# Need advice on Mini-ITX build!



## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

I am building a MiniITX for my GF. Here is what I am thinking right now

Case: LianLi PC-Q08A
CPU: i5-2500K
HeatSink: Scythe Shuriken Rev. B
Mobo: Asrock Z68M-ITX
Mem: Kingston HyperX 2x4gb ddr3-1600
PSU: Cosair CX500V2
HDD: WD Black 1TB
Optical: Lite-on DVD/RW

Now the question is graphic card. We need something that can be used in the MiniITX build and yet powerful enough to play dragon age(she's a rpg fan) What will guys suggest?

I have never built a MiniITX before so i am just using my previous experience.  Thanks for any advice!

Oh, the budget is only up to 850.


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## Fourstaff (Aug 24, 2011)

Anything which can get into the case should be fine. Try to fit a GTX590?


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Fourstaff said:


> Anything which can get into the case should be fine. Try to fit a GTX590?


GTX590? I havent been paying attention to the nvidia/ati game for a long time so I have no idea which card to choose,

Will a GTX 590 be too expensive. The total budget is only 850


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## PopcornMachine (Aug 24, 2011)

If you want to stay under $200 on the GPU, I would suggest you look at AMD HD6850 or maybe a HD6870.

On the NVIDIA side, GTX 560 is a good option.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

PopcornMachine said:


> If you want to stay under $200 on the GPU, I would suggest you look at AMD HD6850 or maybe a HD6870.
> 
> On the NVIDIA side, GTX 560 is a good option.




How much differences are there between a 6850 and a 6870?


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## PopcornMachine (Aug 24, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> How much differences are there between a 6850 and a 6870?



I would get the 6870 if you can afford it.  If not, look at the 560 first.  

Check out which has good temps.  Might be important in a small case.

Read some reviews to get a better feel of them.  This site has a good review database.


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 24, 2011)

I agreeHD6850 or Gtx 560 Ti,  if needing to be cheap with this take a look around for a 2nd hand hd5770. Maybe another alternative could be HD 6790.


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## Fourstaff (Aug 24, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> How much differences are there between a 6850 and a 6870?



6870 is about 15% faster I think. 6870 is a good choice, but GTX560Ti is also good. GTX560Ti>6870>GTX560>6850 in terms of strength.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/Mars_II/27.html


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## ERazer (Aug 24, 2011)

with that case definitely pick a card that exhaust air in the back, i tried my asus 580gtx direct CU II and it gets really hot


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Hmm, 560ti is pretty expensive. Guess I will take the cheap route and get a 6850.  

Found a 6850 with XFX brand that only goes for 129 after MIR. Good buy or not?

Also. Do you guys think the Scythe heatsink can be fit into the LianLi Case? I will do a little OC so that's why I am getting a aftermarket heatsink.

It seems quite impossible to find a z68 mini itx.  Should I go with 2500K+Z68 or just 2500+H67?  I dont think my GF needs to overclock, but its nice to know it can OC.


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## PopcornMachine (Aug 24, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> Hmm, 560ti is pretty expensive. Guess I will take the cheap route and get a 6850.
> 
> Found a 6850 with XFX brand that only goes for 129 after MIR. Good buy or not?



I was referring to the GTX 560. (without ti)

Probably more in your range and still a good buy.

If not, 6850 will get the job done.

Edit:  Also, what resolution will you be using?


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

PopcornMachine said:


> I was referring to the GTX 560. (without ti)
> 
> Probably more in your range and still a good buy.
> 
> ...



1680x1050


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## PopcornMachine (Aug 24, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> 1680x1050



Then 6850 is probably good enough.


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

any card except dual gpu cards will fit. i have the same case for my machine and i've had up to a 6970 in it without any problems.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Fitseries3 said:


> any card except dual gpu cards will fit. i have the same case for my machine and i've had up to a 6970 in it without any problems.



Good to know!

What do you think of the quality of that case?  What type of heatsink are you using?  

I am also concerned about the DVD drive. Since it is really hard to find a DVD drive with a silver bezel now. Do you have a pic of your case?


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## Jetster (Aug 24, 2011)

HD6850 will be fine....The AMD cards run cooler anyway and use less power. Say then the 560ti


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Jetster said:


> HD6850 will be fine....The AMD cards run cooler anyway and use less power. Say then the 560ti



Thanks for the advice! 6850 is the final


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

im using the corsair h60.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Fitseries3 said:


> im using the corsair h60.
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/110824/Capture130.jpg



Do you have frontal pic?


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)




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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

So you can use the DVD bezel functional with your DVD drive? I cant find a silver DVD drive. It is good to know it will be color matched, Thanks!


