Mini ITX build.

[TheGreatDew]

So, I started looking into these Mini ITX systems, not long ago I found http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/geforce-gtx-750-ti-mini-itx-pc-build-guide this article and then my attention really sparked.

The whole reason I got interested is that I have down time at work, 2 hours to be specific. I work with my dad and he is on the clock 2 hours later than I am so....I get bored lol. I have a 4 year old Alien ware laptop which was doing a great job up until BF4 came out. So that being said...I don't exactly need something mobile I just need it to be small. So I want to attempt to build one of these systems

SO. I have a good working 650 PSU sitting at home that I would really like to use, I have a 120gb SSD that I also would like to use in this build to keep costs down as they are sitting doing nothing. To start off I NEED to have a Cooler Master Elite 130 - Mini-ITX, The measurements are PERFECT for that I plan to lock this computer up in that being said here's what I planned to to

Cooler Master Elite 130 - Mini-ITX(Needs to be constant)
ASRock H61MV-ITX LGA 1155
Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz
CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX 650W(Already own this)
OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 2.5"(Already own this)
HyperX XMP Blu Red Series 8GB
MSI R9 270 GAMING 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5

I am not attached to this setup at all so please if you can offer any advice I would greatly appreciate it. My goal is to be able to play BF4 at medium to high with a very good smooth frame rate. I am fairly confident in the build but you know what happens when you get excited about something, you're blind to the stupid things.

 

[sadams04]

I would change the MB to the Gigabyte below simply because it has BT and WiFi built-in, but you are in good shape.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D94X4DO/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[TheGreatDew]

I would change the MB to the Gigabyte below simply because it has BT and WiFi built-in, but you are in good shape.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D94X4DO/?tag=pcpapi-20

Would this be better than maybe picking up a USB wifi card?

 

[fatboyslimerr]

I would change the MB to the Gigabyte below simply because it has BT and WiFi built-in, but you are in good shape.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D94X4DO/?tag=pcpapi-20

Would this be better than maybe picking up a USB wifi card?

I would say yes. Less things sticking out the back (or front) of your system and less compatibility issues. The R9 270 is a good choice. Which CPU cooler are you going to use? The Zalman CNPS5X Performa is great, or for a little more money the CNPS8900 Quiet is even better.

What Alienware laptop do you have? If its an M15x then why not update that instead? My M15x can score P7246 in 3Dmark11 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2654032/P7246.jpg

 

[TheGreatDew]

I would change the MB to the Gigabyte below simply because it has BT and WiFi built-in, but you are in good shape.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D94X4DO/?tag=pcpapi-20

Would this be better than maybe picking up a USB wifi card?

I would say yes. Less things sticking out the back (or front) of your system and less compatibility issues. The R9 270 is a good choice. Which CPU cooler are you going to use? The Zalman CNPS5X Performa is great, or for a little more money the CNPS8900 Quiet is even better.

What Alienware laptop do you have? If its an M15x then why not update that instead? My M15x can score P7246 in 3Dmark11 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2654032/P7246.jpg

Its actually a M17x from 2010ish.
I actually didn't even think about a cooler! lol I will check both of them out thank you very much for the suggestion!

 

[sadams04]

Would this be better than maybe picking up a USB wifi card?

Yep. To add to what fatboyslimerr said, having an internal card could also impede airflow in the ITX case.

 

[fatboyslimerr]

I would change the MB to the Gigabyte below simply because it has BT and WiFi built-in, but you are in good shape.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D94X4DO/?tag=pcpapi-20

Would this be better than maybe picking up a USB wifi card?

I would say yes. Less things sticking out the back (or front) of your system and less compatibility issues. The R9 270 is a good choice. Which CPU cooler are you going to use? The Zalman CNPS5X Performa is great, or for a little more money the CNPS8900 Quiet is even better.

What Alienware laptop do you have? If its an M15x then why not update that instead? My M15x can score P7246 in 3Dmark11 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2654032/P7246.jpg

Its actually a M17x from 2010ish.
I actually didn't even think about a cooler! lol I will check both of them out thank you very much for the suggestion!

Would that be the M17x r2 with 1200p screen, i7 xxxx and dual graphics? Some people on NBR forum have managed to get 7970M crossfire working on that laptop. Its extremely upgradable.

 

[TheGreatDew]

I would change the MB to the Gigabyte below simply because it has BT and WiFi built-in, but you are in good shape.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D94X4DO/?tag=pcpapi-20

Would this be better than maybe picking up a USB wifi card?

I would say yes. Less things sticking out the back (or front) of your system and less compatibility issues. The R9 270 is a good choice. Which CPU cooler are you going to use? The Zalman CNPS5X Performa is great, or for a little more money the CNPS8900 Quiet is even better.

What Alienware laptop do you have? If its an M15x then why not update that instead? My M15x can score P7246 in 3Dmark11 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2654032/P7246.jpg

Its actually a M17x from 2010ish.
I actually didn't even think about a cooler! lol I will check both of them out thank you very much for the suggestion!

Would that be the M17x r2 with 1200p screen, i7 xxxx and dual graphics? Some people on NBR forum have managed to get 7970M crossfire working on that laptop. Its extremely upgradable.

Its not the r2 and its a 1440 x 900 screen. At the time I needed it so I got what I could, I was going to be working 8 hours a day and it was sitting in a boiler room (SOOOOOO BORING) But the boss was like Hey you can play video games if you want here I don't care at all so It got bought. I remember looking into it a while back I didn't think It could be upgraded but I really do appreciate you trying to help me out

 

[TheGreatDew]

Would this be better than maybe picking up a USB wifi card?

Yep. To add to what fatboyslimerr said, having an internal card could also impede airflow in the ITX case.

Okay, cool thanks so much for the MOBO suggestion! I found a Rev 2.0 of it on new egg for 118, I figure I am saving money with the PSU and SSD I can throw a bit more at the MOBO plus BT would be a nice addition.

 

[TheGreatDew]

Oh, also one thing guys the Motherboard being suggested is 1150 I have a 1155 processor proposed here.

 

[fatboyslimerr]

Think he means this one http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-1155...&qid=1395248369&sr=1-1&keywords=gigabyte+h77n

Exactly the same name except for change in chipset and generation.

 

[TheGreatDew]

Think it would be worth going to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUUIWZ6/?tag=pcpapi-20 for a buck extra? =P

 

[fatboyslimerr]

Yes. Think the i5 4440 is clocked a bit higher than i5 3350P. Also Haswell makes a small improvement in IPC (instructions per clock) over sandybridge, meaning slightly more performance at the same clock speed. You also get the better features of H87 (more Sata 3 ports and usb 3 headers).