Want a Low Budget but Quick ITX

[viper_campbell]

Hi Guys/Gals,

I have been out of the PC building game for a fair few years now, mainly used Windows Laptops/Macbook Pros etc.

I fancy building myself a Smaller than Standard PC, that can handle itself, but doesn't break the bank either. Mainly will be used for Photo Editing, Design Work and normal kinda day to day items. Not a big gamer really but would be nice maybe later on to add a decent Graphics Card so that i can.

So far I have made a list as follows, any recommendations/alternatives/criticism is greatly appreciated!

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KgfcRB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KgfcRB/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.97 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($71.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $483.88

I am tempted to splash out and go for the i5-4460... ...

Thanks!

 

[BustaRhymes]

That Bitfenix prodigy case isn't something I would call small and you would need a graphics card to play games on it but overall it's not bad. Do you have another hard drive you going to put in there along with the SSD?

 

[Rammy]

I'm a huge Prodigy fan, but BustaRhymes is right, it's really not that small. It's significantly wider than your average mid-tower, so as a space saver it's not necessarily all that useful. If you like the aesthetic though, and can live with some of it's quirks, it's a great case, and super flexible. I'm actually writing this from a Prodigy machine.

As for your build, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but there's a few things to consider.

CPU - Nothing wrong with an i3 for general use, though if you aren't using a discrete graphics card it's potentially worth considering stepping up to a 4330 or greater as it adds Intel HD Graphics 4600.
Going for an i5 is certainly a good option if you can stretch that far. Unlike the i3s, the cheapest i5s (4430/4440/4460) are almost always the best ones, as you get the best value😛erformance ratio. Whether or not you'll get much benefit over an i3 really depends on the software you use and how complex the work you are attempting is.
Motherboard - The main decision for you is likely to be if you need integrated Wifi (due to lack of expansion slots) and if you can live with a H81 chipset. If you don't need Wifi, the H81 boards offer fantastic value for money, without any significant drawbacks.
Case - As mentioned, a Prodigy isn't small but it is very flexible with regards to what you can put in it. I'd avoid windowed versions if you do plan to add a graphics card. The black version has the best airflow, but the coloured (and white) ones are pretty competent here too.
PSU - For your build you don't need a massive PSU by any means. As it stands it'd run on a couple of hundred watts, but this will potentially limit your future expansion. A 400-450W PSU covers you for most low-mid level cards, while a 500-550W covers you for most mid-high end cards (usually coming equipped with two PCIe power cables required for this). I'd avoid the Corsair CX range, they are mediocre at best, and while the modular nature might seem an advantage, on lower capacities this actually comes down to a very small number of cables, and in a Prodigy you have sufficient room to work with cables. The wired XFX550W PSU is among the best entry level solutions and will give you a lot of flexibility going forwards, as well as coming with a 5year warranty.

 

[viper_campbell]

Thank you so much guys, very helpful.

@BustaRhymes - Yes i know the Prodigy isn't the smallest of cases, but when compared to a full size tower it is small in comparison... So that is good enough for me.
The SSD will be the only Hard Drive in the machine, but i do have a server in my apartment and have plenty of storage (4TB Raid 1) currently

@Rammy - Yes I also love the look of it, I am just hoping I can find one where I am. So may be restricted by that and maybe what colour I can get hold of, very tempted by the Black, White or Red at the moment.

CPU - The difference between the 4330 and the 4460 is around US$30, will see what happens, just waiting for a couple of work vendors to get back to me about prices. I may be able to stretch. I just don't wanna buy a CPU then in 6 months time want to upgrade it because I'm not happy with the speed, selling a second hand CPU here will be very difficult.

Motherboard - I don't really need built in WiFi, it would obviously be a bonus, is there an equivilant motherboard that has built in Wifi for not much more? I still want at least dual monitor support and lots of USB3

Case - Im pretty set on Prodigy if i can get hold of one. I did read somewhere about making the airflow better on the solid front versions by putting a spacer on the front panel to bring it out slightly.

PSU - Cant really find much on XFX here, but will have an ask around tomorrow. Any other brands that are good to go for?? Antec, SilverStone Strider Essential?

 

[Zaiderify]

Make sure the psu is less than 160mm long. My seasonic x650 is 160mm and it is a very tight fit in my prodigy.

 

[viper_campbell]

If i wanted to add a graphics card to this setup, what GPU would be best to go with? In order to handle pretty much most games that i could throw at it.

 

[Rammy]

Sadly that question is as vague as "how long is a piece of string?"
Budget, the type of games, what type of fps and settings you consider acceptable, and the resolution of your monitor is hugely significant to the answer.

As a (very very) rough guide, going forwards-
Single 1080P monitor or lower - mid settings - R7 260X/GTX750Ti - $100-130
Single 1080P monitor - high settings - R9 280/280X/GTX760 - $200-250
Single 1440P/1080P monitor - increasingly game dependant - R9 290X/GTX780 - $450-500

Take those with a pinch of salt as it's really tricky to be specific. Most people these days use a single 1080P display, and more or less any modern DDR5 graphics card can run any game on the market, albeit at reduces settings/framerates, so you can realistically be happy gaming on a $100 graphics card. At the opposite end of the spectrum, if you want to turn on every possible setting without turning your game into a slide show, some games would need a really top end card, even at 1080P, so you could spend five times that to basically achieve the same result.


If you have specific games in mind, I'd strongly advise looking up benchmarks to see how well cards perform.

 

[viper_campbell]

Hi Guys,

Have been away for Holidays and am now back, have been looking through things, reading lots, and here is my new list!

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sYQTzy
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sYQTzy/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($196.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $591.35

Couple of Notes:
-I can actually get the i5-4570 for the same price as the i5-4460, so thought that was worth doing.. let me know if i missed something and isn't a good idea!
-I can possibley get a Corsair CX600 PSU for nearly half the price of the XFX 550W PSU, will the Corsair be fine and be ok to add a mid range GPU later on?
-The cost where I am is equivalent to US$598.58

Thanks

 

[Rammy]

The only issue with your logic is that a 4570 and a 4460 are mainly the same thing - same design and base clock speed but a slightly different turbo function. The 4570 is better, so yeah it's the one to go for if the prices are the same, but in general I'll stick to my mantra "cheapest i5 is the best i5".

A Corsair CX can actually be very good value. They are not good PSUs by anyone's definition, but they are available nearly everywhere in the world, consistently priced competitively, and in many markets they are regularly discounted/rebated making them quite tempting. On the downside, they have a shorter warranty, lower tested temperatures, and despite a CX600 being a "600W" PSU, it actually only has 24W extra on +12V (the voltage you actually use), so don't think you are getting some extra capacity.
If it was me, I wouldn't do it, as I would liken it to buying cheap seatbelts or something, but I have had a PSU fail in one of my systems before.
I can totally understand the argument that if you are on a super-tight budget, never intend to overclock, and are using mid-low end components, it can offer you great value for money. It's not uncommon for CX430/500s to pop up in the ~$20 range and it's near to unbeatable as it's competition in that price bracket is utter junk.


Otherwise it's looking pretty solid.

 

[viper_campbell]

Thanks for all the help guys!!

Have purchased a few of the parts already, in the end I went for the following (only change really was the motherboard to a H97M/ac-ITX):

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock H97M/ac-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Looking forward to getting it all built up etc, next will be some sleeving and a 230mm Bitfenix Spectre Fan!!