, but probably way better feature wise alone. Any issues with just a dual core?

[Sam Z Man]

Hey, a Pentium is only 50$. The mobo was what 70$? What if I get that instead of AMD. Then years from now I can drop in a i7/xeon used for cheap. And still go itxitx

@MageTank

I mean 20$ more, but probably way better feature wise alone. Any issues with just a dual core?

The Pentium is a horrible performer, and will only get worse as more games come out that can't use it.

[Sam Z Man]

If I was making a build thats soul purpose is being able to perform well for years without upgrading I would go with this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Micro Center)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($32.99 @ Mwave)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $648.94

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 09:52 EDT-0400

[MageTank]

The Pentium is a horrible performer, and will only get worse as more games come out that can't use it.

Where do you get off saying this? I use the pentium as a daily driver. I can handle GTA 5 just fine, i just have to cap the FPS to 50fps because any higher than that, it results in slow texture decoding. With patches, it can play Dragon Age Inquisition, Far Cry 4, etc. He is using a GTX 750 Ti which means he wont be playing on ultra details anyways.

 

If you want proof, i can bench any game you want me to, and show you that it is good enough for medium-high details on most games. 

 

@Kyuubixchidori

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($72.98 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($30.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($23.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $302.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 10:06 EDT-0400

 

This is an H97 itx board. This means you will be able to use the newer Broadwell CPU's when they come out. It's a bit nicer than the cheaper ones. Here are some video's of the G3258 performing above its weight class:

 

(This is high settings, should drop them to medium for better performance)

(This is on ultra settings. Again, lowering details will result in better performance)

 

As you can see, the latest AAA titles can still be played on the G3258, you just need to understand its limitations on graphical fidelity and to not expect a steady 60FPS at all times. When people say the dual cores are garbage, it just means they have never used one. The H97 board will still let you OC that CPU to around 4.2ghz assuming you get a semi-decent bin. I know because i have a board just like it, and the limitation is 1.2Vcore due to the low quality VRM.

[Sam Z Man]

Where do you get off saying this? I use the pentium as a daily driver. I can handle GTA 5 just fine, i just have to cap the FPS to 50fps because any higher than that, it results in slow texture decoding. With patches, it can play Dragon Age Inquisition, Far Cry 4, etc. He is using a GTX 750 Ti which means he wont be playing on ultra details anyways.

 

If you want proof, i can bench any game you want me to, and show you that it is good enough for medium-high details on most games. 

 

@Kyuubixchidori

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($72.98 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($30.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($23.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $302.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 10:06 EDT-0400

 

This is an H97 itx board. This means you will be able to use the newer Broadwell CPU's when they come out. It's a bit nicer than the cheaper ones. Here are some video's of the G3258 performing above its weight class:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aZkoLmYPU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdDQekYBS9M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Z-tsC_4ng (This is high settings, should drop them to medium for better performance)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZuRT9jp3Js (This is on ultra settings. Again, lowering details will result in better performance)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHeqrQsPYs0

 

As you can see, the latest AAA titles can still be played on the G3258, you just need to understand its limitations on graphical fidelity and to not expect a steady 60FPS at all times. When people say the dual cores are garbage, it just means they have never used one. The H97 board will still let you OC that CPU to around 4.2ghz assuming you get a semi-decent bin. I know because i have a board just like it, and the limitation is 1.2Vcore due to the low quality VRM.

With the Pentium you severely limit your GPU possibilities, nothing above a 280 or 960 would be able to run on it.

[Kyuubixchidori]

I thought people will ocing it to 4.2-4.6ghz and it was keeping up with other Intel chips in games. 10fps in games is not worth 100$ premium to get a i5 IMHO. As I game MAYBE one night a week.

@MageTank

@samzman

[MageTank]

With the Pentium you severely limit your GPU possibilities, nothing above a 280 or 960 would be able to run on it.

