Portable/Mini budget gaming build

seraphimvc · 09-04-2014 4:48pm #1

As always would like to hear the opinions from fellow boardsie before I ordered the parts

It is intended to be a rather portable machine since ill be working abroad for awhile and putting together a small and quiet desktop to do some basic gaming. Don't mind to spend some money but aim for best bang for bucks and some 'future-proof'.

As reference I am quite happy with my 6+years old desktop with AMD X2 6000 and 5770 running almost almost every game acceptably smooth on a 22' monitor.

Shipping will be free (that's why i am keen to build one in UK), but i need your opinion on choosing cpu and gpu, and any other good/cost-effective alternate for the other parts etc. There will be some options in the table that I am just going to leave them so that some other people might use this thread when they are building something similar to mine.

Thanks in advance!!!

Essentials|Price
Kana Mouse|£ 20
Keyboard|£ 9
Headset+Mic|£ 10
Wifi card|£ 12
Samsung 120gb SSD|£ 60
Total|£ 111

Probably will go for these
Samsung 22''|£ 103
Corsair CX430|£ 32
Kingston 8Gb ram|£ 53
Total|£ 188

CPU+Mobo choices
Gigabyte 1150 socket|£ 47
even cheaper mobo|£ 35
G3220|£ 42
i5 4440|£ 129
AMD FX6300|£ 75
Gigabye AM3+ socket|£ 35
Total for i5|£ 164
Total for G3220|£ 77
Total for AMD|£ 110
Free Shipping|£ 0

Total i5 build|£ 565
Total G3220 build|£ 466
Total AMD build|£ 499

Goddamn there is no reason to go for AMD isn't it if there is only £50 difference?
And wow at the Ram prices, it was so damn cheap back in years ago jesus, almost half the price compared to the current price iirc.
For the casing I am just going for the N200 to save all the troubles of getting card for mITX casings.

yawhat! · 09-04-2014 5:41pm

What resolution is your current monitor? I'd be going for at least a r9 270 if your going for a new 1080P monitor. The cards you listed will struggle really at decent frames, really 720p cards. Also the motherboards you listed are Matx and ATX and not mini-itx so won't fit in the case!

Whats your max budget?

yawhat! · 09-04-2014 6:01pm

seraphimvc · 09-04-2014 6:11pm

oh lol i thought matx would fit in that Cooler Master Elite 120. hmm, if i go for miniITX i wont be able to slot in the wifi card?

I am running 1920X1080 on the current desktop but i am really not bothered with higher resolution etc, I can always upgrade later. r9 270 looks sweet so i might snap one when its price dropped. My thinking is that if 5770 can satisfy me then surely i can live with 7750 lol.

budget wise around £500 would be the best. I dont really play many games nowadays anyway (just mostly Dota2).

and oh man, ebay might come in handy now:
would save me about 50 quid if i got a secondhand monitor.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Samsung-22-S22B350H-Series-3-Full-HD-LED-Monitor-/161265514224?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_Monitors&hash=item258c2c76f0

seraphimvc · 09-04-2014 6:20pm

oh fancy....they have wifi chip on some mITX mobo....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-H87N-WIFI-Motherboard-Generation-Processors/dp/B00D8WH636/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1397067570&sr=1-1&keywords=mini+itx+wifi+1150

yawhat! · 09-04-2014 6:25pm

7750 is basically on par with a 5770. Would it better off to keep your current monitor and put it towards a new graphics card?

seraphimvc · 09-04-2014 7:04pm

yawhat! wrote: »

7750 is basically on par with a 5770. Would it better off to keep your current monitor and put it towards a new graphics card?

no the thing is i will leave the desktop for my brother and i will make one myself while working in the uk.

seraphimvc · 09-04-2014 8:06pm

Why dont i just go for Intel G3220 at £42? It would be the first cpu i bought cheaper than the mobo lol

I am really just going for some basic multitasking on browser tabs and playing dota2.

TerrorFirmer · 10-04-2014 12:28am

The Elite 120/130 take full size cards, and are a really nice compact case for the money. The Node does too, but its far more expensive.

The G3220 is perfectly fine for everything including moderate gaming. I would look at the 260X really, as buying anything below that and you're not really gaining anything on your 5770.

That cheap 7750 you've chosen isn't worth it, its a GDDR3 model, slower than your 5770. GDDR5 7750 would be a minimum in my opinion.

I would take the 260X though, there are models for a tenner less than the one you've posted there.

seraphimvc · 10-04-2014 7:35am

Probably will go for these
Samsung 22''|£ 103
Corsair CX430|£ 32
Kingston 8Gb ram|£ 53
Total|£ 188

Casing
CM Elite 130|£ 40

GPU
Gigabyte R7 260x|£ 89

CPU+Mobo
Gigabyte H87N-WIFI 1150|£ 88
G3220|£ 42
Free shipping|£ 0
Total|£ 564

Small enough as a handy LAN machine that i can use for a long time and i can upgrade it easily if i felt like it. Now i just need to get some second hand monitor then it should be very close to 500.

goddamn I might go for Elite 110 but it can be hell to fit the components in, or this looks so damn cool as well.
SilverStone Sugo SG05http://www.amazon.co.uk/SILVERSTONE-SST-SG05BB-LITE-USB-3-0-black/dp/B00COWN8MO

challengemaster · 10-04-2014 9:05am

You don't need a wifi card if you're getting a wifi-enabled motherboard

TerrorFirmer · 10-04-2014 9:28am

You'd be grand with the 110, that 260X is short enough. Asus have a mitx 750Ti as well that's impressively tiny for cases like that!

The only thing the 120/130 offer is the option for virtually any card to be installed, but you obviously won't need that really.

Wifi card would not fit anyway, as the mitx board only has one pci-e lane for the graphics card. You could just get the H81I mitx mobo for less than 50 pounds, saving you thirty pounds, use some of that then to buy a USB wifi, if you want. Or else stick with the Wifi enabled h87-n.

Gigabyte r7 260X is over 5 pounds cheaper.

If you prefer Nvidia, this GTX750 Superclocked Version is around the same price, and is actually a bit faster than the 260X and performs almost the same as a reference GTX750Ti. Only 1GB but the lack of vram doesn't seem to hurt it at 1080p according to reviews, but up to yourself.

the last thing I'd say is that there are plenty of 24" monitors available close to that price point, only a few pounds more, so I'd consider that, unless you purposely want the smaller screen size.

seraphimvc · 10-04-2014 10:56am

:P i actually forgot to take out the wifi card after i picked that wifi mobo. And what an idiot i didnt think of getting usb wifi lol

Does anyone has first hand experience using them, what is the recommended speed for streaming videos/gaming?
This tiny wifi usb 150M looks very neat http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008B7PZU4
or just something like this will do?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DY5ZN3W

and now i incline to go for that 750 lol since the pcb is black there

Probably will go for these
Samsung 22''|£ 103
Corsair CX430|£ 32
Kingston 8Gb ram|£ 53
Total|£ 188

Casing
CM Elite 110|£ 50

GPU
Gigabyte R7 260x|£ 89

CPU+Mobo
Asus H81I-PLUS|£ 49
G3220|£ 42
Free shipping|£ 0
Total|£ 517
around £525 after adding in wifi usb, £425 if i can 'borrow' a monitor somewhere. Great price!

does it matter much as a £10 difference for this mobo? I always go Gigabyte when it comes to mobo
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GA-H81N-LGA1150-Mini-ITX-Motherboard/dp/B00H5IOA3S

TerrorFirmer · 10-04-2014 11:10am

Get this Asus.

It is £10 cheaper and it also has USB3 headers, the Gigabyte one doesn't.

The 750 SC is a good buy for sure - only that superclocked model though, no point getting a regular GTX750 over the 260X. 1GB of vram might make you think 'hmmm'...but every review I'd look at seems to think it's not an issue with the settings the card runs games at optimally. I also prefer the look of its pcb and cooler too :P

Can't comment on the USB Wifi adaptors unfortunately as I never use wifi for my desktops.

challengemaster · 10-04-2014 11:59am

I've been using this USB wifi adapter for a good while now, no problems. And I stream plenty of stuff (netflix + otherwise), it's also perfectly fine for gaming. I've seen no issues playing UT2k4 anyway.

I'm sure the TP-link is the same tbh.

If you're not in any rush, run a few of the more expensive items through flubit like the monitor etc. You might shave a few extra £ off

I got £10 off a FX6300

seraphimvc · 25-04-2014 2:26pm

I decided to make the order today and was pissed off that elite 110 is out of stock.
I really want a small machine that allows me to put in my luggage on flight.

So this project is delayed until elite 110 is restocked while I am starting to think of getting a Lian Li TU100 (that suitcase casing).
but the price of SFX PSU is crazy...

Anyway this is my updated shopping list, decided to spend that extra bucks on evga 750ti because it doesnt need 6pins power unlike other manufacturers.
If i am really going for Lian Li TU100 it is going to cost me a fortune for paying this small form factor, jesus.

