Mini ITX Builds

[Nerevarine]

How are they in terms of portability, do mini itx builds have any hidden issues like cooling and all ? I see a lot of cases from cooler master which have very small form factor, I am curious why no one buys them in India.

Does anyone have any recommendations on Mobo and Case for Mini ITX, I am not looking to buy atm, just want to know hidden caveats.

CC
@whitestar_999 @SaiyanGoku @Desmond David @omega44-xt

 

[omega44-xt]

PC market itself is small in India. SFF/mini ITX build users are a small subset of PC enthusiasts, so the demand for SFF is very small. Hence not much option.

Obviously, you have to think well about cooling in SFF builds.

CM NR200 is considered a good budget mini ITX cabinet, costs 5.5k

I can see very few mini ITX mobos, take your pick based on budget:
Motherboard | PC Motherboards, AMD-Platform, Intel Platform
Buy Online Motherboards In India At Best Price with Motherboard Form Factor Mini ITX

This one seems good enough for AMD build:
GIGABYTE B550M AORUS PRO Motherboard (AMD Socket AM4/Ryzen 5000, 4000G, 3000 Series and Ryzen 3000 with Radeon Graphics Processor/Max 128GB DDR4 4000MHz Memory)

Personally, I don't think mini ITX is portable. Laptop wins hands down for portability & convenience. If you just need something small for looks & space it takes, get a micro ATX setup as mATX mobo & cabinets have much more options & aren't as expensive as mITX.

 

[Neo]

Yah every manufacturer makes only one ITX board for a chipset

 

[Nerevarine]

PC market itself is small in India. SFF/mini ITX build users are a small subset of PC enthusiasts, so the demand for SFF is very small. Hence not much option.

Obviously, you have to think well about cooling in SFF builds.

CM NR200 is considered a good budget mini ITX cabinet, costs 5.5k

I can see very few mini ITX mobos, take your pick based on budget:
Motherboard | PC Motherboards, AMD-Platform, Intel Platform
Buy Online Motherboards In India At Best Price with Motherboard Form Factor Mini ITX

This one seems good enough for AMD build:
GIGABYTE B550M AORUS PRO Motherboard (AMD Socket AM4/Ryzen 5000, 4000G, 3000 Series and Ryzen 3000 with Radeon Graphics Processor/Max 128GB DDR4 4000MHz Memory)

Personally, I don't think mini ITX is portable. Laptop wins hands down for portability & convenience. If you just need something small for looks & space it takes, get a micro ATX setup as mATX mobo & cabinets have much more options & aren't as expensive as mITX.

That mobo isnt a mini itx right, its a microatx, first i was confused dafuk, how come it has 2 full pcie and 1 1x slot..

One more problem I can think off is, lower standard or size of chipset and VRMs

 

[Desmond]

I think getting the parts in India will be a major issue for mini-ITX builds. If you are trying for a HTPC kind of setup, I guess using a cheaper GPU will be the way to go.

As for the cooling I think it depends more on the airflow in the case you are going to use. A case fan with good air displacement will be important as well.

 

[Neo]

That mobo isnt a mini itx right, its a microatx, first i was confused dafuk, how come it has 2 full pcie and 1 1x slot..

One more problem I can think off is, lower standard or size of chipset and VRMs

Mini itx are a bit more expensive but they're better in terms of VRMs, so that makes a great board for CPU and RAM OC. Drawbacks ofc include lesser SATA ports/rear IO, and only one pcie, but most people wouldn't mind that

 

[omega44-xt]

That mobo isnt a mini itx right, its a microatx, first i was confused dafuk, how come it has 2 full pcie and 1 1x slot..

One more problem I can think off is, lower standard or size of chipset and VRMs

My bad, they will have "I" suffix.

 

[vito scalleta]

I remember there was a MSI ITX pre built that sold for a very reasonable price. MSI Mag Infinite. I am not recommending but it is something to look up.

 

[Nerevarine]

So guys, I have a choice to make. I am moving out of india in 3 months and I have to sell my desktop here and get something new there. Thats the reason I was asking about Mini ITX builds. I know a laptop makes much much more sense, but I need to weigh pros and cons before I make the final decision.

Regardless of laptop or mini itx, I would get a good monitor anyway and I plan on taking my peripherials (kb/mouse/speakers etc with me)..



Laptop Pros :
1. PORTABLE
2. International Warranty ? Possibly
3. Unified things, no worry about components (This can be a con as well)

Laptop Cons :
1. Expensive for the same config. Also the new nvidia naming scheme is confusing. a 3080 running at lower wattage can deliver worse performance than 3070 at higher wattage.
2. Display, keyboard and speakers would be redundant as I will use a better keyboard, speakers and display anyway.
3. Thermals !

Please note I will get a work macbook pro, so "portability" for regular tasks like music, movies, emails etc wont be an issue, even for personal usage.

Mini ITX Pros :
1. Cheaper.
2. Thermals are better, thereby better performance in the long run.
3. Component fails, I can upgrade or replace.

Cons :
1. Have to lug around a mini itx desktop when I come back to india or move to US afterwards in say 4-5 years. Most likely will sell monitor (applies for laptop as well)
2. No portability of usage, no carrying to vacations and all. But this one is not a con for me.
3. Mini ITX seems very sketchy to me so far, SFX powersupplies especially.
4. No international warranty (

Help me decide guys, Ive already put up my desktop and bike for sale.

This would be a long running thread, I will create one more for final decision on what to buy (whether its Mini ITX rig or a gaming laptop after I reach there).

