Looking for advice on a build

R

RosaJ

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Messages
281
Hello all! I'm J and looking to the SFF community for some help/advice on a future SFF build I will be doing in May with SaperPL and ZombiPL's Sentry case. My GTX 560 finally died on my current PC leading to a SFF build i've been wanting to do for quite some time as a lurker here!


1. What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming, Photoshop (or other intensive programs), Web browsing, strictly HTPC/Playback, etc. (If you have multiple things you want to do with the system, make sure you rank them from most important to least important).

Mostly gaming!

2. Will you be overclocking? (If so, are you looking to watercool?)

No

3. What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included in this budget? Is your budget flexible? Is cost a driving factor in component selection?

I'd like to spend around $950 total; however, the budget may be flexible if it's worth it. (The case is not part of current budget.)

4. Where do you live? Do you have any big B&M (brick and mortar) computer chains nearby (e.g. Microcenter, Fry's, etc)?

I live in Dayton and there is a Microcenter about 40 minutes away so if the price is right, I wont mind the drive. Plus it'll be easy since there's always someone I know wanting to go there. Other than that online is nice, I have Amazon Prime which helps with shipping.

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need (especially if you will need 3.5" hard drives or expansion cards as these may restrict case options).

Possibly a new CPU*, Motherboard, GPU, RAM, PSU, dual-band wifi card, and if I'm missing something let me know*.

6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. For reused parts, list brands, model #s, and, if applicable, firmware revisions.

I currently have an i7-2600 (non-K) that's still working fine, but will be willing to get a new CPU if need be. There's always craigslist to sell it;) (I would like to sell it here, but i'm new and never done so.) Also I will be using my ATX case until SaperPL and ZombiPL's case comes out soon'ish. I also have multiple SSD's and HDD's that I will be reusing.

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Thunderbolt? Crossfire or SLI support? How many USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s? etc. Which is more important, size of the system or having the particular feature? Make sure you indicate *required* vs. *wanted* for each feature you list.

An mSATA or M.2 slot for a wifi card I will be purchasing down the road. Other than that no?

8. What resolution output do you need? 4k playback, 1080p playback, etc for HTPC or give a vertical/horizontal resolution for gaming SFF rigs. Do you need multiple monitor output?

I have a 1080p monitor that will be used predominantly, and a 4K TV I'd like to play games on with some Xbox 360 controllers I have. I'd like to have some future proofing with a new GPU.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space and do you need an optical drive? Think entertainment center shelves, closet space, rackmount, etc. Many modern SFF cases have either removed the optical drive or have been constructed so that removing the ODD increases the configuration possibilities immensely.

Since I already have the case figured out (I'm not budging:happy:) I wont need an optical drive.

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring? What tools do you have (Screwdrivers/Leatherman, Drill, Dremel, Metal snips, Soldering Iron, Bending Brake, CNC/Welding machines/Plasma cutter, etc...)?

100% comfortable, although I believe I will not be doing any modding.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem? HTPCs typically want to be quiet while all-out SFF gaming rigs don't care

Not terribly important, if it's load it's load. Quite would be nice tho

12. How mobile does this system need to be? Need a carrying handle or carrying straps? Is weight important (carry-on bag, etc)? Water cooling quick disconnects, etc?

Pretty mobile, fortunately the case is already figured out(y)

13. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Remember that OEM copies of Win7 have issues with new motherboards

Yes, Windows 10 on my primary Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD.

14. When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Immediately, in a couple weeks, 3-5 years?

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, but most likely in May.


Here are some dimension limits for PSU, GPU, and CPU cooler for the case I will be building towards:

SaperPL said:
Specs
-mITX only motherboard, 7mm standoff's
-conditional 48mm or 38mm max coolers depending on cpu socket location and primary 2.5" hard drive mount use
-conditional SFX-L 130mm max or SFX 130mm PSU's depending on secondary 2.5" hard drive mount use, max 64mm height
-conditional use of up to 12 2.5" drives in VGA bay depending on the card size or no card installed
-dual slot full size 305mm VGA cards support

CPU Coolers that should work:
- AMD APU(65W LP)
- Intel stock 1150
- Noctua NH-L9a/NH-L9i
- Scythe Kodati
- Silverstone AR04/AR05
- Thermolab ITX30
- Corsair C7 (added into this quote as it does indeed fit)
Click to expand...

Thanks for any and all help with this build. I am very excited to do this as it's been a long time since I've last built a computer. Hopefully I didn't miss anything, please let me know if that is the case.

J
 
Ok, basically there are two options:
1. new everything, you'd buy a new Skylake CPU
or
2. upgrade.
Since you already own a decent i7, I'd recommend the latter. You'd only need a new PSU, motherboard and GPU then. You could also reuse your current RAM, if it's enough capacity. Look for a nice ITX motherboard with H67/H77/Z67/Z77 chipset on ebay or craigslist. This one for example also has an integrated wifi card: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8Z77I_DELUXE/
For PSU, I recommend a Corsair SF450 ($90) and for GPU a Nvidia GTX 980Ti (~$650). If you need RAM because you can't/do not want to reuse the old one, just buy one of the 16GB DDR3 1600 kits on Amazon (~$65). If you use the standard stock Intel CPU cooler, that'll fit. Otherwise you need a low profile cooler like the Cryorig C7 ($30).
This would make a machine that should also be capable of 4K gaming. You could consider waiting for the next generation Nvidia Pascal GPU release in May/June, which is said to improve performance quite a bit over the 980 series.
If you'd want a completely new system with Skylake CPU, I could throw you a config together. I'd not recommend it though, because you'd had less money going towards your GPU, which is the crucial part of 4K gaming.

Hope I was able to help you :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: RosaJ
like this
Thanks for your input! I'm glad you're recommending the corsair PSU as I've already been hearing many good things about it on this forum. Unfortunately I can't reuse my RAM as it's 2x2GB so an upgrade is in order.

I'm having a little bit of trouble tracking down an LGA 1155 ITX motherboard, so far I have the Asus PH61-I for ~$75 and the Asus P8Z77-I for ~$213 new and ~$185 used. Can't track down other brands so far. Are old motherboards normally that expensive? Even compared to a new ITX board? Also if you don't mind recommending a new build too, if it's worth it I will go down that road.

Thanks again!
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Well, I checked some CPU benchmarks and it really doesn't make sense to buy a new one. In this PassMark benchmark PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End your i7-2600 scores 8,268 while the Skylake i5-6600 only scores 7,539. Buying a new i7 is not really reasonable because you want the money going towards the GPU. And spending >$200 for a CPU worse than the one you already have is a very bad idea :D . It makes more sense to buy the older motherboard, even if it looks expensive. The $75 for the H61-I seem reasonable. The only problem is that you can't have wifi on that one due to the lack of a mPCIe/m.2 slot. The price for the Z77 board is also not surprising, it is/was a high end board that came with that price tag. Since it's not produced anymore, the price will only get up. It doesn't really make sense for you though, because you won't overclock. It's nice however that there are Asus boards still available. Had boards from Asrock, Gigabyte and Asus, but Asus stays my personal favorite and I'd recommend them anytime. I'd recommend going with the H61 board since it's rather inexpensive and new. With that, you leave yourself the choice of upgrading open, because you didn't spend >$200 on a 4 year old board. If you need wifi, buy yourself a decent USB wifi dongle. The ones above $20 will be at least as good as integrated ones. In my opinion it's a shame that almost no boards for the penultimate socket generation are sold anymore... Have a nice day!
 
RosaJ said:
Thanks for your input! I'm glad you're recommending the corsair PSU as I've already been hearing many good things about it on this forum. Unfortunately I can't reuse my RAM as it's 2x2GB so an upgrade is in order.

I'm having a little bit of trouble tracking down an LGA 1155 ITX motherboard, so far I have the Asus PH61-I for ~$75 and the Asus P8Z77-I for ~$213 new and ~$185 used. Can't track down other brands so far. Are old motherboards normally that expensive? Even compared to a new ITX board? Also if you don't mind recommending a new build too, if it's worth it I will go down that road.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
At this point, you need to buy a motherboard regardless. The high end z77 itx motherboard adds a lot of features that are considered standard nowadays. The question is are you willing to pay $200 for the features of today's boards? We are talking about m.2 ultra, sata 6 pcie3. If the answer is no, buy the older board. If the answer is yes, I recommend you buy a current gen i5 and then resell your i7 to make some cash back.
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
thehack said:
At this point, you need to buy a motherboard regardless. The high end z77 itx motherboard adds a lot of features that are considered standard nowadays. The question is are you willing to pay $200 for the features of today's boards? We are talking about m.2 ultra, sata 6 pcie3. If the answer is no, buy the older board. If the answer is yes, I recommend you buy a current gen i5 and then resell your i7 to make some cash back.
Click to expand...
The board does not have an m.2 slot and OPs Sandy Bridge CPU doesn't support PCIe 3. The lack of sata 6 and front USB 3 is less acceptable. I was just assuming they were standard, even back then :D I don't know whether selling the i7 could be worth it. It seems to go for like $120 on ebay. However, if you decided to do so, this Intel Core i5-6600, EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti - System Build - PCPartPicker is a new setup. It's only an i5 but that should be fine for gaming. The 980Ti is still in budget when selling the i7-2600. Would you be able/willing to wait for the new Pascal GPUs this summer? Then you'd had yourself a brand new GPU (man the GTX980Ti is already one year old ;) )
 
