Hi,
Need help on selecting parts for the mini-itx build which has to double as a work pc, gaming pc, steambox pc (will be hooked to 1080p monitor) and low TDP/temp as my ambient year temperature is between 26-34C (Malaysia). It also has to be a small pc, if not will look out of place next to the TV. The GPU may drive two 1080p monitors. One normal PC monitor, and one LED TV. This system will not be OC as it defeats the purpose of a low temp, small footprint pc. At one time I did consider the A10-6800K with no GPU, but it can't drive 1080p games.
I have narrowed down the parts to:
CPU: Intel i5-4570. I know there is a problem with the Intel CPU's and sleep-reboot thing. I don't care as I rarely use the sleep function for the PC at home. Also I could place non-critical components like printer/scanner game controls there so I'm not that bothered.
CPU Cooler:? I think air cooling is fine? But if watercool is worthwhile, I will consider it.
Asus Z87i-Pro-wifi/bt feature. Going for this one as this is the lowest end mini-itx that comes with wifi and Realtek ALC1150. My headphones don't require an amp.
MSI NV760 TF 2GD5//OC -60C full load 312 W. or the MSI Lightning 770 (327W) but I don't play Farcry 3 or FPS now (retired some 10 years ago) and the most intensive game I have is XCOM:EU. Most of my games are lego games or indie titles with 2 player capability via steam.
RAM:? 8 GB ram (or should I get 16 gb?). Which brand? Should I get a G.Skill value ram since I'm not overclocking it?
PSU:? I think a 550W PSU is enough? Though am not sure. As far as I can tell, the best PSU's are reserved for the higher W's. I'm thinking of Seasonic G Series 550W
Casing:? Need to be able to hold 1 SATA HD (2TB WD Black), 1 SSD (OCZ Synapse). Optical drive a must, though can be external.
Any ideas on the RAM, PSU, casing and CPU cooler? As for casing, the biggest casing for this build is the Bit Fenix prodigy. Smallest casing is a Ncase, M1 but it ain't shipping yet, and I have no idea when it will ship anyway. I think between the Ncase and bitfenix prodigy, no "bling" case as it would look annoying next to the TV. Case has to be quiet too, as a noisy case is also useless. I have narrowed cases but not limited to:
Silverstone tj-08e
bitfenix prodigy
Since I see both Prodigy and TJ08-E have lots of users, I was wondering which one is better. With the TJ08-E I do get micro ATX and freedom of rearranging stuff around. I don't need watercool. I don't mind something thin and tall. The Prodigy is fine (simple answer, but is it possible to do it in a smaller case?). The handles/feet of the Prodigy are things I can do without. Makes the case shorter in the process. However, the Prodigy is wider compared to the TJ08-E. Looking for quiet air-cool build. The choice of cooler, PSU, is dependent on the case. So I'm leaning towards the TJ-08E, unless there are other recommendations.
Other criteria:
My budget is up to USD1.5k for this W7 build. I have a retail copy of W7 64bit and the SSD and HDD. So the price is for the other stuff (CPU, GPU, Case, RAM, Coolers, PSU, motherboard).
This system will be stationary next to the TV in the bedroom hence a low TDP, low temp build.
Most demanding work software: Adobe Photoshop. If not the rest are MS Office.I do tend to open 30 tab browsing at once and go from tab to tab as my net is not that fast.
Thanks for the help
Need help on selecting parts for the mini-itx build which has to double as a work pc, gaming pc, steambox pc (will be hooked to 1080p monitor) and low TDP/temp as my ambient year temperature is between 26-34C (Malaysia). It also has to be a small pc, if not will look out of place next to the TV. The GPU may drive two 1080p monitors. One normal PC monitor, and one LED TV. This system will not be OC as it defeats the purpose of a low temp, small footprint pc. At one time I did consider the A10-6800K with no GPU, but it can't drive 1080p games.
I have narrowed down the parts to:
CPU: Intel i5-4570. I know there is a problem with the Intel CPU's and sleep-reboot thing. I don't care as I rarely use the sleep function for the PC at home. Also I could place non-critical components like printer/scanner game controls there so I'm not that bothered.
CPU Cooler:? I think air cooling is fine? But if watercool is worthwhile, I will consider it.
Asus Z87i-Pro-wifi/bt feature. Going for this one as this is the lowest end mini-itx that comes with wifi and Realtek ALC1150. My headphones don't require an amp.
MSI NV760 TF 2GD5//OC -60C full load 312 W. or the MSI Lightning 770 (327W) but I don't play Farcry 3 or FPS now (retired some 10 years ago) and the most intensive game I have is XCOM:EU. Most of my games are lego games or indie titles with 2 player capability via steam.
RAM:? 8 GB ram (or should I get 16 gb?). Which brand? Should I get a G.Skill value ram since I'm not overclocking it?
PSU:? I think a 550W PSU is enough? Though am not sure. As far as I can tell, the best PSU's are reserved for the higher W's. I'm thinking of Seasonic G Series 550W
Casing:? Need to be able to hold 1 SATA HD (2TB WD Black), 1 SSD (OCZ Synapse). Optical drive a must, though can be external.
Any ideas on the RAM, PSU, casing and CPU cooler? As for casing, the biggest casing for this build is the Bit Fenix prodigy. Smallest casing is a Ncase, M1 but it ain't shipping yet, and I have no idea when it will ship anyway. I think between the Ncase and bitfenix prodigy, no "bling" case as it would look annoying next to the TV. Case has to be quiet too, as a noisy case is also useless. I have narrowed cases but not limited to:
Silverstone tj-08e
bitfenix prodigy
Since I see both Prodigy and TJ08-E have lots of users, I was wondering which one is better. With the TJ08-E I do get micro ATX and freedom of rearranging stuff around. I don't need watercool. I don't mind something thin and tall. The Prodigy is fine (simple answer, but is it possible to do it in a smaller case?). The handles/feet of the Prodigy are things I can do without. Makes the case shorter in the process. However, the Prodigy is wider compared to the TJ08-E. Looking for quiet air-cool build. The choice of cooler, PSU, is dependent on the case. So I'm leaning towards the TJ-08E, unless there are other recommendations.
Other criteria:
My budget is up to USD1.5k for this W7 build. I have a retail copy of W7 64bit and the SSD and HDD. So the price is for the other stuff (CPU, GPU, Case, RAM, Coolers, PSU, motherboard).
This system will be stationary next to the TV in the bedroom hence a low TDP, low temp build.
Most demanding work software: Adobe Photoshop. If not the rest are MS Office.I do tend to open 30 tab browsing at once and go from tab to tab as my net is not that fast.
Thanks for the help