mITX Small but powerful build

[Feynman]

Hey guys, new here!

 

I'll be upgrading my system in about a months time (might delay it to after christmas - haven't decided yet), and would like some opinions on my ideas!

 

For reference, I'm in the UK, and my budget is around £800-850. Definitely no more than £850.

 

My system will be primarily for gaming, that will be it's main use for about 70-80% of the time. I'll also be doing some stuff using photoshop/premiere and maybe some 3D work, but it's really not as important as the gaming. Stuff like BF4, Rome 2, Watch Dogs, GTA5 (if it does come out on PC..).

 

I'll be using just a single 1080p monitor. If I'm honest I can't see myself upgrading from that for quite a while.

 

I already own a monitor, keyboard and mouse, OS and also storage, since I'll just be taking that out my old system.

 

I'm upgrading because I need a smaller form factor. I'm at university, and having to lug my massive PC round during the holidays is a massive burden. Furthermore my current PC is really, really loud, especially under load. I'd like to quiten it down a little. It's also a nice opportunity to get a better gaming experience!

 

My current thoughts are:

 

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy (I'm yet to find something that looks quite as portable as this)

Processor: 4670k (Will definitely be overclocking)

Motherboard: Asus Z87-I Pro

Memory: 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz

Cooler: Noctua NH-U12s (Probably the biggest worry - will this fit?)

Graphics: MSI Twin Frozr Geforce GTX 770

PSU: Corsair 750W CX

 

This comes to ~£800, so some cash leftover for fans should that be necessary.

 

Any thoughts?

[ERSCreeper]

Looks good. I'm not sure about the PCU cooler. I would try upgrade from the CX series to a GS if you can.

[Geekazoid]

Seems good to me, but then again I'm not the best person to ask. I myself am looking to upgrade the current desktop computer that I'm using right now. I have thought about going for a mITX build and even configured a system online with the BitFenix Prodigy (quite a good looking case). However right now I'm looking to go for the Nanoxia Deep Silence One, it's supposed to be quite silent.

[coen113]

Looks good. I'm not sure about the PCU cooler. I would try upgrade from the CX series to a GS if you can.

whats wrong with the cx series?

[Titanicium]

I am concerned about the quality of the PSU so if you can upgrade to a RM or GS series then definetely do so.

 

Also I actually think air coolers are kind of stupid in mATX builds due to the ridiculous space they take, but it should fit

[ERSCreeper]

whats wrong with the cx series?

Nothing is wrong with it. But buying the 750w model just so you have the right connectors for you GPU isn't the right way to go. Rather get a 500-600w GS and have the right connectors with better power efficiency  

 

Edit: Also the build quality of the GS is better than CX. 

[Butterfish]

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy (I'm yet to find something that looks quite as portable as this)

Ehm.. Have you hear of the Hadron Air?

[ciprian97pop]

This:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£171.59 @ Aria PC) 

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (£44.00 @ Amazon UK) 

Motherboard:  Asus Z87I-Pro Mini-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£122.24 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Memory:  PNY XLR8 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£38.23 @ Amazon UK) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  (£71.99 @ Amazon UK) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£45.99 @ Ebuyer) 

Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card  (£227.11 @ CCL Computers) 

Case:  BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case  (£65.18 @ Amazon UK) 

Power Supply:  OCZ ZT 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£58.98 @ Amazon UK) 

Total: £845.31

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-14 15:28 GMT+0000)

 

Also, if you don't need any storage, get an i7 and a better cpu cooler

[WoodenMarker]

My recommendations: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/22dWo

Drop the ssd if you already have one.

[Feynman]

Thanks for all the input everyone! It's much appreciated

 

 

This:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£171.59 @ Aria PC) 

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (£44.00 @ Amazon UK) 

Motherboard:  Asus Z87I-Pro Mini-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£122.24 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Memory:  PNY XLR8 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£38.23 @ Amazon UK) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  (£71.99 @ Amazon UK) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£45.99 @ Ebuyer) 

Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card  (£227.11 @ CCL Computers) 

Case:  BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case  (£65.18 @ Amazon UK) 

Power Supply:  OCZ ZT 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£58.98 @ Amazon UK) 

Total: £845.31

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-14 15:28 GMT+0000)

 

Also, if you don't need any storage, get an i7 and a better cpu cooler

 

 

 

My recommendations: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/22dWo

Drop the ssd if you already have one.

 

Only thing I would say about these is with regards to the graphics - wouldn't they both be a fair bit louder than the TF 770? With everything you've suggested though, I can just drop the SSD and be able to afford the 770 anyway.

 

About the PSU, would a TX650W be any better? I guess I could stretch to an RM or GS, if it will make a considerable difference.

[ciprian97pop]

Thanks for all the input everyone! It's much appreciated

 

 

 

 

Only thing I would say about these is with regards to the graphics - wouldn't they both be a fair bit louder than the TF 770? With everything you've suggested though, I can just drop the SSD and be able to afford the 770 anyway.

 

About the PSU, would a TX650W be any better? I guess I could stretch to an RM or GS, if it will make a considerable difference.

It won't make any difference(the psu). only that you'll spend more money for something useless( 550w it's enough)

The gpu ain't that loud, if you really want, search on youtube and on other forums for noise tests

 

Also, the 280x is faster than the 770. In almost any benchmark so I would stick with the 280x

[WoodenMarker]

Only thing I would say about these is with regards to the graphics - wouldn't they both be a fair bit louder than the TF 770? With everything you've suggested though, I can just drop the SSD and be able to afford the 770 anyway.

About the PSU, would a TX650W be any better? I guess I could stretch to an RM or GS, if it will make a considerable difference.

They're a bit louder. The 750w is for adding another 7970 later down the road for crossfire. You can save some money with a cheaper mobo/psu if you don't plan on doing that.

[Feynman]

It won't make any difference(the psu). only that you'll spend more money for something useless( 550w it's enough)

The gpu ain't that loud, if you really want, search on youtube and on other forums for noise tests

 

Also, the 280x is faster than the 770. In almost any benchmark so I would stick with the 280x

 

 

Thanks for the help

 

 

They're a bit louder. The 750w is for adding another 7970 later down the road for crossfire. You can save some money with a cheaper mobo/psu if you don't plan on doing that.

 

 

Since it's mITX I can't do xfire or SLI - not that I'd want to anyway. I'll fish around for a more suitable PSU. Cheers

[WoodenMarker]

Since it's mITX I can't do xfire or SLI - not that I'd want to anyway. I'll fish around for a more suitable PSU. Cheers

What I recommended was matx which you could sli on. 

If you don't plan to sli: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/22W0e