£1000 Micro ATX build.

grouch4568

grouch4568

grouch4568

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Seeing as the last spec you guys picked for me has done so well, would you spec me another one please? It's mainly for gaming.

The budget is £1000 and it has to be a micro ATX. I need the case as well and this is where I'm not so confident on the choosing as I need to know everything will fit comfortably.

The case doesn't have to be anything special, as long as it has decent airflow.

So I need the case and everything in it. The person I'm building it for has a 1600x900 monitor so I suggested he got a 1080. I'm hoping the spec would be good enough to have a monitor included in the total but the main objective is to get the best components possible and hope to get a 1080 monitor included as well. If you think he could carry on with the 900p monitor, it's more budget for the components.

I might be able to adjust the budget to fit the best spec but only by around £50 more.

There's no preference for AMD/Intel/nVidia. Just the best bang for the buck.

Thanks for reading.:)
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87M-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £82.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy M MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black £65.52
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x Enermax ELC120-TB Liquid Cooler with 2x T.B.Silence 12cm Fans £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,021.30 (includes shipping : £19.10).



Easy. :)
 
That looks a great spec.

I'm going to check out a few reviews on the components and I'll get back to you.

I can't see it being easily improved on but I'm not ordering for a couple of days so open to more suggestions.

Thanks for putting it together. I think you may have specced my last one.:p

On the GPU front, isn't a 2GB 770GTX an option over the 3GB 280X considering it'll be running 1080? I don't do much gaming anymore, but when I did, 2GB was enough. I only pushed the bandwidth with games like BF4 and modded skyrim.

I see it's a little longer but looking at how the case is laid out, it should fit as well shouldn't it? I'm still checking loads of reviews for options so expect questions.:p
 
Last edited:
Like you say you play BF4, the 280X is much more of a better option due to Mantle.

If your MaTX case can support it you may wish to CF later on in your gaming life as this builds gonna last you a long time so... so you could improve it by purchasing a stronger PSU.

IMO a good PSU will last you a dozen years (such as the one specced) but will you use it in that time? A better wattage should be in your eyes if you have the cash flow... one of the few futureproofable components that should be obtained is certainly an excellent PSU.

Also 2GB gpu memory is fine for 2gb, 3gb is fine for 1440p and 4gb is fine for above
 
Will your mate be overclocking? If he's not going to, then you might as well fit in an i7 and use stock cooler which is sufficient at stock speeds. Otherwise I'd go with Doomed's spec.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3x OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N770OC-2GD) £259.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £229.99
1 x iiyama Prolite XU2390 23" Widescreen Slim Bezel LED Multimedia Monitor - Black £129.95
1 x Xigmatek Aquila Micro-ATX Case - White Window £74.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £71.99
1 x MSI Z87M-G43 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £71.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSWS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - White £21.98
1 x BitFenix Spectre PRO 200mm blue LED fan - white £15.95
Total : £1,051.80 (includes shipping : £12.50).



External optical drive to allow for 2 x 120/140 fans on the top in future, for extra cooling.
 
Trojan Horse said:
Like you say you play BF4, the 280X is much more of a better option due to Mantle.

If your MaTX case can support it you may wish to CF later on in your gaming life as this builds gonna last you a long time so... so you could improve it by purchasing a stronger PSU.

IMO a good PSU will last you a dozen years (such as the one specced) but will you use it in that time? A better wattage should be in your eyes if you have the cash flow... one of the few futureproofable components that should be obtained is certainly an excellent PSU.

Also 2GB gpu memory is fine for 2gb, 3gb is fine for 1440p and 4gb is fine for above
Click to expand...

From what I've read on mantle, it's not that big a boost when you have a capable CPU backing up the GPU. My thinking is the loss of 1GB of VRAM for a quicker GPU, especially with an overclock on it and the CPU, it might cover the offset on a game with mantle support.

Mantle will likely get better but it's early days for it and so I don't know if I could invest money based on it. Thief had to drop mantle support for the release day till they get it fixed. If it takes off with bigger gains, I'll figure it into the next build.

I think an i7 might be overkill as I can't think of many games that use it. Going with the 4670K and a decent cooler for a moderate 24/7 overclock instead. I'm still looking round the reviews on 280X and a 770GTX. For a tenner more, I could get the windforce x3 770 or phantom for similar money. (I haven't checked on lengths on them yet though.)

I'll have a word with the buyer tomorrow.

...back to checking reviews...

Thanks for the help so far you PC speccing junkies.:D
 
Cool. The MSI GTX 770 overclocks with the MSI Gaming APP to 1240MHz in a pinch, and if you use it on an MSI Gaming motherboard you will get a little extra boost on top of that "guaranteed" (by MSI). I've tested the former but not the latter.

