I'm looking at putting together a mini gaming pc, can you give me your thoughts on the following build: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£233.99 @ Aria PC) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.18 @ Aria PC) Motherboard: Asus Z87I-Pro Mini-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£119.84 @ Scan.co.uk) Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£62.00 @ Amazon UK) Storage: Seagate 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive (£69.99 @ Dabs) Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case (£69.95 @ Aria PC) Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£87.99 @ Ebuyer) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) (£74.00 @ Ebuyer) Other: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3072MB (Purchased) Other: External Blu-Ray drive (Purchased) Total: £742.94 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-29 14:02 GMT+0000) P.S. I've also got some SSDs and a RAID array which I can add in (if there's space). Also, the reason I've gone for the quad core i7 is that I do photo editing so could do with the additional processing power.
I usually do a slight overclock, I guess that if I did decide to keep it stock, I could get a non-K CPU, H87 mobo and stick with the stock cooler to save a bit more cash although it might be noisier. Thanks G
I'd still get an aftermarket cooler even without an overclock. Once you've got a graphics card in the case things will get quite toasty and the stock cooler may struggle. My 4770S was getting a bit warm even before I put the R280X in. Went for the Thermalright Silver Arrow to start with but was way to big so got the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO in the end.
I've got the BitFenix Prodigy and love it, but be mindful its a bit 'wobbly' on the legs as they are slightly flexible and not solid. If this in any way might bother you maybe consider the http://www.aerocool.us/ds/ds_black.html or http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/phenom-mini-itx/ for similar look without the handles and feet. I went for Ivybridge 1155 setup for my ITX setup due to from here
If you stick with the prodigy get a 200/230mm fan to go on the front and move the included one to the top.
