Cheaper options, similar performance?

si_mats · 23 Apr 2014 at 14:30

I currently have these queued up and was wondering if any of you guys could help to shave the budget a little? System will mainly be for gaming and audio encoding. The 760 is the minimum gfx required and I only picked it because of its small size (!) so any other (more powerful!) suggestions welcome that will fit in the 250D. I love the Maximus series but would be willing to swap out for a cheaper but equally well-performing board, if there is one. Many thanks!

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £233.99
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 760 Mini OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI IMPACT Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £173.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian Series 250D Mini ITX Compact Gaming Case - Black (CC-9011047-WW) £71.99
Total : £689.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).

ShivP · 23 Apr 2014 at 14:56

Yeah, bit OTT on the mobo I think.
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Z87I PROFESSIONAL Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini-ITX £124.99
Total : £133.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).

Also, you already have RAM/PSU?

stulid · 23 Apr 2014 at 14:59

YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D Radeon R9 280 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £189.95
1 x MSI Z87I Gaming AC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £129.95
Total : £329.50 (includes shipping : £8.00).

This GFX card is more powerful and still fits the case.

ExtremeIC3cream · 23 Apr 2014 at 15:05

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £112.99
Total : £121.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).

This motherboard and that Graphics Card Stulid suggested.

Quartz · 23 Apr 2014 at 15:18

You could save £70 by dropping the CPU to an i5-4670K. You lose 0.1 GHz and Hyperthreading, of course.

si_mats · 24 Apr 2014 at 07:53

Many thanks for all your suggestions! I went with Stulid's parts in the end. Thanks again!