I'm thinking mITX is the way to go, I need 1x2.5" bay plus 2x or 3x 3.5" bays. If there was the option I could probably do without a 5.25" bay as I only occasionally use my optical drive. It'd have to be something that I could fit in a [padded] suitcase ideally as leaving my current build at uni during the holidays is quite inconvenient. 2x front USB ports and an earphone port.
I currently have most of the components I need in my current build and what I need is a Z77 mobo (which has a good BIOS to overclock with, because frankly my current one is useless. I can't overclock with it. I have no idea how you're supposed to; the BIOS seems to be the most awkwardly designed ever), a case(obviously) and an aftermarket CPU [air] cooler I guess. And I want to be able to have the option of adding a GPU so that I can go dual monitor if I decide to in the future.
My current components that I'd move over are i5 2500K CPU, Crucial m4 256GB SSD, 2TB drive(I also have two spare drives but one is on its way out - and is not used - and the other has only been used when I encountered a bug with my SSD), 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600MHz RAM, Antec TruePower New 550W PSU. Apologies if I've forgotten anything.
I'm thinking £35, a tad more at a stretch, for the CPU cooler to moderately overclock it to around 4.4 -4.5GHz. So if I had to take a stab at it it seems something like a Zalman, Noctua NH-L9i, something like that would do the job. Would prefer lower but have been out of the scene a while so not sure what would be enough. The case has been pretty much laid out except I may have a need for more hard drives in the future hence why I said I was looking for 2x or 3x 3.5" bays. Anymore would be excessive. The problem I've been having is regarding dimensions. It's difficult to tell what would be the right size and the best compromise for my needs. Otherwise the Bit Fenix Prodigy would be my go to choice. Oh and I'd love it to be sexy. Bit Fenix, Lian-li and Silverstone seem to be the way to go regarding that but perhaps someone can suggest something else if I'm wrong. Which leaves the mobo. Clearly it needs 3 or 4 SATA ports but I don't really need to go into that because that's standard on any mobo, optical spdif out, at least a HDMI port, easy overclockability via the BIOS, PCI-E x16, and x1 if possible although if it has integrated wifi then I can live without the latter.
I think that covers everything, so thoughts? Ideally it'd be lower end of the budget but I realise the range is fairly limited at this form factor so I'm willing to pay a little extra for the right component.
Thanks for your time.
I currently have most of the components I need in my current build and what I need is a Z77 mobo (which has a good BIOS to overclock with, because frankly my current one is useless. I can't overclock with it. I have no idea how you're supposed to; the BIOS seems to be the most awkwardly designed ever), a case(obviously) and an aftermarket CPU [air] cooler I guess. And I want to be able to have the option of adding a GPU so that I can go dual monitor if I decide to in the future.
My current components that I'd move over are i5 2500K CPU, Crucial m4 256GB SSD, 2TB drive(I also have two spare drives but one is on its way out - and is not used - and the other has only been used when I encountered a bug with my SSD), 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600MHz RAM, Antec TruePower New 550W PSU. Apologies if I've forgotten anything.
I'm thinking £35, a tad more at a stretch, for the CPU cooler to moderately overclock it to around 4.4 -4.5GHz. So if I had to take a stab at it it seems something like a Zalman, Noctua NH-L9i, something like that would do the job. Would prefer lower but have been out of the scene a while so not sure what would be enough. The case has been pretty much laid out except I may have a need for more hard drives in the future hence why I said I was looking for 2x or 3x 3.5" bays. Anymore would be excessive. The problem I've been having is regarding dimensions. It's difficult to tell what would be the right size and the best compromise for my needs. Otherwise the Bit Fenix Prodigy would be my go to choice. Oh and I'd love it to be sexy. Bit Fenix, Lian-li and Silverstone seem to be the way to go regarding that but perhaps someone can suggest something else if I'm wrong. Which leaves the mobo. Clearly it needs 3 or 4 SATA ports but I don't really need to go into that because that's standard on any mobo, optical spdif out, at least a HDMI port, easy overclockability via the BIOS, PCI-E x16, and x1 if possible although if it has integrated wifi then I can live without the latter.
I think that covers everything, so thoughts? Ideally it'd be lower end of the budget but I realise the range is fairly limited at this form factor so I'm willing to pay a little extra for the right component.
Thanks for your time.
