Kiyoshi Computer Build II : Small Footprint

Hi Everyone!

So it has been ages since my last post. A lot has happened but without further ado, let's check up on my most recent build. It was for a friend who wanted a dorm friendly computer. Not big on power since this PC was not meant for gaming, but more for reliable everyday use when it came to assignments and stuff (coupled with a mid range gfx card, it can still play a lot of games on medium settings.) Dorms meant one thing, space, or more specifically lack thereof. So off we went to a mini-ITX Build!

CASE:

Fractal Design Node 304 Black (www.fractal-design.com)

Dimensions : 9.8" x 8.2" x 14.7"
Price : US$54.99

A great case when space is at a premium but you still don't want to overlook design aesthetics. Simple clean lines and also capable of holding a surprisingly big video card (with some drawbacks of course.)











CPU:

Intel Core i3-4130 (www.intel.com)

Core Clock: 3.4 GHz
2-Core 4-Thread
L3 Cache: 3MB
Price: US$129.99

The Haswell line, complete with power efficiency features and nice processor strength. Comes with HT so it has 2 physical and 2 virtual cores. Only criticism is the HD 4400 as a graphics solution.








MOTHERBOARD:

ASRock H81M-ITX (www.asrock.com)

Max Memory: 16GB
PCI-E 2.0x16: 1
SATA Connectors: 2 x SATAIII
Price: US$64.99

Complete with a host of new features such as Wake On LAN and a dehumidifying system built in, this is one great motherboard in a very small package.






RAM:

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials (poweredbymushkin.com)

Capacity: 2 x 2GB
Speed: 1333
Price: US$41.99

A great little set from the very reliable Mushkin.



POWER SUPPLY:

EVGA 500B (www.evga.com)

Max Power: 500W
Active PFC
PCI-E Connectors: 2 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connectors: 2
Non Modular
80+Bronze Certified
Price: US$44.99

A great little PSU from EVGA.





AIR COOLING:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (www.coolermaster.com)

The ever great, ever affordable air cooler from cooler master. Always a safe bet when you don't know much about CPU cooling.

Price: US$ 34.99










HARD DRIVE:

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos (poweredbymushkin.com)

Capacity: 240GB
Interface: SATA III
Max Sequential Read: 560MB/s
Max Sequential Write: 525MB/s
Price: US$ 164.99

Very good reviews for this awesome little SSD.






TOTAL:

US$ 536.93

THOUGHTS:

This was a fun little build to do. In the near future he may opt for a video card and an optical drive. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the Word! +1, Subscribe, Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.