Hey all, I've not built a PC in rather a long time so all my hardware knowledge is pretty much obsolete outside of Graphics Cards. I'm looking for advice on a Mini-ITX build for my Girlfriend, she loves the Raijintek Metis case but after reading the Bit-Tech review I am wondering if there are better options in these dimensions. Below are the needs: Budget: Upper limit of €1000, the lower the better of course. Main uses of intended build: Watching streams but with the ability to play most games she comes across on Steam (Anno 2205) is the main one which prompted her wanting a machine other than her laptop so some form of grunt is needed. Parts required: All. Previous build information (list details of parts): N/A Monitor resolution: 1920 x 1080 Storage requirements: 1-2TB is fine Will you be overclocking: No Extra information about desired system: Cases with a White option..
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2013/11/26/bitfenix-phenom-review/1 ? currently on offer here: http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_0684.html As for the PC itself, I don't think any other skylake chipsets are out, so you may have to pay a premium for a Z170 mitx board if you want a 6th gen intel, ~£120 for board? and £100 to £150 for processor. As for the rest of the system, going from the game specs, a GTX 750ti, 8gb and 128GB SSD would be more than enough, with a backup HDD for storage if needed. Upgrade GFX to suit budget.
This is roughly what ~£750/€1000 gets you... a decent enough Z170 board can be had for an extra £30, Might need to do some re-jigging to get an after-market CPU cooler
The Fractal case is nice. Wondering whether a cheaper Cpu is an option however for the needs, might also not need an SDD for this build.
you can rejig it to your hearts' content, it was just a rough guide as to what your budget would get you... Dropping down to the 6500 would shave £30 off... For storage, you could go the other way and drop the HDD and get a 500GB SSD, and if she *really* needs 1+TB of space, adding a 2+TB HDD at a later date would be fairly trivial. The WD is an ok drive, but I wouldn't want to run an o/s off it tbh...
Anno 2205 scales very well from Low to ultra for performance it really does depend on what her expectations are. a Nvidia 970 Mini is the best option out there for ITX performance really does depend on how strict the budget is. The lack of a All in one cooler will result in some heat issues on the 6600k in a itx case. It runs hot theres no douting this at stock speed on the stock cooler you could hit the thermal limits. Anandtech forums is full of people hitting 100c whilst doing video rendering on the stock cooler.
I thought there wasn't such a thing as a stock cooler for the 6600k, as the retail package doesn't include a HSF? So you're going to need a third-party cooler in any event.
They are using stuff that is just as bad by the sounds of it. Intel Aluminium heat sink fan combo whatever that is. Quick google says scan sell it for £4 sounds awesome lol. Makes you feel sorry for Intel when people complain.
Yeah, sounds like a recipe for disaster. Just a bit disingenuous to call that a stock cooler, imo, given that it's not actually designed for the 6600K.
Had forgotten about there being no stock hsf on the K chips [iirc it just the Ks that don't come with one]... In that case i'd probably drop the spinning rust for a H60 or the H5 SF [if it's any good, not seen any reviews of it]
Comes to 907 Euros. The i3 6100 is a super fast 3.7Ghz Skylake Dual Core with Hyperthreading. Can be overclocked by another GHz or so using that board. Will be a beast combined with the GTX 970. Got a white case and a 500GB SSD in there too.
My maths says that adds up to £691.07, not £907. Am I missing something? Edit: Yeah, I am missing something £691 is 907 Euros. Makes more sense now!
