Mini ITX gaming build advice

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14 Dec 2012
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Hi guys,

I'm looking for a bit of help with my forthcoming build. Long story short, I've built PCs in the past but haven't been near one for about 10 years and a lot has changed since then!

I want to build something powerful enough to run demanding games, but in a mini-ITX case like the BitFenix Prodigy.

Here's an example build below but it's coming in a bit expenisve, especially with the addition of Windows.

What can I do to the build to shave money off and still have a capable machine that'll last a year or more before an upgrade is needed?
Are the processor and graphics card I've selected overkill?
How are my PSU and heatsink choices looking?

Thanks!

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £85.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 430W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £54.95
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x Be Quiet Shadow Rock Top Flow CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £34.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £860.96 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
I'd chop the GTX660 out for an HD7850. It's much more overclockable and better performing as a result, plus it's cheaper.

Swap the CPU for an IB chip as said above.

Apart from that, looks good!
 
I would suggest go for a 500~600W decent brand PSU. The 430W would become a limitation should you decide to upgrade your graphic card in the future to something that require two PCI-E 6 pin or above.

Also the board seem to suffer from the same problem as many Z77 board with the socket being too close positioned to the PCI-E x16 slot. Hope there's enough clearance so that the heatpipes of the Be Quiet cooler wouldn't be conflicting with the graphic card...
 
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I've built a few MITX rigs now and most recently one using the Prodigy. In my opinion the prodigy is not small enough to be a true Mini ITX case and I wouldn't use one again. Don't get me wrong build quality is great but it's simply too big!

My list of components would be

2GB 7850
IB i5 CPU
Gigabyte Z77-WiFi ITX Motherboard
Crucial M4 SSD
SilverStone Sugo SG05B Mini ITX Case With 450w PSU
2x4GB corsair vengeance memory
Corsair Hydro H60 V2 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Portable Slim DVDRW optical drive (cheaper than an internal slim optical)

From experience a system built from the above components would make a great system. The SG05 is a great case and in my opinion still the best option for Mini ITX. The included 450w is easily enough for this rig and if required you could fit a 3.5" Hard Drive in there along with the SSD providing you don't want an internal optical drive.
 
sorry to hijack the thread but if i used my i5 2500k on an z77 mini itx board such as the asrock one can i still overclock it?
 
From experience a system built from the above components would make a great system. The SG05 is a great case and in my opinion still the best option for Mini ITX. The included 450w is easily enough for this rig and if required you could fit a 3.5" Hard Drive in there along with the SSD providing you don't want an internal optical drive.

Thanks man, I'll take a look at that build.

I don't actually want an optical drive in mine, but as I don't own any other Windows based machines, I think I'd need one on my new build in order to install Windows for the first time?
 
I've built a few MITX rigs now and most recently one using the Prodigy. In my opinion the prodigy is not small enough to be a true Mini ITX case and I wouldn't use one again. Don't get me wrong build quality is great but it's simply too big!

My list of components would be

2GB 7850
IB i5 CPU
Gigabyte Z77-WiFi ITX Motherboard
Crucial M4 SSD
SilverStone Sugo SG05B Mini ITX Case With 450w PSU
2x4GB corsair vengeance memory
Corsair Hydro H60 V2 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Portable Slim DVDRW optical drive (cheaper than an internal slim optical)

From experience a system built from the above components would make a great system. The SG05 is a great case and in my opinion still the best option for Mini ITX. The included 450w is easily enough for this rig and if required you could fit a 3.5" Hard Drive in there along with the SSD providing you don't want an internal optical drive.

This is a great build. I will also be looking at replicating something similar. The prodigy cases might as well be full on PC cases. No difference really but this one looks like it could fit under a TV and people would not guess right away that it was a PC!
 
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Thanks man, I'll take a look at that build.

I don't actually want an optical drive in mine, but as I don't own any other Windows based machines, I think I'd need one on my new build in order to install Windows for the first time?

I think an internal optical drive takes up too much space and it's better to have an external USB drive that you can plug in when needed. If you intend on using a SG05. Without an optical drive you can mount a radiator at the front and suspend a 3.5" hard drive at the top between the radiator and the PSU. I've literally built 5 or 6 SG05 rigs and this is the best compromise.

I have a SG05, 2500k, 8GB Ram, H50, 2GB 7850, 256GB SSD and 3TB Hard Drive I use in the lounge as a HTPC / Race Game machine :D

I also made the mistake in downgrading my main rig by replacing the excellent SG05 with a Prodigy and corsair PSU because I thought it looked and sounded cool, Big mistake and will be switching back at some point!
 
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