[SOLVED] Sub £500 mini-ITX Budget Gaming Build - Which Mobo?

[daniel.maxwell]

Hi all,

Not posted here in a while... I guess it's been a while since I've actually had a chance to think about getting back into gaming again, and now I'm in my early 30's!! No time like the present right...

Anyway. I'd like to build a budget gaming PC, mini-ITX form factor so it's not going to take up much space in my home 'office'. I'd like to be able to play fairly retro titles like Deus Ex Human Revolution & Mankind Divided (I said I was catching up, right!), L4D2 and perhaps more modern titles like Wasteland, or some of the more recent COD franchise. I'm not a massive FPS junkie, I don't intend to OC or ever upgrade this (beyond more storage, perhaps).

More info:

• Budget is £500 (ideally)
• The CPU I've chosen is a Ryzen 5 3400G (around £130)
• The case I've chosen is a Coolermaster H100 (around £60)
• I have a EVGA 850GQ already (I assume this will 'fit' in the above case)
• Looking at 2x 8GB DDR4 sticks... looking at a set of 2x 8GB DDR4 3466 Corsairs or GSkills or something (around £100)
• Looking at 1x 250GB SN750 NVMe WD Black for storage (around £60)

My question:

• A really helpful Youtube video suggested the Asrock B450, but I'm not 100% convinced of the brand. Last year I built a regular ATX for my-step son using an Asus ROG X470F with a Ryzen7 2700X, so maybe I should check out the Asus ROG B450 - or perhaps the Aorus B450. What should I be looking for in motherboards for this form factor?
• Any other considerations I should bear in mind/things I've missed out?

Thanks in advance.

Dan

 

[tennis2]

ATX is a waste. Nobody fills all those expansion slots anyway.

Whats your build timeframe? AMD Ryzen 4000 series boards are launching in a couple months.

You don't need anywhere near an 850W PSU for these components. Even a 550W PSU would give you quite a bit of headroom for a better CPU and adding a graphics card down the road.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£125.92 @ Senetic)
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard (£109.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (£66.78 @ Aria PC)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£68.49 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase H100 ARGB Mini ITX Desktop Case (£53.50 @ Box Limited)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£83.97 @ SmartTeck.co.uk)
Total: £508.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-31 16:59 BST+0100

 

[logainofhades]

Keeping the PSU, that you already have purchased, I would say this would be a smarter way to spend £500. You will get more consistent framerates, out of a GT 1030, than you would the APU, you get a faster CPU, and better upgrade options, for CPU, and PCI-E Gen 4 graphics/storage.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£119.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard (£129.92 @ More Computers)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£56.31 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£56.99 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card (£76.48 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case (£54.95 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For £0.00)
Total: £494.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-31 18:27 BST+0100

 

[tennis2]

Keeping the PSU, that you already have purchased

Oops!

 

[logainofhades]

I should have also added, that your PSU will not fit the CM H100.

 

[daniel.maxwell]

Thanks both! Great food for thought here... whilst I like the appeal of a R5 3400G with on-board graphics, I figure dedicated GPU wins every time (if selected properly).

I'm kind of set on the CM H100 case, as it matches alongside the H500 my step-son has.

Whats your build timeframe? AMD Ryzen 4000 series boards are launching in a couple months.

No real hurry... but I guess I'd like something in the next month or two. For my proposed use case above, other than future-proofing my rig for a bit longer, would the latest hardware serve any additional benefits? Perhaps it'll drive down the prices of the components we're looking at above?

I should have also added, that your PSU will not fit the CM H100.

Good spot... but for my knowledge, how did you arrive at that conclusion? EVGA 850GQ measurements are 85mm (H) x 150mm (W) x 180mm (L), and the CM-H100 can accommodate 210mm (without radiator) or 160mm (with radiator).

2 more questions...

• If I were to over-step my budget by say 10%, what component should I be looking to upgrade.. e.g. opting for a 1050 over a 1030?
• What is governing your choice of MSI and Asrock mobos respectively?

 

[tennis2]

Each of the big 4 (Asus, AsRock, Gigabyte, MSI) make good boards and not so good boards. At your budget and power requirements, there's nothing to be concerned about.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£119.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard (£129.92 @ More Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£58.38 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Crucial P2 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£58.14 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB VENTUS XS OC Video Card (£134.95 @ AWD-IT)
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase H100 ARGB Mini ITX Desktop Case (£53.50 @ Box Limited)
Total: £554.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-31 21:59 BST+0100