How does this I5 system look?

[Karnak]

Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K
MSI Z87M GAMING LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model TLAD38G2400HC11DC01
Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5" 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT240M500SSD1
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120 mm PWM Fan
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM
SilverStone Temjin Series TJ08B-E Black Aluminum front panel, steel body MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case

As I am trying to do this on a budget I would be retaining my existing graphics card, SATA bulk storage drive and power supply.  My video card is 1gb AMD and only a year and a half old.

I run games at 2560x1440.

Any comments?

[caldera]

Check the dimensions on the MicroATX case and video card to make sure it will fit.   

[Karnak]

Check the dimensions on the MicroATX case and video card to make sure it will fit.   

The reviews claim that large video cards fit with no issue and that it has good cooling airflow.

[guncrasher]

you can get a full size case and mother board for the same price you are paying for the micro.  you are really limiting yourself with a micro box and mobo.


semp

edit:

case 60 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

mobo 130

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130726

[Karnak]

you can get a full size case and mother board for the same price you are paying for the micro.  you are really limiting yourself with a micro box and mobo.


semp

I don't want full sized.  I have a full tower right now.  I am trying to see if I can go even smaller, to micro ITX.

[Debrody]

My video card is 1gb AMD and only a year and a half old.

This info is about useless as long as you dont give us any more detailed information.

The rest of the pack looks quite fine and balanced. I would build something simmilar for myself.
MicroATX mobos are fine, as long as a single mid-range card can run anything in fullHD+ easily, so crossfire/SLI is not really necessery.

[guncrasher]

I don't want full sized.  I have a full tower right now.  I am trying to see if I can go even smaller, to micro ITX.

may i ask why?  with micro cases the big problem is cooling.  smaller is not necessarily better.



semp

[Karnak]

This info is about useless as long as you dont give us any more detailed information.

The video card would be the first thing I upgrade, but as it has 1gb of memory, it'll serve in the short term.  I am at work and can't be more specific about what it is.  I didn't buy it, a friend gave it to me.  He said it cost ~$300 in 2012.

The rest of the pack looks quite fine and balanced. I would build something simmilar for myself.
MicroATX mobos are fine, as long as a single mid-range card can run anything in fullHD+ easily, so crossfire/SLI is not really necessery.

Agreed.

may i ask why?  with micro cases the big problem is cooling.  smaller is not necessarily better.

I am trying to reduce clutter and a small box for my gaming purposes would help with that.  The full 50lb tower I've been using for the last 15+ years is ready for retirement.  I no longer feel the need to put a four drive, RAID 5 SCSI setup in my system.  A single 2.5" SSD will do that, and do it better, while taking a fraction of the space and producing almost no heat and literally no noise.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

The video card would be the first thing I upgrade, but as it has 1gb of memory, it'll serve in the short term.  I am at work and can't be more specific about what it is.  I didn't buy it, a friend gave it to me.  He said it cost ~$300 in 2012.

The amount of memory in the card means nothing by itself. You can have a 30 dollar totally useless card with 1Gb of DDR2 memory. It's really funny how people think that the amount of built in ram their videocard has actually tells something about its performance. Maybe that is why some card manufacturers build 3Gb special versions of their budget entry level cards, someone gets a 'good deal' on a 3Gb graphics card

[Karnak]

The amount of memory in the card means nothing by itself. You can have a 30 dollar totally useless card with 1Gb of DDR2 memory. It's really funny how people think that the amount of built in ram their videocard has actually tells something about its performance. Maybe that is why some card manufacturers build 3Gb special versions of their budget entry level cards, someone gets a 'good deal' on a 3Gb graphics card

I assure you it is not a useless card.  AMD 59xx of some kind.  As I said, it was $300.00 card in 2012.  My not being able to be specific is not due to being unsure of where it stands performance wise, but rather because I didn't research and buy it.  The 1gb was only mentioned because I recalled it, not to indicate that 1gb means it is good.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I assure you it is not a useless card.  AMD 59xx of some kind.  As I said, it was $300.00 card in 2012.  My not being able to be specific is not due to being unsure of where it stands performance wise, but rather because I didn't research and buy it.  The 1gb was only mentioned because I recalled it, not to indicate that 1gb means it is good.

All the 59xx series cards that I know of and what search found were all minimum 2Gb cards. The 5970 was a dual gpu high-end card from 2009. So perhaps you should check the model.

[Karnak]

All the 59xx series cards that I know of and what search found were all minimum 2Gb cards. The 5970 was a dual gpu high-end card from 2009. So perhaps you should check the model.

Kinda not relevant to my question in my OP though.  I know the video card needs to be upgraded, but given that it is sitting in a eight and a half year old PC and I am on a budget it makes much more sense for me to replace the base CPU/memory/drive array and then replace the video card once I can afford to do so.

My imprecise memory as to what the card actually is doesn't change any of that.  It remains the most modern part of my existing computer.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

According to Tomshardware the smaller 128 and 256Gb M500 models are not recommended for their slowness so you should either get a larger capacity model or a Samsung Evo for example.

[Karnak]

According to Tomshardware the smaller 128 and 256Gb M500 models are not recommended for their slowness so you should either get a larger capacity model or a Samsung Evo for example.

Ah.  Thanks for that tip. 

[Debrody]

Kinda not relevant to my question in my OP though.  I know the video card needs to be upgraded,...

The 5970 is still quite powerful, about like if you had 7790s SLI-ed, or you had a single 7950. "Upgrading" to a newer mid range model (~250$, R9-280, GTX760) wont necesserily give you a very noticable performance gain, but you might get something simmilar with a lot less consumption.