I wonder will a 350W do fine with the spec? (It should be, since these new cpu/gpu require very low voltage).
I am gutted when i look at the price of that silverstone 450W (not even a modular).

final build:
Essentials|Price
Keyboard+Mouse|£ 16
Headset+Mic|£ 10
Samsung 120gb SSD|£ 60
Acer 22''|£ 80
Corsair 4gb|£ 33
Total|£ 199

CPU+Mobo
Asus H81I-PLUS + G3220|£ 91

GPU
EVGA 750 SC|£ 92

Casing+PSU
Lian Li TU100 £79 + be quiet 350W SFX non-modular £50|£ 129
Total|£ 512

TerrorFirmer · 25-04-2014 4:41pm

The GTX750 SC is close enough to the 750Ti performance wise, for a fairly big saving, so I'd do that probably, can justify spending more than on case or psu or whatever.

seraphimvc · 25-04-2014 5:41pm

thanks terror ill go for that 750 sc. I am going to wait for awhile to see how it goes, it looks like elite 110 will be restocked in the mid of May and only 2 TU100 are in stock now on OC, might go for a impulse buy TU100 just so i dont get this stupid out of stock problem again.

Is 350W enough for the build? The aim is to keep the case as cool as possible.

estilen · 25-04-2014 6:13pm

I'd swap out the RAM for something with 1.5v. Either Corsair Vengeance or Crucial Ballistix Sport. To save up some money, you could just pick 4GB of RAM now and upgrade down the line. GTX 750 and 4GB is a really good mix.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9B-1600MHz-Vengeance-Memory/dp/B004RFGALC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398449425&sr=8-2&keywords=corsair+Vengeance+4GB

350W will be more than enough with GTX 750.
Since it's an ITX build, I'd stick with the CX430M power supply, so you won't have a bundle of cables in the case. 750 draws power through the motherboard, so no extra cabling needed, you'll only have to use the sata power cables.
What about Bitfenix Prodigy? One of the best ITX cases I've seen.
You'll need to pick a different monitor, the one you got on the list doesn't have a DVI connector. Look for BenQ GL2250.
The only Wifi adapters you can possibly use are the USB ones. So either that or a H87 motherboard with Wifi onboard.

seraphimvc · 25-04-2014 7:02pm

Thanks for that.

Bitfenix Prodigy is too big

Elite 110 is the best mitx case on 'best bang for bucks' wise in that size, mainly due to it can fit in a standard PSU (with a small part of psu stuck out at the back), it is the most affordable casing in that size;
Lian Li TU100 is the extreme small mitx case (you can put it in your backpack), but Lian Li is a rather 'posh' brand and you need SFX PSU for it so it is a relatively more expensive option. But I don't really mind that, it looks like something that you do it once in your life (if you are into that kind of small form factor casing

). And it is known that TU100 has some temperature issue but now that we have Haswell cpu and cards like GTX 750, it shouldn't have the temperature issue like reviews said back in 1+ year ago, i also have a noctua 120mm fan to swap in anyway.

seraphimvc · 28-04-2014 3:45pm

So today I finally ordered the Lian Li suitcase+gtx750+mobo+cpu. Seeing that everything seems to be selling fast nowadays....

And thanks to the Asus H81 out of stock, I learnt the differences between H87, H81 and B85 (and why Asus H81 is selling quick -_-); basically H87 is the OC/expensive version while H81 is the budget version and B85 is in between while it comes with some business user features. I chose the best priced Asrock B85 because B85 comes with onboard usb 3.0 (slightly better onboard sound/graphic, 2 more sata port etc); while Asus H81 is the only H81 mitx board comes with onboard usb 3.0 header, that's why it is out of stock and it is selling at a price similar to B85 everywhere (Amazon had it for £50 when it should be around at £60).

and I am definitely going for be quiet psu now caused' i heard that silverstone is rather noisy and the system wont exceed 200W generally.

Cant wait to assemble everything!!

Final build:
Essentials|Price
Keyboard+Mouse|£ 16
Headset+Mic|£ 10
Samsung 120gb SSD|£ 60
Corsair 4gb|£ 33
Total|£ 119

CPU+Mobo
AsrockB85M + G3220|£ 102

GPU
EVGA 750 SC|£ 92

Casing+PSU
Lian Li TU100 £79 + be quiet 350W SFX non-modular £50|£ 129
Total|£ 442
I still need to ask around if I can borrow a monitor otherwise I will go for this:
Acer 22''|£ 80

Portable/Mini budget gaming build

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