Building a Micro-ATX Gaming/Rendering PC for a friend (help)

[Persomatey]

I'm building a PC for a friend. He's living with his parents and jumps between houses a lot and as they live far away from one another, he'd like to take his PC with him. He seems insistent on having a desktop instead of a laptop. He plans on doing gaming but also does video editing. I have this build in mind for him but I was wondering if there is anything I'm overlooking as far as compatibility or any recommendations. Thank you! 

 

CPU : Intel Core i5 6600 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/m9Gj4D

 

CPU Cooler : Cooler Master Hyper 212X 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/KzfmP6

 

Mobo : MSI B150M Mortar 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/kGcMnQ

 

RAM : Kingston HyperX Fury 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/xhM323

 

Boot SSD : Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/9Q7CmG

 

Secondary HDD : Seagate Barracuda 2TB 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/KyCwrH

 

Graphics Card : Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/ncixus/ZntWGX

(As a caveat, I'm going to throw my old GTX 560 in there for free in the meantime though since he's looking to save some money right now to afford the 1070 later and when there are cheaper non-founder's editions on sale) 

 

Case : Xigmatek Aquila 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazon/r9sKHx

 

PSU : Thermaltake TR2 500W 
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/bb3RsY

 

Other : Azurewave WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 M.2 card 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9H43VT8137&cm_re=M.2_Wi-Fi_module-_-9SIA9H43VT8137-_-Product

 

The reason I went for the Micro-ATX motherboard was because I wanted something small so he can throw it with him in his car and take it with him easily. Plus the PCIE sockets are apparently very strong which helps when he wants to transport the rig. That was also the main reason behind the case which is durable and has handles. Another great thing about the case is that the mobo is horizontally mounted which means that a full sized CPU Cooler can fit -- which is handy considering the Skylakes can run pretty hot. While I could have gone for a lower end CPU, he plans on doing a lot of video editing in Adobe Premier and capturing with his Elgato 60fps. I thought that it would ease the workload by a lot. The M.2 card at the bottom is for WiFi and Bluetooth which the mobo doesn't come with be default. I know people tend to dislike the PSU choice but it's a leftover 500w that I got brand new and I barely used before I had to upgrade to a higher wattage -- I'm giving it to him for free. 

 

Altogether, I was thinking that this is a pretty cheap build (minus the GTX 1070) and something that would be perfect for my friend considering his computing needs and living situation. If I overlooked anything or have any recommendations, please let me know. 

 

Thank you! 

[ivan134]

A Define Nano S or Evolv Mini XL would be better for portability.

[HKZeroFive]

I know the PSU is free and unused but I seriously would not pair it with a $400 GPU. We're talking roughly bottom tier quality, and it's a PSU I'd avoid regardless.

 

Lower the CPU to an i5 6500 since the extra cash for the i5 6600 isn't worth it. Personally, I'd switch to Haswell and grab a Xeon 1231 v3 for the hyperthreading which will benefit your friend significantly in video editing.

[Persomatey]

6 hours ago, HKZeroFive said:

I know the PSU is free and unused but I seriously would not pair it with a $400 GPU. We're talking roughly bottom tier quality, and it's a PSU I'd avoid regardless.

 

Lower the CPU to an i5 6500 since the extra cash for the i5 6600 isn't worth it. Personally, I'd switch to Haswell and grab a Xeon 1231 v3 for the hyperthreading which will benefit your friend significantly in video editing.

I was looking at the Xeon 1232 as well. Decided to go for the Skylake because it was cheaper and the LGA 1151 socket type in case he wants to upgrade to an i7 or something in the future. I felt the same thing about the 6500 but in the end, he felt okay swinging the extra $20 on the 6600. The CPU decision was definitely more his choice than mine, which I guess is fine since it's his build and the CPU choice is still pretty high end. 

I'll admit I'm not the most educated on power supplies. Why is this PSU a poor choice? What would you recommend instead? 

[Persomatey]

6 hours ago, ivan134 said:

A Define Nano S or Evolv Mini XL would be better for portability.

Why? Also, links? 

[Matias_Chambers]

7 hours ago, HKZeroFive said:

I know the PSU is free and unused but I seriously would not pair it with a $400 GPU. We're talking roughly bottom tier quality, and it's a PSU I'd avoid regardless.

