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MadManOriginal wrote:

Also, for gaming, you can see a few results with a decent 1080p discrete card at the bottom of this page in the same review.

I see they have the AMD A8 beating the Pentium. An A8 will also give you an IGP capable of gaming without a discrete GPU...

JustAnEngineer wrote:

Galaxy and KFA2 have announced a low-profile GeForce GTX750Ti.

That half-height 750Ti has a dual slot heatsink...so it won't fit in the ISK300-150. I completely agree that a 7750 is as low as I'd go for a gaming dGPU.

You actually need to decide if you want this to be a gaming machine now, not later.
The ISK won't handle anything more powerful than an AMD APU like one of the lower-power A8's. The K-series chips may boot but you're going to struggle with fan noise and cooling. I'd suggest a 65W part like the A8-7600 or the A10-7800. The good news is that both of those have decent integrated graphics. Casual gaming will be okay on these APUs.

If you think you'll want more serious gaming down the line (and it sounds like size is important) the ISK is not an option; Trying to get a dedicated graphics card into an ISK requires both low, low power and also half-height. Given that you have to power the motherboard, processor, RAM and SSD already the power-budget left for a graphics card is so small that any feasable choices are going to be less potent than the integrated graphics of the A8-7600 or the A10-7800, rendering the whole excercise pointless.

If gaming is more than just an afterthought, you'll need to move up to Silverstone's SG05 with the 450W SFX PSU. It's just about the smallest box you can fit a decent card graphics card into.

so i found some combo deals on Newegg..

Mail in Rebate: Corsair CS450M PSU for $30
Shell Shocker: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD for $70
Combo: ASRock FM2 A88X Mobo
+ Cooler Master Elite 120 for $129 ($20 off combo)
Amazon: AMD A8-6600K on Amazon for $90

Total: $319

- $125 in gift cards

= $194 Cash. And all I need is RAM (and OS...and Office....and eventually a new monitor...)

Micro Center still has unbeatable in-store deals for CPU+motherboard.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

Micro Center still has unbeatable in-store deals for CPU+motherboard.

MicroCenter doesn't have that mobo listed on their website/catalog though

Also, the A8-6600k is $10 more expensive at MC for the Black Edition. How is the Black Edition different? Google is failing me..

bostonhokie wrote:

Corsair CS450M PSU for $30

So...even though the sale on the CS450M (that I linked earlier) was still valid ($30) you still preferred to pay the same price for a unit with 80 Plus Bronze efficiency rating instead of the 80 Plus Gold rating of the CS450M....? Wow.

bostonhokie wrote:

MicroCenter doesn't have that mobo listed on their website/catalog though

They're not the best at including all stocked motherboards in their catalog, sometimes you just have to swing over to the store and take a peek or call. At any rate, the Gigabyte F2A88XN-Wifi for $60 at Microcenter (when purchased w/ processor) is a direct substitute to the AsRock A88. Also, since the A8-6600K is an FM2 CPU, you could have gotten the MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 Wifi for $35 that I linked early on in this thread. I really AM/WAS trying to help you out.

DPete27 wrote:

JustAnEngineer wrote:

Galaxy and KFA2 have announced a low-profile GeForce GTX750Ti.

That half-height 750Ti has a dual slot heatsink...so it won't fit in the ISK300-150. I completely agree that a 7750 is as low as I'd go for a gaming dGPU.

Just wanted to point out that I'm putting together a system in an ISK300-150 right now and have been keeping an eye on video cards that will actually fit in the case. VisionTek has a 1GB GDDR5 R7 250 card that will fit.

There's also a Diamond 1GB GDDR5 R7 240 that might fit - might. It isn't double wide, but it sticks out a bit. The shroud might end up pressing against the honeycomb grill in the side of the case. Not sure about that, but if it fits, it'd probably be quieter than the R7 250.

I don't see any GeForce GT 640 cards with GDDR5 that will fit - the Zotac ones are too wide and the Asus one doesn't include a low profile bracket (which, uh, doesn't make much sense).

I'm hoping to see a GeForce GT 740 in low profile form factor that will work, maybe a mid-cycle maxwell refresh? Or maybe someone will decide it's worth it to do a low profile 750 with a single slot, blower style shrouded cooler? Well, probably not, but I can dream.

deruberhanyok wrote:

I'm hoping to see a GeForce GT 740 in low profile form factor that will work, maybe a mid-cycle maxwell refresh? Or maybe someone will decide it's worth it to do a low profile 750 with a single slot

With AMD APUs bearing down on the low end dGPU market (and Intel on their heels), I'm just not sure that's going to be likely/widely available (as you can see in current gen offerings). Let's face it, space-wise, you're just better off with an APU instead of a CPU + dGPU that essentially accomplishes the same thing performance-wise for the same or more money.