His GPU of choice is the GTX 750 Ti. Very few times the G3258 will limit my GTX 770. In most cases, it allows my GPU to stretch its legs just fine. With his choice in GPU, the pentium should carry it along nicely. The H97 board can support locked down processors just fine in the future, and he can always upgrade to a 970 or R9 390 in the future to pair with it. I would not recommend a pentium to someone that was looking to game on high/ultra settings, but seeing as his GPU would crumble before he ever got near those settings, i think the pentium is a safe bet for this scenario. I do agree that the pentium has a very finite lifespan, but its to be used as a stopgap CPU. It's great for novice overclockers to learn the tricks of the trade without blowing up a $250-$350 CPU, and it can be thrown into an HTPC after you finish using it.

[Sam Z Man]

His GPU of choice is the GTX 750 Ti. Very few times the G3258 will limit my GTX 770. In most cases, it allows my GPU to stretch its legs just fine. With his choice in GPU, the pentium should carry it along nicely. The H97 board can support locked down processors just fine in the future, and he can always upgrade to a 970 or R9 390 in the future to pair with it. I would not recommend a pentium to someone that was looking to game on high/ultra settings, but seeing as his GPU would crumble before he ever got near those settings, i think the pentium is a safe bet for this scenario. I do agree that the pentium has a very finite lifespan, but its to be used as a stopgap CPU. It's great for novice overclockers to learn the tricks of the trade without blowing up a $250-$350 CPU, and it can be thrown into an HTPC after you finish using it.

Yes but op is going to be a broke ass college student for a bit and won't be able to upgrade at all for a few years.

[MageTank]

Yes but op is going to be a broke ass college student for a bit and won't be able to upgrade at all for a few years.

Yeah, but the reason he is wanting a cheap PC is because he wants to spend the rest on a laptop FOR college. He said he very seldom games, and the fact that he is wanting to make a build around a budget graphics card means the rest of the system will be budget oriented as well. I understand you are trying to look out for his best interest in the future, and i totally agree with your reasoning, but he knows what he needs. He wants a budget machine that can handle light gaming when he needs it to. If he could spare the extra cash, i would much rather he get an i3 or i5, but a pentium will still get the job done.

[Sam Z Man]

Yeah, but the reason he is wanting a cheap PC is because he wants to spend the rest on a laptop FOR college. He said he very seldom games, and the fact that he is wanting to make a build around a budget graphics card means the rest of the system will be budget oriented as well. I understand you are trying to look out for his best interest in the future, and i totally agree with your reasoning, but he knows what he needs. He wants a budget machine that can handle light gaming when he needs it to. If he could spare the extra cash, i would much rather he get an i3 or i5, but a pentium will still get the job done.

Yea I'm just doubtful of the 750ti's and G3258's ability to play new games in 4 years time, and I don't think it will fully support DX12.

[Kyuubixchidori]

Yeah, but the reason he is wanting a cheap PC is because he wants to spend the rest on a laptop FOR college. He said he very seldom games, and the fact that he is wanting to make a build around a budget graphics card means the rest of the system will be budget oriented as well. I understand you are trying to look out for his best interest in the future, and i totally agree with your reasoning, but he knows what he needs. He wants a budget machine that can handle light gaming when he needs it to. If he could spare the extra cash, i would much rather he get an i3 or i5, but a pentium will still get the job done.

This^

 

and what's the very smallest case I can go with? I don't mind paying up to 100ish for power supply+case, and I have a spare atx power supply. There's some TINY cases that would be awesome, but only take single slot cards and you can only mod a 750ti to be single slot. Almost considering it and going withhttp://www.rosewill.com/products/1319/ProductDetail_Overview.htm

 

I like the flat design, as I can jjust stack it with my xbox, but whatever is smallest I want. Any help/suggestions? 

[CatzRuleZWorld]

This is what I suggest. You can overclock the G3258 to 4.2 at least with that board and cooler. I have one on that board at 4.4 with a H55 and that board works as good as I have ever wanted. Def get a SSD if you dont have one already. Just suggesting this because it's a really cool case and they're shipping soon.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($49.99 @ Micro Center) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D9L 46.4 CFM CPU Cooler  ($49.69 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($63.98 @ NCIX US) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (Purchased For $0.00) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($56.37 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ NCIX US) 

Other: NCASE M1 ($185.00)

Total: $604.01

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 18:14 EDT-0400

[MageTank]

This^

 

and what's the very smallest case I can go with? I don't mind paying up to 100ish for power supply+case, and I have a spare atx power supply. There's some TINY cases that would be awesome, but only take single slot cards and you can only mod a 750ti to be single slot. Almost considering it and going withhttp://www.rosewill.com/products/1319/ProductDetail_Overview.htm

 

I like the flat design, as I can jjust stack it with my xbox, but whatever is smallest I want. Any help/suggestions? 