So basically, don't be fooled by the low price and inferior (compared to other models) stock speed, because it's easily capable of more than what it says on the tin.

The MSI Micro-ATX Gaming mobo has great reviews.

Both are at a great price till Wednesday.

YOUR BASKET
1 x msi geforce gtx 770 gaming edition 2048mb gddr5 pci-express graphics card £239.99
1 x msi z87m gaming series intel z87 (socket 1150) ddr3 micro atx motherboard £104.99



http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_z87m_review_gaming,21.html
 
The i7 is overkill for a gaming rig.

The K series i5 I spec ed will be spot on, just a nice over lock and it'll fly.

The 280x is better than the 770, and cheaper. (this coming from an NVIDIA fan). The 3gb if vram is help for bf4 which can pull more than 2gb at 1080p.
 
A bit over the budget but more of an eye candy :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
1 x Parvum Systems S2.0 MicroATX Case - Black with Orange £139.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Asus Z87 GRYPHON Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova NEX 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Avexir Core Orange Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17200C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U21330904G-2CIO) - Orange Light £79.99
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S3B7A/120G) **Upgrade Bundle Kit /w Adapter** £71.99
1 x Akasa AK-CC4008HP01 Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler £44.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £43.99
2 x Akasa AK-183-L2B Amber Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3 pin £7.99 (£15.98)
2 x Akasa AK-182-L2B Amber Ultra Quiet 80mm Fan - 3 pin £4.98 (£9.96)
Total : £1,148.81 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
Doomedspeed said:
The S2.0, as you know, i s a stunning case but wasted on a £1k build.

If this was a £1.5k-£2k watercooled mATX spec, id be all over it.

I feel the parvum is wasted without watercooling of some kind.
Click to expand...

I see your logic, but I have to disagree. This is a similar setup to mine! I am biased though, I love my S2 :D

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Parvum Systems S2.0 MicroATX Case - Black with Red £139.99
1 x MSI Z87M Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £104.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £99.95
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 650W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £89.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
2 x Noiseblocker Multiframe S-Series M8-P Fan - 80mm PWM £12.95 (£25.90)
Total : £1,082.32 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Suggesting he uses the current monitor to keep in budget!
 
snips86x said:
I see your logic, but I have to disagree. This is a similar setup to mine! I am biased though, I love my S2 :D

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x Parvum Systems S2.0 MicroATX Case - Black with Red £139.99
1 x MSI Z87M Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £104.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £99.95
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 650W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £89.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
2 x Noiseblocker Multiframe S-Series M8-P Fan - 80mm PWM £12.95 (£25.90)
Total : £1,082.32 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Suggesting he uses the current monitor to keep in budget!
Click to expand...

Okay, that is impressive. I like a lot. :D
 
Can't go wrong with a Parvum - watercooling or not :p

Saying that, the Superflower Leadex PSU is 200mm long (:eek:) which would take up most of the room in the back of the case. Something smaller might be in order.
 
Fulax said:
Can't go wrong with a Parvum - watercooling or not :p

Saying that, the Superflower Leadex PSU is 200mm long (:eek:) which would take up most of the room in the back of the case. Something smaller might be in order.
Click to expand...

yeah, just clicked on that!

Few alternatives:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone Strider Gold Series - 750 Watt (SST-ST75F-GS) £89.99
1 x Seasonic G series 650w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £89.99<---- best option IMO
1 x Corsair RM Series RM 650 '80+ Gold' 650W Power Supply (CP-9020054-UK) £85.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 730W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £79.99
Total : £355.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
I like the looks of both the Pridigy M and the Parvum S2 but the aesthetics of the case isn't that important this time around. Decent airflow is the main requirement but the case doesn't have to be a focal point.

The buyers priority is to get the best components possible and wrap them up in any case that stays close to the budget without sacrificing air flow.

I've seen a couple that look good for airflow and build at the sake of looking not as good as the Prodigy M and Parvum S2.

In-Win BR665 and In-Win Dragon Slayer

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-009-IW

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-010-IW&groupid=2362&catid=2278

I've heard good things about In-Win and the airflow looks great on these but I haven't checked a revew of them yet. While they don't look as good, their price point and build quality looks good. Any opinions on them?

(I love the look of the Prodigy M but I'm worried about the build with how cramped it looks and the Parvum comes at a premium price. With a compromise on the case, there's a bit more money for components.)

I've been ordering from overclockers.uk for years but I'm a lurker in the forums so no free shipping. At the rate I post, I should have free shipping when the 16 core i11 7960X comes out.:p

Waiting for the buyer to get home from work so I can finalise a few of the components and hopefully the case. I'll let you know as soon as I can.
 
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