M-ITX Devils Canyon build

avrc

avrc

avrc

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Not done a build thread before and to be honest it's probably going to be pretty much like every other m-itx build in this case.

Let me start with saying there's nothing really wrong with my current rig but my Mrs has been moaning at me for a long time about how her laptop can't cope with games and suggesting she have mine and I build myself a new one (or in other words she's given me permission to faff with computer bits).

This will be a slow build as money is tight but I don't want to skimp too much as I want this to last a good number of years. I don't mind and expect to have to replace the graphics card a few times though.

So here's what I have so far:

UPDATED
Corsair Obsidian Series 250D Mini ITX Compact Gaming Case
SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply
Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X Rev2.0 WindForce 3X OC 3072MB GDDR5
Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard
Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Samsung SE-218CN/RSBS Ultra Slim External DVD-RW Drive - Black
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit
Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter

Here's what's left to buy:

UPDATED
Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99 Decided not enough benefit for spending £100 more on an i7
TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £65.99 Decided didn't need 16GB
Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £59.99 FOR OS DRIVE



Some pictures (there's something wrong with my phones camera I think):

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Bit hard to say until I've got everything on it and played with the bios. First impressions are that it's not a bad looking board but I do wish the audio header wasn't next to the pci-e slot, not sure how i'll route that cable yet but having said that I might not plug it in as I've never used front audio on a case to date. It comes with a stand alone aerial that stumped me but having read the manual it's a dual wifi and Bluetooth one which are features I didn't realise it had.
 
Looks good. Was very tempted to try a mATX/ITX build but was seduced by X-fire :D

Cool that you get wifi and bluetooth with the board! Wish they did that with large ATX boards..
 
I didn't set out to go m-itx, in fact I was going to go for a corsair 450D purely based on the space inside, good air flow and good reviews but the more I looked at pictures/video reviews the more I disliked the appearance. What it came down to was that m-itx cases just look nicer so it was a case of finding one that would fit what I wanted inside. I'm very happy with the 250D, I think it looks great.
 
They're very nice, and I think you've probably got the nicest! Only competitor is the bitfenix prodigy imo. The fact that you can put so much in such a tiny thing is so cool!
 
External drive arrived. Chose it for the brushed aluminium top that matches the 250D case perfectly.

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Nice one :D

Think you will surprised how good a case the 250D really is. Cooling is a very good point it has. It's probably the best case I've had to date, amazing quality in a small environment. Will be looking forward to see how you progress.

McstylisT
 
In case you didn't notice you have the fans sucking air through the h100i into the case, that's actually the best way to do it but a lot of people shy away from it so just thought I would mention in case it's a mistake.
 
Not a mistake :) Air coming in has to be cooler than air going out so why would anyone want warmer air blowing over the rad.
 
I know I could get away with an i5 and 8GB but I want an i7 and 16GB. I don't build a pc very often and usually it's just the graphics card that gets upgraded. If it wasn't for my mrs wanting my pc and telling me to build a new one I'd stick with what I have (i5 and 8GB) but I may as well build a new one to last a good number of years and I think an i7 and 16GB gives me the potential for a more future proof machine.
 
I wasn't planning on swapping my desk but....

It's a gloss white Linnmon top with Adils legs and the metal draw unit is a Helmer all from Ikea.

Just need to finish my build now!

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Hard drive arrived and I've got windows 8.1 ready to go.

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That just leaves the memory and processor to get.
 
I love those little Corsair cases, and that picture of your desk setup looks awesome. How are those speakers by the way, a friend of mine was thinking of buying them, he's read a few reviews which have all been positive but he said he'd really like to hear from someone that actually has them. If you could let me know what you think of them I'll pass on your comments :) cheers
 
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