Mini PC Gaming Powerhouse

[gavmac]

Hello all,

I've made up a mini PC build that I'm hoping would be really, really good. As always though, if there are any better configurations that would optimise the system, please speak up. Will be used primarily for gaming on the highest possible settings but with a small footprint. I am, however, worried about keeping the components cool in a small case. Will this be an issue?

I've made some comments below on why I've chosen certain parts.

Case
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Case (White)
- Don't want a big unit, however am concerned about cooling
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
- Not planning on overclocking but I like having to option to if I wanted in the future
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-I DELUXE: Mini-ITX, LG1155, Wi-Fi, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card3
GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
- expensive but that's okay, this is a must (until convinced otherwise)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£79)
Processor CoolingCorsair H40 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£39)
- only extra cooling available in options
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
- will get external soundcard
Network Facilities
2 x HomePlug 200Mbps - Turn any Electrical Socket into a Network (£38)
- pc will be far enough from the hub for this to be a must
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
- option not available to upgrade this
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Cable Tidy
JML 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management For Your PC (£4)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)


Price
£1,563.00 inc VAT

This is about as much as I'm willing to spend so any ways to reduce the price without affecting performance would be great.

Any questions, let me know.

Thanks

 

[keynes]

If you are concerned about cooling I would suggest a bigger case, if it is just for gaming I wouldn't bother with overclocking and to lower the price you could consider the gtx 770 which offers close performance to the gtx 780.

 

[mantadog]

The case may be compact but has a couple of fans, with the ability to add a couple more if you really needed it. You can pick them up online for pocket money and they are a breeze to fit. However I don't think it will be an issue so long as the unit is not boxed in somewhere.

If you have your heart set on a GTX 780 then go for it, It is a decent step ahead of the 770 but possibly not quite worth the price tag. It would obviously be the easiest way to reduce the total system cost. Works out at about £200 saving for approx 20% performance hit.

Other than that any savings would be minimal and your reasons for including every item seem to stack up, should be a nice little build.

 

[gavmac]

A £200 saving is definitely something to consider. Also, good to know the case will have sufficient cooling. Will have a think over the GPU for the time being.

Thanks to you both

 

[Boozad]

A friend of mine has an overclocked 3570k and an overclocked 680 in a Prodigy case and has no problems with overheating. Hope that helps.

 

[Frank100]

Hi,

Where space is tight the sheath type cards are better. These are typically how the reference cards are configured. With these cards there is a single centrifugal fan near the end which is used to push the heat from the heatsink out of the back panel and straight out of the case. Many of the open fan varieties push the heat up or down from the card but it remains in the case. Whilst many of these offer better aftermarket heatsinks they aren't the way to go if you want 3 or 4 way SLI/Crossfire or want a big card in a small case.

You should also check the length of the card you want will fit. I haven't checked the specs but not all m-ATX cases will take longer cards.

I'd also recommend considering the GTX770 as it will produce less heat and cost less to buy. The GTX780 is a very impressive bit of kit, but at this point it's kind of wasted on games. They just can't push it as far as it can go.