Rate my Build - The Red Box

[Jobine]

Hello. I am rather new to this forum, so please do not be too harsh on me.

Introducing THE RED BOX, or as we say in my native tongue, LA BOÎTE ROUGE

What defines the Red Box?
- Small Form Factor
- Relatively inexpensive
- Powerful Worksation and Gaming Performance

As a criteria, i shall be using Newegg as a source of purchase for this build, not because they have the best prices, but because they have a large selection and their site is well organized. However, feel free to buy the parts wherever you want.

Let's begin:

CPU&Cooler:

The first part of the build is the CPU. The first thing i will mention is that this is not an overclocking rig, because of the small form factor and the fact that the GPU i will be choosing will run quite hot on it's own.

I was originally going to choose between the i5-4670 and the AMD FX 8320, however i found a much better solution. I present, the 3.3 GHz Ivy-Bridge Xeon 1230 V2, Socket 1155, with 4 cores and 8 threads:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117286

Why? First of all the price. At 234$, it does give the i5 and the FX 8 some good competition. However, this CPU has an awesome TDP for a quad-core (only 69W!!!) and because of the integrated GPU is not present on Xeons, will run much cooler than any consumer brand CPU. Not to mention, the server level stability is a huge plus in a non-overclocking rig. This CPU can match the i7-3770, and give the 4770 quite a good run for it's money, being only 8% weaker for 33% less price.

The next part is the cooler. Now, i will not be installing anything major, as a 69W CPU does not require that much muscle to power. Thus, because of the great experiences i have in my current and former desktops, i have chosen the Cooler Master TX3. When something has an average of 5 eggs out of over 8000 reviews on Newegg, you know it has to be good. And it's a steal at only 18$.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064

Motherboard, RAM and Network:

I'm a big fan of gigabyte motherboards, so i will obviously go with a brand that has served me well over the years. Since i will not be overclocking, i have no use for the Z77 chipset, and thus a modest H77 chipset will be plenty. I picked the GIGABYTE GA-H77N-WIFI:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128567

An awesome little motherboard with some great features, such as a nice uniform black design (premium feel), a built in AC Wifi and Bluetooth Combo (huge plus!) and a PS/2 port, for the old man in me . Two gigabit ethernet ports will ensure that a powerful connection can be maintained when wired. Let's not forget that awesome audio. 110$.

For the RAM, i have yet to mark the difference between performance RAM and value RAM, so i just went with what is on sale. The crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB offers 8GB of 1600mhz (the max supported by chipset) per dimm, for a maximum of 16GB. I will be picking one, though if you need the extra RAM, you should buy two. 55$ per DIMM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148540

Graphic Card and Power Supply:

Ah. Here it comes again. I will be making an incredibly controversial choice, so i hope the fanboys will keep themselves at bay. I opted to pick the Powercolor AX7990 Radeon HD 7990. That's right. The R9-280X might be a nice card and all, but putting two of these bad boys on crossfire in a mITX build will be killer . Best of all, this sucker is still only 580$, which is a steal for the amount of performance this card grants us in a small form factor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131493


For the power supply, we actually need a lot less than we expect. Since our CPU is only 69W and the rest of our components (bar the GPU) are fairly low powered, and we will not be doing any overclocking, i opted for a rater modest 600W power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048


This power supply supports crossfire, yet is modestly priced. 70$.

Storage:

A cheap LG optical drive will do. This will be used for installing software and playing older games. 15$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136270

Note: For the HDD/SSD selection, a user must pick what is based on their needs. For starters, i will simply be buying a small HDD. Feel free to add whatever storage options you need.

Western Digital Blue 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache (50$):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Case:

What's a Red Box without an actual Red Box? Get it? Me neither. This will fit all of our components, and look cool while doing it.

Bitfenix Prodigy Red (80$):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345020

Subtotal:

Now that we have all the internal parts, let's total up the price, note that i will only be purchasing one DIMM of RAM:

Total: 1212$. Not too shabby. That leaves us 288$ to spend on components. More in the next section. Prices in US dollars.

Components:

Let's start with two cheap 1080p Monitors (go ahead and lecture me that i should spend more, but frankly i just want something that works). AOC E2260Swdn 22'' for 109$ each, totaling 220$:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824160155

63$ left. Time for a KB+M

A cheap gaming mouse, the Razer Abyssus will be plenty for our use. Only 40$ too!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153061

Thinkpads are awesome. So are their keyboards (26$):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823218007


GRAND TOTAL (US DOLLARS, NO TAX, FREE SHIPPING):

1498$

Folks, there we have it, a mITX monster with KB+M/Dual Monitors for under USD 1500$. Any Questions?

 

[shovenose]

Nice except for JUNK PSU! And WD10EZEX HDD is much faster for slightly more.
Other than that, nice build Diggin' the XEON!

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Nice, except for the 7990 and mediocre PSU.

