advice for mini-itx

[randyrox]

hello guys, i'm planning to build a slim mini-itx pc for casual gaming(dota2).

Consideration:

I want a small build so that it would take less space and i would prefer a low power consumption build.
i want a slim casing, preferably around 300mm x 300mm x 120mm.
Primary usage is for casual gaming and web browsing and watching video, that's all.
i will prefer to be able to run dota 2 smoothly with max settings on 1920x1080 (not very important, in case if budget not enough)
i will be using wifi.
I have keyboard, mouse and os.
i would like to spend no more than 900 (of course lesser the better).

my plan:

intel G2020
Asrock B75M-ITX
Sapphire HD7750-LP
Geil 8GB(4GBx2) PC3-12800 1600MHz C9
Hitachi 2.5 in 320GB
Thermaltake SD101 with 180W
Viewsonic 21.5 in VA2238wm-LED
ASUS USB N13

according to mynextcomonline, it will cost me $815. Btw i'm planning to buy it from mynextcom too.

Bros, would appreciate your advice if my plan can be improved. Thanks.

 

[royfrosty]

hello guys, i'm planning to build a mini-itx pc for casual gaming(dota2).

Consideration:

I want a small build so that it would take less space and i would prefer a low power consumption build.
Primary usage is for casual gaming and web browsing and watching video, that's all.
i will prefer to be able to run dota 2 smoothly with max settings on 1920x1080 (not very important, in case if budget not enough)
i will be using wifi.
I have keyboard, mouse and os.
i would like to spend no more than 900 (of course lesser the better).

my plan:

intel G2020
Asrock B75M-ITX
Sapphire HD7750-LP
Geil 8GB(4GBx2) PC3-12800 1600MHz C9
Hitachi 2.5 in 320GB
Thermaltake SD101 with 180W
Viewsonic 21.5 in VA2238wm-LED
ASUS USB N13

according to mynextcomonline, it will cost me $815. Btw i'm planning to buy it from mynextcom too.

Bros, would appreciate your advice if my plan can be improved. Thanks.

You using a pentium CPU to play dota? Reconsider you PSU. Its not good to load your PSU at more than 80% all the time. If you have a budget of $800 I rather you reconsider a matx setup with an itx size chassis and yet cheaper.

And if I'm not wrong at $800 an i3 setup would be better.

 

[Jian19]

i3-3220 + Asrock b75m itx ~ $244
Kingston 8gb value ram ~ $94
Wd blue 500gb ~ $60
PC 7770 ~ $145
Andyson G plus 450w ~ $45
CM elite 110 ~ $85
Lg ips234 ~ $199 (best price shop beside fuwell)
Asus USB n13 ~ $38

Total ~ $910 buy and DIY @ tradepac ~ ask for discount...

 

[royfrosty]

Asrock B75m DGS + i3-3220 ~ $211
Kingston Value Ram 8gb 1600mhz ~ $93
Hitachi Deskstar 500gb ~ $60
Powercolor R7 250 ~ $148
Corsair CX430M Bronze 80+ Efficiency Modular PSU ~ $79
Silverstone SG02F ~ $88
LG IPS234V 23inch IPS monitor ~ $199 (Best Price Shop beside Fuwell)
TP Link N150 USB Wireless Adapter ~ $20

Total $898. Buy at tradepac except for monitor.

Price last updated was on Tuesday 15th OCT 2013. Thats why can recommend you new graphics card that are currently available in market right now

Alternative build for below $800

Asrock H71M DGS + i3-3220 ~ $195
Kingston Value Ram 4gb 1600mhz ~ $49
Hitachi Deskstar 500gb ~ $60
Powercolor 7750 1gb ~ $122
Fsp hexa 500w ~ $ 58
Silverstone SG02F ~ $88
LG IPS234V 23inch IPS monitor ~ $199 (Best Price Shop beside Fuwell)
TP Link N150 USB Wireless Adapter ~ $20

Total $791. Buy at tradepac except monitor.

 

[Jian19]

Roy ur price is $898..

 

[Lippyt]

hello guys, i'm planning to build a mini-itx pc for casual gaming(dota2).

Consideration:

I want a small build so that it would take less space and i would prefer a low power consumption build.
Primary usage is for casual gaming and web browsing and watching video, that's all.
i will prefer to be able to run dota 2 smoothly with max settings on 1920x1080 (not very important, in case if budget not enough)
i will be using wifi.
I have keyboard, mouse and os.
i would like to spend no more than 900 (of course lesser the better).

my plan:

intel G2020
Asrock B75M-ITX
Sapphire HD7750-LP
Geil 8GB(4GBx2) PC3-12800 1600MHz C9
Hitachi 2.5 in 320GB
Thermaltake SD101 with 180W
Viewsonic 21.5 in VA2238wm-LED
ASUS USB N13

according to mynextcomonline, it will cost me $815. Btw i'm planning to buy it from mynextcom too.

Bros, would appreciate your advice if my plan can be improved. Thanks.

You can consider a Silverstone SG05 and 300W FSP Bronze SFX PSU for a total of $128, much higher wattage PSU would allow for you to eventually upgrade to a quad core processor without worry. Also you can use non-low profile GPUs, which gives you much more choices.

Most important thing when buying from mynextcom is to call in before hand for parts availability. They rarely have excess stocks of many of their products.

 

[randyrox]

thanks guys.

I forget to mentioned that i want a slim chassis, around 120mm wide. the best is around 300mm x 300mm x 120mm max. Anyway, would this be ok?

mynextcomonline.com/in-win-bp655-with-300w/

Roy, i thought matx setup means it can only fit in matx case? Are there any matx motherboards that can fit in itx case? Anyway your recommended case is too big for me already.

Lippyt, would a non-low profile GPU fit in a slim itx case?