I agree. I'd originally planned to use an A8-7600 or A10-7800 in this build, but we're coming up on six months since the A8-7600 launched and still no sign of it. So I went with a low power Core i3 and figured I'd add a dGPU later.

Even if I go with an R7 240/250, it'll be better than a part that still hasn't been released.

deruberhanyok wrote:

we're coming up on six months since the A8-7600 launched and still no sign of it.

Agreed. I also had grand plans for the elusive 7600. If they wait long enough, there won't be any need to release it at all. We'll be on Carrizo (Kaveri successor).

DPete27, sorry for any confusion, the PSU I bought was the Gold you linked earlier. Very much appreciate the help! I'll go to MC this week and check out the FM2+ mobos that I could pair with the A8-6600k.

bostonhokie wrote:

I'll go to MC this week and check out the FM2+ mobos that I could pair with the A8-6600k.

The motherboard doesn't HAVE to be an FM2+ since the A8-6600K is FM2. All FM2+ mobos are backward compatible with FM2 processors, but FM2 motherboards will not be compatible with FM2+ processors (aka AMD A_ 7xxx Kaveri processors). If the A8-6600K is going to be the only CPU that you put in the machine, I see no reason to spend extra on a FM2+ mobo. I have the MSI FM2A75-E53 and A8-5600K in my HTPC as I type this.

bostonhokie wrote:

PSU I bought was the Gold you linked earlier

Glad to hear. I was confused because the CX430M is on sale right now for $30 after MIR. I thought you typeo'd the wattage.

So i know all the parts I want now, except for RAM. I still need to do some research about that. I appreciate everyone's help! One final question. I'm thinking about pairing a cheap ssd with a ~1TB HDD since there's some space for it, found this guy with good reviews and good price tag. Thoughts?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=5300

DPete27 wrote:

MadManOriginal wrote:

Also, for gaming, you can see a few results with a decent 1080p discrete card at the bottom of this page in the same review.

I see they have the AMD A8 beating the Pentium. An A8 will also give you an IGP capable of gaming without a discrete GPU...

JustAnEngineer wrote:

Galaxy and KFA2 have announced a low-profile GeForce GTX750Ti.

That half-height 750Ti has a dual slot heatsink...so it won't fit in the ISK300-150. I completely agree that a 7750 is as low as I'd go for a gaming dGPU.

I don't think you actually read the page. The FPS bar graphs are using IGPs, and yes the AMD CPUs do well there but it's at 1280x720 resolution. I was referring to the chart at the bottom of the page where they use a GTX 750 Ti...the Pentium keeps up with an i7 at 1080p with a discrete card, I don't think an AMD APU would, and certainly wouldn't be better, and you'd have much better CPU performance.

MadManOriginal wrote:

I don't think you actually read the page. The FPS bar graphs are using IGPs

Yes, I knew that, I read the article. I wouldn't argue for a second that Intel has the better IPC over AMD or that a Pentium + 750Ti ($200 combo) would game as better than an A8-6600K ($100). The A8 DOES have 4 cores to a Pentium's 2 cores though.
The point I've been trying to make all along is that the IGP in AMD APUs (ie A8-6600K) will play many games well on it's own (even many at 1080p albeit at lowered settings) without the need for a discrete GPU. And if you're just testing the waters of gaming, an APU is probably the best value decision. Also, an A8 is no slouch when paired up with a discrete GPU if the OP decides to add one later on.

bostonhokie wrote:

found this guy with good reviews and good price tag. Thoughts?

I wouldn't buy that SanDisk 128GB SSD for $80. It's their budget model and budget model SSDs these days go for closer to $60. I mean... you can buy the Samsung 840 EVO for $80 this weekend. That's a MUCH better SSD than the one you linked.

DPete27 wrote:

bostonhokie wrote:

found this guy with good reviews and good price tag. Thoughts?

I wouldn't buy that SanDisk 128GB SSD for $80. It's their budget model and budget model SSDs these days go for closer to $60. I mean... you can buy the Samsung 840 EVO for $80 this weekend. That's a MUCH better SSD than the one you linked.

