De-lurking for advice - itx gaming system, ~£700-750

karina429

karina429

karina429

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6 May 2008
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31
hi, folks - been reading, lurking and finding answers to my questions for a good while - but now i have a situation. I've never built any m-atx or itx systems and have no experience there - but have decided to make the leap of faith, mostly to keep my gaming system in hand luggage when i travel - yes i'm a bit paranoid about letting it out of my hands. :D

so the idea would be this - fingers crossed, i might have some spare 700, max750 quid in a couple of weeks and could spend it on a new, lovely, reasonably futureproof gaming system. So far my concept is a low power requirements, high efficiency i5 3570K system with H77/Z77 board (only mild overclock and no overvoltages intended - and i could sacrifice overclocking potential for value and size, hence the mentioned H77.)

As for the case i think Prodigy would be too large for my purposes - anything smaller, such as something Lian Li or Sugo SG06 450W on the other hand sounds great. but as it will be my first itx system i am really unsure about the part compatibility (optical drives, power supplies, space for storage drives), so would be very grateful if you helped me to flesh this out.

I have a mouse, keyboard and monitor and an old sata I hdd but i'd rather live with the substandard storage for a month than forego a 240GB SSD as an OS/high priority game drive. i can buy a terabyte or two later.) If anything so far looks like unnecessary overkill and waste of money with no benefit, you're also welcome to tell me ;)
 
Welcome,

Do you need to factor an OS into your budget?

If not, id go with something like this.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC256N/EU) **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £146.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q08B USB3.0 Mini-ITX Case - Black £84.98
1 x Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard £83.99
1 x Silverstone Strider Plus 500W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (SST-ST50F-P) £58.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £23.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £762.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).



  • A modular is a must for small cases.
  • samsung are a great ssd maker, and this sdd is very well priced.
  • The 7850 will keep you going for a while
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £167.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC256N/EU) **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £146.99
1 x Silverstone Sugo SG05 HTPC Case with 450W Power Supply - All Black ( SST-SG05BB USB 3.0) £114.98
1 x **B Grade** ASRock Z77E-ITX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX (MB-066-AK) £95.00
1 x Silverstone SST-NT06-E CPU-Cooler £28.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £23.99
1 x Samsung SN-208BB/BEBE Slimline 8x DVD±RW SATA Drive - OEM £17.99
1 x Akasa Slimline Optical SATA Cable (AK-CB050) £2.99
Total : £793.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).




That 7850 deal is over now, and the H77 board does not support OCing, have spec'd a B grade but the new version is £123.

The case is a little fiddly to put together but its great once everything is in, have more or less the same kit in mine and runs like a dream.

EDIT: If your short of pennies the cooler can wait but you have to start just about fro scratch to put it in when you buy it later.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £167.99
1 x Intel 330 Series 180GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £103.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q08B USB3.0 Mini-ITX Case - Black £84.98
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £49.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £23.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £739.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).



in budget, but the mobo and psu isnt stocked at ocuk yet
 
thanks - now i have a better insight into what i'm up against. Still like Sugo 05/06 - to my knowledge it's the only case with adequate cooling even for an overclock and classed as hand luggage by all airlines (smallest dimension <20cm). Of course that B grade Sugo 07 is tempting too, i am starting to think about that - and a z77, but that combination might need serious stretching of funds. will live and see.

About the B-grade Asrock board - i would totally get it. now. (despite me not having most of that systembuilding money yet) except am afraid the stuff missing could be wifi aerials (which i can screw all replace and which would impair a needed function).

Another question - what is the effective difference between sticking in the arctic low profile cooler and the silverstone passive Gav-881 suggested? At a guess - would it be no improvement, only the drawbacks of added mild noise and a few watts of power?

and yes when i'll be getting a graphics card these deals will be over. but i very much agree - the 7850 on offer is the one to get. And on memory. Now SSD - why is Samsung considered better than Sandforce ones? I thought the flaws were specific to one early version of it?
 
