Budget Gaming MacMini

[philhoeck]

One of my first trips around the site and I have spent the last 7 hours reading about builds, gaming, chip comparisons, cases, integrated video vs video cards; brain overload!

The final conclusion I have come to is that it seems as if I want a system for gaming(WoW addict so nothing super intensive, but still gaming) some sacrifices must be made, and the desire to keep with a Mini for a few more bucks beats my desire to go with a tower for a few bucks cheaper.

My theoretical build(already have an old keyboard and mouse combo that I love):
Case/Power Supply: Silverstone SG05BB w/ 450w power - $119.99

CPU: Intel Core i3-2105 - $134.99

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 - $118.99

RAM: Corsair 8gb DDR3 - $47.99

Graphics: NVidia GeForce 9600GT 512mb - $75.87(outside vendor only)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200 500gb - $84.99

Optical: Sony Optical 24x DVD RW - $24.99

Monitor: ASUS 23.6" LCD - $182.00

Total without monitor: $607.81
Total with monitor: $789.81



To really drive the price down without sacrificing much, I could make these changes or buy these same items, but instead of from Amazon directly, from the vendors who sell through Amazon(totals include shipping):

Graphics: NVidia GeForce 9600GSO 512mb - $35.98(outside vendor, I honestly don't know why I wouldn't use this over the other one, thoughts?)

Motherboard(same): Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 - $116.61(outside vendor)

RAM(same but only one stick): Corsair 4gb DDR3 - $21.99(amazon)

Hard Drive(same but smaller): Seagate Barracuda 7200 320gb - $80.99(outside vendor)

Optical Drive: None, although I really had intended on using the system to watch/burn dvds while in my room.

Total without monitor: $499.56
Total with monitor: $681.56


In theory, should it be a decent gaming capable system(criteria being able to run WoW well in raids or similar graphic loads)?
Is spending the more money on the first build worth the quality difference I will see?
Thoughts on both builds? Questions, comments, concerns?

Thanks,
phil

 

[brownin]

In theory, should it be a decent gaming capable system(criteria being able to run WoW well in raids or similar graphic loads)?
Is spending the more money on the first build worth the quality difference I will see?
Thoughts on both builds? Questions, comments, concerns?

Thanks,
phil

Spending a little more on your graphics card will make a big improvement, although you dont have to spend much.

Before I upgraded my graphics card to the ATI 6870, I used the Nvidia 9800GT, which was (and still is) a fantastic card - should be good enough for your raiding needs.

 

[colemanuk]

Buy a lian li v350 v351 v352 or v353.
I've just brought the v351 in black and its stunning.
There is a big community of people that mod them
With water cooling and windows....
Definitely worth a look

 

[Gordo74]

For ~$80, I'd look for a 5770 card. Heck, for ~$120 you can get a 6850 that will play WoW at max settings at 1080p and hold 60FPS everywhere.

 

[philhoeck]

colemanuk - I will check out the cases today.
Edit: Looked at the cases, and I agree that they are very attractive. However, to be even close in price to the other case/power supply combo I have, I would need to grab a Lian Li off Ebay for about $80 and stick with something like the Corsair Builder Series 430w as my power unit, running the total for those two out to ~$124 not including shipping for the case, maybe another $10-20. Not bad if I can find a deal, but now I have to make sure that whatever graphics card I run will fit, and also make sure that the 430w supply will be enough to comfortably run the system.

Gordo - I am assuming you mean the Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD6850, which is an awesome card, but possibly ruins both of the things I was hoping for. First is the cost, $139.99 on Amazon after the rebate is cheap for what you get, but still at least 60 dollars more expensive than the other two.

More importantly, I am not sure it will fit in the case. I used SilverStones own reference sheet on their page for the case I was looking at, and it lists a number of cards they have tested that will fit, which is what I based my search off of. Obviously if I change the case, I am going to have to look and see what will definitely fit in the other.

 

[Gordo74]

Any 6850 will work. I have used Sapphire in a few builds, often a bit cheaper too.

 

[philhoeck]

Something I thought of today at lunch while browsing on my phone:

I solely use wireless in my apartment since I use a MacBook Pro as my main computer. Is there another way to get wireless for my computer without installing a mini-wifi card into the other slot on the mobo? Am I better off tasking myself to run an ethernet cable down the hall from the living room(where the router will be living) to my room(where my computer will be living)?

Bluetooth? Can I live without it? Will I notice any differences or run into issues?

 

[Gordo74]

http://x86wifi.blogspot.com/2010/04/how ... -card.html

 

[bcarlzson]

The case listed is mini-itx and the motherboard is micro-atx, it won't fit in there. It also only works with slim line DVD drives.

 

[light_vader]

Bluetooth? Can I live without it? Will I notice any differences or run into issues?

Do you have bluetooth devices? Keyboard? Mouse? Headphones?
It is better NOT to have to rely on bluetooth, if you can manage that.

About the videocard, I'm not sure about the 9xxx series, but the 8xxx series even if still capable, they suck at Lion.
I'm even forced to run youtube (Flash) on Chrome, which I hate.

So think it twice before going the old videocard route, you;re better off checking some posts around and seeing the cheapest crap that runs just fine on Lion, instead of the cheapest crap your wallet can get, as in Hackintosh territory, unfortunately compatibility means a LOT.