New Workstation Mini ITX Build - Looks good?

Larry365 · 18 Aug 2015 at 01:25

I want to build a Mini ITX workstation for my mum.

It will be used for little more than word processing and emails.

I quite like what I've put together here but will take any suggestions for improvement. I want to keep the smallest form factor and like the case I've chosen. I'm obviously trying to keep price down to an absolute minimum.

Storage config is SSD with 2x Image HDD backup. (she only has 150GB usage)

Thanks for looking.

Pentium G3220 £45.00
MSI H81i £50.99
Kingston 4GB 1600 £17.50
Kingston 240GB V300 £62.00
WD Blue 500GB £35.00
EVGA 500w £33.00
Antec ISK 600 £46.00
BenQ GL2250HM £90.00

Total £379.49

Brian18741 · 18 Aug 2015 at 08:40

What about this mobo? £15 cheaper.

And here's a 1tb HD cheaper than you 500gb one.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI H81M-E33 Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £34.99
1 x Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003) (1 Year Warranty) £34.99
Total : £69.98 (includes shipping : Ex.VAT).

Lemin · 18 Aug 2015 at 09:49

Id get this ssd,,,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £69.95
Total : £69.95 (includes shipping : Ex.VAT).

Larry365 · 18 Aug 2015 at 14:04

Brian18741 said:
What about this mobo? £15 cheaper.
And here's a 1tb HD cheaper than you 500gb one.

Its a nice board, and I've found some great ~£35 micro boards but I really want to do a Mini ITX, leaving me with fewer choices at prices typically starting at £50.

In terms of the HDD, I really want to go for something as eco as possible as well as quiet with minimal vibration. I think this 7200 drive will likely not tick these boxes. The HDD is for image backup of SSD only so apart from allowing more images, there is no huge advantage of going any bigger. I might just have a look at some eco 1TB though, something I didn't do, and see what I can find for thereabouts the same price.

Lemin said:
Id get this ssd,,,

Is there any major advantage of this drive over the Kingston to justify the extra spending? Obviously my decision is more based on £/GB than absolute performance.

Cheers guys, nice to have some idea thrown around.

Lemin · 18 Aug 2015 at 14:12

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7763/an-update-to-kingston-ssdnow-v300-a-switch-to-slower-micron-nand

Brian18741 · 18 Aug 2015 at 15:00

Larry365 said:
Its a nice board, and I've found some great ~£35 micro boards but I really want to do a Mini ITX, leaving me with fewer choices at prices typically starting at £50.

Opps, didn't catch the mitx bit first time round!

Larry365 · 18 Aug 2015 at 15:14

Lemin said:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7763/an-update-to-kingston-ssdnow-v300-a-switch-to-slower-micron-nand

Very interesting. I've been out the loop a bit so not surprised I missed this. I'll take a look into the SSD you recommended against some others.

Cheers

Urbanfreestyle · 18 Aug 2015 at 15:16

Personally i would opt for the 3258k for not much more and a lot more scope

Larry365 · 18 Aug 2015 at 15:18

Brian18741 said:
Opps, didn't catch the mitx bit first time round!

No problem. Micro is cheaper and does give some pretty good boards but I'm fixated on doing a mini build. I one day hope to build a SFF micro watercooled gaming rig. The idea of having something powerful and compact is pretty cool.

cheesyboy · 18 Aug 2015 at 15:20

I'd go with AMD Kabini for a basic internet/video/MS Office machine.

You can get an ITX board for £25, and then CPU for £30 ish (for the 5150, a little more for the 5350).

Larry365 · 18 Aug 2015 at 16:22

Urbanfreestyle said:
Personally i would opt for the 3258k for not much more and a lot more scope

Yeh I'm thinking about it. Realistically, there isn't much point but the tech side of me is telling me to go with it. The 3258k is a very nice little cpu and the OC's look pretty good, even on my little board... but again.. 15 quid is 15 quid.. is there any point.

cheesyboy said:
I'd go with AMD Kabini for a basic internet/video/MS Office machine.

You can get an ITX board for £25, and then CPU for £30 ish (for the 5150, a little more for the 5350).

I considered some AMDs. These APUs are quad cores right? Considering what the system is going to be used for, I feel like 2 cores is better than 4 and would see no benefit with going APU.. apart from the price, which itself is a major factor.

edit: you've got me wondering again now