If you go for the Sugo 450w, will the psu be easily rated for the 7850 you're proposing?
Personally i like the look of the Gigabyte Z77n board, although not available yet.
 
as i understand it sandforce controllers use compression to get a lot of their speed, so when handling files already compressed they lose

id go for quiet, these chips are still mighty fast not overclocked
 
Banzai_Joe said:
If you go for the Sugo 450w, will the psu be easily rated for the 7850 you're proposing?
Personally i like the look of the Gigabyte Z77n board, although not available yet.
Click to expand...

asrock has virtu and the phase thingie that's supposedly good, otherwise they're identical. btw Asrock it is, i fairly accidentally happened upon opportunity to get a new asrock z77e at a ga-z77n price so question settled, it'd be a sin not to jump for it. Chose it over Asus H77 one because even if i have to save money i'd have to buy a wifi adapter anyway and why not have a free usb port otherwise taken by it. And z77 leaves room for potential oc xperiments when - not if - my vanity and showy nature takes the upper hand and i can afford the natural risks that go with it.

and psu: see above post, quite a few people use it with 7850, heard even 7870s, with no harm. plus bronze = on the safe side of estimations. and to be a perfectionist i could go specifically for Sapphire 7850, for marginally less strain on the psu.

so the decisions already made:
i5 3570k (system built around it)
i don't really see alternatives to sugo 05/06 price + size wise. if i think in timeless perspective and consider the infinite win of a front fan redone with purple leds, a matching backlit keyboard and blacklight ambience inside - maybe 05 of the two.
asrock z77e-itx board acquired
memory, agreed on that one, buying tomorrow, while i'm at it i can get the slimline dvd.
which leaves only the graphics and ssd.

point about sandforce taken and even with absolutely lovely sandforce bits like sandisk extreme i have heard they need a firmware upgrade to make them run at specs (is that true?). especially since i'd end up upgrading it after windows installed (now writing from my android tablet which won't be a help) - i think could as well forego the hassle and get the Samsung. Overall good reviews and all. if it doesn't fit the budget, so be it, will live on methadon that is Warlock, Master of the Arcane on integrated HD 4000 for a couple of weeks and get graphics then. Sincerely hope i won't have to rebuild it from complete scratch to put it in.

so my new heart and soul slowly becomes reality.
 
karina429 said:
if it doesn't fit the budget, so be it, will live on methadon that is Warlock, Master of the Arcane on integrated HD 4000 for a couple of weeks and get graphics then. Sincerely hope i won't have to rebuild it from complete scratch to put it in.
Click to expand...

Graphics card requires the removal of the drive bays and possibly the PSU depending on your skill but its only a 10 min task, from experience its best to run the PCIE power round the rim of the top of the case as it makes life so much easier when swapping bits in and out.

Also on the PSU side of things people have run 580's 680's 670's and 6970's in these so dont worry about the comparatively piddly requirements of ivy bridge and a 7850
 
as for the news, obtained a sg05, 450w and that samsung dvd writer. still missing the ssd and as for the memory i missed the Patriot Viper offer but i think that Kingston Hyper X in OCUK shop will do great. is there something else besides sticking to reliable brands and xmp support to look for, really, if we're not talking the next tier, intel extreme master or samsung green - which i take it are purely for memory overclocking (not a priority)?

On the downside mum pleaded me not to take back my old monitor and kb (was going to arrange a pickup) and damn my compassionate heart and computer addict empathy. this sets back my plans a little. i wonder why she needs a SteelSeries Merc though. Because, i quote 'your computer is pretty and enjoyable to use and i couldn't go back to my old one (a p3, with a corresponding level of everything else)'. Anyway kb was old and has had its share of crumbs and coffee - and now i want purple backlights, for the concept. I have a name for my system. she'll be called Ultraviolet (a long story why but it has nothing to do with the vampire film and represents an aspect of me), a change from my previous naming convention - which was Gray Pig I, II, III - and Black Pig IV. Besides playing in darkness w/o backlights is tiring. so that's a next stop in this project after getting everything functional. can live with a basic kb for the mo but monitor isn't going to buy itself. more setbacks. more expense. good thing i can do overtimes at work.
 
just get the cheapest, reputable ram. speed makes little real world difference.
yea the 23.99 kingston ram is a good choice
 
Another update. Sg05 arrived and yes by the looks of it i won't have any problems assembling.

