[Build Log] Mini-ITX PC - Middle School

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While I see your point and agree with it to a great extent, for a 11 - 14 year old, an APU based solution might work well for a first build, which would be handed down or cannibalized later. The APU can play Minecraft moderately well without the expense of a GPU.

 

I hope you realise APUs can only upgrade to APUs. There is no switching sockets. The G3258 and a low-end GPU (something like a R7 260X) will CRUSH the APU, especially in processing power.
 
Yes, I realize that. Some students have $300 burning a hole in their pockets and, I would rather give them an opportunity to build something than tell them to wait until next year (they'll spend it on something else, delayed gratification happens to other and older people :)), even though it will put them in a bit of a hole. About half of the money will be salvageable.
 


Absolutely. I'm doing that myself for the next few months.

What you are saying, in effect, is DON'T buy an APU under any circumstances and that there is no reason at all to choose one? And I should not allow my students to make that choice either because it is so weak.

You are also saying that it would be better to play games on the most powerful i3/i5 and integrated graphics a student can afford, rather than go with an APU because of the APU's weak CPU which will cripple the system.

 
Yes, I'm saying exactly that, but if your students only have 300$, the APU road would be the only way to go unless the aforementioned students have other parts lying around their houses. You technically cannot restrict your students' CPU choices, but for their good, I would not recommend an APU.

Also, yes. Since games like Minecraft are heavily CPU-based, a weak processor will render the game quasi-unplayable (20-30 FPS), while you can lock in at 60 FPS on the integrated graphics with the i3-4150 which costs about 120-130$ (the price of an A8 or A10). APUs are so bad I'd recommend ANY FX or Athlon processor if I were given the choice.
 
Thanks for your input.

I have not used APUs and rejected them myself when looking at the system here and you have given me the ammunition to resist their poor choices. I can, in practice, restrict their choice, if only by making a strong, credible, alternative suggestion.

I'd be interested in hearing what ImDaBaron has to say.
 
No problem, you'll thank me later when you discover how i3s are overpowered compared to an APU:)
You can suggest the i3 previously mentioned or even the G3258, which can be overclocked (I don't think you'd like your students to set an absurd 1.5-1.8 volts for the CPU power, though:)).

I'm sure ImDaBaron agrees, unless he/she is an AMD fan.
 
I'm actually not a G3258 fan...especially after plenty of stories about problems with games. I would definitely recommend an I3. But this is for middle school students...I made a build that wouldnt take took much from them or their parents. If all they are going to do is play Minecraft then go with an A10- whatever model they can afford. Keep in mind I almost never recommend APUs. But for this situation it's not bad. For an HTPC I would recommend the G3258.

No dont overclock to 1.8 lol
 
Right so I am back.

In regards to the student builds.
600$ is a sizable budget and more than sufficient for a discrete GPU build WITH a decent CPU.



Just because of the simplicity behind Intel builds, less heat, less of a worry to get a quality motherboard because motherboard vendors don't cheap out on Intel boards so much(don't ask me why, I do not know why), lets give the kids an I3 based build.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($73.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 270X 2GB IceQ X² Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $630.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-13 01:50 EDT-0400



Why such an overkill PSU? 1. Its quality, 2. Its cheap for that quality, and 3. It allows pretty much any single GPU upgrade path.
2 x 4GB RAM to benefit from dual channel.
H97 board in case of I5 upgrade at some stage. (H97 will support the Broadwell refresh)
Windows 8, just because. 😛

EDIT : As a side note, I believe APU builds are decent if you have a very small, less than 500$(including OS), budget. But once you are looking at 600$, you need to be looking at a better platform.
 


Thanks for the input Baron. That's just what wanted to hear. I think I'll be steering towards i3s with Pentium's as the 'cheap solution, after all you can replace one with an i7 later (they won't, but it's a good sales pitch)

 



Yes. I like that approach a lot better and I can still cut it down further for people with much less budget. (No GPU, or a Pentium, and/or and old existing HDD)

I'll be putting the fans in today.
 


Sounds good. :)
 
I'll be sseing the TM01 builder today, and will pass on the recommended build.

The $600 budget was my suggestion as a minimum to do something useful with, just to limit the 'cheapness' of parts.

Some of these students have 10+ old and/or dead Dell towers at home. I'm thinking that they can re-use some of the cases. For that matter, we have about 20 of them here at school, no longer in use.

Anyone here have experience making dust filter frames on a 3D printer?
 


That can drop a few bucks off. But some of them may not conform to ATX form factor. So do not rely on that too much.
 
That's really the whole point of this build.

Watching them taking the case apart on Friday and reminding them of Lefty-loosey, Righty-tighty gave them REAL experience. There are limits, however. I want the computer to work!
 


Haha I am sure they will be fine, despite what people say and how fragile it all looks, breaking a computer component would require an abnormal amount of negligence. More than even middle school children have...

I think...
 
They have already dropped the SSD on the concrete floor. I'm more concerned about bent pins and static/shorts than actual physical violence.

If something does not fit, they tend to brute force and ignorance rather than investigating to see if there is a cause that can be remedied.
 


Ouch... In that case, goodluck.

SSD should be fine though, no moving parts. :)
 
Wow, up already at 4 AM?
BTW, good build, Novuake, but:
1, If you're going to use:
Haswell: You can get a cheap 60$ H81 board and put the money toward a better PSU (at least Tier 2a or 2b)
Haswell Refresh: You can get the cheap ASRock Z97 Anniversary so that your students can overclock
2, I would trust a more known and widespread, if you will, company such as Sapphire, Asus, Gigabyte, XFX or Powercolor. Note that I've omitted MSI from that list as their Twin Frozr cards have coil whine and issues like that
3, The PSU is a Tier 3 unit, it can be used, but not for overclocking (I hope you have responsible students, because your CPUs WILL get fried if you set the voltage too high, better get a locked CPU or make your students pay for the CPU).
 


I am in a different timezone. :) GMT+2. But yeah, I was up at 4.30AM anyway.

1. H81 usually only provides 2 RAM slots.
Not for me to say if they will overclock, I would not recommend it for middle school students. I practiced on ancient celerons as a kid. :)

2. Not a big fan of MSI either, they make some very obvious blunders that I just can not overlook.
EDIT : In regards to HIS, they have GREAT products and I rank them MUCH higher than XFX for example, which has a ridiculous failure rate over the last 2 generations.

3. Always better to get a better PSU, but the one I chose is a very good budget unit, much better than most Tier 3 PSUs like the CX series, it also has MORE than ample amperage and wattage, which would make up for any small quality flaw that it may have below tier 2a and b PSUs. Point is, its a very good unit for the small price, but it ain't perfect. :)

Remember, students will not be overclocking, especially not on a 600$ budget with an I3 build.
 
Awesome idea, and trusting them to work on it will help build their confidence.

Of all the builds offered up so far, I would say the I3 and 270x is by far the most sensible use of funds for the $600 budget.

I hope all goes well, looking forward to further updates!
 
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