Mini ITX Build

R4z0r

R4z0r

R4z0r

Soldato
Joined
26 Oct 2002
Posts
3,753
Location
Surrey
Hi Guys,

Could you comment on the below spec, this is a pretty basic machine for my parents to be used for Skype, email, web, etc.

I haven't built a machine for a while so a bit out of touch. Key thing is price really, need to keep it as low as possible!

 
8gb is a bit much isn't it for just skype etc.. you can save money by dropping that to 4gb if you want (though admittingly you probably won't save much)
 
Having just done this kind of thing for the mothering law I would say get an ipad/ipad mini. So much easier. Better for you long term aswell. No phone calls every other day asking "I've got this message on screen, do I click ok?"

I actually got my mothering law a Nexus 7.

As for the machine spec, the SSD is a bit overkill, 4gb ram will do, 1tb drive id say get a 500gb save the cash, dvd-rw chances are that wont be needed, can install windows via a flash drive. The savings from these suggests will pay for a copy of windows which isn't in the spec :-) Also a good size screen!
 
Last edited:
My father has an Ipad and my mother uses a Samsung Tab 10.1 both are excellent they now only rarely us their laptops, if they do need to print stuff I would recommend a air print compatible printer, they may also need a bluetooth keyboard.
 
Drop down to the Coolermaster 120 ITX case if you don't plan on adding a beefy GPU at some point. The Prodigy is far from small form factor if that's what you are aiming for. You'll save a good few pennies there for a start.
 
As said that's really overkill for office sort of tasks. If you are still wanting to go down the PC Route I would, as said go for the Coolermaster chassis (Or another if you like) As the Prodigy isn't a small case. And also go for a AMD A4-5300 with a ITX motherboard and drop the memory to 4Gb and a smaller SSD. Will save them a lot of money and they will not notice the speed difference as the SSD will compensate for that using windows etc. :)
 
Thanks Guys!

They already have an iPad, this is to replace their ageing desktop. It's used for office work and some light photo editing as well which justifies a dedicated machine.

They already have a high resolution 24" monitor and copy of Windows 7. They store a lot of photos (my Dad is into photography) so the 1TB HDD is a must.

The only bit I feel I could really drop is the SSD but the performance in every day use with an SSD is enormous so I'll probably end up keeping it.

Just wanted to make sure I hadn't made any silly choices with the motherboard/cpu/ram but sounds like that's all OK.
 
Can I just point out that the Bitfinix Prodigy is almost the same size as a ATX Mini Tower and kind of defeats the point of Mini-ITX!

Go with a Silverstone SG05 which is smaller, nicer and includes a decent PSU and thus saves you money to ;)
 
therealpieman said:
You didn't mention the office and photo editing :) How does your dad back up his photos?
Click to expand...

Crashpan.

Thanks for the comments about the case. I only picked that because it looked good and I though MiniITX would be cheaper. Looking at the ATX motherboards and cases, they actually seem cheaper.

If I were to go ATX instead, what would be a good board? This looks almost too good to be true at the price.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-528-AS&groupid=701&catid=5
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom