Micro PC build for gaming & Resolume

jainob

New member
Hello all. This is my first serious PC purchase. I want to play some videogames (it's been years since I've had a PC good enough to play games on!) and I'm also looking to get into running visuals through projectors and screens at events. For this purpose I'll be using a program called Resolume. I've opted for the smallest case I can for added portability.

I've done a bunch of research and this is what I've settled on. Just posting here in case anyone has anything I didn't consider. The £750 is already pushing my budget, so I'd be looking to spend not much more than this if any.

Case - COOLERMASTER ELITE 130 CASE
CPU - Intel® CoreTM i3 Quad Core Processor i3-8350K (4.00GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® PRIME H310i PLUS R2.0: Mini-ITX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
RAM - 8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB) (I've started low on this so I can upgrade it down the line)
GPU - 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660
Storage - 480GB ADATA SU650 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
Cooling - Noctua NH-L9i Low Profile, Super Quiet CPU Cooler

I chose the CPU on the basis that I've read that Resolume more often puts heavy loads onto fewer cores, so it's better to have fewer cores at higher speeds. Is this sensible? And I'm not 100% sure whether AMD or Intel will work better for my purpose.

I'll likely be using my laptop in warm environments for long periods of time. I wasn't sure whether to opt for air cooling or the equivalent price water cooling (Coolermaster Masterliquid Lite 120) but I was worried that if I'm transporting it often a knock may cause the water cooler to leak. Is this concern founded? Will a water cooler work significantly better?

Thanks in advance! Super excited for my new PC.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
What monitor are you gaming on?

Why the Noctua cooler specifically?

What's the context for needing the PC to be more portable?
 

jainob

New member
Hi Oussebon

I'll probably mostly be gaming on a Panasonic tx-p42st30b 42" flatscreen TV (http://www.soundandvision.co.uk/tv/...tx-p42st30-42-neo-plasma-3d-hd-freeview-1080p). I'm planning on getting a small (~15"?) portable USB monitor for easy transport but this probably won't be used for games.

When I'm VJing I'll need to be able to take it with me to events to power their big LED screens/projectors/whatever other video arrays they may have - hence the need for portability. I may well be needing to transport it to and from gigs in a duffel bag or flight case, perhaps sometimes on buses or trains.

I picked the Noctua because, of the options PC Specialist gave, this was the only air cooler that would fit. I've got a vague plan down the line to mount more fans on the outside of the case and power them by USB, attached in such a way that I can slot them on when I know I'm going to be pushing the machine to its limits for long periods. Also I plan to improve the dust filtering as I saw some reviews complaining about this, but it looks pretty easy to improve.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
You could drop the GPU to an RX 570, which is ~£80 cheaper. You can still expect ~high settings in even the more demanding modern games. it also has more display outputs, in case that's useful.

That would let you go for a few better parts for the system. e.g. the Fractal 304, which comes with better fans and better dust filters. Saving you cash later on and likely avoiding the need to frankenstein the case.

You should also be looking at a TXm series PSU, which is modular and therefore reduces the number of cables in the case (improving airflow, further reducing the need for MOAR FANS), as well as being more efficient and better quality than the VS series.

If sticking with an Intel system get the i5 9400F or i5 9400. They turbo boost to a similar frequency to the i3 for a similar price, and offer more cores. The 9400F is a smidge faster and is cheaper, but lacks integrated graphics, which can be useful to have as a fallback.

An AND R5 2600x would offer fairly competitive performance for single threaded workloads, and be much better for multithreaded ones as it has SMT unlike the Intel CPUs in this price range. The B450 motherboard also has onboard wifi, and USB 3.1 Gen 2. It will also support newer gens of CPU, and supports faster RAM than the cheap Intel boards.

The AMD's stock cooler is also entirely viable, unlike Intel's which are best avoided, clawing back quite a bit of cash vs the Noctua.

The SX6000 SSD from the M.2 SSD Drive menu is not much more expensive, but quite a lot faster.

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN NODE 304 Mini ITX Case
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)

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Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 570 - HDMI, 3 x DP - DX® 12

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1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN PORT + Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi excluded on H310I-PLUS)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £799.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-sff-gaming/j2!3R6vbZy/
 
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