Highly portable gaming desktop. *Large photos*

[Cry Havoc]

The latest addition to my geek family is this. I wanted a computer that was super powerful, but also fairly portable. I liked some of the fragboxes that I've seen, but the cases are still too large (I first looked at building this with the Bitfenix Prodigy, which looks amazing but weighs 17 pounds for the case alone!).

Then I found the Coolermaster Elite 120. Everything else fell into place, and on Black Friday, prices bottomed the hell out, and I pulled the trigger.


Case: Coolermaster Elite 120. $50 from a local computer store.
Just over 7 pounds. Very small form factor, yet with enough room to handle the largest GPU on the market, AND accommodate a large, modular ATX power supply. Kind of a less attractive case, especially compared to this (http://www.tonymacx86.com/attachments/user-builds/33082d1348910344-ajlowndes-somewhatquietprodigy-p8z77-i-deluxe-i7-3770k-gtx-670-16gb-ram-bitfenix_prodigy_01.jpg), but with the weight consideration, this was the only case that had high ratings and was cheap enough to make it worthwhile to pursue the build I wanted.

Processor: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core. $99 from Tigerdirect.
Cheap, fast as hell, and most importantly, the dual core doesn't generate much heat, really important for a compact case such as this.

Motherboard: ASRock H77M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 $94 from Newegg.
Reliable, cheap, reputable company and the needed Mini ITX form factor.

RAM: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $25 Newegg BF special.

SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $75 Newegg BF special
One of the fastest, highest rated SSDs.

GPU: VisionTek Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card $150 Newegg BF special (free Far Cry 3)
I admittedly took a risk here. VisionTek is a new company so they really haven't been evaluated, but the price was right, and so far they have great reviews. Far Cry 3 for free was huge as well since I wanted the game anyway.

PSU: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $55 Newegg BF special.
Gold certified is amazing at this price. I got a hell of a deal here, and it's got solid reliability ratings.

Blu Ray: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer $50 from local computer store.
I wanted the flexibility to watch Blu-Ray movies. Admittedly I could have gone without this.

Total cost: $600 before tax. Shipping was free on everything except 1 or 2 of the items, so that was a nominal cost.


Pics:

http://i.imgur.com/cy8dIh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/S9iash.jpg
Upside down PSU, lawl.

http://i.imgur.com/IwN7eh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IeuZ2h.jpg
Evo LTE for size comparison

http://i.imgur.com/xVoZOh.jpg
vs. Mid ATX tower. (If you're wondering I use the fruit by the foot box to store rogue socks until I can find their partner)


Review: When I first got it I was wondering if the performance would be up to standard. After testing and using it for a while, I've had to talk myself out of selling my desktop a couple of times. It's that good. It won't max BF3 or Metro 2033, but almost every other game I can set to 1920x1080 and crank everything up to the highest level possible and I get 50+ fps. The case is so small it actually fits in my Chromebag (http://www.chromebagsstore.com/bags/messenger-bags/metropolis-buckle-bag---large.html) and the pockets can store all the cables, etc. Temperatures are great across the board, although I mounted the power supply upside down so that it blows out of the case instead of down onto the processor. GPU runs fine temp wise, and the processor goes from ~40 idle to ~60C under load.

If you can tolerate the cable management portion, I highly recommend building something like this. All together the system weighs ~16 pounds. Easily carried, although obviously I have to bring a monitor with me as well. Small price to pay for the power and flexibility compared to a laptop.

[ElNono]

I've been thinking of putting together something like that eventually to replace my MacMini. However, I would go for a Z77 mobo and an i5/i7 Ivy Bridge.

Looks like a cool little box!

[Cry Havoc]

What's the advantage of z77? AFAIK it's just integrated USB 3.0, which this mobo has as well.

[ElNono]

What's the advantage of z77? AFAIK it's just integrated USB 3.0, which this mobo has as well.

H77 is just a scaled back Z77. The two differences are that the Z77 can split the main x16 PCI Express bus into two x8 lanes, and the Z77 also supports changing multipliers for unlocked CPUs. Other than that, they're pretty much identical (both support PCI Express 3.0 with future cpus). While I don't necessarily do overclocking, after seeing how easily you can do it with the K cpus and the lower temps, I might just want to keep the option there. The x8 lanes are an option to have looking forward to thunderbolt PCIe cards. Right now the few available use 4x, but to really shine thunderbolt needs 8x PCI Express 2.0 (or 4x PCI Express 3.0).

The price difference I think was negligible too.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i just upgraded my rig also

i5 3470
8gb ram
b75 mobo
gonna go grab a 7870 today...

why didnt u go for the 3220T model? its same speed as 3220 but lower power output

[Cry Havoc]

i just upgraded my rig also

i5 3470
8gb ram
b75 mobo
gonna go grab a 7870 today...

why didnt u go for the 3220T model? its same speed as 3220 but lower power output

Meh, the rig as is probably doesn't hit 350w. Not too concerned with the PSU I have.

[MannyIsGod]

I'd rather overshoot on the PSU than undershoot.

[Borosai]

I just built a new desktop around an AMD A10-5800K (not for gaming purposes, though). You definitely got some good deals.

[ElNono]

Meh, the rig as is probably doesn't hit 350w. Not too concerned with the PSU I have.

You shouldn't be. That Ivy Bridge is only 55W TDP, and the Radeon is rated 110W TDP. The SSD is another power saver. Would be surprised if you're hitting 200W at all.

[Cry Havoc]

I'd rather overshoot on the PSU than undershoot.

Trust me I'm overshooting as is. pcpartpicker.com estimates wattage at 227w. Even with peripherals I'm well under 300w total.

[koriwhat]

cool! thinking about building a similar machine here soon enough. a friend gave me some older machine that's running win7 but it's clunky and isn't powerful at all, i only need it for netflix and other vids though but sort of want to jump into the pc game realm as well. something as small but as powerful as that machine would work wonders.

[Cry Havoc]

cool! thinking about building a similar machine here soon enough. a friend gave me some older machine that's running win7 but it's clunky and isn't powerful at all, i only need it for netflix and other vids though but sort of want to jump into the pc game realm as well. something as small but as powerful as that machine would work wonders.

If you don't need to game, you could knock $150 off the price of this rig, although prices have gone up since BF sales.

[Brunodf]

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcAScE3h0aUVxIGPn-U-PbTrwzq5eCSNvxZa0akfmG7sFlcbaZwA

i5/8gb ram/gt 640 1gb gddr5 = $800

[Cry Havoc]

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcAScE3h0aUVxIGPn-U-PbTrwzq5eCSNvxZa0akfmG7sFlcbaZwA

i5/8gb ram/gt 640 1gb gddr5 = $800

Not bad, but a 640 is a pretty big weak link there for gaming.

[ElNono]

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcAScE3h0aUVxIGPn-U-PbTrwzq5eCSNvxZa0akfmG7sFlcbaZwA

i5/8gb ram/gt 640 1gb gddr5 = $800

Is that the old model? The current one is $1299 and up:

http://www.dell.com/au/p/alienware-x51/fs

It also looks kinda bulky, no SSD and has the Windows tax :td

[TDMVPDPOY]

damn just bought a powercolor 7870 mystic version...fkn dont see any improvements...

[Cry Havoc]

damn just bought a powercolor 7870 mystic version...fkn dont see any improvements...

What did you upgrade from?

[TDMVPDPOY]

What did you upgrade from?

was u using onboard shit intel hd2500...

just upgraded desktop after a year collecting dust q6600 4870x2,
was using a laptop gaming for a year...decided to upgrade rig

[Cry Havoc]

The 7870 should be far superior...

[z0sa]

Im poor and jealous running HotS beta on welfare settings :cry

[Brunodf]

Is that the old model? The current one is $1299 and up:

http://www.dell.com/au/p/alienware-x51/fs

It also looks kinda bulky, no SSD and has the Windows tax :td
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51/pd

[symple19]

so I think I've settled on the I7 3930K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116492

Everything I've read indicates that with some overclocking you can get very close to the performance available from the Extreme...for $500 less

Just have to decide on Mobo/cooling to pair it with... Doubt I'll get crazy and try to push it toward 4.8/4.9 like some others I've read, so, question is, should I go liquid?? I've seen some say it's fine fan cooled in the low 4's

Thoughts?

[TDMVPDPOY]

overclocking, maintenance is a bitch...only buy it if ur plannin to overclock man...

[symple19]

overclocking, maintenance is a bitch...only buy it if ur plannin to overclock man...

I am, but probably only to around 4 - 4.2 or so

Pretty much set on the processor, just have to figure out where to go on the GPU... I'm envisioning 3 displays so I can game, reference the internet, and watch a soccer/football game all at the same time --- Or just use all 3 panels to game.

Leaning toward an EVGA GTX 680 Classified with an eye toward SLI in the future... And yes, I'm getting a massive case

[symple19]

However, I won't be buying a G card for another month or two so a lot could change in that time frame.

[leemajors]

However, I won't be buying a G card for another month or two so a lot could change in that time frame.

Intel onboard gfx should suit you fine in the meantime, i don't play pc games anymore so I never got one. Pushes 1080p great.

[symple19]

Intel onboard gfx should suit you fine in the meantime, i don't play pc games anymore so I never got one. Pushes 1080p great.

I'm buying the parts a little at a time and then putting it together all at once.

Using my laptop for now

[Cry Havoc]

Just buy an aftermarket CPU fan cooler and you'll be fine.

[MannyIsGod]

I got the 3550k for OC. Never even bothered. :lol Its got a nice big ass heatsink and fan on it and has never been OC.

[monosylab1k]

http://weknowgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/oh-thats-a-nice-photo-of-a-man-and-his-dog.gif

[TDMVPDPOY]

intel onboard sucks if ur planning to game and shit, explained why i went out to buy the 7870

seriously what 3 panels will you be buying?? IPS panels or TN shit?

[Darius McCrary]

LOL at the giant box of Fruit by the Foot

[DarrinS]

I like that case.

I built a very small PC (even smaller than the one in the OP) that I use for a HTPC. Doesn't even have any fans, so it is super quiet.

[DJR210]

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcAScE3h0aUVxIGPn-U-PbTrwzq5eCSNvxZa0akfmG7sFlcbaZwA

i5/8gb ram/gt 640 1gb gddr5 = $800

Except the 640 is complete trash..

[DJR210]

I am, but probably only to around 4 - 4.2 or so

Pretty much set on the processor, just have to figure out where to go on the GPU... I'm envisioning 3 displays so I can game, reference the internet, and watch a soccer/football game all at the same time --- Or just use all 3 panels to game.

Leaning toward an EVGA GTX 680 Classified with an eye toward SLI in the future... And yes, I'm getting a massive case

PLEASE do not waste your cash on a 3930k..ain't that like a grand?? You'd be better off going all out and getting a GTX690 and a 3570k instead if your budget is that big..

Here's the rig I built for 1700.00 with the monitor and peripherals:

Asus Z77 Sabertooth Motherboard - 249.00
Nvidia GTX 680 - 499.00
i5 3570k 219.00
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo 34.99
G. Skill 16GB Ram - 82.00
Western Digital 1TB HDD - 109.00
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced - 139.00
Xion 1000W PSU - 130.00

It plays everything at max or maxed with 2X MSAA locked at 60 fps. I can easily drop in a second 680 as soon as games take the next step in technology.. Skyrim is god damn gorgeous with 60+ mods on Ultra..Here's a link to a pic I took in game:http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=128422569

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/12gs210/IMAG0172.jpghttp://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/12gs210/235_zpsaf491d87.jpghttp://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/12gs210/207_zps632fcd04.jpg

[Brunodf]

Except the 640 is complete trash..

You can upgrade to gtx 660ti, but to me 640 is good enough

[DJR210]

You can upgrade to gtx 660ti, but to me 640 is good enough
If you are playing at less than 60 FPS, medium, or at 720p, I'm sure it would be. I'd just rather wait for the next console if this system would be used for gaming.

[Wild Cobra]

So....

DJR210, it appears you may know a bit about this stuff.

What's your opinion on going to a X79 motherboard setup?

http://hothardware.com/articleimages/Item1811/intel-x79-blockdiagram.png (http://hothardware.com/Reviews/X79-Roundup-ASRock-ASUS-Gigabyte/)

[TDMVPDPOY]

why do you need a high end comp? what would it be use for?

[Wild Cobra]

why do you need a high end comp? what would it be use for?

I don't "need" my Trans Am, but I like it.

What would I use it for? I'm impatient. Any savings of a 1/4 second or so loading a program, booting, etc. would be nice.

[DJR210]

So....

DJR210, it appears you may know a bit about this stuff.

What's your opinion on going to a X79 motherboard setup?

http://hothardware.com/articleimages/Item1811/intel-x79-blockdiagram.png (http://hothardware.com/Reviews/X79-Roundup-ASRock-ASUS-Gigabyte/)

Depends on what you are looking for..Are you trying to build a rig with 3 or more GPU's? If so, the x79 will offer more PCI lanes for more cards.. I honestly do NOT see any reason to get more than 2 GPU's, unless you're rich with money to purposely fuck off..

The z77 and x79 are both really popular platforms currently, and both are best to take advantage of the performance boost with the 3rd gen Ivy Bridge processors from Intel. I'd say go with z77.

[DJR210]

I don't "need" my Trans Am, but I like it.

What would I use it for? I'm impatient. Any savings of a 1/4 second or so loading a program, booting, etc. would be nice.

If you want speed you simply buy a Solid State Drive or SSD, and install the operating system and a couple of your most important apps (unless you get a bigger drive) and you will see big performance gains..if you want to build a decent rig for gaming, or video editing purposes, I can help you build a sweet setup with whatever budget you're going with.

[symple19]

PLEASE do not waste your cash on a 3930k..ain't that like a grand??

No, it's just a bit over 500 right now...you're thinking of the extreme

[DJR210]

No, it's just a bit over 500 right now...you're thinking of the extreme

Oh, ok. From the feedback I've seen, I don't think you are getting many more frames on a processor higher than a 3770k, thats 340.00..I personally went with the 3570k because games currently are not taking advantage of Hyper Threading, and by the time they do, I'll need to upgrade anyway.

[DJR210]

I think this would be a sick build for less than 1400.00. Alienware would charge double for this setup.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I6Lz

[Cry Havoc]

It should be noted that AMD's 8370 is a monster processor and has been trashing Intel's CPUs in a lot of tests. If I were building a PC today, that's the processor I'd use.

Paying $500 for a processor at this point is ridiculous unless you need it for work. The performance gains just don't warrant the extra spending.

[Cry Havoc]

I think this would be a sick build for less than 1400.00. Alienware would charge double for this setup.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I6Lz

:lol That card costs as much as my entire rig. :lol I bet it's a monster though. Honestly, I'm happy with the 7850, some of the best performance I've ever seen for the price. $150 for a card that can play everything maxed out or on very high? Unheard of, IMO.

[DJR210]

It should be noted that AMD's 8370 is a monster processor and has been trashing Intel's CPUs in a lot of tests. If I were building a PC today, that's the processor I'd use.

Paying $500 for a processor at this point is ridiculous unless you need it for work. The performance gains just don't warrant the extra spending.

Link to benchmarks?

[Cry Havoc]

Link to benchmarks?

Teksyndicate broke the story, it's on their youtube channel. They did repeated tests across a wide range of games (as opposed to "benchmark" games) and found some pretty staggering discrepancies in the frame rates. A few games, Intel won by a slim margin, a few games, AMD won by a slim margin, and for several more the AMD thrashed even the top end Intel chipset. It was like a 40+ fps difference. It's been replicated by users too, from what I've read on Reddit (www.reddit.com/r/buildapc).

Will post links when I get home tonight.

[Cry Havoc]

eu8Sekdb-IE

[DarrinS]

why do you need a high end comp? what would it be use for?

What an asshole-ish question.

[Wild Cobra]

What an asshole-ish question.
Also, thinking only about the "now."

Such a computer will remain viable for a decade or more, unless there is some paradigm shift in the industry.

I still use a laptop over a decade old. Was $1,300 then, top of the line, and works great still.

[DJR210]

Sorry Havoc, I'm highly skeptical of AMD outperforming the Intel processors like you're talking about. On most cases their enthusiasts level processors are beaten down by core I3's. Plus your talking about AMD blowing them out..find it hard to believe

[Wild Cobra]

Sorry Havoc, I'm highly skeptical of AMD outperforming the Intel processors like you're talking about. On most cases their enthusiasts level processors are beaten down by core I3's. Plus your talking about AMD blowing them out..find it hard to believe
As do I. Still, even if an AMD processor was faster, I will stick with Intel. Their reliability isn't beat by anyone.

[DJR210]

This might help Havoc. If you notice, the top 50 processors with the exception of TWO are Intel. One of the AMD's on the list is not a normal processor for normal PC use IIRC.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

The battle is slightly different in the GPU side of it as with the newest drivers from AMD, their 7970 ghz edition cards are slightly faster than the GTX680's.

*edit* Interesting video. He mentioned some motherboards, but wondering which he used for the Intel tests..

[Cry Havoc]

This might help Havoc. If you notice, the top 50 processors with the exception of TWO are Intel. One of the AMD's on the list is not a normal processor for normal PC use IIRC.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

The battle is slightly different in the GPU side of it as with the newest drivers from AMD, their 7970 ghz edition cards are slightly faster than the GTX680's.

*edit* Interesting video. He mentioned some motherboards, but wondering which he used for the Intel tests..

Again, most of the CPU and gaming tests use "benchmark" games and setups. They aren't necessarily reflective of the real world. They replicated those tests over, and over, and now people at Reddit are buying 8370s and reporting some pretty impressive numbers.

You can doubt it all you want, but the tests have been replicated. Is it really so hard to believe that the tests that a select few websites run are biased or not in-depth enough? Makes perfect sense to me, honestly.

[squiz]

Teksyndicate broke the story, it's on their youtube channel. They did repeated tests across a wide range of games (as opposed to "benchmark" games) and found some pretty staggering discrepancies in the frame rates. A few games, Intel won by a slim margin, a few games, AMD won by a slim margin, and for several more the AMD thrashed even the top end Intel chipset. It was like a 40+ fps difference. It's been replicated by users too, from what I've read on Reddit (www.reddit.com/r/buildapc (http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc)).

Will post links when I get home tonight.

bear in mind that they were also using xsplit while getting those benchmarks, thanks to the 8350 being an '8 core' vs the intel 4 core it no doubt helped in this certain situation. right now intel still has superiority in single threaded tasks, and the majority of games still don't utilise the extra cores available on todays modern processors which invariably leads to intel being known as the more viable gaming option.

however, it must be noted that the next gen consoles are going to be using amd multicore processors. game developers will be optimizing their games to suit the new systems, and one would be lead to believe that this would equal more games taking advantage of the extra cores now available to them. it's going to interesting in the next few years as to what this does to the market but i think amd is in a good place right now, no doubt a hell of a lot better than ~12 months ago.

bottom line is that the 8350 is a damn decent processor at a good price, and will be adequate for most users including gamers.

[Wild Cobra]

You know, there is also the bios setup. Was multithreading enabled on the Intel chips, or was this a setup from the start?

[symple19]

Yeah, I just won't buy anything from AMD/Radeon. Personal preference. As for not needing a 3430, well, no fucking shit. The fact is, I can afford it and want to future-proof my rig as much as possible while ensuring that I can throw whatever in the hell I want to at it. The other aspect is overclocking. No other chip out there, from what i've read, is as stable after a little tweaking. Oh yeah, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to have some bragging rights for awhile. So yeah, I'm going top-motherfuckingshelf.

[Cry Havoc]

Yeah, I just won't buy anything from AMD/Radeon. Personal preference. As for not needing a 3430, well, no fucking shit. The fact is, I can afford it and want to future-proof my rig as much as possible while ensuring that I can throw whatever in the hell I want to at it. The other aspect is overclocking. No other chip out there, from what i've read, is as stable after a little tweaking. Oh yeah, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to have some bragging rights for awhile. So yeah, I'm going top-motherfuckingshelf.

I don't get this. Do you realize that the single greatest failure in the history of reliability for GPUs was from Nvidia, when a massive quantity of 512mb 8800 GTS chips would just seize up and die? And the single greatest (recent) failure in CPUs belongs to Intel and their first gen Sandy Bridge processor, which caused any SATA II ports to completely burn out within a couple of months of use?

Right now the top shelf is AMD for GPUs, and it's arguable to who's got the best CPU chip, but by no means a clear "top shelf".

I don't understand this brand loyalty when Intel/Nvidia have done absolutely nothing to earn it. For the record, I have two Intel CPUs, but I wouldn't buy one today if I were building a system. And GPUs are CLEARLY tilted towards AMD's favor these days. They win at essentially every price point. I haven't bought an Nvidia GPU in close to a decade, and I've never had an issue with any AMD cards.

[leemajors]

I don't get this. Do you realize that the single greatest failure in the history of reliability for GPUs was from Nvidia, when a massive quantity of 512mb 8800 GTS chips would just seize up and die? And the single greatest (recent) failure in CPUs belongs to Intel and their first gen Sandy Bridge processor, which caused any SATA II ports to completely burn out within a couple of months of use?

Right now the top shelf is AMD for GPUs, and it's arguable to who's got the best CPU chip, but by no means a clear "top shelf".

I don't understand this brand loyalty when Intel/Nvidia have done absolutely nothing to earn it. For the record, I have two Intel CPUs, but I wouldn't buy one today if I were building a system. And GPUs are CLEARLY tilted towards AMD's favor these days. They win at essentially every price point. I haven't bought an Nvidia GPU in close to a decade, and I've never had an issue with any AMD cards.

it makes little sense, but I am still somewhat biased against them for the first gen Athlon chip I bought that was DOA as far as CPU's go. I was excited for the bulldozer, but it was clearly underwhelming when it actually came out. I have bought several Radeon cards though, and they were great.

And yes, that NVidia shit was a nightmare when I was on the phones at Apple. They had that one in the MacBooks and it was a total disaster.

[symple19]

I don't get this. Do you realize that the single greatest failure in the history of reliability for GPUs was from Nvidia, when a massive quantity of 512mb 8800 GTS chips would just seize up and die? And the single greatest (recent) failure in CPUs belongs to Intel and their first gen Sandy Bridge processor, which caused any SATA II ports to completely burn out within a couple of months of use?

Right now the top shelf is AMD for GPUs, and it's arguable to who's got the best CPU chip, but by no means a clear "top shelf".

I don't understand this brand loyalty when Intel/Nvidia have done absolutely nothing to earn it. For the record, I have two Intel CPUs, but I wouldn't buy one today if I were building a system. And GPUs are CLEARLY tilted towards AMD's favor these days. They win at essentially every price point. I haven't bought an Nvidia GPU in close to a decade, and I've never had an issue with any AMD cards.

Don't get mired in my terminology. And price points just aren't a factor. I've always had Nvidia cards, they've always worked well, and I see no reason to change.

Also, the difference in performance at the top-end is small enough as to not really be a factor. http://kotaku.com/5964022/the-best-graphics-cards-nvidia-vs-amd-current+gen-comparison

I'm not disputing what you're saying, merely that I'm sticking with what has worked for me.

Perhaps you should petition AMD/Radeon for some compensation? You're definitely working hard for them

[Cry Havoc]

Perhaps you should petition AMD/Radeon for some compensation? You're definitely working hard for them

:lmao With my two Intel chips, including one I bought 3 months ago? Yeah, working *hard* for that brand loyalty.

:lol You admitted that you buy one brand without even thinking about comparisons, and you accuse ME of being a shill? Hilarious. Come on now, dude.

[symple19]

And lol buying hardware right after it's released. I've never done that. You wait 3-6 months and see how it performs. Common sense has served me well in that game over the years

[Cry Havoc]

Oh yeah, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to have some bragging rights for awhile. So yeah, I'm going top-motherfuckingshelf.


And lol buying hardware right after it's released. I've never done that. You wait 3-6 months and see how it performs. Common sense has served me well in that game over the years

:lol

[symple19]

:lmao With my two Intel chips, including one I bought 3 months ago? Yeah, working *hard* for that brand loyalty.

:lol You admitted that you buy one brand without even thinking about comparisons, and you accuse ME of being a shill? Hilarious. Come on now, dude.

I'm not trying to dissuade people from a certain brand like you are. I'm basically saying, "to each their own." You're fervently arguing for AMD/Athlon while I clearly said my decision was a preference.

Come on, dude

[Cry Havoc]

I'm not trying to dissuade people from a certain brand like you are. I'm basically saying, "to each their own." You're fervently arguing for AMD/Athlon while I clearly said my decision was a preference.

Come on, dude

No, I'm arguing fervently for using your head and evaluating which choice is the best. You say you want the best, then turn around and only buy from 1 company for each system part, citing a reliability reputation that has NEVER EXISTED. It makes no sense at all.

[symple19]

Don't get mired in my terminology

So, again, while I'm not buying the 'extreme' Intel chip nor that 1000 dollar new Nvidia GPU, i'll still have top of the line stuff. Sorry if you took everything literally

[symple19]

No, I'm arguing fervently for using your head and evaluating which choice is the best. You say you want the best, then turn around and only buy from 1 company for each system part, citing a reliability reputation that has NEVER EXISTED. It makes no sense at all.

You want to get bogged down in semantics, CH. I'm not going to do that. I just told you the shit has worked well for me over the years. You're using some broad view of the entire chip manufacturing sector, which, frankly, I don't give a fuck about. I've identified the chip I want, it's been out for awhile, heavily reviewed and tested extensively. Same goes for the GPU I want.

Does that make sense?

[DJR210]

I wouldn't go as far as to say AMD cards are top shelf. It's pretty neck and neck. The latest drivers from AMD made the 7970 slightly faster than the 680. That doesn't say much considering a driver update from Nvidia could take back the lead by a small margin at some point also..

It just really comes down to what you want in features. With Nvidia, I liked PhysX. It isn't groundbreaking, but nice when used right (Borderlands 2). AMD just came out with TressFX, which seems like a great idea, but so far from what I've seen most users are complaining about the hair (floating off her shoulders), and the fact that it kills frames.

[Cane]

Cry Havoc:

Would you consider using a portable desktop as your main stationary PC too? Or is the noise/temps too high and case space too limited for that?

[Cry Havoc]

Cry Havoc:

Would you consider using a portable desktop as your main stationary PC too? Or is the noise/temps too high and case space too limited for that?

Tbh, I've considered selling my primary desktop, honestly. The portable DT is that damn good. I would probably actually sell it too if I thought I could get anywhere near a decent return for it. Still thinking about it though.

The temps are actually lower than my desktop PC, due to better parts/manufacturing. It's not silent, either, but it's pretty damn quiet. Beast of a rig and I couldn't be happier. If I had to build one today I would go with the portable version, no question. It's just a little harder to build and you trade a little flexibility, but it's obviously light-years ahead of what you can do with a laptop unless you're willing to fork out $2k and not be able to upgrade down the road.

[Pop]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/10/xi3-starts-piston-pre-orders/

Consoles are trying to become media centers and PCs are trying to become consoles.

[Cane]

Tbh, I've considered selling my primary desktop, honestly. The portable DT is that damn good. I would probably actually sell it too if I thought I could get anywhere near a decent return for it. Still thinking about it though.

The temps are actually lower than my desktop PC, due to better parts/manufacturing. It's not silent, either, but it's pretty damn quiet. Beast of a rig and I couldn't be happier. If I had to build one today I would go with the portable version, no question. It's just a little harder to build and you trade a little flexibility, but it's obviously light-years ahead of what you can do with a laptop unless you're willing to fork out $2k and not be able to upgrade down the road.

Bad ass. I really like the CM Elite 120 case. Corsair (http://www.overclock.net/t/1351862/corsair-mini-itx-what-do-you-want/160) is supposed to be making a portable LAN case too but they haven't updated in a while.


http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/10/xi3-starts-piston-pre-orders/

Consoles are trying to become media centers and PCs are trying to become consoles.

Hopefully the consumer wins :)

[Cry Havoc]

Bad ass. I really like the [COLOR=#000000]CM Elite 120 case.

I still can't believe how light it is. If I hadn't dropped a blu ray drive in it the entire rig would probably weigh ~12 pounds. Insane.

[DJR210]

Would you consider using a portable desktop as your main stationary PC too? Or is the noise/temps too high and case space too limited for that?

Noise won't be an issue for you. I have a full size Tower with 3 120mm fans, and a 240 side fan, and they run on low while providing plenty of airflow, almost silent. The only time the rig gets loud is when the GPU temp gets in the 60's, and my fan curve pumps up my GPU fan into the 70% speed range.

[DJR210]

.

[DJR210]

The latest addition to my geek family is this. I wanted a computer that was super powerful, but also fairly portable. I liked some of the fragboxes that I've seen, but the cases are still too large (I first looked at building this with the Bitfenix Prodigy, which looks amazing but weighs 17 pounds for the case alone!).

Then I found the Coolermaster Elite 120. Everything else fell into place, and on Black Friday, prices bottomed the hell out, and I pulled the trigger.


Case: Coolermaster Elite 120. $50 from a local computer store.
Just over 7 pounds. Very small form factor, yet with enough room to handle the largest GPU on the market, AND accommodate a large, modular ATX power supply. Kind of a less attractive case, especially compared to this (http://www.tonymacx86.com/attachments/user-builds/33082d1348910344-ajlowndes-somewhatquietprodigy-p8z77-i-deluxe-i7-3770k-gtx-670-16gb-ram-bitfenix_prodigy_01.jpg), but with the weight consideration, this was the only case that had high ratings and was cheap enough to make it worthwhile to pursue the build I wanted.

Processor: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core. $99 from Tigerdirect.
Cheap, fast as hell, and most importantly, the dual core doesn't generate much heat, really important for a compact case such as this.

Motherboard: ASRock H77M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 $94 from Newegg.
Reliable, cheap, reputable company and the needed Mini ITX form factor.

RAM: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $25 Newegg BF special.

SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $75 Newegg BF special
One of the fastest, highest rated SSDs.

GPU: VisionTek Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card $150 Newegg BF special (free Far Cry 3)
I admittedly took a risk here. VisionTek is a new company so they really haven't been evaluated, but the price was right, and so far they have great reviews. Far Cry 3 for free was huge as well since I wanted the game anyway.

PSU: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $55 Newegg BF special.
Gold certified is amazing at this price. I got a hell of a deal here, and it's got solid reliability ratings.

Blu Ray: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer $50 from local computer store.
I wanted the flexibility to watch Blu-Ray movies. Admittedly I could have gone without this.

Total cost: $600 before tax. Shipping was free on everything except 1 or 2 of the items, so that was a nominal cost.


Pics:

http://i.imgur.com/cy8dIh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/S9iash.jpg
Upside down PSU, lawl.

http://i.imgur.com/IwN7eh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IeuZ2h.jpg
Evo LTE for size comparison

http://i.imgur.com/xVoZOh.jpg
vs. Mid ATX tower. (If you're wondering I use the fruit by the foot box to store rogue socks until I can find their partner)


Review: When I first got it I was wondering if the performance would be up to standard. After testing and using it for a while, I've had to talk myself out of selling my desktop a couple of times. It's that good. It won't max BF3 or Metro 2033, but almost every other game I can set to 1920x1080 and crank everything up to the highest level possible and I get 50+ fps. The case is so small it actually fits in my Chromebag (http://www.chromebagsstore.com/bags/messenger-bags/metropolis-buckle-bag---large.html) and the pockets can store all the cables, etc. Temperatures are great across the board, although I mounted the power supply upside down so that it blows out of the case instead of down onto the processor. GPU runs fine temp wise, and the processor goes from ~40 idle to ~60C under load.

If you can tolerate the cable management portion, I highly recommend building something like this. All together the system weighs ~16 pounds. Easily carried, although obviously I have to bring a monitor with me as well. Small price to pay for the power and flexibility compared to a laptop.

That PC sucks because you have to be hunched over your desk to play, and nobody wants the hassle of having to turn it on and launch Steam.

[UZER]

Let...it...go

[MannyIsGod]

Total cost: $600 before tax.
.

[leemajors]

Let...it...go

this

[Cry Havoc]

:lol

[DJR210]

No tax on Newegg.

.

Another failed point.

[ElNono]

No tax on Newegg.

Newegg charges me taxes. That's why I don't buy from them.

[DJR210]

Newegg charges me taxes. That's why I don't buy from them.

You're in Cali right? That's a state issue, no tax here in Texas and most other states. For whatever reason Amazon does charge tax in Texas.

[ElNono]

You're in Cali right? That's a state issue, no tax here in Texas and most other states. For whatever reason Amazon does charge tax in Texas.

No, I'm in Jersey. They have a warehouse here they ship stuff from, so they gotta charge.

I normally buy stuff from Superbiiz in Cali. About the same price.

[leemajors]

You're in Cali right? That's a state issue, no tax here in Texas and most other states. For whatever reason Amazon does charge tax in Texas.

Amazon has a shipping warehouse in the Dallas area.

[TDMVPDPOY]

oi havoc

whats the max HDD that mini box can hold?

[Cry Havoc]

oi havoc

whats the max HDD that mini box can hold?

It has a standard HDD bracket, so anything 3.5" is fine.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Amazon has a shipping warehouse in the Dallas area.

I thought it was in the San Antonio area. Schertz possibly.

[leemajors]

I thought it was in the San Antonio area. Schertz possibly.

Probably, but most of my Prime stuff ships from Carrollton.

[DJR210]

I thought it was in the San Antonio area. Schertz possibly.

They recently announced the Schertz fufillment center. Not sure if it's open yet.