Mini-ITX build

cawill · 18 Jan 2013 at 08:13

I'm looking to buy a new PC shortly and liked the idea of buying a BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX case.

What would be the best spec I could get for this case, a modular power supply, mini-ITX motherboard, RAM, CPU, DVD drive and a CPU cooler for a £400 budget?

I would like to add a single GPU later on, and have the possibility of overclocking in the future if possible.

Thanks.

cawill · 18 Jan 2013 at 08:23

I have an old 400 watt psu that I could use? I have a SSD, HD and OS to use already.

I also have a 5450 if that helps.

cawill · 18 Jan 2013 at 08:37

snips86x said:
I'd prob replace the PSU if it's old, SSD is great and if you dont need the Grade B HDD I've spec'd, you can remove that. Bear in mind, the WD Black models are very good drives and at £50, you cannot go wrong.

5450 would be good to keep you going, but would recommend you upgrade to 7850 or 7950 if/when you can.

Thank you for your spec, would it be worth removing the HD and getting a faster CPU?

cawill · 18 Jan 2013 at 09:22

It looks like it might be worth increasing my budget.

That spec looks good. I've noticed a lack of choice on the motherboard front, does anyone know if anymore mini itx motherboards are about to be released?

cawill · 18 Jan 2013 at 16:19

Thanks everyone for your help / responses.

Marine-RX179 said:
Yea...but unfortunately that Asus Deluxe-I board seem to be the only one with the socket positioned further away from the PCI-E slot...and the thing is as great a board as it is, it's biggest problem is still the high price tag...

Yes I had considered that board but on a budget it didn't seem worth it.

honosuseri said:
If you were a bit more active on the forums you would lose the P&P once you hit 100 posts which would also help

I hope by the time I save a little more this will be the case.

passey89 said:
also with tht pssu it only makes 25db at 100% load so will be totally silent.

Thanks, but I quite like the idea of a modular system on the small case as I thought cable management would be an issue. I will look to see if there is a modular version of this PSU.

CEUOTC said:
Below is the build l have thrown together this morning as a media center, replacing a A10 -5800k + 6670 build.

Have you noticed a performance increase over the previous build?

cawill · 20 Jan 2013 at 00:15

CEUOTC said:
Quick update for you, just flashed the MSI GTX560 ti to the latest bios, fan now never gets about 44% so now near silent

Under load temps now ~61'C

Thanks, while I intend to use this as my main gaming / work pc, if it's quiet then at least it can be used as a media center in the future.

cawill · 20 Jan 2013 at 00:19

I have come up with this so far

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £462.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

I will use a 256GB Samsung 830 SSD and a 500GB hard drive and a 5450 GPU that I already have for now. I will add a better graphics card a month or so later on.

Any comments / improvements?

cawill · 20 Jan 2013 at 06:56

CEUOTC said:
I would get this faster ram TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB.

It won't interfere with the stock cooler or a all-in-one water cooling solution. (Antec 620/920).

I read that any faster ram speed than 1600 MHz on this intel socket I plan to get does not have a significant performance boost? Is this true?

cawill · 20 Jan 2013 at 10:10

Marine-RX179 said:
In most case it wouldn't...but I think the reason he suggested getting those instead is because it only cost £4 more, and it is the difference between 1600 and 2133.

Ah ok thanks.

cawill · 27 Jan 2013 at 16:34

I have increased my budget as I want to buy a graphics card and am now looking to purchase sooner than I thought. So far I have the basket listed below.

Could anyone provide any comments below?

For the budget of around £550, could any one recommend the best graphics card that's within budget? Do some of the cards have quieter fans than others within a set price range?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £87.98
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 600w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020060-UK) £56.99
1 x Patriot Viper 3 "Venom Red" 8GB DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Single Module (P38G169UR) £29.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £16.94
Total : £438.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Thanks.

cawill · 27 Jan 2013 at 18:35

Diagro said:
How does it?

You can do a lot in that Bitfenix case. And i mean a lot!

AND OP!

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-306-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411

Thats a very good card for the money

Thank you, how limiting is the amount of memory compared with the 2gb GPU's?

cawill · 27 Jan 2013 at 21:30

Diagro said:
Well that depends on your resolution and love for AA...

if you like to use AA and have a res of 1080p then the 2GB one may be better, but comes at a higher price

Ok thanks, that's something to think about.