Is this a decent "gaming" sandybridge SFF build?

kagg8

kagg8

kagg8

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Hi,

I have recently built a mid tower 'gaming' pc with help from the wonderful people on this forum. Now my friend also wants to build his own pc, but since he travels quite often he wants to build a micro-atx pc, he has a strict budget of £600, doesnt need monitor, os, keyboard or speakers. This is what he has decided on so far:

CPU- i5 2500k
Motherboard- Asus P8P67-M Pro
RAM- 2x2GB Dual Channel Corsair 1600Mhz
HDD- Samsung F3 1TB 7200rpm SATA
Cooler- CoolerMaster Hyper 212 + (since he wants to overclock)
DVD-Samsung Lightscribe
PSU- Antec True Power 650W Modular (since he plans on going SLI and overclock)
Case- Silverstone SG02b-f
GFX- Asus GTX460 768MB DirectCU Top

Is that a decent build? Or can someone advise a better build for £600?

Also since he does not want to overclock the cpu immediately, he could use the stock cooler, and use the money for it towards getting the 1GB version of GTX460...or is the CPU cooler a must in micro-atx cases for good temperatures?

The only games he will play are console ports such as Pro Evo 2011, NFS Shift, nothing extreme like Crysis etc

Thanks in advance. :)
 
buildy.png
 
You know Dane, I actually hate you, in a nice way.

You basically have all the components I want for my next build, and you have my holy grail too - an HD5970.

I challenge thee to a fight to the death! :D
 
Thank you for your replies...

I notice that you have speccd a mini-itx build. I know they are much smaller than micro atx, but the problem is there is no P series mini ITX currently, and he would like to overclock his sandy bridge cpu, so he would need a P67 motherboard and K series cpu...or is overclocking in SFF not reccomended?

Would 500w psu be enough? since he plans on overclocking and crossfiring in future...

Also, he would rather go nvidia (1gb gtx 460) for the PhysX, and 3d gaming cause he thinks 3d gaming will really be popular in near future...

Its all very confusing right now, should he wait for mini-itx P67 motherboards or go with a micro-atx build right now? I don't know, I think micro-atx would be better...unless he can get a very good mini-itx build right now that wont need upgrading for a couple of years at least...
 
kagg8 said:
I notice that you have speccd a mini-itx build. I know they are much smaller than micro atx, but the problem is there is no P series mini ITX currently, and he would like to overclock his sandy bridge cpu, so he would need a P67 motherboard and K series cpu...or is overclocking in SFF not reccomended?
Click to expand...

You can overclock with P67 only, but there's no mini ITX boards with that chipset yet so it would mean microATX. There are P67 mITX boards coming soon though.

Would 500w psu be enough? since he plans on overclocking and crossfiring in future...
Click to expand...

It depends what you're crossfiring. I expect a pair of HD5850s would be close, but do-able. But you can't crossfire with mITX, as there's only one PCIe slot. You'd need microATX for proper Crossfire.

Its all very confusing right now, should he wait for mini-itx P67 motherboards or go with a micro-atx build right now? I don't know, I think micro-atx would be better...unless he can get a very good mini-itx build right now that wont need upgrading for a couple of years at least...
Click to expand...

If you want crossfire then there's only one choice really. But even with microATX, Crossfire will fill the case and leave no other room for expansion.

It's hard to say really as i'm a die-hard mITX fan, so i'd go that way no matter what. But i'm not you, am I? :p
 
ok, since a gtx 460 or a hd 5850 can currently max out most console ports at 1080p, and should max them out for at least another year...maybe he should wait for the mini-itx p67 boards, buy it with the k series cpu, and just use it for now, in future when it cant keep up with the games, sells the graphics card, and pops in a 6950 or whatever is in his budget at that time...yeah so basically same spec as danwesley gave except the mobo and cpu....i like that :) cheers

just a few questions though...overclocking in a mini-itx case, is it worth it? or do the temps rise real high too quick before we gain any speed thats worthwhile? hope to hit 4-4.4Ghz on the i5 2500k...

Also to bring the cost down, if he gets a 768mb gtx 460 (apparently its capable of maxing out console ports when overclocked), will he be able to overclock it or will once again temps be a stumbling block?

so as you can see, main worry is temps, as he would like to do a fair bit of overclocking...will the case reccomended by danewesly be cool enough? or what else would perform better?

cheers

EDIT: also i notice that a cpu cooler was not speccd, what kinds of cpu coolers would fit in a mini-itx case? once again this cpu cooler is required i huess since he wants to over clock :)
 
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im not being funny, i have an i5 2400 and the foxconn board, 8gb ram and whilst my 5970 is at my mates im using a 5850, and this runs everything maxed out, even bfbc2 with like hbao off and stuff, dont over complicate your build, my cpu is more than enough for what i need so no need to overclock.

i dont think id ever go back to atx now.

@Tute - the 5970 i got off the forums didnt even fit mate, i think you where looking to buy the same one.
 
you can fit a h50 for example in the lian li case and also the lower mem gtx 460 depends on what resolution you play at, they reckon 1gb mem is good up to 1920 x 1080/1200 which is what i game at.
 
yes i know a hd 5850 is a very capable card, I have one in my midi tower, but unfortunately i was still somewhat of a noob when i bought my stuff so i got a non reference xfx version which cant overclock at all! :( anyhoo it is still capable of maxing out mafia 2, pro evo 2011, dirt 2, nfs shift, nfs hot pursuit, dont have many more games to test but I am sure it will manage any other games out there right now (excpet crisis ofcourse lol)

yes i agree the spec you provided me with will be more than enough for my needs, but...im obsessed with future proofing myself, getting the most bang for buck etc, hence i want an overclockable board and cpu...just in case in future i need some more speed/power...just in case :)

So, its decided, i wait for the P67 mini itx, and get the build you suggested...as for graphics card..i will go for the 768mb gtx 460 asus version, since i read it does perform really well for its price at 1920x1080, and i need to get it to keep costs down to 600...if i get the 5850 plus the 2500k im sure it will be slightly above £600

last question, should i stick with the RAM you speccd? or go with the Geil Value Plus 1600mhz ddr3 ram? I guess you can't be sure until we know what the motherboard will support, but is there any particular reason you suggested that model? Ram is one of the areas I did not do my research on so not too sure....any insight would be appreciated

cheers
 
i dont understand why you dont get the it 2500 non k version, it competes on a level with most pre sandybridge i7 cpus, i dont think they will be bottlenecks anytime soon, the wait for a p series itx board might be a while, they dont really rush with itx components.

id choose the 5850 over the 460, beats it in almost everything, better cooling and same power consumption, almost same price too.

5850 VS 460

the 2500 non k will be the same at stock as the k version shown in the comparison.

i5 2500k vs i7 950
 
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kk final build revision, got the 2500k on the offer, different case/psu, better really and when the p67 mobos come out flog the foxconn and get one of those.

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That case is overkill though. The HD5850 will fit the SG05/06 and work on the 300W PSU so why bother spending quite a bit more for the SG07?
 
wow, thats's perfect! right under £600 as well!

although the cpu is OEM so it doesn't come with a cooler, which one would you reccomend?

sorry to be annoying...but are you sure the 300w psu will be enough for the build considering in future i will be overclocking? say yes, and im checking out with the above basket plus cooler asap! :)

EDIT: woah i just noticed the build with the SG07 you posted is only a few quid more, might go for that instead!
 
Actually just realised that by mistake you left out the HDD in the SG07 build, so i guess il go with the SG06B build, can someone please recommend a cpu cooler since the OEM i5 2500k doesn't come with one.

Thanks
 
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