Compact PC for 1440p gaming

[phantom160]

Hi! I'm trying to build a compact PC for 1440p (G-sync) online FPS gaming. I want it to be as small and discrete as possible (to blend in in a living room). I live in the US. My budget is around $1,500. I came up with the build below. Please let me know if you think there are any issues with it or if there is any way to improve it:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus - ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($184.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($158.68 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  ($519.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design - Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: XFX - XT 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($84.68 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1457.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker

 

P.S. I'm not sure if I should use GTX 1080 or whether I can get comfortable FPS with GTX 1070

[seon123]

The stock cooler should be fine for the 8400.

That's a really bad and expensive PSU. 

Rest looks fine. 

[Firecheetah13]

Switch that PSU out. For that price, get a Supernova G2 650w or something.

[phantom160]

10 minutes ago, Firecheetah13 said:

Switch that PSU out. For that price, get a Supernova G2 650w or something.

Thank you for the advice! PSU is the area where I have absolutely 0 experience or understanding. Parts picker shows estimated wattage of 300W. Can I go with cheaper 350-400W PSU? What's the difference between different brands?

[seon123]

9 minutes ago, phantom160 said:

Thank you for the advice! PSU is the area where I have absolutely 0 experience or understanding. Parts picker shows estimated wattage of 300W. Can I go with cheaper 350-400W PSU? What's the difference between different brands?

Don't buy PSUs (or any product, for that matter), by brand. 

The easiest way to get to know if a PSU is decent is the PSU tier list on the forum

Tomshardware also has a crash course, if you want to learn more.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supplies-101,4193.html

[phantom160]

Just now, seon123 said:

Don't buy PSUs (or any product, for that matter), by brand. 

The easiest way to get to know if a PSU is decent is the PSU tier list on the forum

Tomshardware also has a crash course, if you want to learn more.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supplies-101,4193.html

Thank you!

[Imbellis]

If you want to go compact, you could go with a SG13B Case.

Here's an alternate list I've made up ($1360). https://pcpartpicker.com/list/G6vMjc

Here's why I made all of the choices:

• CPU (Ryzen 1600) It has slightly better clock speeds (countered by intel's latency decrease), but comes with a good stock cooler. You could swap this out with your intel chip if you wanted

• Cooler (Included above) Hyper 212 is a good alternative but doesn't fit in the SG13B and costs money. Silverstone's manuel says the height is 64mm, but with a SFX PSU oriented correctly, you can get  ~74mm clearance (I'd use the spire to test clearances with before buying aftermarket cooler).

• Motherboard (Gigabyte AB250N) I currently have this motherboard. It's great, but the centrally placed CPU power connector is a bit of a pain. OC'd my ryzen 1600x to 3.9 all cores.

• RAM (Vengeance LPX 2x8 GB)I just choose some random RAM I know is compatible. Right now, prices fluctuate too much to make a good decision. You may want to go with a 16GB stick if you think you'll want to expand later.

• Storage (850 Evo) Copied over the 850 evo. Good choice, but you may want a capacity HDD for bulk storage (HDDs can be annoying in the SG13B).

• GPU (Zotac 1080 Mini) Costing only ~$20 more, it saves you some room and is a good GPU. Blower cards work better in SFF cases, a dual-fan should be fine in the SG13B. With my current setup, my GPU's fans rarely spin. You could jump to 1080ti, but that'd put you at 1575, and I don't think it's worth it.

• Case (SG13B) You mentioned wanting a small form factor PC that blends in with the room. The SG13B takes the look of a media center - no sharp edges.It is ~40% of the volume of the Nano-S (11.5 compared to 26.8). It trades off a bit of compatibility, but I could still cram a H100 (240mm cooler) with a bit of creativity to help.

• Power Supply (Silverstone 500W SFX-L) This is a different form factor than ATX. You'll want to opt for the SFX-L over the SFX because of the 120mm fan in the SFX-L. Better airflow and modularity come with the PSU. Additionally, you can also use it as an exhaust fan if you flip it upside down in the case.

 

Overall, I think that you could build the same setup with an Intel chip, motherboard, and CPU cooper with all of the other parts remaining the same.

[phantom160]

11 minutes ago, Imbellis said:

If you want to go compact, you could go with a SG13B Case.

