Mini ITX build help for Niece

Twirlywoos

Twirlywoos

Twirlywoos

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Hi

I would like to buy an build a rig for my niece within the next couple of days.

I just want a build that is the best bang for buck and there is no budget but the smaller the better. :) B-Grade doesn't bother me also, I just don't know what to look for.

If your recommended product is not stocked or is OOS by OCUK can you just name the product please without naming the competitor. :)

Requirements:

- She is currently studying in High School so I am not after a AAA Gaming build but something more for geared for school work, watching and uploading Youtube videos and browser gaming.
- Space is limited (Desk is 100cm) so I need to go SSF. She is stuck on the (BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Aqua Blue) case so we need to work around that.
- We're not limiting ourselves to AMD or Intel, Just best value for money.
- She doesn't need an Optical Drive.
- Needs Wifi
- Needs to boot up quickly (I'm thinking SSD for O/S)
- Needs decent storage space and access time for pictures and downloads. (What colour HDD? Green, Red etc 2TB)
- Needs Desktop speakers for watching online videos when friends come around.
- Reliable and Efficient
- Not noisy
- Needs to last her around 4 years, so warranty and product reliability is important.
- Built in iGPU needs to output at least 1080p

Build:
Case: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-123-BX&groupid=2362&catid=2279
Monitor: I have donated a monitor
Operating System: I have spare Windows 8 O/S keys.
Keyboard and Mouse: Ducky Mini and RSI Mouse (I will get these)
PSU: Shall I get the Superflower on offer (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-SF ) , do I even need modular with a small case?

Over to you.
Cheers
 
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Got all what you wanted, did you have a price in mind? in contrast this is a intel, however i think you can go z87 with the anniversary G. Probs some errors in there, i assume the power supply will fit given its used in other itx builds i have come across. I am going to try and fish out a previous thread about a minecraft gaming pc for £400 and will post it here to help with some ideas.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £93.95
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CML8GX3M2B1600C11) £71.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £57.98
1 x Crucial MX100 128GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT128MX100SSD1) £52.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Aqua Blue £49.99
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £43.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £35.99
1 x Edifier M1370 2.1 Speaker System - Black £19.99
Total : £426.88 (includes shipping : ).



here is the thread;
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18606367&highlight=minecraft

also another edit there is some team group memory £56 instead of the corsair;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-033-TG&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=2429
 
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Thanks for the replies. Looking now and the prices are good.

@Almightyliham I don't mind going Z87 or B- Grade and I have no preference to AMD or Intel. There is no budget but saying that I'd like to keep it within £500. I just want to meet her Mother's set requirements and if it means blowing the budget then so be it, but I don't think that should happen being a non gaming build :)
 
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intel i3 + amd 7770 gpu
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £85.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £74.99
1 x MSI HD 7770 GHz Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £65.99
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x Toshiba 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s 64MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA200) HDD £56.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £55.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Aqua Blue £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £35.99
1 x Edifier M1370 2.1 Speaker System - Black £19.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless N Nano USB Adapter (TL-WN725N) £7.99
Total : £512.90 (includes shipping : ).

 
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any particular reason you don't just get a laptop?

you can add an ssd to 1 if you you want... for £500 you can a decent laptop will have everything you need
 
Svyper1 said:
any particular reason you don't just get a laptop?

you can add an ssd to 1 if you you want... for £500 you can a decent laptop will have everything you need
Click to expand...

My niece hasn't got the best eyesight and would benefit from the extra estate that a larger screen gives. (In fact I should have mentioned 1080p minimum) Plus a PC is more flexible.
 
majnu said:
My niece hasn't got the best eyesight and would benefit from the extra estate that a larger screen gives. Plus a PC is more flexible.
Click to expand...

not in itx format... and a pc is exaclty the same as a laptop - for the condition of 4 years lifetime. You can increase the size of icons and text and 15.6 upwards is fine for eyesight (there is such an invention as glasses[barring actual conditions...])

i would argue that a laptop is more flexible seeing as its smaller and lighter and mobile and has everything you need...also there is nothing to stop you using your screen that you gave her...
 