The smallest pre-built consumer case is this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147213

 

It is 10.1 liters in volume, and supports standard ATX power supplies, and dual slot GPU's. Its dimensions are 7.87" x 8.27" x 9.45" (W x D x H)

 

That gigabyte windforce card will be too long to fit in this case. Instead, you will need to go with a shorter EVGA one.

 

Here is the modified part list and price: 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($72.98 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($119.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Rosewill Legacy V3 Plus-S Mini ITX Tower Case  ($60.00) 

Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($23.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $341.85

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 18:17 EDT-0400

[Kyuubixchidori]

This is what I suggest. You can overclock the G3258 to 4.2 at least with that board and cooler. I have one on that board at 4.4 with a H55 and that board works as good as I have ever wanted. Def get a SSD if you dont have one already. Just suggesting this because it's a really cool case and they're shipping soon.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D9L 46.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.69 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($63.98 @ NCIX US)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)

Other: NCASE M1 ($185.00)

Total: $604.01

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 18:14 EDT-0400

It's a bit more then I want to spend on a case, but for sure look into it.

@MageTank that's great! Any help with a small as possible flat cube case? Similar to a console or boxtop style? Depth and width don't matter as much as height. But if not that case will be great to. I appreciate the help

[MageTank]

It's a bit more then I want to spend on a case, but for sure look into it.

@MageTank that's great! Any help with a small as possible flat cube case? Similar to a console or boxtop style? Depth and width don't matter as much as height. But if not that case will be great to. I appreciate the help

Cases like that are quite expensive, but ill list all of your options.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163277

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163252

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-202 (Yet to be released)

 

Out of all of these cases, the Node 202 is probably my favorite, as it is the smallest (10.2L) compared to the rest, which are 14L each. Sadly, the smaller you get, the more expensive things get. You need an SFX PSU because of the thinness of the cases, and SFX PSU's in general can cost more money for decent quality PSU's. I personally use the Azza Z, but it has to stand up like a tower, as sitting it down on its side will suffocate either the CPU, or the GPU + PSU. I am currently designing a custom case that i will be fabricating that will only be 5.2L, and super thin, but it will take me a few months to get it finished. If you want to look through a list of SFF cases, the folks at Overclock.net also have a compiled list of cases along with features and official links to their websites. Just make sure the parts you want will fit in the cases.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1300645/official-usff-sff-club

[Kyuubixchidori]

Cases like that are quite expensive, but ill list all of your options.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163277

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163252

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-202 (Yet to be released)

Out of all of these cases, the Node 202 is probably my favorite, as it is the smallest (10.2L) compared to the rest, which are 14L each. Sadly, the smaller you get, the more expensive things get. You need an SFX PSU because of the thinness of the cases, and SFX PSU's in general can cost more money for decent quality PSU's. I personally use the Azza Z, but it has to stand up like a tower, as sitting it down on its side will suffocate either the CPU, or the GPU + PSU. I am currently designing a custom case that i will be fabricating that will only be 5.2L, and super thin, but it will take me a few months to get it finished. If you want to look through a list of SFF cases, the folks at Overclock.net also have a compiled list of cases along with features and official links to their websites. Just make sure the parts you want will fit in the cases.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1300645/official-usff-sff-club

Thank you! would you consider making a second one to sell? will look though the list, and maybe I could just 3d print a case if I'm going this small.

Appreciate the help, I'm so new to small form factor. I'm using a Mac pro case right now so the very opposite lol

[MageTank]

Thank you! would you consider making a second one to sell? will look though the list, and maybe I could just 3d print a case if I'm going this small.

Appreciate the help, I'm so new to small form factor. I'm using a Mac pro case right now so the very opposite lol

Sure, ill pm you a link of the render i have of it so far. Mostly depends on how fast i can find a company to fabricate the parts for me.