Here's an alternate list I've made up ($1360). https://pcpartpicker.com/list/G6vMjc

Here's why I made all of the choices:

• CPU (Ryzen 1600) It has slightly better clock speeds (countered by intel's latency decrease), but comes with a good stock cooler. You could swap this out with your intel chip if you wanted

• Cooler (Included above) Hyper 212 is a good alternative but doesn't fit in the SG13B and costs money. Silverstone's manuel says the height is 64mm, but with a SFX PSU oriented correctly, you can get  ~74mm clearance (I'd use the spire to test clearances with before buying aftermarket cooler).

• Motherboard (Gigabyte AB250N) I currently have this motherboard. It's great, but the centrally placed CPU power connector is a bit of a pain. OC'd my ryzen 1600x to 3.9 all cores.

• RAM (Vengeance LPX 2x8 GB)I just choose some random RAM I know is compatible. Right now, prices fluctuate too much to make a good decision. You may want to go with a 16GB stick if you think you'll want to expand later.

• Storage (850 Evo) Copied over the 850 evo. Good choice, but you may want a capacity HDD for bulk storage (HDDs can be annoying in the SG13B).

• GPU (Zotac 1080 Mini) Costing only ~$20 more, it saves you some room and is a good GPU. Blower cards work better in SFF cases, a dual-fan should be fine in the SG13B. With my current setup, my GPU's fans rarely spin. You could jump to 1080ti, but that'd put you at 1575, and I don't think it's worth it.

• Case (SG13B) You mentioned wanting a small form factor PC that blends in with the room. The SG13B takes the look of a media center - no sharp edges.It is ~40% of the volume of the Nano-S (11.5 compared to 26.8). It trades off a bit of compatibility, but I could still cram a H100 (240mm cooler) with a bit of creativity to help.

• Power Supply (Silverstone 500W SFX-L) This is a different form factor than ATX. You'll want to opt for the SFX-L over the SFX because of the 120mm fan in the SFX-L. Better airflow and modularity come with the PSU. Additionally, you can also use it as an exhaust fan if you flip it upside down in the case.

 

Overall, I think that you could build the same setup with an Intel chip, motherboard, and CPU cooper with all of the other parts remaining the same.

This is a great advice, thank you! Do you use this case yourself? How is the cooling situation of this case? I'm concerned that smaller cases may get hot (then again, I don't have enough experience to judge)

[Imbellis]

Just now, phantom160 said:

This is a great advice, thank you! Do you use this case yourself? How is the cooling situation of this case? I'm concerned that smaller cases may get hot (then again, I don't have enough experience to judge)

Yes, I'm currently Using the SG13B. Temperatures can get toasty - with a Noctua L9x65, I was throttling while running prime 95 with CPU @ 3.6 GHZ - base for 1600x.

As for GPU, the temperatures are great - the fans don't spin at idle and don't make audible noise even when benchmarking.

 

If you want to make sure you won't throttle, I'd choose to use an AIO (all in one) instead of air. You should be able to use any 120/140mm radiator that has a total depth less than 50mm (~2 inches). Since you wouldn't be using the included air cooler, I'd recommend upgrading to the 1600x for a better chance in the silicon lottery.

 

Here's a link to the SG13B's manual. Everything seems to be correct except for the CPU cooler height restriction (64mm compared to 74ish actual when SFX PSU is used).

[Firecheetah13]

On 10/26/2017 at 7:10 PM, phantom160 said:

Thank you for the advice! PSU is the area where I have absolutely 0 experience or understanding. Parts picker shows estimated wattage of 300W. Can I go with cheaper 350-400W PSU? What's the difference between different brands?

Generally those low-wattage power supplies are low quality and aren't from reputable brands. Also, a higher wattage power supply gives you more room for upgrades and overclocking. I wouldn't go about 700w or so in you're build though, because that can lead to inefficiency and a higher power bill. Keep in mind that the higher the rating, the higher the efficiency and the less power wasted.

[phantom160]

2 hours ago, Firecheetah13 said:

Generally those low-wattage power supplies are low quality and aren't from reputable brands. Also, a higher wattage power supply gives you more room for upgrades and overclocking. I wouldn't go about 700w or so in you're build though, because that can lead to inefficiency and a higher power bill. Keep in mind that the higher the rating, the higher the efficiency and the less power wasted.

