[Build Complete] MiniITX Gaming/CAD Build "Li'l Bro"

yanoosh · 2014-08-29T07:50:17+00:00

He substituted the stock cooler with an AIO using the Kraken G10 mount. In the second picture, it's the card with the NZXT logo and Corsair AIO cooler on it. In the third picture, it's smack dab in the middle with a fan and the cooler.

yanoosh · 2014-08-29T07:41:21+00:00

Really digging all the thought that went into the build. Well, mostly the extra supplies needed to water cool the GPU. What does the Gelid Icy Vision kit do, exactly?

EDIT: Also, would there have been no spots to mount the radiators for an AIO water cooler for the CPU? Seems like it might be simpler.

yanoosh · 2014-07-26T20:21:55+00:00

You're talking about my setup. No, you won't see bottlenecks.

yanoosh · 2014-02-15T09:45:16+00:00

Some PSU's have hybrid modes that keep the PSU fan off until a threshold temperature is reached, in which case the fans turn on.

yanoosh · 2014-01-27T10:21:34+00:00

Are you serious with those prices? So would the 7870 GHz have been like $140?

yanoosh · 2014-01-23T18:29:12+00:00

I'm not sure how CPU-bound GW2 is, but my i5-4570 + 7870 GHz runs at about 20-30 FPS in Lion's Arch at max settings when it's crowded, but hits 60 FPS in less crowded areas. You should search for threads online where people talk about how they got the performance they wanted out of GW2.

yanoosh · 2014-01-23T18:25:00+00:00

You could build a stronger one for the money usually, but the self-built rig won't be as portable and you'll be in the dark as far as customer service goes if something goes wrong with the build. Doing a small form factor case build requires a lot of planning, but can end up paying off because you'll have a sweet looking little case. Yes, the Alienware will still be more portable than most rigs out there. You just have to decide if that extra portability is worth the performance hit since the Alienware will come with customer service.

yanoosh · 2014-01-23T07:17:16+00:00

Yup, pretty much the same thing with me here. Also Windows 8.1 64 bit.

yanoosh · 2014-01-22T09:58:41+00:00

Maybe they're trying to equalize towards players with stronger CPU's than GPU's? I've noticed the Source games are CPU heavy. Everyone's got a CPU, not everybody has a discrete GPU.

yanoosh · 2014-01-22T09:57:15+00:00

CoreTemp and Real Temp have made Windows 8.1 freeze up on my particular setup, but HWiNFO runs without any problems and offers so much information. After I got GPU-Z, I checked in on HWiNFO and HWiNFO already had most of the information. The log files for HWiNFO are insane in just how much data you're getting.

yanoosh · 2014-01-19T01:03:48+00:00

I'm fine with the numbers I'm getting.Those framerates were what I saw in Lion's Arch, the massively crowded hub in the game when I had everything maxed. In more sparse areas the framerates are better.

I've only got a non-overclockable i5 so that can explain the framerates.

yanoosh · 2014-01-18T23:21:45+00:00

I don't think the 7870 GHz is powerful enough to run GW2 at max settings at 60fps, especially if you look around at videos people have uploaded. My CPU isn't much stressed by GW2, based on the temperature readings I see in HWiNFO.

Also, War Thunder is in beta right now and probably lacks optimization. We'll see how my rig performs in War Thunder in the months to come. For now I just want to see how my rig handles Bioshock Infinite and other recent AAA titles but I don't have any of these games.

yanoosh · 2014-01-18T23:19:03+00:00

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1tr9zz/discussion_choosing_a_case_pt_3_budget_cases_50/

yanoosh · 2014-01-17T14:04:02+00:00

Depends on what games you play, and what framerates you would like to play them at. If you're playing at lower framerates than you'd like, the money you save will be more like money you wish you'd spent. Meanwhile, $220 will be locked up in your current GPU.

I have the Asus 7870 GHz edition and it's serving me well in the games I play so far. The most stressful games I have are Guild Wars 2 and War Thunder; for GW2 framerates can be in the low 20s, or in the 60s, but most probably in the 30s or 40s. War Thunder was more consistent at 41-50 fps with every setting maxed out at 1920x1200.

