Mini itx build advice

Sgt loki

Reputable
Feb 22, 2015
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4,510
Hello gentlefolk

I used to be a major PC gamer.But I am somewhat out of the loop. But am looking for advice to get back in.

I have an aging full tower that has been sat for months. It is too big and I haven't a desk to hold it. Therefore I am thinking of a mini itx build that can sit in my living room. So I can play some of my old favourites like minecraft and the total war series (etw ntw). And use it as htpc

The last upgrade I did to my PC was getting a Gigabyte radeon 7850 2 GB gpu, ssd storage and bluray drive. I would like to upgrade to windows 8. I am looking to use these parts to create a decent mini itx build on a budget of about £400 which I reckon will be tight.

Any suggestions about mobo, cpu, ram, cooler, psu etc. Sorry for vagueness. I am not the most tech savvy. But chipsets confuse me z99, z97, h87 etc??? I have been looking at I5 CPUs ( do I need 4 the gen CPU?)
And mobos for weeks but just can't make me mind up. D

Was looking at cooler master 130 or raven rvz01 case. It is going in a cramped space so good air flow would be nice

Basically can someone help out a very confused man

Thanks for reading my ramble.
 
Solution
to answer your questions,
Chipsets nowdays will not affect computer performance however instead they will affect what you can do with your computer, for example a H97 chipset motherboard does not have the same overclocking capabilities as a Z97 motherboard hence the lower price, as for the numbering, the first number generally refers to the chipset generation and the second number to the type of chipset.

A fourth generation CPU would be recommended due to the fact that they run on the 22nm haswell architecture which will help in keeping your small compact pc cooler both idle and under load.

as for i3, i5, i7 or even pentium, unless you're planning on just upgrading the gpu in the future and nothing else, I would recommend an i3 cpu...
to answer your questions,
Chipsets nowdays will not affect computer performance however instead they will affect what you can do with your computer, for example a H97 chipset motherboard does not have the same overclocking capabilities as a Z97 motherboard hence the lower price, as for the numbering, the first number generally refers to the chipset generation and the second number to the type of chipset.

A fourth generation CPU would be recommended due to the fact that they run on the 22nm haswell architecture which will help in keeping your small compact pc cooler both idle and under load.

as for i3, i5, i7 or even pentium, unless you're planning on just upgrading the gpu in the future and nothing else, I would recommend an i3 cpu because they will preform almost the same as an i5 in games due to the fact that the gpu does 99% of the work nowadays and the lower TDP (Thermal Design Power) they have compared to an i5 which will keep your pc cooler.

Below is a list of pc components I'd recommend for your build.
As for a cpu cooler, buying onw is up to you, the stock cooler should suffice, however if you're concerned about temps because your pc's going to be in a crampt space, the noctua L9i would be a great option for keeping your pc just that tad bit cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor (£84.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£80.23 @ More Computers)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (Purchased For £0.00)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case (£32.80 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: be quiet! 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£31.64 @ Aria PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£74.43 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £389.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-22 13:13 GMT+0000

Optional
CPU Cooler: Noctua 9li (£36.11 @ Scan.co.uk)
 
Solution
Omg mubbles. I didn't think anyone had answered me. Life got in the way of a decision on PC. Ur answer is amazing. I thought to check this again on the off chance as my want has returned. Thank you very much for ur understandable and helpful answer.

Thanks again bud