Is there any risk in going with 450W as opposed to 600W? I was looking into Corsair SF600 and SF450. SF450 is $30 cheaper and, allegedly, much quieter. The system has an estimated wattage of 309W according to the parts picker. I don't think the bill will be that much different between 450W and 600W. Am I wrong?

[NQSD]

9 minutes ago, phantom160 said:

Is there any risk in going with 450W as opposed to 600W? I was looking into Corsair SF600 and SF450. SF450 is $30 cheaper and, allegedly, much quieter. The system has an estimated wattage of 309W according to the parts picker. I don't think the bill will be that much different between 450W and 600W. Am I wrong?

No, you are not wrong. Although if you want more watts for less and a modular power supply, you can check this out. https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16817438120?ignorebbr=true&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile-_-pla-_-Power+Supplies-_-N82E16817438120&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1dDPBRC_ARIsAJZrQfqJRA6FMlzid_OUPNx0yUkaTni7KZJMP2CjkE10EWYYwxt-XnhxYroaAqxdEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[seon123]

10 minutes ago, phantom160 said:

Is there any risk in going with 450W as opposed to 600W? I was looking into Corsair SF600 and SF450. SF450 is $30 cheaper and, allegedly, much quieter. The system has an estimated wattage of 309W according to the parts picker. I don't think the bill will be that much different between 450W and 600W. Am I wrong?

With an 8400 and 1080, a 450W PSU is not an issue.

[NQSD]

1 hour ago, seon123 said:

With an 8400 and 1080, a 450W PSU is not an issue.

I agree. A 450W power supply would be the enough for overclockable builds that might have a i7-8700K and a 1080. 450W would be the average the average for $1000 to $1500 builds.

[NQSD]

On 10/26/2017 at 3:48 PM, phantom160 said:

Hi! I'm trying to build a compact PC for 1440p (G-sync) online FPS gaming. I want it to be as small and discrete as possible (to blend in in a living room). I live in the US. My budget is around $1,500. I came up with the build below. Please let me know if you think there are any issues with it or if there is any way to improve it:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus - ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($184.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($158.68 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  ($519.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design - Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: XFX - XT 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($84.68 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1457.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker

 

P.S. I'm not sure if I should use GTX 1080 or whether I can get comfortable FPS with GTX 1070

A GTX 1070 would be able to give you an awesome amount of FPS in games. May I ask what games you are going to play with this?

[phantom160]

47 minutes ago, NQSD said:

A GTX 1070 would be able to give you an awesome amount of FPS in games. May I ask what games you are going to play with this?

PUBG, BF1, online shooters...

 

I actually updated the build a little:

 

PCPartPicker part list / 

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($26.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($126.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($161.03 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card  ($539.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design - Node 202 HTPC Case  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - SF 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1444.53

[NQSD]

Just now, phantom160 said:

PUBG, BF1, online shooters...

 

I actually updated the build a little:

 

PCPartPicker part list / 

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($26.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($126.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($161.03 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card  ($539.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design - Node 202 HTPC Case  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - SF 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1444.53

A GTX 1070 would be cheaper choice than a 1080 but it would be able to provide same amount of FPS if you overclock.

[Firecheetah13]

19 hours ago, NQSD said:

A GTX 1070 would be cheaper choice than a 1080 but it would be able to provide same amount of FPS if you overclock.

Okay? OC the 1080 and it will be quite a bit better than the 1070 OCed. If he can afford it, why shouldn't he get it?

[Firecheetah13]

The real question in terms of your GPU is whether you will be doing 1440p at 60hz or 144hz. If 60, the 1070 should be plenty, but won't cut it in most games for even 100 frames at that resolution. Hell, I play at 1080p 144hz on my 1070 and it usually doesn't get anywhere near that in PUBG (at least on max settings) unless I look at the sky.

[NQSD]

2 hours ago, Firecheetah13 said:

Okay? OC the 1080 and it will be quite a bit better than the 1070 OCed. If he can afford it, why shouldn't he get it?

The cheapest 1070 is less than the cost of the 1080. The cheapest 1070 would range in from about $400 USD where the 1080 would range from about $500 USD. It would be able to be in the safe zone of the OP's power supply wattage. It would work best with his budget.