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## EarthDog (Aug 24, 2011)

Hey xkm, sent you a PM.


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

works great yeah.

thats a 6850 in my pic. i've had several different cards in there though. 6990 doesnt work i know.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Do u overclock your miniitx rig? If so any heat related problems?  Any useful tips during installation?

Thanks a lot for your help Fitseries3.


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

im just using a 2400 chip but i have OCed it 350mhz without any issues. it runs extremely cool and for the most part, extremely silent. i dont imagine having any problems even with a 2600k running 5ghz.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Fitseries3 said:


> im just using a 2400 chip but i have OCed it 350mhz without any issues. it runs extremely cool and for the most part, extremely silent. i dont imagine having any problems even with a 2600k running 5ghz.



good to know. now proceeding to find the best price for all the components.


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## EarthDog (Aug 24, 2011)

That wont be done in a SFF case and on air... (5Ghz 2600k).


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

i dont see why not. i could in mine with the h60. these chips dont generate that much heat.


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## ERazer (Aug 24, 2011)

Fits, did you mod ur h60 to make it fit?


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## EarthDog (Aug 24, 2011)

2500k... MAYBE. H60 is also not air (but as good).

5Ghz is an unrealistic goal for air overclocking 24/7 for most 2600k's.


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

ERazer said:


> Fits, did you mod ur h60 to make it fit?



nope. didnt mod anything in this whole build. just put it together. 



EarthDog said:


> 2500k... MAYBE. H60 is also not air (but as good).
> 
> 5Ghz is an unrealistic goal for air overclocking 24/7 for most 2600k's.



never said it was for 24/7 no. but h60 is about the same price as any decent air cooler you're going to find that actually fits in there... and it is better.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

So is Scythe Shuriken Rev. B a good choice for OC the 2500K?  I fear that a large heatsink will block PSU/RAM/Graphic card


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> So is Scythe Shuriken Rev. B a good choice for OC the 2500K?  I fear that a large heatsink will block PSU/RAM/Graphic card



my shuriken sat right over the pcie slot so i had to sell it and get the h60.


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## ERazer (Aug 24, 2011)

check out prolimatech samuel 17 

http://www.prolimatech.com/en/products/detail.asp?id=157&page=1


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Fitseries3 said:


> my shuriken sat right over the pcie slot so i had to sell it and get the h60.



Is yours theShuriken Rev. B, or the big Shuriken?


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

ERazer said:


> check out prolimatech samuel 17
> 
> http://www.prolimatech.com/en/products/detail.asp?id=157&page=1



i tried that one... its not the greatest for cooling and it sits too close to the psu to put a decent fan on it. 



xkm1948 said:


> Is yours theShuriken Rev. B, or the big Shuriken?



the smaller of the 2. i dont remember but i do know i got the smaller one from microcenter when i bought it.


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## EarthDog (Aug 24, 2011)

Fitseries3 said:


> never said it was for 24/7 no. but h60 is about the same price as any decent air cooler you're going to find that actually fits in there... and it is better.


Sorry, since this was an mITX build, was thinking 24/7 and not benchmarking clocks...silly me. 

That H60 runs out of steam compared with high end air coolers and heavy overclocks. Heatsoak FTL.

Ok, I feel like Im threadjacking, just wanted to make sure good information was out there. Sorry OP.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

damn, so shuriken is out of the picture. Need to research more now. lol


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

EarthDog said:


> Sorry, since this was an mITX build, was thinking 24/7 and not benchmarking clocks...silly me.
> 
> That H60 runs out of steam compared with high end air coolers and heavy overclocks. Heatsoak FTL.
> 
> Ok, I feel like Im threadjacking, just wanted to make sure good information was out there. Sorry OP.



well like i said.... for the price of a decent air cooler that actually fits in this case and performs worth a crap you can get the h60 that will outperform those aircoolers. 

in normal cases where space isnt an issue, of course a good air cooler will smoke the h60 all day long. 

im just saying, in this situation the h60 is a viable solution.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

OK, what about Thermalright AXP-140?


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

So the Asrock z68 is 17cmx17cm. I need to find a decent one that wont hinder the graphic card and mem.

Which mobo are u using Fits? I can do some quick comparison to see if it will block.


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

Asus p8h67-i deluxe


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Guess axp 140 wont fit well......


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

not enough room for fan between psu


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Fitseries3 said:


> not enough room for fan between psu



that guy manged to stuff in an antec 850watt atx psu. But he says something wrong with 5.25 cage side panel not sliding properly. Besides that he did get a dual slot GTX 480 in there. Strange. The Schtye one is smaller in size but wont fit.:shadedshu


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Sorry it was a cooler master. That's one huge ass heatsink. It completely covered the entire mobo.


