Advice on a gaming mini PC

[Devourer]

Hi there. This is just a duplication of a post I put on the general "check this spec" forum, in case mini-PC specialists are more prevalent in this forum, as I want as much knowledge and opinions as possible before I buy anything.

I'm hoping to buy a mini PC for use in university. My 5 year old desktop is just too big to lug around and laptops aren't quite powerful enough for my needs, so a mini PC is the compromise. Below is the spec I have gone for. The case size is the smallest one capable of housing relatively powerful hardware, and I don't want to get any bigger- but this limits its power supply. As such I have chosen arguably the most powerful graphics card available and a slightly less powerful CPU. The computer will be for university work, internet browsing and, most importantly, gaming. I want this PC to be able to play the latest releases, and to do so for 4-5 years to come (albeit settings may need to be reduced as time goes on).

My questions are;

1) Is the spec powerful enough to handle the latest games (my research into the GPU and CPU suggest so but I want as many opinions as possible) and will it be able to do so for a few years?

2) Should I get a slightly less powerful GPU and a more powerful CPU or have I made the right choice if gaming is important to me? Power supply is the limitation with the selected case. Is the CPU going to be good enough?

3) Any issues you can see with this spec? Any other observations or recommendations?

Many thanks in advance.

Case
Silverstone SG05B-USB3.0 Mini-ITX Case + 300W PSU
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Processor i5-3470T (2.9GHz) 3MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-I: Mini-ITX, LG1155, USB 3.0, SATA 3GBs
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £734.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Diem]

I'll defer to the experts on the GPU question, but would query whether a larger hard disk wouldn't be a good idea. I haven't looked about potential for adding further drives (perhaps you're limited to one), but the 500GB Caviar Black gets repeated recommendations.

 

[Devourer]

Ok thanks for that. The other thing I'm concerned about is the 300W power supply. Whilst it seems to have gone through the specifications just fine on the design page, and adding more powerful hardware seems to send it over the edge and brings up the warning message, is the 300W going to be enough? I'm assuming that PCS wouldn't allow it through if it wasn't enough, right?

 

[keynes]

is the 300W going to be enough?

It is not going to be enough for your built . The minimum PSU requirement for the GTX 670 (from the configurator) is 650w.

 

[Devourer]

Yes that's what concerned me, how come it goes through the specification page without a warning then? Does it just mean it will work at a very base level?

 

[vanthus]

If the configurator gives you the ok.then you'll be fine,the 670 doesn't require anything near 650W.
PCS,wont sell you a rig that is not going to be compatible.

 

[Devourer]

Ah ok then, thank you. I notice on the GPU info page it mentions the GTX 670 has Maximum Power Usage (225W) and Minimum PSU Requirement (650 W), which is probably causing some confusion. Whats the difference? I'm assuming its the 225W that will apply if the configurator gives it the OK?

 

[keynes]

Ah ok then, thank you. I notice on the GPU info page it mentions the GTX 670 has Maximum Power Usage (225W) and Minimum PSU Requirement (650 W), which is probably causing some confusion. Whats the difference? I'm assuming its the 225W that will apply if the configurator gives it the OK?

My understanding is that the 225w is just for the GTX 670 and the 650w is for the whole system including the GTX 670. But not sure if it also applies to mini PCs.

 

[vanthus]

The average power consumption of a 670 is about 170W,I don't understand why it's saying minimum requirement of PSU is 650W,this probably refers to other systems,best phone PCS for clarification,but as I said they wont sell you a rig that's not going to perform adequately.

 

[Devourer]

I contacted PCS and they said its best I get a case with a 450W power supply. Also I have decided to get Windows 7 installed. This obviously changed the price so I've had to change the GPU and CPU- I am trying to keep to a budget of under £730. So below is the new spec I've created bearing all of this in mind, but I just have a few questions related to it.

1) Ive selected a higher ghz dual core CPU rather than the lower Quad core, reviews say its perfectly fine for gaming. The consensus seems to be that if a budget choice forces you to choose very good CPU and decent GPU OR a decent CPU and very good GPU the latter is better for gaming. Any thoughts on this would be welcomed though?

2) Is the spec I've made going to be good for gaming? I'll only ever be using 1 screen, if that helps. Again, any other recoomendations welcome.