 

Lower the CPU to an i5 6500 since the extra cash for the i5 6600 isn't worth it. Personally, I'd switch to Haswell and grab a Xeon 1231 v3 for the hyperthreading which will benefit your friend significantly in video editing.

Or why not a Xeon 1230 V5. It supports DDR4 memory. 

[Matias_Chambers]

That PSU is trash. Pick up an EVGA G2 550W. This is a good example of what can happen when you don't invest in a good PSU: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/609591-psu-actually-blew-up-need-a-replacement-todayok-deal/#comment-7885780 For the CPU and mobo get this instead: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZK9mYJ The hyper threading on the Xeon will help when rendering. And also ditch the cooler since you can't OC and the CPU already comes with one. Also you might want to consider getting a 250 GB SSD instead of the 120 GB one. 

 

[HKZeroFive]

3 hours ago, Matias_Chambers said:

Or why not a Xeon 1230 V5. It supports DDR4 memory. 

Doesn't use consumer motherboards.

[HKZeroFive]

4 hours ago, Persomatey said:

I'll admit I'm not the most educated on power supplies. Why is this PSU a poor choice? What would you recommend instead? 

Quality of components is subpar, ripple suppression tends to be quite meh and build quality isn't all that great.

 

I suggest not spending the extra $20 on the CPU but instead invest it towards any PSU from SeaSonic or XFX (with the exception of the XT lineup) or the grey Corsair CX series.

 

Only other suggestion apart from that is to maybe invest the extra $10 for the Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, instead of the 120GB.

[Persomatey]

7 hours ago, HKZeroFive said:

Quality of components is subpar, ripple suppression tends to be quite meh and build quality isn't all that great.

 

I suggest not spending the extra $20 on the CPU but instead invest it towards any PSU from SeaSonic or XFX (with the exception of the XT lineup) or the grey Corsair CX series.

 

Only other suggestion apart from that is to maybe invest the extra $10 for the Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, instead of the 120GB.

What are your thoughts on the SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze? 

https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/TgW9TW 

[Matias_Chambers]

8 hours ago, HKZeroFive said:

Doesn't use consumer motherboards.

You can get a board for it for only 70 USD. 

[Frame Drops]

1 hour ago, Persomatey said:

What are your thoughts on the SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze? 

https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/TgW9TW 

Yup, great PSU.  You can also go with sea sonic s12ii, if you don't want  fully modular PSU.

I don't know weather mail rebate works or not, but if it works than you can also go with this PSU instead of m12ii : EVGA SUPERNOVA 650 P2

It is a fully modular PSU with Japanese solid state capacitors ( from : nippon chemi-con ) & platinum efficiency. Buy this, if you are going to spend ~$75 on a PSU and mail rebate works. Otherwise seasonic s12ii/m12ii is fine.

I am using sea sonic s12ii 620W ( HKZeroFive choose this PSU for me )

[HKZeroFive]

1 hour ago, Persomatey said:

What are your thoughts on the SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze? 

https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/TgW9TW 

It's a solid PSU. Definitely a huge jump in quality in comparison to that TR2.

 

22 minutes ago, Matias_Chambers said:

You can get a board for it for only 70 USD. 

Then it might work.

[Persomatey]

On 6/28/2016 at 1:29 PM, Matias_Chambers said:

Or why not a Xeon 1230 V5. It supports DDR4 memory. 

Sorry for getting to this pretty late. How does the Xeon 1230 V5 compare to the i5 6500 as far as gaming goes? 

[Herman Mcpootis]

6 hours ago, Persomatey said:

Sorry for getting to this pretty late. How does the Xeon 1230 V5 compare to the i5 6500 as far as gaming goes? 

it's similar to an i7 6700 without the iGPU.

[Matias_Chambers]

1 hour ago, herman mcpootis said:

it's similar to an i7 6700 without the iGPU.

Yeah it's pretty much the same. 

[Persomatey]

1 hour ago, herman mcpootis said:

it's similar to an i7 6700 without the iGPU.

Then why is it about $70 cheaper than the i7 6700? 

[Herman Mcpootis]

25 minutes ago, Persomatey said:

Then why is it about $70 cheaper than the i7 6700? 

you'll have to use a c23x mobo to use the xeon, so price difference will be closer. they're made for different uses(the xeon will still play games perfectly well).