gonna be building a kaveri steam box need advice

tonyt3rry

tonyt3rry

tonyt3rry

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im wanting to make a light small steam box like console I was going to use one of the new kaveri cpus was wondering what case would be best to use I like the look of streacom cases nice and small and mac mini like but dont that the psu is so expensive I already have a nice gaming setup im looking for a cheap as possible build in the £200-300 mark looking for some case ideas please.

I dont know much about amd cpus and fans etc or mini itx builds thanks
 
OcUK have no FM2+ socket ITX mobos listed on their website. So you'd have to find one elsewhere, then just tell us the model (link to manufacturer website only) and your remaining budget so you can be advised on the rest. There are some HTPC cases that fit micro-ATX boards though (and regular ATX PSU's depending on their size):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone Grandia GD06 Desktop Case - Black (SST-GD06B) £99.98

 
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Wouldn't that price make me over budget since the 7850 is £140 alone mobo 50-60ish then ram and PSU on top of that im ok for HDDs as long as its 3.5"
 
tonyt3rry said:
Wouldn't that price make me over budget since the 7850 is £140 alone mobo 50-60ish then ram and PSU on top of that im ok for HDDs as long as its 3.5"
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Yes. I was going to tell you that it's going to be very difficult to stay close to budget because of the type of case you want. Also, ITX mobos tend to be more expensive than slightly larger micro-ATX boards.

A mid-tower case would ironically help you to stay much closer to budget than a little HTPC:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Kaveri 7850K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) - Retail £139.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £46.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 300W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £29.99
1 x Aerocool V3X Advance Evil Blue Edition Midi-Tower - Black/Blue £25.99
Total : £308.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).



So, I don't know. You'll have to be stretching budget I think. Unless you can find what you want and at a lower price. I've had a look but it's not working out.

The Grandia is pricey but has great cooling options which is extremely helpful if you're going to game in a HTPC case. The heat generated in such a small area can cause all sorts of problems. It already brings three 120mm fans and you can add two 80mm's (which I would do).
 
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Would you recommend the cooler master haf120 id like to make it small so I can take it to a friends house or put it somewhere without taking up huge amounts of space like a tower would
 
tonyt3rry said:
Would you recommend the cooler master haf120 id like to make it small so I can take it to a friends house or put it somewhere without taking up huge amounts of space like a tower would
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Do you mean the Elite 120? Can't find a HAF 120. Yeah, that'd be a better option.

The Elite 130 has better cooling (mesh front) for just £6 more (worth it):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Cooler Master Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Mini ITX Case - Black £45.95




Something like this plus an ITX FM2+ mobo:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Kaveri 7850K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) - Retail £139.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Mini ITX Case - Black £45.95
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 300W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £29.99
Total : £281.52 (includes shipping : £8.00).



You won't need more than 300w for APU (but get yourself 80+Bronze at least), and fast RAM is essential.
 
Pure HTPC-wise (the CoolerMaster Elite's are like a cross between mini-ITX and HTPC) this was the best (i.e. worth buying) I could do, using just OcUK items:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Kaveri 7850K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) - Retail £139.99
1 x Silverstone Grandia GD05 Desktop HTPC Case - Black (SST-GD05B USB3.0) £79.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £46.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 300W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £29.99
2 x Akasa AK-190-SM Smoke Ultra Quiet 80mm Fan - 3 pin £3.59 (£7.18)
Total : £374.23 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Comes out about £30 or so dearer but has even better cooling than the CM Elite 130. And the PSU wouldn't interfere.
 
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Bit too much for me to spend I'm trying to make it as cheap as possible as I already have a gaming pc I just want this as a nice second pc for the Mrs to play bf4 on low or med
 
Grimley said:
YOUR BASKET

1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £46.99


I would like point out that this board has no HDMI output, a bit pointless building a HTPC without that TBH if its going to be connected to a telly.

2 quid more gets you a board with HDMI out, in fact its this board.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus A55BM-A/USB3 AMD A55 Chipset (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £49.99
Total : £55.97 (includes shipping : £4.98).

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Thank you for the shout, Grimley. :o

I was looking for an 8-pin ATX 12v header mobo, instead of 4-pin, then forgot to check the display ports.
 
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Do the retail kaveri chips come with a cooler? Is it up the job? I can't find any mention of it in reviews.

What cooler would you pair with the GD06 out of interest?
 
tonyt3rry said:
Bit too much for me to spend I'm trying to make it as cheap as possible as I already have a gaming pc I just want this as a nice second pc for the Mrs to play bf4 on low or med
Click to expand...

Playstation 4?

Don't see the point of a £300 gaming PC IMO

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Kaveri 7700K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) - Retail £125.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-HD3 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 300W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £29.99
1 x Raijintek Aidos Direct Contact CPU Cooler £14.99
Total : £327.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
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Only way I can get it to be under £300 is if its an micro atx offering:

Its obviously a cheap case and cheap PSU, so if you wanted to add a dedicated GPU later id spend more money now on a decent PSU. But just putting the options out there, the Mobo also has a hdmi output unlike the cheaper gigabyte board.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Kaveri 7850K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) - Retail £139.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-HD3 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x OcUK Value Imp MicroATX Tower Case (500w PSU) £31.99
Total : £280.97 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
I was using a CNPS8900 Extreme, one of the best low profile coolers you can get, provided you want to run APU only (it can be too close to the PCIE slot on some ITX motherboards for a discrete GPU).

I've had to put it up for sale though as I want to get one of the new Silverstone ITX cases when they get released and use a proper GPU with a 90º riser.

Shame though, it is a great cooler and did a better job than the AXP-100 I have replaced it with.
 
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