Build It Yourself: A Mini-ITX Gaming System For Just Over $500

[vikjha]

Who's moderating this site? Was my comment pulled? This is a great site... I've learned so much by following here. Also, computer gaming is (IMO) easily the best without competition. But this HTPC build is an absolutely ridiculous idea unless you're a fan of some pc exclusive series or you need windows apps (on your TV??) for work or something.

You have a build here with a dual core cpu and an amd 7770 (10 GCN units correct?) that is $500 before the OS (was shipping included in that price?) . Why on earth would anyone build this with next gen consoles coming out before the end of the year... you'll have 18 GCN units with 1.8 tflops (20 GCN with 2 off?) on the ps4 which will be optimized to bits and pieces and even 12 GCN units with the xbox 720... ull be able to DO EVERYTHING you would have wanted to with ur HTPC EXCEPT get Steam Deals... or download illegally (you know who you are)... this makes no sense, and anyone who says it does is a "PC fanboy" in the worse sense possible... i didn't even know PC fanboys could be bad...

 

[vikjha]

I jus checked the 7770 AMD gigahertz edition and it does 1.28 tflops... ur recommending the base clock version as well correct? I'm guessing those 200 mghz would hurt quite a bit... what 1.1 tflops ? just 1 tflop?

 

[blazorthon]

This build has a Radeon 7750, not 7770.

Also, you can use illegally obtained games on consoles too. It's not necessarily as easy as it is on the PC platforms, but it can be done and is done by a lot of people.

 

[vikjha]

[citation][nom]vikjha[/nom]I jus checked the 7770 AMD gigahertz edition and it does 1.28 tflops... ur recommending the base clock version as well correct? I'm guessing those 200 mghz would hurt quite a bit... what 1.1 tflops ? just 1 tflop?[/citation]

wow my bad ur using a 7750 for ur build clocked at 900mghz which does 819 GFlops... seriously... the xbox 720 will perform 50% better and be optimized to hell and the playstation 4 will perform 100%... what a joke... come on, i've made my point right?

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]vikjha[/nom]wow my bad ur using a 7750 for ur build clocked at 900mghz which does 819 GFlops... seriously... the xbox 720 will perform 50% better and be optimized to hell and the playstation 4 will perform 100%... what a joke... come on, i've made my point right?[/citation]

You've made your point, but including similar storage and such, those consoles are also probably much more expensive, just to be fair. Also, are we really absolutely sure of the exact console specs just yet?

 

[vikjha]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]This build has a Radeon 7750, not 7770.Also, you can use illegally obtained games on consoles too. It's not necessarily as easy as it is on the PC platforms, but it can be done and is done by a lot of people.[/citation]

Yeah, definitely not as easy to do. Also, to be fair, i'm not saying you or others on this site illegally download but i would think there are quite a lot of more people who do it with PCs for two reasons.

1. Blacklisted for life with PSN or Xbox Live
2. It requires actual work... which people with consoles usually don't want to do...

Def not trying to argue that Console gamers are morally superior or something stupid like that

 

[Fulgurant]

wow my bad ur using a 7750 for ur build clocked at 900mghz which does 819 GFlops... seriously... the xbox 720 will perform 50% better and be optimized to hell and the playstation 4 will perform 100%... what a joke... come on, i've made my point right?

You said it yourself earlier: the PC gives you access to Steam deals. The deal with consoles is that the hardware is sold for a very slim margin (maybe even a loss), but the games are costly. The deal with a PC is that the hardware costs more (and there's a greater range of it available at any given time), but you can find deals on software. (I'm not even going to address pirating; I think it's fair to say that the average PC game on Steam is cheaper than the average console game, and by a fair bit.)

That's just the gaming comparison. The PC is also, obviously, far more flexible.

Personally, the way I prefer to look at it is that most people need (or want) some sort of PC-type machine regardless, and that therefore the cost of a gaming PC isn't really the whole machine; it's the difference between the cost of a good GPU/CPU and the cost of the basic capability to run low-end productivity software. So if, for instance, you require the ability to do light spreadsheet/photo-editing work, you might spend something like $300 or $400 on a low-end PC. If it costs another $300 or $400 to make that machine a gaming powerhouse, then what you've spent on gaming hardware is summarized by the latter amount, not the total.

That perspective doesn't work now as well as it used to, what with smartphones and tablets everywhere, but I think the principle still holds true.

