Mini ITX...how does it go?

[doidinko]

Hello!

 

I am a first time builder, and am looking to build a PC for casual gaming and video/photo editing.

 

For budget, I am looking at a cap of $800 or so.

 

My main concern is the size. I really want to be as minimal with space as possible: hence the mini ITX board and chassis.

 

How does this build look? This site says there are no compatibility errors and so far, been cross checking with different builds that people have done.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2WMbMp

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time!

[Misanthrope]

Some might recommend a different PSU but other than that it's pretty good: everything works ok. I am assuming if you want more than casual gaming you'll be upgrading that GPU but that's about the only upgrade needed

[shypin]

since you dont have an overclockable cpu you can save some money by going with a non-Z series board

[manikyath]

not really feeling the corsair CX here.. for about the same price you should be able to get the (much better) EVGA G2 series.

[The_Stig]

I would get a better GPU such as a 960/380/280x.

[Aruxx]

That is a big CPU cooler, and honestly if you're not overclocking (Which you won't be, because locked core) the stock fan is enough.  On the same note look at H97 boards, unless you plan to upgrade into a K processor later.

 

Are the CX600's free of the "CX-Plague?"  If not I'd recommend a Seasonic 520w or something or the sorts (Seasonic rebrand or Super Flower).

[Hman1250]

Some might recommend a different PSU but other than that it's pretty good: everything works ok. I am assuming if you want more than casual gaming you'll be upgrading that GPU but that's about the only upgrade needed

PSU is terrible, bad components and high price. You don't need a cpu cooler on a locked CPU. You're paying a lot more for your system than what you could really get:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($175.88 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($78.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($38.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($88.89 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.88 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB Nitro Video Card  ($198.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $734.58

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-05 22:10 EDT-0400

[Kobathor]

If you're using it for gaming, overclocking and such, get a different power supply. Otherwise, it looks like a solid build. If you have anything left in the budget, I'd also opt for something like a GTX 950, or a 370.

EDIT- Up there, what that guy said.

[manikyath]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qNLsGX

 

i'm gonna toss this in as an idea.

 

but as @Hman1250 mentioned, if you leave out the (not really necessary) cpu cooler, you can get a much better GPU.

or save money, if you dont need the GPU horsepower.

[Misanthrope]

Following the tips on the thread and still using a similar price, if we switch to the stock cooler and a cheaper mobo you get a very nice boost to your graphics:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($175.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($65.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card  ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $628.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-05 22:12 EDT-0400

[ForsakenLive]

Ditch the expensive cooler, get a better GPU (and PSU too).

[Rian]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($175.88 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($108.30 @ B&H) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($88.89 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB SOC Video Card  ($283.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $820.03

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-06 02:11 EDT-0400

 

Get the 250gb, it's only 20 bucks more. 

 

Think about the future, you don't need a fancy cooler for now (you can buy it the next month alongside one HDD for your mass storage) since you won't be overclocking with that cpu and hence you won't need a "Z" series MOBO.

 

Saving some money from all those, got you a fully modular gold cert PSU. Way more power efficient and having modular capability means = custom cable in the future. You won't regret it, it can make your system so much sexier.  

 

What's more you can now fit a 390 with 8gb of vram into your build which is awesome for video/ photo editing. If you're team green, go 970.

[brob]

Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor would be a better cpu choice - 4 hyperthreaded cores.

 

You can go with the stock cooler which comes with the cpu.

 

Consider going with a 2x8GB memory kit. Something like G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory is not too expensive and more memory can improve editing performance. One of the limitations of mini-ITX is the motherboards only support two memory slots.