Mini ITX Build

DigitalEnigma · 31 Jan 2014 at 10:36

Hi,

I'm in the process of spec'ing up a mini ITX build and was hoping for some feedback on the components I have selected for the build.

I'm looking to build something that will last a good few years and will be able to handle max settings on the likes of BF4 without breaking a sweat.

Here's the build I have come up with:-

Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99

MSI Z87I Gaming AC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £134.99

Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CMD16GX3M2A2400C10) £215.99

MSI Geforce GTX 780Ti 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £539.99

Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £184.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 4TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD4003FZEX) HDD £199.99

Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £93.95

Corsair AX860i Digital ATX '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020037-UK) £161.99

Corsair Obsidian Series 250D Mini ITX Compact Gaming Case - Black (CC-9011047-WW) £71.99

DigitalEnigma · 31 Jan 2014 at 11:27

Hi Fulax,

Thanks for the reply.

I had watched a review of the 250D that said the Asus Direct CUII cooled cards would not fit due to the heat pipes sticking out, which had put me off the non-stock coolers on the 780Ti to ensure the card would fit. I'm not sure the Gigabyte card would have the same issue.

I had debated putting the 1TB Samsung SSD in rather than the 4TB WD as the secondary drive. It's only going to have a few games on at most. My only thoughts with the 4TB was plenty of space and not needing to remove games I may come back to later. I have a slow net connection so tend to not remove games I have stopped playing just in case I got back to them later.

DigitalEnigma · 31 Jan 2014 at 15:55

Hi Fulax,

Is there much difference between the Samsun Pro 840 and the Evo 840?

I quite like the look of the BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX Cube Case, this was actually the original case I had picked for the build until I saw the 250D. I'm still on the fence over the case, I just know I'm wanting to go mini ITX.

It's a shame Corsairs H105 does not fit in the 250D, I have the H75 in my current system and preferred the design of CPU block on the H75/H105.

DigitalEnigma · 2 Feb 2014 at 20:13

Hi Gunslinger,

Initially I won't be overclocking, but may do down the line so wanted to allow some scope for some overclocking.

I'd still like 16GB, I had 8GB in my current system and upgraded that to 16GB and found things to run a bit smoother - I tab out of games a fair bit which seemed to like the extra ram. I was debating going with:-

Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Pro

Assuming it would fit ok, I really like the looks of the dominator ram and is what I have in my current system.

I'm hoping to build something in a small form factor that's going to last me a good few years, this is likely to be the last PC build I do for quite some time.

DigitalEnigma · 7 Feb 2014 at 00:34

@tbyeah I like the look of the Dominator Ram, though I have tweaked the spec a little and now looking at the Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit instead which is a tad cheaper.

I've swapped the cooler out to a H100i as the H105 won't fit in the case and have swapped the mechanical drive out for a 2TB drive.

I have however added a Pioneer BDR-209EBK 16x BDRW Multilayer 128GB retail to the build too, as much as I would like to download all my games over Steam, etc my net connection at present is too slow. Still waiting on BT putting in Fibre cabinets on the side of the estate where I live. I'd also like to be able to have the option of watching Blu-ray movies on the PC.

@JediFragger When I first started looking at mini-itx builds before Xmas I was looking at building around the Asus RoG Maximus VI Impact board, I have had a number of ROG boards in the past and have found them to be excellent boards.

Just before xmas I replaced the ASUS Maximus V Extreme in my system with an MSI gaming board, purely as I wanted to downsize the case from the Cosmos II - new room layout meant the old case would simply not fit.

We're now debating a further change to the room into a gaming room rather than home office so looking to down size the PC further.