Ion goes ITX

[[Ion]]

Hey guys!

I'm back with a new build! I'm building a ITX system--hopefully more powerful and more successful than my last one. Here's what I'm looking at using:
- Cooler Master Elite 120 Case [on the way]
- Antec 350w PSU (might use a Thermaltake TR-2 modular instead) [have both]
- Core i3-2100 [ordered!]
- WD Caviar 1TB [have]
- EVGA 8800GTS 512MB [on the way]
- 2x4GB G.SKILL DDR3 [on the way]
- Probably a Foxconn H67 motherboard [not sure, need to decide and order]

My goal is to build a small but still reasonably potent gaming rig that I can take to friends' dorms for LAN parties and the like. The i7s are just too big and heavy, and I don't want to take them off of WCG. I'll probably add a small SSD later, but I can't afford one ATM. As far as modding goes, I'm planning to remove the HDD cage to improve air flow and make a bit more interior space. I'll update with pictures when parts start to arrive

[manofthem]

Can't wait to see this "beast" come to life (yes, I called it beast ) I want to see pics! If its just for gaming, why not skip the 1TB hdd and just go with a 256gb ssd?

for the

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by manofthem

Can't wait to see this "beast" come to life (yes, I called it beast ) I want to see pics! If its just for gaming, why not skip the 1TB hdd and just go with a 256gb ssd?

for the

A 256GB SSD is wicked expensive ($120+). I got the 1TB HDD for $30

A SSD will come (probably a 64GB, as that's enough with a dedicated HDD) probably in January when I have more money to spend.

Pics will definitely be provided--but all I have ATM is the HDD, and it's in one of my HPs keeping it crunching. That an the PSU, which is just and old Antec. Might get a pic tomorrow.

[manofthem]

That's a nice deal for a 1tb
The suggestion of a 256 ssd was more about size reduction anyway, not do much speed though the speed is a nice plus. Either way, can't wait.

[cdawall]

Should be different get an A10-5800K!

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by cdawall

Should be different get an A10-5800K!

An A10 and mobo was going to cost me $60 more than the i3/8800GTS...and this way I can go with an i5/i7 later if I want.

But what mobo would you suggest for the A10?

[cdawall]

Originally Posted by [Ion]

An A10 and mobo was going to cost me $60 more than the i3/8800GTS...and this way I can go with an i5/i7 later if I want.

But what mobo would you suggest for the A10?

Asrock has an A75 series board floating around that looked pretty nice. Looks like the egg is sold out of it ATM however. It was the setup I was looking at for swapping my i7 Xeon mini ITX for. Honestly the onboard on the A10 should beat the 8800GTS...

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by cdawall

Asrock has an A75 series board floating around that looked pretty nice. Looks like the egg is sold out of it ATM however. It was the setup I was looking at for swapping my i7 Xeon mini ITX for. Honestly the onboard on the A10 should beat the 8800GTS...

That's the board I was looking at. However, with the A10, it would be $225 for that. I'm getting an i3 for $75 shipped, the board is $65, and the GPU was $30. So it's not quite the difference, but still. I think this will be fine--and if I find the GPU inadequate (I don't expect to) I can always throw it in one of my sales systems, sell it for an unreasonable mark-up on Craigslist, and get a GTX460

[mlee49]

Just curious, why the 8800GTS? Couldn't a more powerful, less power hungry card do?

Nice LAN build though

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by mlee49

Just curious, why the 8800GTS? Couldn't a more powerful, less power hungry card do?

Nice LAN build though

Thanks

I could have pulled one of the GTX460s, GTX470s, or HD7770s out of my i7. I'm going with the 8800GTS G92 because, (1), it's a card I've always wanted to own, (2), it was cheap, and (3) I think it will be a plenty for everything I do. I could be wrong about that last point, in which case I'll throw it in one of my C2Ds and sell it and get something faster.

[lZKoce]

Wow, how did you find those parts so cheap...really Anyway, awesome build. I think you have estimated quite right that the 8800gts will do everything you need it to do. Even for me is plenty, I only play Starcraft2, so yeah. I'd do the same.

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by lZKoce

Wow, how did you find those parts so cheap...really Anyway, awesome build. I think you have estimated quite right that the 8800gts will do everything you need it to do. Even for me is plenty, I only play Starcraft2, so yeah. I'd do the same.

