mini ATX with limited hardware options

[loligo]

I was going to build a med-ATX machine but (a) the hardware options are quite limited and (b) got excited about the Fractal Design Define Mini...

I thought of using i7-4770,
and the only MoBo options are:

Asrock H87M- Pro
MSI-H87M-E33
MSI-H87M-G43
Gigabyte H87M-DH3
Asus H87M-E
Asus H7M-Plus
Asus H87M-Pro

I was leaning towards the Asrock H87-Pro but I do not know much about these mATX Motherboards.

Given that these wouldn't be overclocked, would it be ok to stick with stock coolers or slap a Cooler Master Hyper EVO 212? I already have high profile ram (G.Skill) and wondering whether it would fit.

The rest of the components I was thinking of:
PSU Corsair CX 500w Modular
RAM G.Skill 2x8GB high profile
GPU GT 630 (small, but should do the trick for adding 2x DVI)
SSD Samsung 120GB
HD 2x WD 1TB each in RAID 1.

Any thoughts on these mother boards would be much appreciated!

 

[AMD Radeon]

if you arent gaming, i wont suggest getting gt 630

use onboard intel GPU and use HDMI and DVI port

this will help a lot reducing heat inside case
and reduce power

and for cooler for mini itx, stock cooler is adequate

 

[loligo]

Great ! Thanks for the tip, I tend to be weary of on-board graphics when using image intensive programs such as imageJ and movie analysis (which rely more on CPU speed).

Hadn't thought of heat in such a small case and that is a good point!

Is there a need to add extra case fans?

 

[AMD Radeon]

intel HD 4600 isnt a weak igpu anymore

since it will be cool, using 2 included case fan will be enough
1 on front
1 on top/back (depends on your liking)

more fan = more noise

 

[loligo]

Thanks for the tips!
any thoughts on the mother boards?
I did the tweaks you suggested on the budget and it freed up some $
To the point that now I am considering upgrading to
i7-4770k and do some light OC-ing... (but need to see selection of MoBo, sigh)

Thanks again!

 

[AMD Radeon]

you need z87 to OC

this mobo is my fav http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z87i

i wouldnt suggest OCing though

if you dont do gaming, the difference will not be noticable

 

[loligo]

Yeah, sadly the budget would not allow for an OC machine (and MoBo) - any suggestions on the miniATX boards above?

---EDIT --- I hadn't notied the board you linked was mATX ---would it be almost similar in the H87 version? (without the OC capability, of course)

thanks for the advice!

 

[AMD Radeon]

i would go with mobo that has 4 slot ram, as cheap as possible

i am too lazy to check those list one by one hehe

edit : i miss-read mini-itx, the one you need is actually micro ATX
cheaper mobo than mini itx and has much better options/features