 

[vikjha]

[citation][nom]Fulgurant[/nom]You said it yourself earlier: the PC gives you access to Steam deals. The deal with consoles is that the hardware is sold for a very slim margin (maybe even a loss), but the games are costly. The deal with a PC is that the hardware costs more (and there's a greater range of it available at any given time), but you can find deals on software.That's just the gaming comparison. The PC is also, obviously, far more flexible.Personally, the way I prefer to look at it is that most people need (or want) some sort of PC-type machine regardless, and that therefore the cost of a gaming PC isn't really the whole machine; it's the difference between the cost of a good GPU/CPU and the cost of the basic capability to run low-end productivity software. So if, for instance, you require the ability to do light spreadsheet/photo-editing work, you might spend something like $300 or $400 on a low-end PC. If it costs another $300 or $400 to make that machine a gaming powerhouse, then what you've spent on gaming hardware is summarized by the latter amount, not the total.That perspective doesn't work now as well as it used to, what with smartphones and tablets everywhere, but I think the principle still holds true.[/citation]

Steam deals is a good reason i admit ... and your argument does have validity but the lines aren't so clear cut right now... basically because IMO the value of mid-range or low-range gaming goes down tremendously right now with next gen releasing... but i could see someone who plays LoL or WoW doing this i suppose. Also, if this were just a PC build your point would be better made fair .. but since its an HTPC... like i said who's gonna do work on their TV?

All the same maybe in the long run this would be more value for the money but i'm not sure by how much... and i think everyone knows that console games will beat it from day 1... i mean it'll keep up with the consoles for a year perhaps before an upgrade?

I think waiting for the dat crazy new new architecture that will come out hopefully soon would be a much better time to build the HTPC but then again u'd have to wait. I'm done.

 

[Fulgurant]

Steam deals is a good reason i admit ... and your argument does have validity but the lines aren't so clear cut right now... basically because IMO the value of mid-range or low-range gaming goes down tremendously right now with next gen releasing... but i could see someone who plays LoL or WoW doing this i suppose. Also, if this were just a PC build your point would be better made fair .. but since its an HTPC... like i said who's gonna do work on their TV?

All the same maybe in the long run this would be more value for the money but i'm not sure by how much... and i think everyone knows that console games will beat it from day 1... i mean it'll keep up with the consoles for a year perhaps before an upgrade?

I think waiting for the dat crazy new new architecture that will come out hopefully soon would be a much better time to build the HTPC but then again u'd have to wait. I'm done.

Yeah, I have to agree that the timing could be better. I'm also not convinced that the Tom's mITX build wouldn't be better with a Trinity pseudo-Crossfire configuration (as peter-mafia described, a pairing of an AMD a10 with an HD 6670 GPU). Actually, from what I've read on the subject, it seems likely that the pseudo-crossfire route is exactly what the next-gen consoles will use.

If nothing else, though, this article is interesting as a casual exploration of the sort of space and heat constraints that next-gen consoles will face. (Edit: or it would be, if the article had power/heat measurements.) Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo might have access to hardware we consumers don't, but given that they'll have finalized the hardware configuration for their consoles long before they start to sell them, it's unlikely that next-gen consoles will feature components that are head-and-shoulders-apart, power/heat-efficiency-wise, from what we have available on the consumer market at the time.

 

[vikjha]

You've made your point, but including similar storage and such, those consoles are also probably much more expensive, just to be fair. Also, are we really absolutely sure of the exact console specs just yet?

Nothing is for sure about the consoles yet. Feb 20 is the big PS4 tease day u can google it and i believe xbox has a countdown going to E3ish time. As for the tech... like i said no official comments... but i have a friend who works at a developer who's name i can't mention who told me that sony modded an off the shelf 250 dollar card... (this was this past summer) and the rumors have been right on point (18 GCN units right imbetween the 7870 n 7850)... but i'm just some dude i wouldnt expect u to believe me or anyone else right now but lets at least agree that at the very least both cards will be super 7770s with 12 GCN units...

As for pricing, the rumors right now are 400 US for ps4... xbox is suppose to be in that area too... even at 400 US however (i could easily see it being 5) i imagine in the long run with software ud still save money building an HTPC...

 

[lysinger]

While this is interesting, an Optiplex 7010 SFF at the dell outlet store will come in at a similar price and with a warranty. I got lucky and snagged a 7010 with a i7-3770 for $520 plus tax shipped (there are plenty of i5s in that price range). You would play russian roulette with the PCIe slot with a 7750 as it draws 55w and the board supplies 50w, but it is not a perfect universe.