I'm buying the CPU and GPU used from people on [H]ard|Forum. The motherboard is one sale at Newegg, and I got the RAM as part of a black-Friday sale. I got the HDD locally.

[[Ion]]

Case just got here:


It's a bit bigger than I expected, and the feet are the worst I've ever seen--but neither are big issues. I think I'll try and throw the Atom in it tonight. Then once I install the i3 later I can decide what I want to do to it. I do like the side fan--some extra air over the CPU is always a good thing.

[t_ski]

Originally Posted by [Ion]

Case just got here:
http://i.imgur.com/FpWMN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/436qh.jpg
It's a bit bigger than I expected, and the feet are the worst I've ever seen--but neither are big issues. I think I'll try and throw the Atom in it tonight. Then once I install the i3 later I can decide what I want to do to it. I do like the side fan--some extra air over the CPU is always a good thing.

I think you should send it back - someone left a banana in it, bro

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by t_ski

I think you should send it back - someone left a banana in it, bro

a) The case was free
b) That's my banana
c) The banana isn't even in the case

Sorry bro

[manofthem]

Originally Posted by [Ion]

a) The case was free
b) That's my banana
c) The banana isn't even in the case

Sorry bro

Haha, at first it looked like the banana was in there
Case look nice, can't wait to see this come together!

[cdawall]

Are you sure the banana isn't in the case?

[t_ski]

Originally Posted by [Ion]

a) The case was free
b) That's my banana
c) The banana isn't even in the case

Sorry bro

Was the banana free, too?

[XL-R8R]

Why no Z77 board?


Seems kinda odd to be picking H67 when they're about the same price.

[HossHuge]

Is 350w going to be enough for a 8800GTS?

[BUCK NASTY]

Originally Posted by [Ion]

a) The case was free

Where does one direct their attention in order to procure a "free case" with a bonus Banana?

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by t_ski

Was the banana free, too?

$.39 a pound from Harris Teeter

Originally Posted by XL-R8R

Why no Z77 board?


Seems kinda odd to be picking H67 when they're about the same price.

I can get a H67 board for ~$65 and a Z77 would cost nearly twice that. And the i3 doesn't support overclocking anyways

Originally Posted by HossHuge

Is 350w going to be enough for a 8800GTS?

I'd say so. The i3 is rated at 65w, and IIRc the 8800GTS is rated at just over 100w. So that's maybe 200w tops for everything (and even that seems a bit high). If it's getting too warm, I'll swap it with the 450w.

[HossHuge]

Originally Posted by [Ion]

I'd say so. The i3 is rated at 65w, and IIRc the 8800GTS is rated at just over 100w. So that's maybe 200w tops for everything (and even that seems a bit high). If it's getting too warm, I'll swap it with the 450w.

I found this. Looks like you'll be OK.

While it requires an additional six-pin power connector, the 9800 GTX' consumption is actually very close to that of the 8800 GTS 512 MB, which is not surprisingly. The figures were comparable in idle state and just slightly higher under load (running Test Drive Unlimited), as its specifications indicated. Officially, Nvidia specifies 156 W for the 9800 GTX as opposed to "< 150 W" for the 8800 GTS 512 MB, and our results confirmed that.

What that means is that a brand-name 350 W power-supply will be enough to feed a system based on this card.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...w,1800-12.html

[brandonwh64]

No 350W is not good enough for a 8800GTS G80. These cards are power hogs and I lost a PSU due to this card and it was a 450W 20A antec with a Pentium D 820 65nm 2GB DDR2. I would look for a better PSU cause if it goes you may end up buying more than just a PSU.

[3870x2]

Originally Posted by mlee49

Just curious, why the 8800GTS? Couldn't a more powerful, less power hungry card do?

Nice LAN build though

the 8800GTS is quite power hungry, you might run into issues with a 350w, depending on the PSUs actual output.

About a month ago I had a 5750 for sale, would have gone nicely with this build. Interestingly enough, the 8800GTS can play games quite nicely these days still, but it does have one major flaw that just does not work with games as of 2010 and newer: 512 MB Ram.

My little brother in law has my old FX4600 (8800GTX) and while it plays everything out there (even maxes some out, like CS:GO at 1080p) it struggles on certain games due to RAM, even on low settings.