ITX build sub £1000

Xtzile

Xtzile

Xtzile

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Joined
26 Jan 2011
Posts
40
Hi everybody,

I could do with some help if anybody would be kind enough to offer assistance,

I've been out of PC building since installing my i5 750 in a machine that now barely works,

I'm looking for a small form factor, transportable itx build for sub £1000 if possible (lower if possible),

Ideally able to run most modern titles at 1080p fairly high settings (Not entirely sure this is achievable on this budget),

The reason for ITX is that i needs to be portable as i will be moving country next year and will need to be able to transport it,

Thanks in advance for any advice
 
I'd consider micro-ATX and a cheap case as well. When you move country, just leave/sell the case and put the parts in with the rest of your luggage (even hand luggage for extra protection unless you need the room for something else), then pick up a new case over there. You won't have to pay for a separate package then. Not to mention a decent ITX board is more expensive than a decent micro-ATX.

Do you need Windows or can you sort that cheaper elsewhere? Did you ever upgrade to Windows 10 on the old system?

What kind of storage set-up do you prefer? Something like 250GB SSD + 1/2TB HDD or other? Run CrystalDiskMark and check the health of the existing drive/s, maybe it/they can be used in the new system if all is well.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply,

Potentially, it would be easier with space, ease of build etc,

I upgraded to windows on the old system so should have a key?

M.2 + mechanical ideally,

Thanks again for the help
 
You're welcome. Yes, you can obtain the key using Belarc Advisor, not a bad idea to do so beforehand just in case, even though all you really tend to need is a Windows 10 Digital License activated, so you can just sign in with that on the new system.

This spec would require re-using your existing mech drive if it's healthy:


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,002.55 (includes shipping: £11.70)​
​


Otherwise a little bit of money could be saved on a cheaper SSD and PSU, to fit in a 1TB HDD without affecting the video card choice (which is fine for High/Ultra on most games at 1080p 60Hz).
 
6 core ryzen, good all rounder 1050ti, smaller enough case for easy transport or locating , good power supply to go with it with plenty of power, single big size ssd with plenty of space and ideal for mobility, 8gb ram should be enough, but you have enough change to include windows if needed or maybe upgrade the ssd or ram to the next size up, im not sure about how tall the stock cpu cooler is, but low profile ones are cheap enough. the case takes 4 ssd/hdd, so you can add extra if needed.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £826.99 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​


the only other suggestion if not already mentioned, would be a gaming laptop?
 
Hi All,

I've been doing a little digging, i've decided to wait until the new graphics are released by nvidia, therefore the new ryzen cpu with integrated should keep me going on older games i believe,

Would it be possible to take a look at the below for compatibility etc and make sure the build make sense?

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £872.24 (includes shipping: £12.30)



+ perhaps an AIO?​
 
Mobo is ITX and case is micro-ATX. A pretty big micro-ATX at that. SFX-L PSU not needed. Can grab the Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550W for instance.

An AIO for a 65W processor wouldn't be good value for money at all.

Other than that, when you do get the video card, you won't have the best CPU to pair it with. The graphics on i5-8400/8700 would be fine for older games on low settings at 1080p, and then when you add the card, you'll have a faster system. The 8700 will get more out of the video card.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £880.63 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​
 
Hi Danny,

The reason behind Ryzen was due to the support until 2020 for am4, will allow me to upgrade to a second gen ryzen next year,

Also the apu is much stronger than intel integrated, hence being able to play newer games until I decide to buy the card,

from the ryzen build would it be worth just changing the case and psu?

Thanks
 
Hi Xtzile,

Alright. Just something to note:

Some reviewers of the new Ryzen APUs have encountered boot issues and also stuttering and freezing in some games. The latter ought to be fixed with drivers, the former will depend on how old the motherboard stock is and AMD have stated they will send out a budget processor to those who need it to flash the BIOS. So yes, your Ryzen build is fine just changing case and PSU (other than RAM likely won't run at 3600MHz on an AM4 board, if so just lower frequency or get the 3200MHz kit) but you may or may not run into the issue described and have your build delayed a few days - https://www.techspot.com/news/73334-amd-give-ryzen-apu-customers-free-processor-help.html

And a comment on the Ryzen APUs:

From the Ryzen APU results I have seen, I see them fall into the category of useful for users who will never add a GPU, or users unsure if they will ever add a GPU. Not users who know they will be adding a card sooner rather than later. At least not when something else could be purchased for close to the same amount that will provide more CPU power. Also, we don't know what second-gen Ryzen will be. It could be same performance with less power consumption, perhaps. Time will tell. AM3 platform was supported a long time too but that's all that happened - same performance, bit less power consumption.

