[Build Log] Mini-ITX PC - Middle School

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No it really isn't. It was ORIGINALLY that included PSUs were only quality units from reputable manufacturers. Antec basically started that whole thing in the mainstream gaming community and their included units were great. It is just that junk companies have picked up the trend as a way to get people to buy their crap because they thing they are getting a deal. Now quality companies don't include PSUs anymore for fear of people thinking they are junk.

The unit in that Silverstone is great. It makes 36A/432w on the single 12v rail and includes TWO 6 pin connectors for a GPU, one of which is a 6+2 pin.
 
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qpFzHx
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qpFzHx/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.96 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($339.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone SG05BB-450-USB3.0 (Black) Mini ITX Desktop Case w/450W Power Supply ($114.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $890.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-28 20:41 EDT-0400

Removed SSD. upgraded to better CPU for better long term performance, and the option to overclock.
 


Well I guess when I see people on here with those cases it's always from the companies who have iffy quality on their PSUs already. So that's almost entrenched in my head.
 
I would not bother with an overclocking CPU. The motherboard has VERY VERY limited overclocking (basically none) and it will not perform better or last longer than the 4460 in any noticeable way. Stick with the 4460.

I would keep the build the way it was.
 
The PSU is the non-modular version of the Strider 450 that I'm using in this build. It's a good solid PSU although in tests, the fan (outside the case) is a little noisy when we tested it on an old tower.

Is there an ANTEC case/psu that is cheaper. I'm thinking that if he moves up to mATX, the PSU/Case/motherboard calculation will be cheaper. A EVGA SuperNova is pretty cheap.

I have a 265Gb SSD, HE wants one (I talked him down to a 128, but it's quite a bit slower and only a little cheaper)


Something like this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($339.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Phenom M Nvidia Edition: Black MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.50 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $875.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-28 21:10 EDT-0400
 
Antec no longer offers case/PSU combos due to the market of them being 90% junk and not wanting to accidentally affiliate by association.

Be careful with EVGA units. The only good ones are the G2, B2, and P2 units. The G1, B1 units are barely average and not recommended.
 


Thats a shame, and yes I forgot to take in account the Mobo, under those circumstances I would really try to get him to drop the ssd and wait abit save up until he can get a 256gb SSD. 128gb SSD is't enough theses days. and the price difference is most likely minimal

 


Try and take it from the kids point of view.
"I'm going to stuff everything on my ssd until i run out of space"
thats a very common thing kids 11-15 do, from what I've seen.

and plus it would be a waste of money over all if theres only $30-$40 difference in price of 128gb vs 256gb
 
Then

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.94 @ SuperBiiz)

I'm with you on the SSD Zanda 256Gb+ or bust.
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($339.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Phenom M Nvidia Edition: Black MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.50 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $870.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-28 21:18 EDT-0400

I'm with you on that Zanda, 256Gb or bust.
 
A 250gb SSd will still require a HDD just like a 128gb one will. The extra space isn;t really justified when you STILL have to be careful and put stuff on the HDD anyway. In my opinion you either get a 120-250gb SSD for the OS and 1-3 games + HDD, or you get a 512gb SSD and forget the HDD.

There really is no reason to get a 250gb SSD as the games you put on it won't get any bump in performance anyway. You only put your common games on it so they load up faster.
 


Looks good to me.
 
Back to my build. We're going to turn it on on Friday.

Will my wireless keyboard be usable to boot, or will I need a plug-in one? Last time I initialized a system it was from a floppy disk 🙁 I'm assuming that my external USB 2.0 drive will be OK to boot the OS off once I get to the BIOS.
 


Looks good



Be cause you would't have the wireless drivers your going to need to borrow a USB keybord
 

Everything looks good, but:
1, The 620 watt version can be had for ~10$ less if you count the MIR.
2, These units have a lot of bad reviews. Just saying.
 


Never trust user based reviews, they are mostly based on ignorance.
Also consider that only disgruntled people post the reviews and each company has dead units from time to time.
 
On newegg it has 4/5 stars.

User reviews are mostly crap TBH. They should not be considered when quantifying the quality of a product. People will rate something poorly if there was a shipping mistake. This does not reflect on the unit properly at all.

It is a Seasonic and all the trusted review sites gave it VERY high marks.
 


"Oh no, my newly built pc isn't turning on, must be DOA. ~ 1 star".
 


10000% agree. There are TOP of the line PSUs on newegg form Seasonic that ony have 3/5 stars because people don't understand how to use them properly and because the package arrived late. RIDICULOUS. I generally NEVER consider user reviews when I buy anything. Only trusted reviewer's remarks.
 
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