It was on sale for $60 when I posted which is why I asked at all. I'll probably end up buying a Samsung Evo since I have one in my htpc and love it. I'll look for a sale! Trying to buy everything for this build on sale

So I went to MicroCenter today, and long story short, the "helpful" employee ended up selling me an AM1 mobo with an FM2 processor..I clearly should have caught it myself, but alas, a return trip to MC this week is now in order. Which brings me to my question..the only mini itx FM2 mobo MC has is this Gigabyte http://www.microcenter.com/product/4236 ... otherboard with less than stellar reviews, for $100 ($60 after bundle discount). Is it worth the $40 savings to go with that over say this ASRock? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157464 Or can someone recommend a solid ~$65 board from somewhere else? THANKS!

[EDIT] I'm gonna go with the Gigabyte. All the negative reviews were related to BIOS issues with the Kaveri chip. Ignore me...

Sorry for not checking store stock for you (you can do this from their website). I wasn't sure which store was closest to you. FYI, the Duluth store (address below) has an Open Box MSI A75IA-E53 for $50.96. I assume that's still eligible for the $40 combo discount which would bring your total for the mobo down to $10.96. Being that you're buying it from a brick-and-mortar store that's (assumedly) not too far away, I personally wouldn't have any problem buying an open box mobo. But it's up to you.

Microcenter Greater Atlanta/Duluth
2340 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA 30096

PS. Make sure to get the $40 combo discount with whichever FM2/FM2+ mobo you end up getting. You did buy a processor from them, not your fault you let them sell you an incompatible mobo.

PPS: You can call and have a mobo put on hold for you. I believe they can hold for 2 days(?)

All parts are ordered or already purchased. Exchanged the mobo for the gigabyte, ordered a Samsung 840 120gb ssd and a Seagate barracuda 1 TB hdd. Final question: I can't figure out the difference between these two sets of ram other than the "X" and $5..

G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

Thanks!

http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-12800cl9d-8gbxl
http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-12800cl9d-8gbrl

Looks like it's just the heatsink design, Gskill lists identical specs for them. The "X" one might be the newer version.

Trying to figure all the different versions of the same thing within product lines is the worst part about shopping for memory. I usually just buy whatever Crucial is selling just to avoid it, even if it costs a little extra.

The Ripjaws X is the newer heatsink design. No real difference. Get the cheaper one.

Better yet, get this 1866MHz kit for $78 with promo code EMCPCPF77.

The best price would be this 2400MHz kit for $75 with promo code EMCPCPF33. Even though its 1.65V, I'd imagine the XMP profile for 1866MHz would be around 1.5V. **

**Don't quote me on that, it's just an educated guess. When you get up into those high frequencies, you typically need more voltage to make it stable.

deruberhanyok wrote:

Shopping for memory, I usually just buy whatever Crucial is selling... even if it costs a little extra.

That' not a bad decision.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820148560
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820226504

DPete27 wrote:

Better yet, get this 1866MHz kit for $78 with promo code EMCPCPF77.

Done.

SSD and HDD arrived today, RAM should be here soon. Gonna go with Windows 8.1, and I've got Office ready to go. Will probably dual boot Ubuntu as well just to play around with it.

I've got a monitor that I'm going to use in the meantime but want to replace it asap. Since its a work first computer, two matching ~20" monitors is my go to, but I'm considering maybe 1 larger screen good for both work and games (ideally large enough to comfortably have two open windows/applications/whatever). I'm thinking ~$100 a piece for the 2, or $175 for 1 nicer option. Does using an hdmi-to-dvi adapter lose any quality (besides audio)? HDMI in monitors seem to be more $$

bostonhokie wrote:

Does using an hdmi-to-dvi adapter lose any quality (besides audio)?

It shouldn't. The signals are the same. Some very sketchy old DVI devices might flunk HDCP (causing Blu-ray playback to fail on that screen), but that's not likely with any currently-available gear.

A single 2560x1440 27" Korean monitor will set you back $350-ish.

Watch for this Asus 23" IPS to go on sale. It's been $140 after MIR recently.

Anybody have any experience with Planar? This 22" monitor has good reviews on a few different sites and is on sale for $109 at newegg. Could pick up 2 of those and not drop too much.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824016314

I'll probably go one centered and one to the right so I can game on 1 and work on 2..what setup do you guys use?

I've always preferred one large screen for most uses, but at one point I did find having a bigger screen for gaming and a smaller screen for other things (Pandora, wiki if I was playing Minecraft or something) was kind of nice, if a bit indulgent.

Might get 2 of these guys...on sale for $150 plus $20 more off

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824014377

Hope that was a good deal, bc I just clicked purchase!