Whatever your decision, good luck with the build. :)
 
Xtzile said:
Hi Danny,

The reason behind Ryzen was due to the support until 2020 for am4, will allow me to upgrade to a second gen ryzen next year,

Also the apu is much stronger than intel integrated, hence being able to play newer games until I decide to buy the card,

from the ryzen build would it be worth just changing the case and psu?

Thanks
Click to expand...

you'll be looking at H2 for next gen GPUs or fingers crossed for a massive crash in mining for second hand prices to drop- just now factories in china shut shop for 3 weeks and stock would have been shipped out before close- gonna get harder to find cards and prices arent gonna be nice.

can see where your coming from with APU- should be able to play games like fortnite/cs:go but at a point when XBox One X because attractive - even staring to give this a thought myself :(
its NOT the best, but a SOLID stop gap for GPU and allow 2019 CPU - though might find its not needed !

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £879.62 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​

mashing yours and @Danny75 ideas together and styling - will be stronger then APU graphically - when Zen2 comes out should be able to plug in new CPU - (personally would looking more forward to Zen2 then zen+ refresh )
solid strong unit, not to expensive and 1050ti could be sold off when next gen GPU launch

i went for mATX case even though I have ITX board- reason why- almost impossible to find ITX case that can handle 2.5/3 slot GPU coolers!!!!!!!!!
GTX 1080ti saw an increase of those jumping to 2.5/3 slot design, then rolling it back down to lessor models. like Asus did with STRIX 1080 11Gbps and 1070ti models


ZLRU4wP.jpg
 
Another option,

I've gone for the best I can without the gpu (For the money), I have an old graphics card from my other pc that I can utilise until the new gpu's come out (I'll have to wait until then to game),

Would it be possible for someone to review the below?

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,032.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Thanks again, sorry for the hassle

Edit: Plus a cheap cooler
 
Xtzile said:
Another option,

I've gone for the best I can without the gpu (For the money), I have an old graphics card from my other pc that I can utilise until the new gpu's come out (I'll have to wait until then to game),

Would it be possible for someone to review the below?

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,032.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Thanks again, sorry for the hassle

Edit: Plus a cheap cooler
Click to expand...

If your going the Bequiet route over the focus, change model , much better !
Also added Dark Rock Top down cooler.. ITX VRM... Are well hot... Small area and a lot to cool ! This will bring it under control !


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,132.63 (includes shipping: £11.70)​
​
 
Xtzile said:
Thanks for the suggestion,

At that price point wouldn't it be worth an aio?
Click to expand...

If your gunning for 5ghz+ Overclock... They produce a lot of heat , and evolv cases aren't the best for airflow. Matx TG version was the latest with a lot of improvements .
At £50-80 price mark, AIO have loud pumps and fans . They don't cool vrm down and air coolers are easy to fix of they fail- replace fan . Of aio fails and you don't have rpm warning set up, CPU will throttle and the cut out, worse case you get a leak everywhere.
If going AIO or water, then fractal Nano S !
 
Thanks for all of the assistance both -

My parts arrive sunday

(waiting on the new gpu's unless i get super impatient and buy a 1070):

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,026.42 (includes shipping: £21.00)
​


Slightly concerned that the cooler doesn't fit on the motherboard although i've read different opinions -

Any idea what overclock I can be looking at?
 
Xtzile said:
Thanks for all of the assistance both -

My parts arrive sunday

(waiting on the new gpu's unless i get super impatient and buy a 1070):

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,026.42 (includes shipping: £21.00)
​


Slightly concerned that the cooler doesn't fit on the motherboard although i've read different opinions -

Any idea what overclock I can be looking at?
Click to expand...

Looks good, with that cooler and all big Dual towers like Noctua, Phanteks and bequiet- you can't fit rear fan unless it's slim line . Move the rear to the top left and will help with venting out heat.
Worth seeing clearance laster and adding a 13mm slim fan if you can :)

Also with big coolers and ITX boards / case. Fit the cooler onto the board outside the case !

If you have fully modular PSU cables. Connect the 8pin CPU in the top left corner as well! Once boards in then you can feed to through to PSU

Overclocking is all down to the luck of the chip. You've got a top down cooler so VRM should remain cool ! Think they will be the last time see see fancy looking block heatsinks on boards, aorus new Ryzen board is going back to old skool finned heatsink and think others will do .
You should hit 4.8ghz easily and 4.9ghz at least . 5-5.2 will take some worth . If the volts go to high to gain a 100hz then it's not worth it
 
Thanks Orbital,

The be quiet website i've been on suggests it's not compatible due to heatsink, i've changed the order to an x52 kraken,

It should hopefully look cleaner in the case and show off the motherboard more.
 
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