Possible SFF build, need suggestions

[Necrolezbeast]

PLEASE when you POST threads asking for input on system builds tell us...

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming, Photoshop, Lightroom, MS Office, e-books, browsing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Hoping to nail as close to $500 as possible.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA or China, since USA is cheaper... I plan on buying from there!

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

Not particularly, but for this build I do think that AMD will offer the best bang for the buck by a long shot.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Monitor, keyboard/mouse, Windows 7.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Overclocking if possible, but due to budget I'm thinking I will have to abide by what the stock cooler and SFF case decide.

8. What resolution will you be using?

1920x1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

I will be in the states at the end of August, so around then... for now I'm just going to watch for some deals and buy if it's a good deal.

So, here's what I'm thinking so far:
$80 Bitfenix Prodigy 300 mini-itx http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811345017
$90 ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157273
$25 AR CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 80 PLUS Certified (but has "extra long cables" so I'm not sure about how well it will fit) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139026
$120 AMD A8 3870k Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819106001
$53 Kingston Hyperx DDR3 1600 2x4gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104173
$96 Mushkin Adanced Chronos 120gb SSD (before we cry about Sandfroce, I've used upwards to 10 of them in my own builds and for friends without a single issue over 2.5 years) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226236
$110 Seagate Barracuda Green 2tb 5900 RPM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148681

Total: $574

This is just an early view of what I can get for near my price range. I would like to keep an SSD in there, and 120gb for $95 seems like a good deal (gets decent reviews and I've had nothing but good things to say about both Mushkin and Sandforce, although I may be in the VOCAL minority). The HDD would be for photos, movies, etc, so speed isn't a necessity.

As far as the case and PSU are concerned, I'm not sure if this PSU will even fit properly in the case. Or if there are better bang for the bucks out there, maybe Silverstone? The motherboard is the only m-itx board on Newegg at the moment, and seems a tad bit expensive but not by too much. CPU and RAM: Am I right in thinking that I should use DDR3 1600 when using the onboard graphics, should I go for a cheaper APU? I will want to add a video card later, but I've been gaming on my laptop w/ a 5650m for the last 2 years, so I think it will suffice for a little while. As for when I upgrade, is utilizing AMD Dual Graphics worth it these days? I remember that the scaling wasn't so great when most of the reviews for the A series were written.

Anyway, let me know what you think, what I should consider.. or how to cut costs. And, I apologize in advanced if this is unintelligible... damn Eurocup leaves me with no sleep

 

[Ken g6]

First of all, two months could change your choices a lot. Is this Photoshop CS6 you're going for? That's the only reason I can think of for going for an APU instead of Intel. And the HD4000 graphics in some upcoming dual-core Ivy Bridge processors might even the odds even in that case.

 

[Necrolezbeast]

First of all, two months could change your choices a lot. Is this Photoshop CS6 you're going for? That's the only reason I can think of for going for an APU instead of Intel. And the HD4000 graphics in some upcoming dual-core Ivy Bridge processors might even the odds even in that case.

Yeah, 2 months can change a lot... which is why I am just trying to get an idea of what I need to watch for... if I see a blowout deal on any of the mentioned products or something suggested, then I'd bite. As for Intel vs AMD... the APU offers the ability to game, not with much eye candy, but at least playable. Whereas Intel integrated graphics are terrible. That being said, it's a long way out... so I will continue to listen to suggestions and see what HD4000 brings to the table... along with anything else

Thanks!

 

[mfenn]

I agree with Ken that a lot can change in 2 months. APUs especially will be different due to the impending release of Trinity. What you have listed is all compatible, but there are some easy places to cut in order to get it to $500:
- Case & PSU: Since you're not using an optical drive, you can get an Apex MI-008 with an 5.25->2.5" HDD adapter for the SSD (or just use velcro). That saves $75 right there.
- CPU: The A8-3850 saves you $10 and you don't loose anything beyond an unlocked multiplier and 100Mhz.
- RAM: This Samsung kit saves you $5 and can really increase iGPU performance because it is well known to clock above DDR3 2000.
- HDD : This Seagate will save you $10

 

[Necrolezbeast]

