Low Cost Mini-ITX Build

[Harby3]

Hi,

I don't know much about mini-itx so I hope the expert community would help me

Purpose:

This computer is for watching normal HD movies only. Perhaps blu-ray but that would be the max. No gaming except minesweeper... and normal MS office work.

Still have some components not decided, no idea what to use...

Spare parts I already have:

HDD, DVD drive, Memory, GPU (MSI 650Ti)

Parts need to buy:

Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 (or are there any other good case?)

Mobo: Don't think I should go for embedded solutions motherboard... But what should I use? Wifi not necessary.

CPU: If not using embdded solutions mobo, I will need one.

PSU: Found a GTR Type-Z400 (400W) in my garage... is this brand below average? If yes, any recommendations? Or is 400W enough in the first place?

CPU Cooler: May consider. Not sure if I really need one.

Budget:

Not a gaming computer, just want to keep the cost in a low-cost-but-safe range.

Thank you!

 

[EpicStarman]

Hi,

I don't know much about mini-itx so I hope the expert community would help me

Purpose:

This computer is for watching normal HD movies only. Perhaps blu-ray but that would be the max. No gaming except minesweeper... and normal MS office work.

Still have some components not decided, no idea what to use...

Spare parts I already have:

HDD, DVD drive, Memory, GPU (MSI 650Ti)

Parts need to buy:

Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 (or are there any other good case?)

Mobo: Don't think I should go for embedded solutions motherboard... But what should I use? Wifi not necessary.

CPU: If not using embdded solutions mobo, I will need one.

PSU: Found a GTR Type-Z400 (400W) in my garage... is this brand below average? If yes, any recommendations? Or is 400W enough in the first place?

CPU Cooler: May consider. Not sure if I really need one.

Budget:

Not a gaming computer, just want to keep the cost in a low-cost-but-safe range.

Thank you!

For your case I would definitely use a Bitfenix Prodigy. It is a tiny fella that packs a HUGE wallop.
As for the CPU and Mobo, if you are just using it for movies then you don't need too much.

Also, the PSU...I have never heard of that brand and I am unsure that 400W is sufficient. I would stray away from it as it is not a brand I am familiar with and I wouldn't trust it.

 

[BleedingEdgeTek]

The Bitfenix Prodigy is in NO way a 'tiny fella' it is a huge case for being mini-ITX only.

Plenty of power here, as everything you'll be doing will be relying on high single thread performance, and the dual core Pentium is plenty.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec ISK600 Mini ITX Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $197.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-11 16:42 EDT-0400)

 

[EpicStarman]

The Bitfenix Prodigy is in NO way a 'tiny fella' it is a huge case for being mini-ITX only.

Plenty of power here, as everything you'll be doing will be relying on high single thread performance, and the dual core Pentium is plenty.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec ISK600 Mini ITX Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $197.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-11 16:42 EDT-0400)

Well if you want to carry it around it has built in handles. And compared to Mid Towers of course the Prodigy is smaller. Also, that Antec case won't have the same amount of capacity and room for airflow that the Prodigy would.

 

[BleedingEdgeTek]

He has a single HDD, a very cool CPU, and a low end GPU, airflow and capacity isn't an issue. I have a Prodigy, and when it's sitting next to my Rosewill Challenger, a mid-tower, it's only about 2" shorter, but a good 3-4" wider. It is certainly not tiny, then again neither is the Antec I listed, really. But the Prodigy is pretty expensive in comparison, as an extra $40 is a big increase at a sub-$200 price point.

 

[MU_Engineer]

You don't need much of a system for watching (1080p) HD video since sufficient video decode hardware is built into pretty well every embeddable-type CPU nowdays. I actually would go for an embedded AMD E-series, Intel Celeron/Pentium J-series, or AMD AM1 setup (essentially an embeddable CPU in a socket) in this case as that's about all you'd need to do that sort of work as it's just HD video playback and office applications. I would spring for a quad-core unit as they're barely more expensive than the dual-core units and can be quite a bit faster in certain applications. The embeddable boards are frequently available in mini-ITX size and their low power consumption also works well in those tiny cases.

I personally just pulled the trigger on a Biostar AM1ML and an Athlon 5150 that I will stick in a Silverstone Sugo SG05 with an FSP 300 watt SFX power supply to make into my router/firewall. This will be a "mid-sized" mini-ITX build as the Sugo is a cube case rather than a much smaller mini-ITX slim case, which would have not worked as I needed two expansion slots and the slim cases only accommodate one. The Sugo is quite a bit smaller than any mini-ITX case that can take a full-sized 5.25" optical drive though. I'll let you know how the build goes after the parts come in next week.