A Quality CheapoMac build for under 300 USD ~ Free Gigabyte H81M Motherboard

[trs96]

You can get a much better Corsair case and PSU for less money than you'd be paying
for the Rosewill case/psu you linked to at Amazon.

Get this Corsair case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139041

Add the CX-430 which is $20.00 now AR. at Newegg. It will be plenty of power for your build
even with a gfx card like a GTX 760. Spend less and get an even better build. The H81M-HD3
has plenty of extra USB3 ports on the back panel if you need them.

 

[iterability]

You can get a much better Corsair case and PSU for less money than you'd be paying
for the Rosewill case/psu you linked to at Amazon.

Get this Corsair case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139041

Add the CX-430 which is $20.00 now AR. at Newegg. It will be plenty of power for your build
even with a gfx card like a GTX 760. Spend less and get an even better build. The H81M-HD3
has plenty of extra USB3 ports on the back panel if you need them.

Thank you again.

I'm going to buy the CX-430.

Don't mean to be difficult but will this case be a good substitute [after rebate it's nearly 20$ cheaper]
​
http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-Micro-ATX-Mini-ITX-PS08B/dp/B00A1ZU1I0/

Edit: If I bought an i5 processor, would I need a different PSU?

 

[trs96]

Thank you again.

I'm going to buy the CX-430.

Don't mean to be difficult but will this case be a good substitute [after rebate it's nearly 20$ cheaper]
​

Silverstone makes high quality cases. That model is a little outdated but it will work.

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-Micro-ATX-Mini-ITX-PS08B/dp/B00A1ZU1I0/

: If I bought an i5 processor, would I need a different PSU?

If you look at the New Mac Pros, they all use the same 500W power supply. So in the 12 Core
Dual D700's model Apple uses a 500W PSU. 430W will certainly be enough for a budget I3 or
I5 build. It's not as efficient as the Mac Pro model PSU but it is 80+ Bronze rated.

 

[iterability]

Okay.

I ended up choosing the case you suggested because the other was going to take 2/4 weeks to ship.

I've ordered my build from Microcenter/Amazon/Newegg.

Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01 Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011050-WW
Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 8GB Single DDR3-1600 1.35V UDIMM 240-Pin Memory Module
Crucial M500 120GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm
Gigabyte GA-H81M-H LGA1150 mATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i3 4340 3.6GHz LGA 1150 Boxed Processor
CORSAIR CX series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS B

When I pick up my processor, I might try to convince the manager to give me the mobo discount that cannot be combined with an i5 processor.

This is what they have and it's much cheaper than Amazon http://www.microcenter.com/product/413255/Intel_Core_i5-4570_32GHz_Boxed_Processor

If I convince them, I assume this processor will work and my build will work with the CX430 PSU?

 

[trs96]

The I5-4570 has HD 4600 so it will work no problem. The only change you may have
to make with the PSU is to disable C6 C7 deep sleep states in the bios. It comes set
to auto so you may not even have to do that.

 

[iterability]

The I5-4570 has HD 4600 so it will work no problem. The only change you may have
to make with the PSU is to disable C6 C7 deep sleep states in the bios. It comes set
to auto so you may not even have to do that.

So, I should stick to the i3 because it isn't usable with the PSU then?

 

[trs96]

So, I should stick to the i3 because it isn't usable with the PSU then?

The I5-4570 or any other Haswell I5 will work perfectly well with the CX-430, it just isn't
Haswell certified for the lower power sleep states. It doesn't seem to make any difference in
the builds I've done that used a CX-430. If there were any problems with a system coming
out of deep sleep properly it takes about 5 seconds to change the bios setting so it's no
big deal imho.

 

[Misscomp]

Dear TRS96,

I heard that to solve the sleep issues with power supplies that are not certified for Haswell you connect a case fan directly to the power supply so the fan is on even though the computer is asleep and this will keep the power supply stable. Have you tried this?

When you say change the BIOS do you mean disable the C1e sleep state?

Misscomp

 

[trs96]

Dear TRS96,

I heard that to solve the sleep issues with power supplies that are not certified for Haswell you connect a case fan directly to the power supply so the fan is on even though the computer is asleep and this will keep the power supply stable. Have you tried this?

When you say change the BIOS do you mean disable the C1e sleep state?

Misscomp

Haven't needed to try anything yet, you can easily disable C6 C7 states in the bios.
Most won't need to. GA sets it to auto which seems to work too. Here are bios screenshots
from the F3 version for GA-B85M-D2V. Should be similar for the H81M motherboards from GA too.

M.I.T. - Advanced Frequency Settings



Advanced CPU Core Settings



Set C6/C7 State to Disabled



Select Save and Exit and then Save Settings and let your computer boot normally.
That should take care of any problems related to using a Non-Haswell certified
PSU with a Haswell based cpu and motherboard. Couldn't be any easier.

 

[iterability]

Hi.

Thanks for your continued help.

I got all the parts [the i3 not the i5] and put it together but it won't turn on.

I tested the PSU with the paper clip method and it runs.

I've unplugged everything except the 24 pin and 4 pin connectors for the CPU and nothing happens.

Please help?