I must admit it's still more fun to build one by hand

 

[g-unit1111]

This article *REALLY* makes me want to do an mITX build and I want to do one based around the AMD A10. But this is pretty sweet as well.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]lysinger[/nom]While this is interesting, an Optiplex 7010 SFF at the dell outlet store will come in at a similar price and with a warranty. I got lucky and snagged a 7010 with a i7-3770 for $520 plus tax shipped (there are plenty of i5s in that price range). You would play russian roulette with the PCIe slot with a 7750 as it draws 55w and the board supplies 50w, but it is not a perfect universe.I must admit it's still more fun to build one by hand[/citation]

PCIe 2.0 x16 and 3.0 x16 slots can supply 75W. IIRC, it might even be possible to do more at the sacrifice of some backwards-compatibility.

 

[youssef 2010]

Nice build.

If I could manufacture a case like this, I'd add more room for Cable managment.

 

[palladin9479]

I've always debated doing something like this. Never count find an appropriate application to justify the money though. I've been building Mini-ITX gateways and servers for awhile, they make great home lab systems.

 

[Guest]

Wow awesome article. I have been reading about and planning my own Mini-ITX build for a few years now but never committed to it as the case was always a bit too expensive. I also had the same dilemma about the PSU as well. Now its only a matter of time before i replace my aging 6 year old AMD X2 build.

 

[javaskull]

Could you please help me find an AMD FX-8350 motherboard for the mini-ITX Chieftec Flyer FI-01W?

I would like a motherboard that will work in your enclosure, ideally one with 16gb of ram. I plan on using a 2.5" 512gb SSD and a slimline CD, but maybe no 3.5" HDD.

Can anyone provide me guidance? I am confused about my chipset options, the motherboards I have found appear to come with radeon onboard graphics - which I assume aren't used? Do they still generate heat if they are unused?

The application is a HTPC with some gaming (SC2), on a HDTV, or 1920x1200. monitor, with Anti-aliasing and at high everything. I do not plan on having discrete graphics, but I may slightly overclock the CPU, turning off some of the cores, so I would like a overclocking friendly motherboard. I will be using water cooling if I can find something that will fit well in the case.

Also, I would like an IR or radio pickup that would work with that case so I could use my logitech harmony remote to play thingson it.

 

[HolyCrusader]

I ordered a mini-ITX power supply by mistake a couple months ago. I was going to send it back, but decided to hold onto it for future use for a little computer like this, once I scrounge-up a suitable case.

I too was thinking of using an APU, but with my current workload at my shop, I haven't had time to do the homework to see the priceerformance ratio of an APU versus a dedicated Video Card.

 

[Guest]

Small Form Factor doesn't stop there!

My SFF build:

http://gist.io/4199804

I like to throw down the gauntlet a bit on SFF

 

[CrAy-Z]

Hey, if the HD audio cable length was the only real problem i think i saw a solution in your photos? Could you cut the ties and reroute the cable through the other side of the front panel/chasis? There looked like a cable opening there which would run the audio cable down the side of the graphic card and buy you a couple of inches + would look heaps neater?

Nice build BTW.

 

[nukemaster]

Can you post pics of the mini-itx next to your xbox 360? I want to get an idea of size comparison.

Just to give you that idea of size.
Not embedded because it is a bit too big for posting here.
http://imageshack.us/a/img828/5875/dsc0045ow.jpg

 

[Hindesite]

It's really tempting to build this just to tuck away in my entertainment stand so I can play Dota 2 from the couch...

 

[plzpuddngplz]

To the editor -
This is where we would have nitpicked the the Chieftec FI-01W’s smaller problems, except that we didn’t find any.

Extra "the" one the good looks; a case and PSU page.

A verygood article asides from that.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for this. I decided to give it a go to replace my aging, noisy hightower. I built just this, except for a i3 3225. But oh no! There's just two SATA power connectors coming from the PSU. How to work around this. Does a 4-pin->SlimSata adapter exist, or what do I do now. Regards

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]Aabech[/nom]Thanks for this. I decided to give it a go to replace my aging, noisy hightower. I built just this, except for a i3 3225. But oh no! There's just two SATA power connectors coming from the PSU. How to work around this. Does a 4-pin->SlimSata adapter exist, or what do I do now. Regards[/citation]

Assuming that two SATA power connectors aren't enough for you, your best chance is to buy another PSU. The four pin connectors do not have a 3.3V wire like SATA power connectors do and although most SATA drives probably still don't need it, it's better to be safe than sorry if you find out that you do need it at any point.