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2nd attempt. right put in some 'B' grade items, so you could get more for your system. so i dropped a cheap GPU in there, can be taken out. In terms of power you may need to upgrade to 500w psu, but i think this should be fine. also Dam that 512gb ssd looks good :D

Over spent a little. Just go down with the ssd or outwith the gpu :D

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter CT512MX100SSD1) £154.99
1 x **B Grade** Intel Core i3-4340 3.60GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £69.95
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £57.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £55.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Aqua Blue £49.99
1 x **B Grade** Sapphire Radeon R7 260X OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11222-06-20G) £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £35.99
1 x Edifier M1370 2.1 Speaker System - Black £19.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps High Gain Wireless-N USB Adapter - with Cradle (TL-WN722NC) £9.49
Total : £563.36 (includes shipping : ).

 
mother of god you people love over spec ing...

she won't need any gfx card and 512MB SSD and 2TB HDD - way way overkill for a girl looking at videos. 2TB is huge you dont need 512mb ssd with it

i dont know why the OP is going for itx when this "cube" cae is huge
 
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Svyper1 said:
mother of god you people love over spec ing...

she won't need any gfx card and 512MB SSD and 2TB HDD - way way overkill for a girl looking at videos. 2TB is huge you dont need 512mb ssd with it

i dont know why the OP is going for itx when this "cube" cae is huge
Click to expand...

please by all means share your spec. I would have gone with the silverstone fortress. But the OP said his niece wanted the blue itx case. also the handles make it easier to carry.
 
will she see any benefit from the virtual cores hyperthreading in the i3 or does the overclocking ability in the Anniversary G3258 outweigh it?

Also do I need a specific board to allow the G3258 to be overclocked?

Is the iGPU better for browser based gaming in the 13?

Oh and how do I post a fancy build log like you've done above?

Thanks
 
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majnu said:
will she see any benefit from the virtual cores hyperthreading in the i3 or does the overclocking ability in the Anniversary G3258 outweigh it?

ht on the i3 > oc on the pentium ae

Also do I need a specific board to allow the G3258 to be overclocked?

for now, non-z series asus boards support overclocking with a bios flash, but this may be pulled by intel at anytime.

Is the iGPU better for browser based gaming in the 13?

the igpu in the pentium and the i3 are the same iirc

Oh and how do I post a fancy build log like you've done above?

see the post above

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Almightyliham said:
please by all means share your spec. I would have gone with the silverstone fortress. But the OP said his niece wanted the blue itx case. also the handles make it easier to carry.
Click to expand...

i already said my advice:

get a laptop -> 15.6" to 17" basic

smaller, lighter, mobile and great for girlfriends huddled together on the bed watching "PS I love you"

unfortuantley overclockers only do gaming laptops...
you might be better elsewhere...
 
Quartz said:
Can you prise her away from the Prodigy case? As an alternative, look into uSFF / NUC systems the Zotac ZBox systems or OCUK's Primo Nano 5.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately not, she chose the case and functionality goes out of the Window with kids as she wanted a blue case. It was a toss between the Bitfinix and Aerocool with the Bitfinix getting the "I like the other case too but I really, really want the all blue one"

Kids :rolleyes: lol
 
RJC said:
Motherboard comes with onboard WiFi and the Antec PSU is fine for the the price.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £89.99
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £83.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XN-WIFI AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £77.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £57.98
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Aqua Blue £49.99
1 x ASUS MS-100 speaker £19.99
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £19.79
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £413.71 (includes shipping : ).

Click to expand...

Am I being a derp or is there no RAM?

If so, that ^ + RAM and MX100 SSD would be good for browsing etc and a bit of light gaming should the need arise :)
 
majnu said:
Unfortunately not, she chose the case and functionality goes out of the Window with kids as she wanted a blue case. It was a toss between the Bitfinix and Aerocool with the Bitfinix getting the "I like the other case too but I really, really want the all blue one"

Kids :rolleyes: lol
Click to expand...

lol you can get an all blue laptop, your fault for showing cases 1st and not what she would really appreciate.

but if you must have that case and spec then i advise:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £85.99
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £57.98
1 x SanDisk Pulse 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (SDSSDP-128G-G25) £50.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Aqua Blue £49.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £29.99
1 x Edifier M1370 2.1 Speaker System - Black £19.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless N Nano USB Adapter (TL-WN725N) £7.99
Total : £403.91 (includes shipping : ).

 
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