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2011)

you really dont need that much power. 650watts is plenty for anything you can stuff in there


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## xkm1948 (Aug 24, 2011)

Fitseries3 said:


> you really dont need that much power. 650watts is plenty for anything you can stuff in there



I got the 500watt cosair ones.

Do you think the axp140 looks too scary on such a small system?  maybe I should just go with the stock heatsink


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

Thanks for all the help guys! I just made the purchase. Now I have it like this:

2500K
Asrock Z68 mini itx
kingston hyper X DDR3-1600 8GB
Thermalright axp-140
WD Black 1TB
LianLi Q08 Silver
Cosair 500Watt PSU
LiteOn 24X DVDW


Now I am not sure about 6850. I saw the XFX one for sale at 129 after MIR. Do u guys think the price will drop more later?


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## PopcornMachine (Aug 26, 2011)

Congrats. 

I wouldn't expect prices to change much until new cards are released.

AMD 7000 are supposedly coming before the end of the year, but who knows for sure?


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

Hmm. It seems the graphic card prices these barely move. Guess I will take care of the 6850 then.


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## Fourstaff (Aug 26, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> Hmm. It seems the graphic card prices these barely move. Guess I will take care of the 6850 then.



They usually move heavily only when there is new tech, and that comes only once a year or so. Other than that its a few weeks for maybe 5% drop.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

Is this one a good buy?

XFX HD-685X-ZNFR Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 ...

The review is not very good.


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## CJCerny (Aug 26, 2011)

So what was the goal of this miniITX build? It doesn't seem like it turned out to be any smaller or cheaper than a microATX build would have been. In fact, it must have been more expensive. You could have easily stuffed a $60 H61 mobo in a $30 mATX case and ended up with something very similar size, noise, and performance wise. Not as classy, no, but identical performance. You never stated why you went miniITX in this build and I just thought I would ask.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

OK. So I am gonna get either a 6870 or a 6850. The cheaper the better, any suggestions guys?


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

CJCerny said:


> So what was the goal of this miniITX build? It doesn't seem like it turned out to be any smaller or cheaper than a microATX build would have been. In fact, it must have been more expensive. You could have easily stuffed a $60 H61 mobo in a $30 mATX case and ended up with something very similar size, noise, and performance wise. Not as classy, no, but identical performance. You never stated why you went miniITX in this build and I just thought I would ask.



Well, the PC is for my GF. And she loves that damn case!  lol

So the case is fixed as a mini itx, I just have to choose the inside components then.


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## Fourstaff (Aug 26, 2011)

6870 probably, its more bang for buck than the 6850 with the rebates, about the same without.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

Fourstaff said:


> 6870 probably, its more bang for buck than the 6850 with the rebates, about the same without.



Do u have a specific brand in mind? Any newegg link please. Thanks!


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## Fourstaff (Aug 26, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> Do u have a specific brand in mind? Any newegg link please. Thanks!



Go to Newegg, search, pick the cheapest one, done 

Cheapest: SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR...
Also good: PowerColor AX6870 1GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256...


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

The sapphire one is not reference design I assume?  Do the Reference Design ones have better quality?


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## Fourstaff (Aug 26, 2011)

xkm1948 said:


> The sapphire one is not reference design I assume?  Do the Reference Design ones have better quality?



Not necessarily, but probably generally. Only if you are planning to change the heatsink then it becomes a major problem. Other problems include lack of voltage control, limiting overclocking. I am no good in this area, you will have to wait for someone better to chime in.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 26, 2011)

Too bad the powercolor one isnt free shipping. Hmm....  Guess I need to search around a little more


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## AlphaStormX (Aug 27, 2011)

Unless if you really want to use an AMD with an Intel processor for some special reason , I'd recommend an AMD processor, while Nvidia cards own more with Intel. The benchmarks prove it.

GTX 560 or 460 would be a good move for you. 560 Ti if its within your budget.


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## xkm1948 (Aug 27, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I just got a HIS 6870 reference design. Now the build is complete.

FYI. I have always been using ati with intel. I have never encountered any problems so far and hopefully this build will be problem free as well.


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 27, 2011)

AlphaStormX said:


> Unless if you really want to use an AMD with an Intel processor for some special reason , I'd recommend an AMD processor, while Nvidia cards own more with Intel. The benchmarks prove it.
> 
> GTX 560 or 460 would be a good move for you. 560 Ti if its within your budget.



I agree with the GTX460 and HD68xx suggestion from the above but I've not seen or heard of such a thing  Please post links proving your theory. Congrats on the new card purchase xkm, they are nice.


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