So today I found this Zotac H67ITX-C-E for 89.99 in refurbished condition. It has PCI 2.0, sata 6 AND a wifi card, nooice!:happy:

You bring up a good question about Pascal coming out in the summer and at first (with my GTX 560) I was going to wait, but now with a GPU out of commission I'm conflicted. After thinking it over I can either go with the Zotac motherboard and GTX 980 Ti now or wait until Pascal while using my Y580 laptop as my "daily driver" which is manageable. I think the latter is the wiser decision as even if I end up going down the 980 Ti route, when Pascal launches the price will drop. Also thanks for comparing the i7 Sandy Bridge with the new Skylake i5, I had no idea my CPU was still relevant.(y)
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
No problems with that, glad I'm able to help!
I'm happy for you that you found the Zotac board! It's a great deal considering it's features ;) If you are able to, buy it now because it may not be available any more in May
About the Pascal thing, your laptop GPU isn't so much worse than your old one and if you can use it until May when you plan to buy the Sentry case it will be 1 month max until pascal releases. If there are delays it might even be on par. Of course detailed benchmarks are yet to come, but i'd tend to always buy the newest generation. The 980Ti will go down in price but it's possible that the normal 1080 could outperform it. I can't recommend anything at this time though, let's wait until the release:happy:
 
Ok minor update. Will follow up with pictures later tonight.

So I purchased Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1600 last weekend, installed it in the Zotac H67 board, and am running into a slight hiccup/problem.

Edit: I purchased a good looking EVGA GTX 670 reference card for 100$ (sweet deal) and it's amazing, can't wait for the next gen.

When I boot the computer it (motherboard and fans) light up for about 5 seconds, shut off, then turn back on very shortly after with the bios screen displayed with the ram set to 1333 MHz and auto timings/voltage. (I'm assuming this is a safe boot thing)

I've tried to manually set the timings and frequency to 1600 at 1.5V, but am left with a blank screen after reboot and then it automatically resets and puts me to the bios after about 15 second with ram set to 1333 MHz, auto voltage, and same manual timings of 9-9-9-24.

Under manual frequency setting it gives the options of 1033, 1333, and 1600 MHz. So I'm at a loss why it is having problems booting at 1600 MHz.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or answers?

Also if the cryorig c7 is in on my way home I'll be installing it before pictures

Will update in a couple hours, thanks all
 
Last edited:
RosaJ said:
Ok minor update. Will follow up with pictures later tonight.

So I purchased Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1600 last weekend, installed it in the Zotac H67 board, and am running into a slight hiccup/problem.

Edit: I purchased a good looking EVGA GTX 670 reference card for 100$ (sweet deal) and it's amazing, can't wait for the next gen.

When I boot the computer it (motherboard and fans) light up for about 5 seconds, shut off, then turn back on very shortly after with the bios screen displayed with the ram set to 1333 MHz and auto timings/voltage. (I'm assuming this is a safe boot thing)

I've tried to manually set the timings and frequency to 1600 at 1.5V, but am left with a blank screen after reboot and then it automatically resets and puts me to the bios after about 15 second with ram set to 1333 MHz, auto voltage, and same manual timings of 9-9-9-24.

Under manual frequency setting it gives the options of 1033, 1333, and 1600 MHz. So I'm at a loss why it is having problems booting at 1600 MHz.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or answers?

Also if the cryorig c7 is in on my way home I'll be installing it before pictures

Will update in a couple hours, thanks all
Click to expand...

You won't lose much for going with 1333mhz. Only a few fringe cases where it affects your performance more than 2%. I'd just leave it at that.

edit: seems like h67 only supports 1333mhz. so it is operating as expected.

TLDR: Just run it at 1333mhz.
 
Ok, is there anyway I can "fix/stop" the double boot. I feel it's bad for the pc to turn on, shut down, then start back up again at 1333 MHz.

Again I've tried to force 1333 MHz and manual timings, but it doesn't stick and instead resets itself after about 10 secs of blank screen then resets again at the bios screen with 1333 and auto timings. So confused

Edit: I totally fell asleep when I got home last night and don't get a chance to put the cooler on. So after I do I'll post pictures of my bios settings and maybe that'll help!
 
Last edited:
 
RosaJ said:
Ok, is there anyway I can "fix/stop" the double boot. I feel it's bad for the pc to turn on, shut down, then start back up again at 1333 MHz.

Again I've tried to force 1333 MHz and manual timings, but it doesn't stick and instead resets itself after about 10 secs of blank screen then resets again at the bios screen with 1333 and auto timings. So confused

Edit: I totally fell asleep when I got home last night and don't get a chance to put the cooler on. So after I do I'll post pictures of my bios settings and maybe that'll help!
Click to expand...


More than likely it's okay to leave it at auto timing. The ram has very little performance impact when you using a dGPU. Seems like the memory should support C9 though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top