Small form factor build!

Narj

Narj

Narj

Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2010
Posts
13,254
Location
London
Hi all,

I've got my home cinema setup sorted and now I just need a small form factor PC to complete it. All it needs to be used for is:

- Audio playback
- Web Browsing from the sofa
- Running various emulators

I don't expect to do any gaming beyond MAME etc. HDMI out is preferred, as is silent operation.

I've never built an HTPC/SFF machine before so what are my options for about £400 tops? I'll run Linux if needs be to stay in budget as I'm happy either way OS wise.

Advice much appreciated. :)
 
Silent and a decent amount of grunt, although trinity is more or less built for this application so like Mei said its worth thinking about them. I've left off a slot load dvd drive as you dont need one these days and if you do you get one from the bay and save your self £30ish quid.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £99.95
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x Impactics C3LH-B Mini-ITX Case - Black £84.98
1 x Impactics 130W AC-DC Power Supply Adapter £59.99
1 x MSI H61I-E35 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £49.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £23.99
Total : £420.89 (includes shipping : £10.00).

 
Will the stock cooler fit in this case? I thought you had to use one of the optional heat pipe kits?

The Impactics cases look great, but the extras soon add up.
 
Countcussy said:
Will the stock cooler fit in this case? I thought you had to use one of the optional heat pipe kits?

The Impactics cases look great, but the extras soon add up.
Click to expand...

I'm looking to order shortly and now I'm wondering about the cooler. Retail coolers aren't necessarily the quietest either so if there's a better aftermarket solution then I'm open to suggestions. Having a Silver Arrow in my main rig, I'm not in a position to figure out what would fit in one of these cases! :D The heatpipe solutions that connect to the Impactics chassis look interesting.

How do the Trinity range integrated graphics compare with the i3's?
 
Last edited:
Narj said:
I'm looking to order shortly and now I'm wondering about the cooler. Retail coolers aren't necessarily the quietest either so if there's a better aftermarket solution then I'm open to suggestions. Having a Silver Arrow in my main rig, I'm not in a position to figure out what would fit in one of these cases! :D The heatpipe solutions that connect to the Impactics chassis look interesting.

How do the Trinity range integrated graphics compare with the i3's?
Click to expand...

Which case is it that you are thinking about ordering?

Trinity's integrated graphics are way beyond intels, image quality is also in a different league.
 
Legion said:
Which case is it that you are thinking about ordering?

Trinity's integrated graphics are way beyond intels, image quality is also in a different league.
Click to expand...

I'm looking at the "Impactics C3LH-B Mini-ITX Case". The Trinity graphics appeal to me as that then makes the prospect of light gaming seem feasible without going overboard.
 
Narj said:
I'm looking at the "Impactics C3LH-B Mini-ITX Case". The Trinity graphics appeal to me as that then makes the prospect of light gaming seem feasible without going overboard.
Click to expand...

The A10-5700 (65w part) should be ok in that case.
I wouldn't risk an 100w part such as the A10-5800K on the passive heatpipes though.
Kinda pricey when you add in the heatpipes and then the psu for the case.

Some cheaper and better (imo) options are the Streacom FC7 / Wesena ITX 7.2 (same cases under a different branding)for that build and use a Scythe Kozuti or the upcoming Thermalright AXP-100 heatsinks.
You will also need to buy a 120w/150w Pico psu for the cases at extra cost, power depends on which APU you actually plan to put in it.

If you dont need the optical drive you can go even smaller with the Streacom F1C / Wesena ITX2 and still use a fairly potent cooler (not possible with the optical drive tray in the case)

The new Lian-li PC-Q02 is also a very good candidate for a tiny gaming capable machine. (very tiny footprint)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-559-LL&groupid=2362&catid=2279&subcat=

I have a build to do in one of these with an overclocked A10-5800k as soon as I can get my hands on the Asrock ITX board.
 
Last edited:
Cheers, Legion.

I'll need an optical drive in all honesty. That Lian Li looks awesome although I'm guessing cable management is interesting to say the least? Could someone kindly suggest a trinity build for me as I have zero experience with this kind of build. :)


Thanks a million for all the advice, peeps :D
 
Narj said:
That Lian Li looks awesome although I'm guessing cable management is interesting to say the least?
Click to expand...

The Cables are shortened on the supplied PSU, it's very tidy inside.

As for Hardware A10-5700 APU and the ASRock FM2A75M-ITX motherboard.
An 8gb kit of DDR3 2133 for the extra performance over lesser speed ram, and job done.

Cooler again depends on which case you you settle with, I've already given you ideas for that in a previous post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom