Budget Compact Gaming PC

[AronTimes]

Hello, I don't have a lot of room in my fancy computer cabinet, and the entire system unit has to fit within a 20" (length) x 9" (width) x 18" (height). After spending hours fiddling with the pcpartpicker.com system builder, I came up with the following:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VRncNG

I have some concerns:

1. Do I have enough room for all of my components? I've never worked with such a small case before, and I'm afraid of not being able to fit everything in. The last PC I built was too big for my cabinet, so it sits on my desk sideways with the wiring in a mess (a smaller case would've fit into the cabinet and would've been able to use the desk' wire management features).

2. Will I need additional cooling? I don't plan on overclocking as I don't want to put undue stress on a system that I will pass down to either my mother or my nephew in a few years. Also, I want them to be able to use the system for years to come afterwards (neither of them are gamers).

3. The estimated wattage seems really low. Even running it through eXtreme Power Supply Calculator with 20% aging, 90% TDP, and 90% system load only brings it up to 310 W.

4. Do I have too much RAM? I know that conventional knowledge states that 8 GB is enough, but what about future games and other applications?

5. I plan on using fraps to record game play footage and then upload the processed video to YouTube. Specifically, I want to record the upcoming RTS game, Grey Goo. Will this system be enough to do all of these?

I'm open to suggestions, especially those that help bring down this system's price tag. Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[razvan_mz]

pairing a 200$ cpu with a 150$ gpu is just stupid. a 100-120$ cpu with a 200$ gpu is something you should do. you have options like amd athlon x4 860k, amd FX-6300, intel core i3 4160. for the gpu an R9 270X, geforce GTX 760, R9 285

 

[zeyuanfu]

I would cut down on the RAM to get something like a R9 280X:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $199.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 14:39 EST-0500
Otherwise, I would suggest a small mid-tower to guarantee space for your GPU or a case with removable HDD cages.
If you're not overclocking, stock fans should be fine
I would get at least something like the Antec VP-450 to guarantee enough wattage for your GPU. 380 watts seems s bit low.
Yes, you have too much RAM for your budget. Cut down to 8 GB and get a 280X
With a better GPU, you should get better FPS, and consequently, better videos.

 

[mdocod]

pairing a 200$ cpu with a 150$ gpu is just stupid.

WRONG

Visual quality and performance are separate issues. If the system is being designed with a priority on performance over visual quality there is absolutely nothing "stupid" about pairing an i5 with a GTX750Ti, in fact, it's a fantastic low power combination that can play compute intensive games with stable high FPS.

That said, the GTX660 is the better buy in that price class, as it offers a nice bump up in ROP/VRAM throughput, which is going to be the primary render bottleneck of a GTX750Ti on a 1080P monitor. Better visual quality for the money with the 660.

----------------

AronTimes,

My advice would be to replace the CPU with the E3-1231V3 if the budget has room. Up to ~30% more execution performance for just $50 on a build that is well over $1000 seems like a no-brainer to me.

I would consider the Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H and Asus H97M-PLUS as potential alternatives for the motherboard.

If you want to retain the GTX750Ti for the reduced power dissipation, switch the PSU to the 360W Seasonic G series, it is built with much better component quality than the earthwatts 380W.

If you want to get more visual quality for the money, switch to a GTX660 (they are ~$135-160 now), and switch the PSU to a Rosewill Capstone 450W.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with pairing a powerful CPU with a budget GPU. In fact, doing the opposite is more apt to cause performance problems that have no easy solutions.

 

[RazerZ]

This build would be much more powerful. If you need it cheaper, let me know.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Full Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($143.89 @ Amazon)
Total: $941.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 14:52 EST-0500

 

[zeyuanfu]

The 750 Ti might bottleneck the 4690K as it's a fairly low-end GPU.

 

[RazerZ]

The 750 Ti might bottleneck the 4690K as it's a fairly low-end GPU.

A high end CPU will not bottleneck any GPU. A GPU can't bottleneck a CPU.

 

[razvan_mz]

pairing a 200$ cpu with a 150$ gpu is just stupid.

WRONG

Visual quality and performance are separate issues. If the system is being designed with a priority on performance over visual quality there is absolutely nothing "stupid" about pairing an i5 with a GTX750Ti, in fact, it's a fantastic low power combination that can play compute intensive games with stable high FPS.

That said, the GTX660 is the better buy in that price class, as it offers a nice bump up in ROP/VRAM throughput, which is going to be the primary render bottleneck of a GTX750Ti on a 1080P monitor. Better visual quality for the money with the 660.

----------------

AronTimes,

My advice would be to replace the CPU with the E3-1231V3 if the budget has room. Up to ~30% more execution performance for just $50 on a build that is well over $1000 seems like a no-brainer to me.

I would consider the Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H and Asus H97M-PLUS as potential alternatives for the motherboard.

If you want to retain the GTX750Ti for the reduced power dissipation, switch the PSU to the 360W Seasonic G series, it is built with much better component quality than the earthwatts 380W.

If you want to get more visual quality for the money, switch to a GTX660 (they are ~$135-160 now), and switch the PSU to a Rosewill Capstone 450W.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with pairing a powerful CPU with a budget GPU. In fact, doing the opposite is more apt to cause performance problems that have no easy solutions.

he said in the title "Budget Compact Gaming PC". the i5 is very good, but put a beefier gpu, not that little 750ti that won't last in todays gaming. I got myself burnd with gts 450. never experienced any nvidia technologies back then (because they require much more horsepower) and now is unuseable in terms of gaming. my advice is not to buy cheap nvidia cards. they just suck. from the begining.

and don't even start with that tdp

Watch the language - Mod

 

[nikoli707]

hmmm.... i feel this is a more balanced system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB ITX Video Card ($203.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: *Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($22.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GL2760H 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($178.61 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Razer Razer Naga 2014 Wired Laser Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Headphones: Logitech G35 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $908.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 15:31 EST-0500

 

[AronTimes]

Thank you for the mostly helpful replies. Now to address those issues brought up:

1. I mostly play RTS, MOBA, and CRPG titles. The only FPS I play on a regular basis is TF2, which my 2.5 year old system can handle easily. I dislike hardcore, hyper realistic shooters. Such games make up the brunt of the most graphically intensive games today, so I should be able to get away with a not-so-uber gpu.

2. Space is at a premium for me. 27" is the largest monitor I can have and still fit everything in. My case absolutely has to fit within 20" x 9" x 18" (rounded down to nearest inch). I don't have space for an atx mid tower, let alone an atx full tower. The Corsair case I picked is right at the edge of the maximum height available (less than 17.5" tall).

3. Regarding the RAM, I'm lowering it to 8 GB as suggested.

4. I can live with a cheaper CPU, though not too cheap. The games that I play can get CPU heavy when there are a lot of units on the battlefield.

5. And finally, I was hoping for help on how to bring the price down to less than $800 (USD). That's roughly how much I spent on my current rig when I first built it. I guess I should've said so in my OP. Totally forgot to do so, and I apologize for that.

Will post updated build later.

 

[nikoli707]

Thank you for the mostly helpful replies. Now to address those issues brought up:

1. I mostly play RTS, MOBA, and CRPG titles. The only FPS I play on a regular basis is TF2, which my 2.5 year old system can handle easily. I dislike hardcore, hyper realistic shooters. Such games make up the brunt of the most graphically intensive games today, so I should be able to get away with a not-so-uber gpu.

2. Space is at a premium for me. 27" is the largest monitor I can have and still fit everything in. My case absolutely has to fit within 20" x 9" x 18" (rounded down to nearest inch). I don't have space for an atx mid tower, let alone an atx full tower. The Corsair case I picked is right at the edge of the maximum height available (less than 17.5" tall).

3. Regarding the RAM, I'm lowering it to 8 GB as suggested.

4. I can live with a cheaper CPU, though not too cheap. The games that I play can get CPU heavy when there are a lot of units on the battlefield.

5. And finally, I was hoping for help on how to bring the price down to less than $800 (USD). That's roughly how much I spent on my current rig when I first built it. I guess I should've said so in my OP. Totally forgot to do so, and I apologize for that.

Will post updated build later.

this is an option that saves you money. though everything is the same as the rig i put together above except dropping out the 4 core 4 thread i5 for a 2 core 4 thread i3 and moving from a gtx760 to a gtx750ti. as far as that 350d case, you could save $15-40 on a different case if you choose. the i3+750ti is a very low power low heat cool running setup.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($22.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GL2760H 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($178.61 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Razer Razer Naga 2014 Wired Laser Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Headphones: Logitech G35 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $750.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 18:24 EST-0500

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7764/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-and-gtx-750-review-maxwell/15
here is a crysis 3 benchmark with the 750ti. crysis 3 isn't a game that you would want to play, but it is regarded as the most graphically demanding title to date(that actually has very mature and efficient coding). should note that nvidia drivers have matured as well so the fps shown in the benchmarks are actually 5-10% higher now.

 

[AronTimes]

I'm afraid of sticking to only two cores because newer games are finally beginning to make use of more quad core CPUs. While I typically don't play grim and gritty shooters, I do make exceptions for exceptional titles from time to time (Dishonored comes to mind).

I modified your suggested build with a quad core processor that is on sale, and I also changed the case to a cheaper one from the same manufacturer.

As for the BD-RW drive, I removed it in favor of opting to install Windows from a flash drive. I don't watch a lot of blu-ray movies, and have never ever found a need to burn a blu-ray disk, so I'm going to skip it in favor of my decent Charter Internet connection. Also, if I am not mistaken, you can install Windows using a USB flash drive on most modern systems. I can just go that route instead of buying an expensive BD-RW drive that will sit unused most of the time. Unfortunately, legally downloading windows is more expensive than the DVD route. Speaking of the DVD route, I think I might just borrow my current rig's DVD-RW drive long enough to install Windows 8.1 on my new system. This way, I get the benefit of the cheaper OS price by not buying directly from Microsoft. What do you think?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($22.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GL2760H 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($178.61 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Razer Razer Naga 2014 Wired Laser Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Headphones: Logitech G35 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $764.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 21:01 EST-0500

 

[AronTimes]

Ugh, it didn't save my changes. It still has the old components. 🙁

Edit: Posted updated information in last post. Apparently pcpartpicker.com will open your previous build when you click Save As to save your build. That's a weird bug.

 

[nikoli707]

I'm afraid of sticking to only two cores because newer games are finally beginning to make use of more quad core CPUs. While I typically don't play grim and gritty shooters, I do make exceptions for exceptional titles from time to time (Dishonored comes to mind).

I modified your suggested build with a quad core processor that is on sale, and I also changed the case to a cheaper one from the same manufacturer.

As for the BD-RW drive, I removed it in favor of opting to install Windows from a flash drive. I don't watch a lot of blu-ray movies, and have never ever found a need to burn a blu-ray disk, so I'm going to skip it in favor of my decent Charter Internet connection. Also, if I am not mistaken, you can install Windows using a USB flash drive on most modern systems. I can just go that route instead of buying an expensive BD-RW drive that will sit unused most of the time. Unfortunately, legally downloading windows is more expensive than the DVD route. Speaking of the DVD route, I think I might just borrow my current rig's DVD-RW drive long enough to install Windows 8.1 on my new system. This way, I get the benefit of the cheaper OS price by not buying directly from Microsoft. What do you think?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($22.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.79 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GL2760H 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($178.61 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Tournament Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Razer Razer Naga 2014 Wired Laser Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Headphones: Logitech G35 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $764.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 21:01 EST-0500

that is a great build!!! you can download windows legally to a usb drive easily, all you need is the key. its fairly easy to install windows 7/8 from a usb drive. so if you have no use whatsoever for an optical drive, just get the asus cd/dvd for $17, or get it down the line if you have a few bucks to spare. otherwise barrow a windows 8 disk from someone and use your key.

the i5 is a much better processor, especially for gaming. though not now you wont notice much of a difference in non gaming apps, your build above is a solid build that should last many years.

if anything you could opt for the 550w xfx power supply for $20 more and i suggest you do it. then your are even more future proof if in the case you come into some money and want to spend it on a high end graphics card, you will have the power supply to go with it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $44.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-23 23:12 EST-0500

 

[AronTimes]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I wont have the money ready until Monday, which, coincidentally, is Cyber Monday. Hopefully, I'll get even better deals then. I will most likely need to modify this build ever so slightly when Monday comes to take into account new deals and deals thst have ended.