I agree with Ken that a lot can change in 2 months. APUs especially will be different due to the impending release of Trinity. What you have listed is all compatible, but there are some easy places to cut in order to get it to $500:
- Case & PSU: Since you're not using an optical drive, you can get an Apex MI-008 with an 5.25->2.5" HDD adapter for the SSD (or just use velcro). That saves $75 right there.
- CPU: The A8-3850 saves you $10 and you don't loose anything beyond an unlocked multiplier and 100Mhz.
- RAM: This Samsung kit saves you $5 and can really increase iGPU performance because it is well known to clock above DDR3 2000.
- HDD : This Seagate will save you $10

How is that case? From comments, for what they're worth, say the PSU is worthless and a lot of complaints about not fitting a full sized hsf... if that's the case the savings wouldn't be so great because of the cost of a low profile cooler and possibly a PSU. That being said, newegg reviews aren't too reliable, anyone have experience? Nice find on the RAM, looks good!

I am hoping Trinity comes in an offers something exceptional for a reasonable price, or at least lowers the already low price of Llano.

 

[mfenn]

How is that case? From comments, for what they're worth, say the PSU is worthless and a lot of complaints about not fitting a full sized hsf... if that's the case the savings wouldn't be so great because of the cost of a low profile cooler and possibly a PSU. That being said, newegg reviews aren't too reliable, anyone have experience? Nice find on the RAM, looks good!

I am hoping Trinity comes in an offers something exceptional for a reasonable price, or at least lowers the already low price of Llano.

I actually have the case and it's happily hosting an i3 2100-based VMWare ESXi server. The PSU isn't a world beater for sure, but it's more than sufficient for a machine that's going to be drawing ~120W maxed out.

The case fits the stock Intel cooler fine, but it looks like the Llano cooler might be too tall. Even if you need to add a $35 Scythe Shuriken, you're still $40 ahead. That's nearly 10% of your total build cost.

 

[justinj6]

I actually have the case and it's happily hosting an i3 2100-based VMWare ESXi server. The PSU isn't a world beater for sure, but it's more than sufficient for a machine that's going to be drawing ~120W maxed out.

The case fits the stock Intel cooler fine, but it looks like the Llano cooler might be too tall. Even if you need to add a $35 Scythe Shuriken, you're still $40 ahead. That's nearly 10% of your total build cost.

I'm looking at doing a similar build but with Intel base. I am planning on optical drive, HDD, and SSD. So on this Apex case is there an internal drive bay to house the SSD. Assuming one can put the HDD in the external bay and the optical drive in the 5.25 external bay?

Thanks.
Justin

 

[Zap]

How is that case? From comments, for what they're worth, say the PSU is worthless

The PSU is worth probably half of the rated wattage on the label.

You can get that case for the same price at Amazon, but with free shipping. That should save you $10.

If you are really paranoid about the PSU and want some more room for your stock heatsink, look into a Silverstone SG05. I believe they are $105 shipped at Amazon, include a decent quality 300W PSU that actually can put out all 300W, has additional space for the CPU heatsink (albeit at a "cost" of the case being a bit bigger than the Apex) and has much, much, much better ventilation. Only caveat is that it uses a slim optical drive, which will add cost (you need a power adapter).

 

[mfenn]

I'm looking at doing a similar build but with Intel base. I am planning on optical drive, HDD, and SSD. So on this Apex case is there an internal drive bay to house the SSD. Assuming one can put the HDD in the external bay and the optical drive in the 5.25 external bay?

Thanks.
Justin

Yes, you could do that. Since I have an optical drive in mine, what I did was to put the HDD in the side bay and used a 3.5->2.5 adapter for the 3.5" external bay. Yes, mine is packed to the gills.

 

[justinj6]

Yes, you could do that. Since I have an optical drive in mine, what I did was to put the HDD in the side bay and used a 3.5->2.5 adapter for the 3.5" external bay. Yes, mine is packed to the gills.

Thanks mfenn. Couldn't see the internal bay from the case photos. Plans are to just use onboard graphics from either a g620 or i3-2100. Maybe I'll have a little more room.

Cheers,
Justin