Anyway, why do many of you recommend to buy at tradepac? I prefer to have my rig delivered and build at home so i can save the time and money for transport.

 

[randyrox]

Btw, i don't see much difference in the spec for g2020 and i3 3210/20. Just that the i3 has more clock speed and better built in graphics. Would this matter much in terms of casual gaming? anyway the price difference quite huge too, $70~.

EDIT: ok nvm, i looked around a bit and saw this:

tomshardware.co.uk/dota-2-performance-benchmark,review-32678-8.html

So i'm convinced that it does make quite a big difference.

 

[Lippyt]

thanks guys.

I forget to mentioned that i want a slim chassis, around 120mm wide. the best is around 300mm x 300mm x 120mm max. Anyway, would this be ok?

mynextcomonline.com/in-win-bp655-with-300w/

Roy, i thought matx setup means it can only fit in matx case? Are there any matx motherboards that can fit in itx case? Anyway your recommended case is too big for me already.

Lippyt, would a non-low profile GPU fit in a slim itx case?

Anyway, why do many of you recommend to buy at tradepac? I prefer to have my rig delivered and build at home so i can save the time and money for transport.

SG05 dimensions: 222 mm (W) x 176 mm (H) x 276 mm (D), 10.8 liters

It's more boxy than slim. The overall footprint is 22.2cm X 27.6cm, so see if that is too big.

You can't use the inwin casing if you want to get a HD 7750 Low profile. The Sapphire 7750 has a cooler which is taller than a single slot. Hence, if you really want a slim case, the thermaltake sd101 should be your choice.

The slimmest ITX case that can take a non-low profile GPU has to be either the lian li Q03 or Q11 (20cm wide), a normal PCIE card is already 11.5cm in width, hence I am pretty sure there are no 120mm thin cases that can take a full profile GPU.

As for the comparison between the pentium and i3 chips - the i3 has hyperthreading which would determine if multithreaded (or severely poorly optimized) games like BF3 can run smoothly. It is a much safer bet getting the i3.

Lastly, it is a matter of personal opinion; I would not shop at tradepac due to their poor ethics and service standards.

A much better shop to buy everything at would be PC Themes, look for the best (and second best) salespeople in SLS - Yi Long or Yazid.

 

[royfrosty]

Roy, i thought matx setup means it can only fit in matx case? Are there any matx motherboards that can fit in itx case? Anyway your recommended case is too big for me already.

Lippyt, would a non-low profile GPU fit in a slim itx case?

Anyway, why do many of you recommend to buy at tradepac? I prefer to have my rig delivered and build at home so i can save the time and money for transport.

Matx boards can be fitted into a matx chassis. True. But there are chassis that is almost as small as an itx chassis. Just slightly bigger by an inch in height length and width.

If you want service standards and stuffs then PC themes is a nice place to go. Definitely pay slightly more. But if you want cheap and have a tight budget then I rather you go tradepac as they are definitely cheaper and dare to undercut or price match other shops. Do you think my 850w PSU can get at below $140 gold standard?

If you have a tight budget to work with then do a little homework and when head there be firm with your products selection and get further discounts by bargaining from them. You might walk away with an i3 rig around $750.

If you want delivery service then go for mynextcom. Their price is competitive.

 

[randyrox]

SG05 dimensions: 222 mm (W) x 176 mm (H) x 276 mm (D), 10.8 liters

It's more boxy than slim. The overall footprint is 22.2cm X 27.6cm, so see if that is too big.

You can't use the inwin casing if you want to get a HD 7750 Low profile. The Sapphire 7750 has a cooler which is taller than a single slot. Hence, if you really want a slim case, the thermaltake sd101 should be your choice.

I don't understand what you mean when you say it is taller than a single slot. I was thinking it would fit because the specs for this inwin casing is similar to the antec ISK300-150 that was used to build the rig for the system marathon builder q2 2013(the same gpu is used) here:

tomshardware.com/reviews/mini-itx-do-it-yourself-game-console,3531.html

 

[Lippyt]

I don't understand what you mean when you say it is taller than a single slot. I was thinking it would fit because the specs for this inwin casing is similar to the antec ISK300-150 that was used to build the rig for the system marathon builder q2 2013(the same gpu is used) here:

tomshardware.com/reviews/mini-itx-do-it-yourself-game-console,3531.html

Okay its good that you searched. I can't access the link. The sapphire HD 7750 is indeed a single slot LP card. So it will fit.

I was mistakenly referring to the HIS HD 7750.

 

[randyrox]

Thanks all. The LG monitor seem to be priced really cheap compared to its usual price. I suppose it won't be on sale for long right?

Maybe i should go there tomorrow. What time does the shop closes?

 

[royfrosty]

Thanks all. The LG monitor seem to be priced really cheap compared to its usual price. I suppose it won't be on sale for long right?

Maybe i should go there tomorrow. What time does the shop closes?

11.30-8.30pm

there are quite a few of monitors out there especially 23inch having good promo for cash and carry.

Dell S2340L gloss ips panel RRP $248. Cash and carry $218
Acer H236HL ips panel RRP $239 Cash and carry $209
AOC I2367FH ips panel RRP $249 Cash and carry $219

Almost $30 in savings.

LG IPS234V ips panel $239 cash and carry $199.

Best is go there take a look at the monitors, colors, and what you really need.

 

[randyrox]

Hey Roy, is the shop Best Price Computers Pte Ltd? I called them but they say no promotions for 23in at all.

 

[royfrosty]

Hey Roy, is the shop Best Price Computers Pte Ltd? I called them but they say no promotions for 23in at all.

Is on their brochure leh. Probably lazy entertain you. Go down have a look is the best way to find out. Their brochure is at their shop. Last taken their brochure was on Sunday.