Building a Mini PC Recommendation

[solarius88]

For Starters I'm looking to build a Multimedia Mini PC as tiny as possible with a decent enough speed on a budget of around $500 including the windows 7 OS and if possible an SSD or hybrid HDD.
If these are not attainable I would consider increasing the budget

Main usage would be general streaming, surfing, ms tools and probably light gaming like FTL, minecraft and banner saga

Increasing the budget slightly to Play Sims 4 would be great too but not a priority.

Thanks

 

[Alternative X]

CPU+ Mobo: MSI FM2A75IA-E53 + A6-6400K (215)
RAM: 2X KINGSTON PC 10600/1333MHZ DDR3 CL9 VALUE RAM (2GB) (80)
HDD: TOSHIBA 1TB 7200RPM (69)
DVD-RW: LG 24X DVD-RW SATA OEM (25)
PSU: FSP 300W 80% ATX PSU (39)
Case: CM 110 M-ITX (75)
OS:WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM (120)

Total cost: $623

Unless otherwise stated, buy at PC Themes, #04-15, and ask for discounts. DIY yourself. If you can't into DIY, get PC Themes to assemble for you for a fee.

Notes:

1) Due to the higher costs of ITX parts, a $500 ITX gaming build is not possible. Try increasing the budget to $600-$800. Add another $100 for a SSD.

2) This build can play FTL, Minecraft and Banner Saga at high-max settings, but you will have to play Sims 4 in a lower resolution for good performance. This is made possible due to the significantly superior iGPU in AMD's APUs when compared to Intel HD Graphics in Intel CPUs.

3) Got any old parts like DVD-drives, DDR3 RAM and HDD from any old computers/laptops? Can consider reusing these parts to save $$$.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

For Starters I'm looking to build a Multimedia Mini PC as tiny as possible with a decent enough speed on a budget of around $500 including the windows 7 OS and if possible an SSD or hybrid HDD.
If these are not attainable I would consider increasing the budget

Main usage would be general streaming, surfing, ms tools and probably light gaming like FTL, minecraft and banner saga

Increasing the budget slightly to Play Sims 4 would be great too but not a priority.

Thanks

More performance both ways at lower cost.

CPU+MB: Intel Pentium G3240 + ASUS H81I-PLUS @ $173
More CPU horsepower at much lower power with Intel Haswell for all your possible needs.
RAM: Crucial DDR3-1600 CL11 4GB @ $49
Your discrete GPU performance is independent of system RAM performance. No implications. No bottleneck.
GPU: PowerColor HD 7730 2GB [DDR3] @ $88
Trade blows performance away as the similarly powered HD 8470D on A6-6400K.
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB @ $68
PSU: FSP300-50HMN 300W @ $30
CASE: Cooler Master Elite 110 @ $75
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit [OEM] @ $115

Total: $598

Optional:
SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB @ $105
Boost system responsiveness if storage capacity is not your priority.

Buy from Tradepac, #05-19. Haggle for discounts.

 

[solarius88]

Thanks for the suggestion guys!

I've notice that cooler master 130 is available any reason I should be looking at cm 110?
Or is this due to the budget I've set?

 

[Alternative X]

Thanks for the suggestion guys!

I've notice that cooler master 130 is available any reason I should be looking at cm 110?
Or is this due to the budget I've set?

The CM 130 costs $99 and is about the size of a large shoebox. The CM 110 is more suitable as it is cheaper and is about the size of a small cube, which suits your requirements better since you wanted a system as small as possible and have a relatively tight budget.

 

[GeForce]

Would strongly recommend Jonsbo U2 casing excellent build quality and looks.
Can buy at PCT.