[phantom160]

On 10/29/2017 at 10:57 AM, Firecheetah13 said:

The real question in terms of your GPU is whether you will be doing 1440p at 60hz or 144hz. If 60, the 1070 should be plenty, but won't cut it in most games for even 100 frames at that resolution. Hell, I play at 1080p 144hz on my 1070 and it usually doesn't get anywhere near that in PUBG (at least on max settings) unless I look at the sky.

I plan on buying a 1440p 144hz monitor. Therefore, I was planning on buying gtx1080. However, I want to get a g-sync enabled monitor. If I understand it correctly, g-sync will make everything look smooth, even if FPS are way below 144hz.

[phantom160]

22 hours ago, NQSD said:

The cheapest 1070 is less than the cost of the 1080. The cheapest 1070 would range in from about $400 USD where the 1080 would range from about $500 USD. It would be able to be in the safe zone of the OP's power supply wattage. It would work best with his budget.

Thank you for the advice! However, I plan on getting a very compact case (Node 202). Cooling is a serious concern and I'm not sure I will be able to OC. Not to mention, I've never done any OCing before and don't have experience with it.

[NQSD]

1 hour ago, phantom160 said:

Thank you for the advice! However, I plan on getting a very compact case (Node 202). Cooling is a serious concern and I'm not sure I will be able to OC. Not to mention, I've never done any OCing before and don't have experience with it.

Okay. There is a mini-it’s 1080 gigabyte graphics card and I believe it would be compact enough for your system and I don’t know about the cooling situation. I will get back on that.

[AMDPRO]

On 10/26/2017 at 6:38 PM, Imbellis said:

If you want to go compact, you could go with a SG13B Case.

Here's an alternate list I've made up ($1360). https://pcpartpicker.com/list/G6vMjc

Here's why I made all of the choices:

• CPU (Ryzen 1600) It has slightly better clock speeds (countered by intel's latency decrease), but comes with a good stock cooler. You could swap this out with your intel chip if you wanted

• Cooler (Included above) Hyper 212 is a good alternative but doesn't fit in the SG13B and costs money. Silverstone's manuel says the height is 64mm, but with a SFX PSU oriented correctly, you can get  ~74mm clearance (I'd use the spire to test clearances with before buying aftermarket cooler).

• Motherboard (Gigabyte AB250N) I currently have this motherboard. It's great, but the centrally placed CPU power connector is a bit of a pain. OC'd my ryzen 1600x to 3.9 all cores.

• RAM (Vengeance LPX 2x8 GB)I just choose some random RAM I know is compatible. Right now, prices fluctuate too much to make a good decision. You may want to go with a 16GB stick if you think you'll want to expand later.

• Storage (850 Evo) Copied over the 850 evo. Good choice, but you may want a capacity HDD for bulk storage (HDDs can be annoying in the SG13B).

• GPU (Zotac 1080 Mini) Costing only ~$20 more, it saves you some room and is a good GPU. Blower cards work better in SFF cases, a dual-fan should be fine in the SG13B. With my current setup, my GPU's fans rarely spin. You could jump to 1080ti, but that'd put you at 1575, and I don't think it's worth it.

• Case (SG13B) You mentioned wanting a small form factor PC that blends in with the room. The SG13B takes the look of a media center - no sharp edges.It is ~40% of the volume of the Nano-S (11.5 compared to 26.8). It trades off a bit of compatibility, but I could still cram a H100 (240mm cooler) with a bit of creativity to help.

• Power Supply (Silverstone 500W SFX-L) This is a different form factor than ATX. You'll want to opt for the SFX-L over the SFX because of the 120mm fan in the SFX-L. Better airflow and modularity come with the PSU. Additionally, you can also use it as an exhaust fan if you flip it upside down in the case.

 

Overall, I think that you could build the same setup with an Intel chip, motherboard, and CPU cooper with all of the other parts remaining the same.

I agreee with the r5 and mini GPU

[phantom160]

13 minutes ago, NQSD said:

Okay. There is a mini-it’s 1080 gigabyte graphics card and I believe it would be compact enough for your system and I don’t know about the cooling situation. I will get back on that.

The size of the card is not an issue, the case accommodates full-sized cards just fine. The problem is that it leaves very little space left for proper air circulation and, hence, everything runs pretty hot even without OC. As a matter of fact, I think I'll have to go with a blower-style card, to make sure hot air is forced out. From what I've learned so far, it looks like blower style cards are the worst kind of cards, unless you absolutely have to go with one...