@whitestar_999 @vito scalleta @omega44-xt @Neo @Desmond David @SaiyanGoku

 

[omega44-xt]

Only you can decide, honestly. I picked gaming laptop & will continue doing so whenever portability is a factor.

Something like HP Omen with R5 4600H + 1660Ti costs 85k & is a pretty good choice right now for gaming. Its desktop equivalent will be a rig with i5 10400 + GTX 1660S (this will be a bit better though, maybe 10% or so). Obviously you are paying a premium for a gaming laptop, but its portable. Ask HP about International warranty. Dell provides international warranty with the premium warranty but Dell's gaming laptops are shit in terms of thermals.

IMO get a laptop after getting to US, gaming laptops have much more options & are cheaper there. If you will be there for a few years, warranty isn't a concern.

 

[TheSloth]

You will have more options to chose SFF components if you buy from US. PSU tier list on LTT mentions some SFF PSU under Tier A.B or C. but I am not sure if you will find them easily.
Have you considered consoles for on the go gaming (instead of ITX) and build a full ATX tower for PC gaming. If you are returning to India and can't carry, just sell it off since US have good market for used components as well.

 

[Nerevarine]

Im going to Europe (estonia), for some time, if I want to move to us for ms afterwards, I may do that..

I just checked europe prices are insane for the same components available in india.
The nr200 case is 5.5k in mdcomputers but it's 117
euros in German amazon. I think global shortage has fucked up the economy

 

[Nerevarine]

You will have more options to chose SFF components if you buy from US. PSU tier list on LTT mentions some SFF PSU under Tier A.B or C. but I am not sure if you will find them easily.
Have you considered consoles for on the go gaming (instead of ITX) and build a full ATX tower for PC gaming. If you are returning to India and can't carry, just sell it off since US have good market for used components as well.

No console, I need a system capable of dualbooting windows and Linux .. plan is, I'll sell my stuff here in india and relocate there and get new desktop there. Why I'm saying for a mini itx desktop just because I won't be loosing out on usecase compared to standard ATX. Yes a standard ATX has a lot of pcie headers but I have no need of these for the foreseeable future. As long as desktop performs well for a standard ryzen chip, 16/32 gb ram, 2 ssds, 2 HDDs, and a full size GPU the system is more than enough for me.
If the above desktop has a small formfactor while not being much more expensive than a full size pc, them definitely I'll go for it.
Also, cost has the be atleast 60-65 percent of equivalent laptop, anything above 70 percent and it makes sense to buy laptop itself right ?

 

[omega44-xt]

No console, I need a system capable of dualbooting windows and Linux .. plan is, I'll sell my stuff here in india and relocate there and get new desktop there. Why I'm saying for a mini itx desktop just because I won't be loosing out on usecase compared to standard ATX. Yes a standard ATX has a lot of pcie headers but I have no need of these for the foreseeable future. As long as desktop performs well for a standard ryzen chip, 16/32 gb ram, 2 ssds, 2 HDDs, and a full size GPU the system is more than enough for me.
If the above desktop has a small formfactor while not being much more expensive than a full size pc, them definitely I'll go for it.
Also, cost has the be atleast 60-65 percent of equivalent laptop, anything above 70 percent and it makes sense to buy laptop itself right ?

Except for case & maybe PSU, you can transport rest inside your suitcase or cabin suitcase. PC parts are cheaper in US for sure & more options for SFF parts.

 

[Nerevarine]

Except for case & maybe PSU, you can transport rest inside your suitcase or cabin suitcase. PC parts are cheaper in US for sure & more options for SFF parts.

So what you are suggesting is I take components from my current rig in a suitecase and assemble psu and case in estonia ? That is something I considered too, I wouldnt need to get rid of my components right away and I could take my time and buy a 3080 at a good price.

Hinnavaatlus - Otsing: "rtx 3080"

This is the estonian website to check for prices..

 

[omega44-xt]

So what you are suggesting is I take components from my current rig in a suitecase and assemble psu and case in estonia ? That is something I considered too, I wouldnt need to get rid of my components right away and I could take my time and buy a 3080 at a good price.

Hinnavaatlus - Otsing: "rtx 3080"

This is the estonian website to check for prices..

Yes. If you need to upgrade or buying parts now, get mATX mobo, will be easier to carry around with box than ATX. Obviously, mITX will be even smaller but cost & part rarity is a big point against it. If prices are cheaper in Estonia compared to India, then good for you. I'm sure GPU prices are very high everywhere right now.

Do you have a desktop right now? Specs?

 

[Nerevarine]

*valid.x86.fr/2r63nc

This is my desktop. I wanted to upgrade in the near future but the prices are fucked atm. Everywhere.

Some Parts like the nr200 are actually somwhat cheaper in jndia than Europe.

 

[omega44-xt]

*valid.x86.fr/2r63nc

This is my desktop. I wanted to upgrade in the near future but the prices are fucked atm. Everywhere.

Some Parts like the nr200 are actually somwhat cheaper in jndia than Europe.

That's actually good. Maybe just sell it off before leaving for EU & take just your GPU (if GPU prices are still high at that time) & storage. Then build a new rig there.

If you want something better now, then get mATX mobo + CPU + RAM. Waiting might be good as you might get 5nm CPU & DDR5 RAM next year. Ryzen 5000 is the end of the road for AM4.

 

[Neo]

Makes more sense to go for a sffpc, u can get something like Velka 5/7

 

[Nerevarine]

Makes more sense to go for a sffpc, u can get something like Velka 5/7

Very interesting