i got the ssd, got an excellent deal on m4 256. had another, equally enticing deal on hyperx 3k 240 where i could have flogged the SteelSeries mouse coming with it (i have a gaming grade mouse as it is) but decided to go for reliability record instead of marginally better speeds which in real life i probably would not feel. plus i'm lazy and went for cheaper deal now rather than winning my money back next week.

so the only serious thing left now is cooling. Because of perfectionism i have gathered myself a decent overclocking kit and might want to do some overclocking in the future. nothing extreme though - but to learn, practice, develop a feel and have that boost later when there might be challenges for this system (afaik now here are none). so the obvious candidate is Silverstone NT06-E cooler
but you can't add a fan to it in SG05. Alternative would be Prolimatech Samuel 17 with the added bonus of my idea of pretty, in the form of Xigmatek Crystal Purple. what do you think?
 
If you're not going with an optical drive, how about a Corsair/Antec all-in-one watercooling loop mounted in the front? ;)
 
thing is, i am going for an optical drive. i got the samsung dvd writer and need it - to install os to begin with. of course i could get an enclosure and make it external but i am not sure at all about my skills to mod the case in any other way than looks
 
karina429 said:
.....but you can't add a fan to it in SG05. Alternative would be Prolimatech Samuel 17 with the added bonus of my idea of pretty, in the form of Xigmatek Crystal Purple. what do you think?
Click to expand...

Gav runs a nt06 on his overclocked chip without a fan (am i right gav?).
I'm awaiting the delivery of mine to cool my 3770k ivy in the SG05 too.
 
so be it - if it works even without a fan on an overclocked ivy...upsides: ideally quiet, cheaper, no power draw, no wear; downsides: none...umm .... no another led fan (front one i'm totally switching for said xigmatek projecting a dark biohazard outline, i know how to do that) and spinning lights inside. *sigh* can live without. can make it up with stationary lights.

turns out i have no money for the fan anyway atm. overspent unsurprisingly. will have to disassemble everything when i get the graphics card and NT06 (next order).

And thanks a lot, NT06 sounds like totally the smart choice then.

so far:
i5 3570k,
Asrock Z77E-ITX,
Kingston HyperX 1600 ddr3,
M4 256GB ssd OS drive,
Silverstone SG05 case/psu,
dvd

With a side of Benq 24'' GW2450HM.

i like where this is going.
 
Last edited:
not been updating because everything's ground to halt - got the gw2450hm when it was on the sale here but was accidentally sent a cheap-hind-quarters monitor w/o hdmi (critically need that) and now waiting for it to be replaced. meanwhile have been working on the build as much as i can on blind. and liiiiiights. set it up with xigmatek crystal purple front fan and cold cathodes inside. found a place - and ended up even with a semi-neat cable management. the excess cables of the Sharkoon 4'' cc set now lie neatly bundled under the fan. My Ultraviolet is going to be awesome. starting to wonder about where to get purple-lit awesome peripherals. semi regretting not choosing blue because of sg05's natural synergy - hdd and power - and the fact that it is a lot easier to get a decent board and mouse blue rather than purple. Specifically, i adore the GB Aivia set. but not giving up. kbt race + yet unspecified mouse maybe, but that's not happening right away.

Still not settled on video. i looked at some decent proof (would have linked but hate the fiddly touchscreen linking on tablet, with all my heart, forever) gtx 660 can be considered for the role too. I shouldn't have looked. more torturous choice. by the end of next week will be able to order it - and hopefully have a monitor too.

Ah and i replaced the cooler with nt06e. No one warned me there will be considerable bending of pipes needed to keep pcie clear. good thing i found the courage to do that.
 
Very useful thread. I was just about to drop some £age on a Bitfenix, but this is swaying me. My main driver was being able to fit in my existing MSI 660 Twin Frozr, but these look like options. The SG05 is the more affordable and I don't have TOO much cash to burn (unless I go for that B-Grade effort, but that is windowed :-/). Seems like the main one people are going for.

Guess I can ditch my Corsair PSU if I grab one of these.

This is going to be sat on a front room carpet, not going to cause an issue is it?
 
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