Mini ITX build

[Ninpo]

The Bitfenix Prodigy is nice, I'd really want something smaller though.

It won't fit under my TV... to Google to investigate!
I think Mini-ITX is best for me.

Will the components mentioned above fit in a Mini-ITX case?

[admin89]

I recommend Silverstone Sugo Black SECC with built in 300W PSU 80+ certification 2xUSB 3.0 Mini ITX for only 130$
The plastic version with 450W 80+ Bronze is a bit cheaper ...

[turtlefu]

And the good thing about the A10-6800K as well is that if you have room, you can add a 6670 or 7750 card to your computer and run it in Crossfire Dual Graphics, increasing your graphic performance than if it it was just a discrete card or built-in graphics.

Just my two cents.

[Ninpo]

(07-12-2013, 01:51 AM)turtlefu Wrote: And the good thing about the A10-6800K as well is that if you have room, you can add a 6670 or 7750 card to your computer and run it in Crossfire Dual Graphics, increasing your graphic performance than if it it was just a discrete card or built-in graphics.

Just my two cents.

That's the best thing I've heard all day

That has 100% cemented my choice

I'm assuming that the 7750 is better than the 6670.

[ExtremeDude2]

(07-12-2013, 01:57 AM)Ninpo Wrote: I'm assuming that the 7750 is better than the 6670.

Yes

[NaturalViolence]

Ninpo Wrote:CPU: Intel Pentium G860 (Sandy Bridge): 3.0 GHz, 3 MB Shared L3 cache (I might see if I can upgrade this to a i-5 if possible)
CPU Cooler: Intel Boxed Heat Sink and Fan-
Motherboard: Foxconn H61S: LGA 1155, Intel H61 Express
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1600 BLT2KIT2G3D1608DT2TXRG$33
Graphics: Sapphire 100357LP: Radeon HD 7750 1 GB
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint M8 ST320LM001: 320 GB, 5400 RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 2.5" Hard Drive(I'm in the process of obtaining a 1TB External so the internal space isn't a real concern)
Case: Antec ISK300-150 Black Mini-ITX Desktop
Power: Antec FP-150-8 Flex (included with case)-
Optical: None- (I might punny up for a cheap drive later on or see if I can fit a Bluray in there...)

Foxconn motherboards have terrible failure rates. Also your case won't fit a full sized graphics card, only low profile. Which restricts you to very low end cards.

Ninpo Wrote:Win 8 or Win 7, what's the verdict? Any difference in performance?

No.

Ninpo Wrote:Also, Mini-ATX or Mini-ITX, what is the difference really?

Go for micro-atx. It's larger but it will save you a lot of headaches. I recently build a mini-itx htpc myself and wish I had gone for micro-atx.

Ninpo Wrote:That A10 looks really nice, never seen it before.
So it's still a integrated GPU, how does this fare with Dolphin and games etc?

Decent. Similar performance to a 6670. Make sure you have DDR3 1866 MHz ram though. Ram speed is very important for IGP performance.

Ninpo Wrote:I can then go for a whatever case, decent cooling needed

Keep in mind the case you choose will determine what size cooler you can use. If you stick to mini-itx you will be stuck with stock cooling and will not be able to OC.

How much space do you have for this thing? I would highly recommend a silverstone sugo chassis if you can fit it.

turtlefu Wrote:And the good thing about the A10-6800K as well is that if you have room, you can add a 6670 or 7750 card to your computer and run it in Crossfire Dual Graphics, increasing your graphic performance than if it it was just a discrete card or built-in graphics.

Just my two cents.

Unfortunately dolphin cannot utilize crossfire. So it won't have any effect.

admin89 Wrote:I recommend Silverstone Sugo Black SECC with built in 300W PSU 80+ certification 2xUSB 3.0 Mini ITX for only 130$
The plastic version with 450W 80+ Bronze is a bit cheaper ...

If he decides to go down that route he should do what I did instead.

Get this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163231

It's the exact same chassis as the one you listed but without the built-in psu. But for $75 less. You can use that $75 to buy a better PSU and still have money left over. That's what I did and it worked great.

It has to be an SFX form factor PSU to fit in a mini-itx case though. I ended up going with this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151089

But if he needs a bit more juice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151063

450 watts is as high as you can go but he shouldn't need that much: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256063

They go as low as 200-250 watts.

[pauldacheez]

FYI, once you build that thing, you're gonna want to use a newer build than 3.5-367 (mostly because you'll no longer need LLE audio to avoid sound issues in TLS). The current dev build is 3.5-1591, you can get it from here: https://dolphin-emu.org/download/

Also, since when are we recommending AMD CPUs? Don't we usually just tell people to get a 3570K/4670K? :P

[NaturalViolence]

Usually people come in here looking to build a normal high budget gaming pc with a tower chassis that can also run dolphin as well as possible. So for them a 4670K makes sense. But for a low budget mini-itx build (or hopefully micro-atx if I convince him/her) it does not make sense.

[pauldacheez]

I'm just pullin' your leg, NV. :3

[Ninpo]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of the info!

The main reason I said micro-itx is because I want something with a small form factor, if I can keep it small and able to fit under my TV station then I'm happy to go for a micro-itx if it gives me more leeway.

I like the look of that Sugo case and the PSU makes sense to me, liking it!

If I go for the A10 6800k (which is probably what I will go for) does it have to be DDR3 1866 MHz ram, I'm guessing not but that's the baseline that I'll want to work from.

I'm not looking for a dedicated GPU right now, especially not if the A10 can run what I want on Dolphin reasonably well, why pay out more for what I don't need right? I only want this for movies, Dolphin and then a few other games, CS:S, World of Tanks, Age of Wulin etc...
I know you said Dolphin doesn't utilize X-fire but the option will be there down the road for other games to make use of it, so that's cool.

-Thanks for the info on the build Pauldacheez

---

I'm going to recap later on and post with the specs I'm going to choose, although, It'll be the A10 CPU, RAM and MoBo mentioned in the first 2nd post, the Sugo case and the PSU that NV referenced.

Once again, thanks for all of your help.

Ninpo