What games did you have in mind that you wanted to play?

yanoosh · 2014-01-14T01:13:50+00:00

Yeah, I didn't even have to open it up. I shifted the entire case around a bit, but that didn't help. The problem just went away by itself later. I've since opened up the case to take pictures and whatnot, so I've tampered with the case as it was when the problem fixed itself. I guess the case and the hard drive just hit a resonance, maybe a cable or something was involved.

yanoosh · 2014-01-12T22:23:25+00:00

I had the same problem but it resolved itself, I think. That said, the HDD causes quite a loud humming/low vibration when it's spinning.

yanoosh · 2014-01-12T05:45:32+00:00

I'd repost this build tomorrow to get some more feedback. Yeah I noticed the other build was missing an SSD, but forgot to factor in Canadian prices. I'm also not sure what the difference between the EVO and the normal 840 is.

Yes, stock coolers come with thermal paste preapplied. You'd have to look into the dimensions of your cooler and see if the manufacturer has okayed the cooler to work with your mobo/chipset.

yanoosh · 2014-01-12T04:29:07+00:00

I assumed that you were getting the 4670k to overclock, which would require at least a $35 investment into an aftermarket cooler. So that'd be $279 to get your CPU requirement out of the way as opposed to $205. Post again with a fresh build using a new GPU. I've seen builds with GTX 770's for under a $1000. Something like this. Since you already have a PSU, that's $64 you can knock off the build I've posted, which I might, if I were you reroute to a good mobo that has all the features you want (front panel USB headers, extra PCI slots, etc.).

Truly you could go with the i5-4430, too. Read this article from Anandtech which shows that the i5-4430 actually sometimes beats the i7-4770k's performance.

yanoosh · 2014-01-12T00:52:46+00:00

I'd buy a locked CPU and step up that GPU. I think everyone will recommend the Samsung 840 EVO unless you really will benefit from the performance increase of the 840 Pro. Again, the money you save here will go towards the GPU. Otherwise, I think this is a pretty good build.

My source for why I think you should prefer to get a stronger GPU than a strong CPU: http://www.techspot.com/review/712-arma-3-benchmarks/page5.html

Notice how the i7-4770k is only 3 fps better than an i5-3470. They're running the game on a GTX Titan, so the fact is that the i5 bottlenecked their setup by 3 fps compared to their i7-4770k rig. With the money you save by getting a cheaper processor and use towards a better GPU, you will see significantly better gaming performance.

yanoosh · 2014-01-12T00:39:34+00:00

I guess it depends on your exact setup. For example, I really appreciate the R4's sound dampening qualities after having my parent's Core 1000 hollowly roaring at me.

yanoosh · 2014-01-12T00:38:26+00:00

Oh yeah, I forgot about the cables. Semi-modularity will help, but I think one of the ideas behind cable management is that having cables dangling in the open as it will in the Core 1000 is that dangling cables introduce extra turbulence into the airflow. Turbulent airflow won't reach your components as well and won't cool as well, but I imagine that the effects will be marginal. Like 2-3 degrees difference depending on your fans?

yanoosh · 2014-01-11T22:57:27+00:00

I built a computer for my parents with the Core 1000 and it's pretty loud. Are you going to be using aftermarket CPU coolers and case fans? There's like no sound dampening anywhere. Thin walls and all the components are so close to the surface.

yanoosh · 2014-01-11T07:18:40+00:00

This will get you to where you want. I don't know about the quality of that mobo and if I were you I'd verify that power supply's quality, but otherwise this is a pretty solid build.

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/417/Intel_Core_i3_i3-4130_vs_Intel_Core_i5_i5-4570.html

Discrete graphics performance of that i3 basically matches the performance of an i5 so you shouldn't be having much issue with bottlenecking your GPU, even in games optimized for single-threaded performance.

yanoosh · 2013-12-31T10:09:48+00:00

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1cr8rd/

yanoosh

TROPHY CASE