 

[Nordic]

I would of gone with the 290x or even the 290 before I got a 7990 honestly. Personal preference. Although a dual gpu card is not a bad idea for a SFF. My biggest complaint is the case. It is too big for a sff system. Saddly it is one of the best mitx cases right now, but that hopefully will soon change.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I would of gone with the 290x or even the 290 before I got a 7990 honestly. Personal preference. Although a dual gpu card is not a bad idea for a SFF. My biggest complaint is the case. It is too big for a sff system. Saddly it is one of the best mitx cases right now, but that hopefully will soon change.

I was going to say 780Ti, since if you overclock it, it can equal the performance of a 690 or 7990.

 

[xenocide]

That PSU will explode if you hook that system up to it.

 

[leeb2013]

as above, with that nice kit, don't skimp on the PSU. Get a branded and well reviewed >600W PSU. Case temps might be a concern with the 7990 pumping nearly 400W of heat into a small case. I would recommend a blower type GPU for such a small case, like a GTX780.

 

[Nordic]

I was going to say 780Ti, since if you overclock it, it can equal the performance of a 690 or 7990.

I mention the 290x because it is just a bit more than the 7990 he bought in price. The 780ti would be another great option.

 

[xenocide]

I mention the 290x because it is just a bit more than the 7990 he bought in price. The 780ti would be another great option.

Its heat output even with the fans cranked would be too much for a Micro-ATX.

 

[Shou Miko]

i stand with the others get a R9 290/290X or pay a little more and get a GTX 780/Ti.

look at some review of i5 vs i7 when it comes to LGA1150/1155 it's not a big jump in gaming, but if u use programs that can use HT (Hyper-threading) sure go with it if u got the money.

 

[Nordic]

Its heat output even with the fans cranked would be too much for a Micro-ATX.

He is using a 7990 which has even more heat output than the 290x or 780ti.

 

[Jobine]

Alright i ditched both the Rosewill Mousepad and PSU, replaced with a corsair.

i stand with the others get a R9 290/290X or pay a little more and get a GTX 780/Ti.

look at some review of i5 vs i7 when it comes to LGA1150/1155 it's not a big jump in gaming, but if u use programs that can use HT (Hyper-threading) sure go with it if u got the money.

Next-gen games will be octo-threaded, to go with the PS4 and XBone, making an i7 a lot more future-ready. And the main advantage of this CPU is the i7 Performance at the i5 price. However i could have opted for the quad core quad thread Xeon 1220 V2, which is a tad cheaper. Still.

I was going to say 780Ti, since if you overclock it, it can equal the performance of a 690 or 7990.

Can't fit a 780ti into budget. They are 100$ too much, and i cannot cut more corners. R9 290X fits though. But i'm still convinced the 7990 is better.

I would of gone with the 290x or even the 290 before I got a 7990 honestly. Personal preference. Although a dual gpu card is not a bad idea for a SFF. My biggest complaint is the case. It is too big for a sff system. Saddly it is one of the best mitx cases right now, but that hopefully will soon change.

If you got any suggestions feel free to post them. Keep them under 80$ for their newegg price and i will consider them, make sure they are adequately cooled to fit a 7990.

 

[xenocide]

OCZ ModstreamX. I think you can get a Modular 650 or 700w one for like $80.

 

[RCoon]

Sea Sonic, Corsair, Enermax, XFX, Akasa, OCZ(If desperate) all make decent PSU's that are less likely to explode than the one you mentioned. At most you'll need 650w, but a good 500w Bronze rated PSU will do you fine.

Akasa do a 550W Bronze Modular Venom PSU for cheaps.

 

[Jobine]

Sea Sonic, Corsair, Enermax, XFX, Akasa, OCZ(If desperate) all make decent PSU's that are less likely to explode than the one you mentioned. At most you'll need 650w, but a good 500w Bronze rated PSU will do you fine.

Akasa do a 550W Bronze Modular Venom PSU for cheaps.

Yup, added a 600W modular corsair bronze.

 

[RCoon]

Yup, added a 600W modular corsair bronze.

Also welcome to the ITX master race

 

[Jobine]

Reasons i did got get Haswell (Xeon 1230 V3):

- 30$ more expensive
- Runs hotter
- More Expensive Mobo's
- Insignificant performance boost

Also welcome to the ITX master race

If you have an idea for a smaller, yet well cooled and cheap case, feel free to post. Make sure it is red.

 

[RCoon]

Reasons i did got get Haswell (Xeon 1230 V3):

- 30$ more expensive
- Runs hotter
- More Expensive Mobo's
- Insignificant performance boost



If you have an idea for a smaller, yet well cooled and cheap case, feel free to post. Make sure it is red.

My original build was going to be a Prodigy, but it isn't that small, and if I was going ITX, I wanted it to actually be SFF. However you're just looking for a little red box, so the Prodigy or Phenom in red is probably your best/only option. The big 180mm penetrator fan on the SG07 is pretty awesome though.