3) Apparently AMD will be lowering their GPU prices at the end of the week (link below), will PCS be implementing these price reductions over the weekend if they come to fruition?
http://hothardware.com/News/AMD-Takes-Axe-To-Radeon-Prices-Announces-Game-Bundle/

Many thanks for advice.

Case
Silverstone SG02B-F Mini-ITX Case (Black) + 450W PSU
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3-2120 Dual Core (3.30GHz, 3MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-I: Mini-ITX, LG1155, USB 3.0, SATA 3GBs
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (1 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7950 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Free Item
FREE DIRT SHOWDOWN GAME with any AMD 7000 Series GPU!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £726.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[keynes]

Ive selected a higher ghz dual core CPU rather than the lower Quad core, reviews say its perfectly fine for gaming. The consensus seems to be that if a budget choice forces you to choose very good CPU and decent GPU OR a decent CPU and very good GPU the latter is better for gaming. Any thoughts on this would be welcomed though?

I would stick to your first spec, a dual core processor may bottleneck your GPU in more processor bound games.

 

[Devourer]

Putting the quad core back on this spec sends it too over budget unfortunately, unless I lower the GPU to compensate.

*Edit- the first spec is also a dual core actually, although its an I5- but there's little price difference between that and another I5 that is quad core, but there is a big difference between those and the I3 dual core I've now selected.

 

[keynes]

Putting the quad core back on this spec sends it too over budget unfortunately, unless I lower the GPU to compensate.

You could get the HD 7870 (or GTX 660 ti). You may also want to consider getting a caviar black which is faster than the standard hdd you have selected.

 

[Devourer]

I'd get better gaming with a quad core i5 and a 7870 than a dual cor i3 and 7950 in your opinion? If so I'll try that spec out no worries.

Also, what noticeable affect will the HDD have on my gaming experience?

Thanks for the replies btw

 

[keynes]

I'd get better gaming with a quad core i5 and a 7870 than a dual cor i3 and 7950 in your opinion? If so I'll try that spec out no worries.

Also, what noticeable affect will the HDD have on my gaming experience?

Thanks for the replies btw

It depends on the game. The HD 7950 is a better GPU than the HD 7870, for games that are more GPU dependant you may get better performance with the i3 + HD 7950 but for more processor bound games like Skyrim and Starcraft 2 your dual core processor may bottleneck the HD 7950. The caviar black will allow you to boot windows faster and loading times while gaming may improve.

 

[vanthus]

I'd get better gaming with a quad core i5 and a 7870 than a dual cor i3 and 7950 in your opinion? If so I'll try that spec out no worries.

Also, what noticeable affect will the HDD have on my gaming experience?

Thanks for the replies btw

I would recommend you dont downgrade the GPU for the sake of a better CPU,get the best graphics card you can afford as far as gaming goes.The CPU is only important on a very few games,even then it might handle them on low settings.
BF3 & crysis2 two of the most demanding games out only requires a dual core processor to be able to play.
Also,a faster hard drive wont noticeably help performance when playing games.

 

[Devourer]

Ok I'll do what I can. In honesty if my current 5 year old tower with a Core 2 Duo 3ghz, 4GB RAM and two 8800GT in SLI can play Skyrim and BF3 (with lots of updates, drivers and tweaks) on med-to-high settings I'm sure I'll be fine with this new configuration. I'll take all the advice on board and make a spec soon.

Any idea if PCS prices will come down on the AMD GPU's over the weekend as per my last post on the previous page?

 

[keynes]

Any idea if PCS prices will come down on the AMD GPU's over the weekend as per my last post on the previous page?

You may want to email them for an official response. Regarding the CPU/GPU combination it depends on the games you have in mind. The HD 7870 is a very good card and will allow you to play games like Battlefield 3 at high settings.

 

[cjc1984]

You could get the HD 7870 (or GTX 660 ti). You may also want to consider getting a caviar black which is faster than the standard hdd you have selected.

One thing with the Caviar Blacks though is their noisy as hell. I had one in a gaming tower I bought from PCS and I ended up selling and replacing it as the noise was pretty ridiculous, and didn't find it that much faster.

 

[vanthus]

I've had a caviar black for almost two years & haven't noticed any excessive noise from it to be honest.